Q: What do you make of the position that they don't know if the Internet will be very profitable?

Jerry: I think you don't know how it's going to be profitable. You look at what happened to the music business. You thought that the CDs were going to be the thing of the future, and all of a sudden iTunes pops up and the record companies are all in trouble, and you have Napster and they're taking everything for free, so there's so many things that they don't know that they want to find out what it is first before they start giving away money. Not that I'm taking the studios side, 'cause I'm not. But I think the time to - when you're making a lot of money it's easy to give money up 'cause you're making a lot. When you're not making a lot of money yet, to me it's a little premature to go through all this to a dark area.

Q: You're aware that Bob Iger, Rupert Murdoch, and Sumner Redstone have all quoted internet revenues in the tens of billions of dollars just for the coming year already?

Jerry: You know, I don't know about that. I think they say that to Wall Street to get them all hyped up, to project their stocks going up. But I don't know what the reality is.

Q: Wouldn't they just be giving away a percentage of zero if it doesn't end up being profitable?

Jerry: I don't think so. I think they have to pay money whether it's a failure or not. You invest a lot of money in a movie, and it could not bring any returns in. So I think you like to make it so you have a movie before you're giving money back.

Q: I mean the percentage the writers are asking for...

Jerry: Don't know. Don't know.

Q: Movies never make money though.

Jerry: Well, net money they don't.

Q: What's the difference between a PG movie like this and the Pirates movies... were they PG-13?

Jerry: PG-13.

Q: and going to an R? Do you worry about the ratings board?

Jerry: No.

Q: Do you go in knowing you're aiming for a certain rating?

Jerry: Yeah, we knew this was...We wanted to make this a PG movie. The first one, we didn't know what we were doing. We honestly thought we were making a PG-13 movie, and when I read the script, I went to Dick Cook, and I said, "Dick, this is a Disney movie." It wasn't originally a Disney movie. And I said, "There's nothing in here that would give you even a PG-13." And then he changed the...It was going to be a Touchstone film, and he changed it.

Q: Any news on Pirates 4?

Jerry: No, nothing. Not with the writers out. They can't even think about it, so...

Q: Why or how did you get involved with Prince of Persia?

Jerry: It's a game that was brought to us early on, and I thought it was very exciting. First of all, it's an interesting period. And it's something that other people weren't doing. So I always like to go into arenas that other filmmakers aren't in.

Q: Do you foresee any challenges in filming in the mid-ages? Is it the mid-ages?

Jerry: Yeah, I think it's the 8th or 9th century. But you know, that could change, too. We might change it a little. It'll definitely be a period film. We're not going to make it contemporary.

Q: Where do stars fit into the Jerry Bruckheimer movie universe? Do you feel it's essential to have an A-list star, especially if the budget is over $100 million?

Jerry: Project by project. You never know. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Q: What makes Nicolas Cage one of your favorite actors to work with?

Jerry: Because you never know where he's going. You know, certain actors, you watch them and you know their mannerisms. You know what they're going to give you. With Nic, you never know what's going happen. You know, how he's going to take a scene, what he's going to do with a scene, what he does with a character. He's such a gifted...He's so quirky and interesting to watch. You love watching him, you know? He's such a good guy, too. And you see it. You know, you see it when you watch him. It's somebody you want to have around. You like him as a brother, or somebody who marries your daughter. He's just fun, you know?

Q: I think before your films, no one would have thought of Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp as action guys...

Jerry: Right.

Q: What did you see in them that made you think they could do that?

Jerry: They're great actors. Great actors can do anything. They really can.

Q: Was there something about the projects you matched them to that took advantage of their abilities?

Jerry: Well, Nic's a very physical, imposing individual. He's very health-conscious, he works out a lot. Johnny's a very agile actor. I mean, he's a phenomenal mimic. He can mimic anything. And it's just fun watching him work physically, how gifted he is.

Q: Any thoughts about going up against Johnny on opening day this time around?

Jerry: I wish it didn't happen, because I'm sure the movie's fantastic, and I'm sure he's great in it. Because it's a really good filmmaker. It's a great filmmaker. And he's a terrific actor. So I wish we weren't going head-to-head. But fortunately for us, they're not in as many theaters as we are.

Q: Well, that's an R-rated movie, too...

Jerry: Yeah, Johnny's movie...

Q: What's next for you?

Jerry: We're doing a movie called G-Force right now, which is half animated, half live action. And we're starting Confessions of a Shopaholic, which is a series of books, end of January, that Isla Fisher's starring in. So that will be our next release.

Q: Will you be re-writing on the set?

Jerry: No. We have a very good script and actors who improvise anyway, so I think we'll be fine. Even when they're not supposed to, they do it.

Q: Nic is supposedly doing a voice in G-Force...

Jerry: Right.

Q: How hard was it to get him to do that?

Jerry: I think when he saw the character and read the script, he saw how much fun it is. It's always about the material.

Q: What have been your favorite movies of the year?

Jerry: I haven't seen enough of them to tell you truth. I'll tell you what I liked. I liked 3:10 to Yuma, I thought it was a really good movie. I liked Michael Clayton. I liked that musical...

Q: Hairspray? Across the Universe?

Jerry: Across the Universe. Yeah, I liked that a lot. And I liked American Gangster. Those are ones that I remember.

Q: Judd Apatow might be becoming the Jerry Bruckheimer of comedy. Do you see anything in his trajectory that you relate to?

Jerry: You know, I just think his movies are terrific. I loved Superbad, and I liked...Is it Knocked Up? Yeah. I love both those films. He's a talented guy.

Q: Is there any scene brought to you that can't be done because it's too big or complicated?

Jerry: No, there's nothing we can't do. There are certain things we can't afford, but nothing we can't do.