Episode 207

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Published on:

9th Mar 2026

Episode 207 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl

Hoist the colours and prepare to set sail — this week we’re diving headfirst into the swashbuckling blockbuster that resurrected the pirate genre. In this episode of 100 Things We Learned From Film, John and Planty explore the behind-the-scenes chaos, casting stories, production madness, and surprising trivia behind Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

From the moment Johnny Depp turned Jack Sparrow into a swaggering rock-star pirate, to the tropical storms that battered the production and the ground breaking skeleton visual effects created by Industrial Light & Magic, this film had no right to work… and yet it became one of the biggest adventure movies of the 2000s.

We’ll uncover how a Disneyland ride became a $650 million global hit, why Disney executives thought Depp was ruining the movie, and how Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, and Geoffrey Rush helped turn a risky theme-park adaptation into a cinematic phenomenon.

This episode was chosen by our Patreon supporter Jen, who backs the show for £1 a month proving that even a single doubloon can help steer the ship.

If you'd like to pick a film for a future episode and support the podcast, you can join our Patreon crew.

You can also follow us and find all of our social media links and the Patreon page at our website:

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So grab a bottle of rum, watch out for cursed Aztec gold, and join us as we try to learn 100 things from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

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About the Podcast

100 Things we learned from film
Two friends take a light hearted deep dive in to film in an attempt to learn 100 things from a different movie each week. Expect trivia to impress your friends and nonsense from the start.

About your host

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Mark Plant