Red Carpet: Pirates Of The Caribbean 2

In sweltering heat, Total Film is desperately trying to squeeze past some rabid Johnny Depp fans into the Odeon Leicester Square. The whole neighbourhood has been gripped by Pirates fever, with big screen displays, flaming torches and lots of ladies in ‘Mrs Depp’ t-shirts screaming “Jonnnnneeeeeeeeeeee!” everytime Jack Sparrow twirls his way onto the giant plasmas.

Depp paid his public back in spades for their screams and whistles, spending a good hour-plus working the crowd with his co-stars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. While Depp and Bloom pelted past the gathered print-press, Knightley worked the media like a veteran.

TF quizzed several more of the cast and got the same stonewalling. Jack Davenport, who plays Brit officer Norrington, said he couldn’t reveal a thing because “they’d kill me. The first movie was a laugh, this one is even more of a laugh but the third one is a little different. My character changes quite a bit too. There’s nothing quite like losing everything to help you sharpen your game, is there?”

Fellow Brit Kevin McNally was less guarded. “We go to a completely different part of the world and face a completely new rank of baddie, something special. We’re still dealing with Davy Jones in the film but there’s much more to it. We’re heading for Singapore to face something really evil, really nasty and if I told you any more, I’d have to kill you.” (We’ve had that joke, thanks…)

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl launched into cinemas in 2004, plundering plenty of acclaim and box-office loot – much of this down to the surprise factor of Johnny Depp’s deft touches as Jack Sparrow. So how does the producer keep delivering those surprises in parts two and three? “We pull the same talent together: the same writers, the same actors, the same director, that’s the key to success. The first movie entertained a lot of people, hopefully this one will entertain a lot more.”

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The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.