The Hollywood Byte #24: Captain Jack Sparrow

John Gaudiosi talks to Johnny Depp, star of a new movie, a new theme park ride, and a new video game.

When it comes to Captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp's eccentric performance catapulted Disney's theme park ride-turned-movie into a global phenomenon. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl took over $653 million in worldwide box office. And that's before the sales of the DVDs, UMDs, video games and other merchandise tie-ins, most of which came later, because no one, not even Disney, expected the film to become a blockbuster.

With Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the first of two sequels, now in theaters, Disney has released an onslaught of Pirates merchandise this time around. Performance Design Products has A Pirate's Life for Me face armor for PSP, a Pirate's Tiller controller for PlayStation 2, and the Davy Jones' Locker accessory pack.

On the video game side, that includes portable games from Buena Vista Games based on the film for PSP, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. Bethesda Softworks, which inked a movie licensing deal for the first film before it became a blockbuster, has an original PlayStation 2 and PC game, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, out now. It's the only game to include both the likeness and the voice of Depp.

Depp, who worked with the film's screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio to ensure the game's dialog was in character, provided four hours of original voicework for the game. The Legend of Jack Sparrow takes place outside of the scope of the new film, and introduces original adventures that took place before the events of the first film, as well as new retellings of events from the first film. The game's story unfolds through Captain Jack Sparrow's interpretation of events, which means what actually happened in the film doesn't always happen in the game.

One of the reasons Depp agreed to make his first foray into interactive entertainment is because he loves this character. He's even said he's open to the idea of doing additional films beyond this trilogy.

"I like everything about playing him," said Depp. "He's just good fun to play. Ted (Elliott), Terry (Rossio), and Gore (Verbinski) set a course in terms of the story and all of that. You take the solid bones of that structure and get to run with it a little bit and play around with it a little bit. You get to add stuff and try things... and get away with it. I've been very lucky so far. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to him after Pirates 1. There was a lot more fun to be had."

Disney executives didn't know what to make of Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack in the first film. From the eye make-up to the quirky traits, there were a lot of Hollywood suits worried about what impact this would have on the film. At that point, it was a film, not a film franchise.

"It probably made it a little bit easier that I wasn't getting the panicked phone calls like 'What the hell are you doing? You're ruining the movie!' That may have helped add a spring to this film," said Depp.

Anyone who's played the new video games can see that they've accurately captured the particular walk of Captain Jack. When asked if his beloved pirate was more effeminate in the new film, Depp said he didn't make a conscious effort to put a spring in his step or to be make him more gay.

"But gay used to mean something else, didn't it? Maybe he is gay. I don't know," said Depp.

In the new film, Captain Jack gets the girl, sort of, so that may settle that question. Or not. For Depp, this character is still very much a part of him... literally. Although the exterior scenes in the Caribbean have been shot for the third film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, the interior shots will pick up in August. And as a result, Depp is still sporting those pirate teeth.

"They do some sort of a filing to make the surface of the tooth rough, like a bonding thing," explained Depp. "Then they hot glue and laser these things onto my own choppers. The process of taking them off can be ugly. Sometimes they shoot off, other times it can be more difficult. I really don't notice them any more. I'm kind of used to them. Once we're done filming three, I'll have to go through the process of yanking them."

That's one advantage with the video game work: There's no need to wear pirate teeth. There's likely more video game voicework on Depp's horizon. Disney Online is developing Pirates of the Caribbean Online for a 2007 release. Mike Goslin, vice president, Virtual Reality Studio for Disney Online, told me he'd like to have Depp provide voicework for the game. Captain Jack Sparrow, along with some of the main protagonists and villains from the films, will have major roles in the online game, which takes place in a parallel universe.

Buena Vista Games, which used Depp's likeness for the new PSP game, is working on a next generation game tied to the film franchise. While voicework isn't as important for a portable game, it plays a larger role for a next gen game, so it's likely that Disney studio will be looking for some Hollywood synergy in the form of Depp's voice. The fact that Depp already has one game under his belt bodes well for next year's games.

Depp spent some time in the recording studio as Captain Jack for the Disneyland Theme Park Ride on which the film is based. Disney added Depp's Jack Sparrow to three different dioramas on the ride and his voice can be heard, as well. It brings the character full circle from theme park ride to blockbuster movie to video games to theme park ride.

"It's totally surreal," said Depp. "Teetering on absurd, but a great absurd. I'm honored, but at the same time, who'd have ever thunk? It's exciting. I don't know what quite to expect. I'll have to take the ride. I don't know if that type of thing will ever make sense to me. It'll always be surprising."

This is the first of two summers that feature Captain Jack Sparrow, who's starring on the big screen in another rousing adventure that stands as one of the best films of the summer. And for gamers, there's portable and console doses of Jack Sparrow available, which should tide fans over until next July's third film, which will bring next generation, current generation, portable, and a massively multiplayer online Pirates of the Caribbean game.

By: John Gaudiosi
source: The Hollywood Byte #24