With pre-production under way on the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie on the Gold Coast, Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men, Skyfall) is set to play a villain opposite Johnny Depp. Variety quotes sources as saying he will play a "ghost pirate who clashes with Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow", after negotiations with Jared Leto fell through. Filming for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is due to begin in January and run for five months. Various Hollywood reports say the producers are also looking to cast a young man "in what would be the equivalent of Orlando Bloom's role from the first three pics" and a love interest for Sparrow, "a woman who is accused of being a witch". After taking to the oceans with the Oscar-nominated Kon-Tiki, about ThorHeyerdahl's epic rafting trip across the Pacific, Norwegians Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg will direct the fifth instalment, with Geoffrey Rush expected back as Barbossane rumour has Keith Richards returning for a cameo as Sparrow's father. 

Muslim comedy for Sapphires director

A Muslim comedy from the director of The Sapphires, Wayne Blair, is among a lively batch of planned films awarded development funding by Screen Australia. Written by Osamah Sami and Andrew Knight, Ali's Wedding centres on the son of a Muslim cleric who is caught between his sense of duty to his family and following his heart. Also in development is a new film for Jonathan Teplitzky, director of The Railway Man, with plenty of commercial potential. Written by Pip Karmel (Me, Myself, I), Choir of Hard Knocks centres on a reluctant choirmaster who brings together "the disparate and the desperate" and makes unexpected discoveries. Two producers who have had short films go all the way to the Oscars also have new features in the pipeline: Melanie Coombs (Harvie Krumpet) is producing Cris Jones'The Death And Life Of Otto Bloom, which is described as a fictional documentary about a man who experiences time in reverse, and Stuart Parkyn (The Saviour) is producing Lucy, Lucy, a sci-fi thriller that has the world repopulated with identical submissive female clones –one of whom wants her independence – after a plague kills every woman on earth. And director Claire McCarthy (The Waiting City, The Turning) is developing The Children, based on Charlotte Wood's novel about a hard-bitten war correspondent who reluctantly returns to Australia and discovers challenging stories within her own family. 

Lego movie plans being rebuilt

Sounds like the Lego blocks are being reconfigured at Australian animation studio Animal Logic, which worked with American directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller to create this year's mega successful The Lego Movie. They have been down to make the sequel with director Chris McKay, as well as the Lego spin-off Ninjago. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros has announced the sequel has been delayed and McKay will direct the Lego Batman movie next. Given his close relationship with the studio, that is expected to be shot in Sydney, though an Animal Logic spokeswoman tells Short Cuts she cannot comment on an unauthorised leak. Will Arnett will again voice Batman. The studio is also making the "hybrid animated comedy" Betty Boop with X-Factor  creator Simon Cowell.

Cinema success down to more than just good movies

So what makes a cinema successful at a time when the industry is battling to sell tickets? At the Australian International Movie Convention on the Gold Coast, Sydney's Hayden Orpheum in Cremorne has been named the country's best suburban cinema. General manager Paul Dravet tells Short Cuts the cinema's success is down to the variety of films screening ("sometimes we have up to 25 separate offerings in a week over six screens"), the standard of service and the quality of the cinema's surroundings ("both the maintenance and design"). Dravet is considering adding a seventh screen to open in 2016. 

Piracy continuing to increase

New research indicates film and television piracy is continuing to increase in Australia. The IP Awareness Foundation reports that 29 per cent of Australians aged 18 to 64 admit to being active pirates compared with 25 per cent last year. The findings, released at the Australian International Movie Convention, show piracy is most prevalent among 18 to 24-year-olds, with 54 per cent of those surveyed pirating films and television shows.

Tasmanian Babes film planned

Thirteen years after director Richard Lowensteinturned John Birmingham's memoir, He Died With A Felafel In His Hand, into a film starring Noah Taylor, there are plans to adapt the sequel. Producer Bec Dakin is running a crowdfunding campaign for The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco, a comedy that is also set in a share house. Commercials and shorts director Zenon Kohler would direct a cast that includes comics Damien Power, Josh Earl and Jordan Raskopoulos, as well as actors Hannah Levien and Samantha Roy. They are seeking $150,000 of the $3 million budget on Pozible. If the film is as entertaining as the rewards offered to pledgers, it should be good. For $90, pledgers can attend a test screening and share their thoughts with the filmmakers. For $250, they can spend a day on set and play Xbox at lunchtime with Birmingham. And for $1500, they can spend a day on set that includes time in a hot tub with cast members. Dakin says the film would be shot in Brisbane, where the story is set, from next May. "We're staying very true to the book and the characters," she says.

Spandau Ballet to launch documentary

Spandau Ballet, the 1980s British new wave band best known for such hits as True and Gold, are heading to Australia to launch their documentary, Soul Boys of the Western World, which co-incides with the release of a new "best of" album. They will appear at Q&A sessions in Melbourne at the Arts Centre on November 5, which also includes a 20-minute live performance, and in Sydney at the Cremorne Orpheum on November 7. 

Muriel's Wedding special event

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Muriel's Wedding, Melbourne's Cinema Nova has a special screening next month. Director P. J. Hogan will be joined by editor Jill Bilcock, cinematographer Martin McGrath and other crew members to talk about the hit film, with the promise of behind-the-scenes footage and Abba songs as well. The screening is being held with the National Film and Sound Archive, the Australian Cinematographers Society and Australian Screen Editors on November 23.

Weaving and Sampson down for Mule screenings

Hugo Weaving and Angus Sampson will appear at Q&A sessions at previews of the black comedy The Mule ahead of its digital release on November 21. Sampson, who co-directed with Tony Mahony, plays a hapless drug smuggler who is arrested at the airport with drugs in his belly and held in a hotel room until he produces the evidence. Weaving plays one of the cops who have him in custody. In Melbourne, they will be at Cinema Nova on November 18. In Sydney, they will be at Dendy Newtown on November 19.

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