Pirates 'pirated'

If ever a film had enough publicity then surely Johnny Depp's new swashbuckling flick Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is it.

However, going on the maxim that all publicity is good publicity, a screenwriter in the US claims Disney plundered his buccaneer screenplay to make the first Pirates Of The Caribbean movie.

Royce Mathew says he spent 13 years developing ideas for a 'Super Natural Pirate Movie' and the characters of Will Turner and the cursed crew of the Black Pearl are his literary inventions.

"Plaintiff's materials contained numerous other elements of protected expression, including elements of plot and sequence of events, characters, dialogue, theme, mood, setting, pace, and total concept and feel," his lawsuit alleges.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest has set a new record for the biggest opening night in cinema history, netting $55.5 million last Friday.

The sequel to the 2003 original, subtitled The Curse Of The Black Pearl, sees Oscar-nominated Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom all reprise their roles.

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