DISNEY Scaling back the budget on PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 4

Apparently Disney is trying to keep Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides budget under control according to the Los Angeles Times.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

In discussing the script for the fourth "Pirates" film, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were told that Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow character would spend more time on land than water because of the high cost of shooting on the high seas.

To save more money, the number and selection of filming locations changed. Whereas the prior installments were shot in the Caribbean and Los Angeles, the upcoming production will be filmed primarily in Hawaii and London, where tax credits are more favorable. The number of shooting days scheduled is 90 to 95, down from 142 on the last movie. Similarly, there are expected to be 1,300 to 1,400 visual effects shots, compared with 2,000.

The filmmakers are also looking to shorten an elaborate carriage chase. As written, the scene in which the British pursue Jack Sparrow through the streets of London would require 12 shooting days, but it is being cut to four to six days.

As preproduction gets underway in Hawaii, Marshall and Bruckheimer are going through the script line by line looking for more places to trim costs.

Gone is one shooting location four hours north of London that would have required an overnight stay for the cast and crew. Instead, filming in London will save $3 million to $4 million.

I am sure budget cuts or not it will be a great movie.