LONDON—No less than Sir Paul McCartney showed up to watch Johnny Depp sing for the first time in a movie at the recent screening here of Tim Burton’s “Sweeney Todd.”

We’ll write about our interview with Johnny in a future column. But to those who have been eagerly awaiting word on how he fares in his first musical, and how successful Tim is in adapting Stephen Sondheim’s dark operetta, let’s just say that … Johnny and Tim deliver the goods!

When we saw an eight-minute footage of Johnny and Helena Bonham Carter singing “My Friends” at the Venice Film Festival last September, we thought it looked promising. Now that we’ve seen the movie (full title, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”), we’re happy to say that, from the first scene, it is a “slashingly” fine tale of music, murder, bloody revenge and strangely delicious meat pies.

Tim’s gamble to cast thespians not known for musical talents—his wife Helena, Alan Rickman (Professor Snape in the “Harry Potter” movies), Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat” as another flamboyant character, Signor Pirelli) and Johnny, of course—paid off handsomely.

Producer Richard Zanuck (co-producer of the 1989 Oscar Best Picture, “Driving Miss Daisy,” introduced the film in the special screening at the Odeon West End on Leicester Square that drew big British stars—actors Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, Nicholas Hytner, the award-winning stage director whose credits include Lea Salonga’s “Miss Saigon,” and ex-Beatle Paul who snuck in as the lights dimmed and went out of the theater, just as unobtrusively, as the film’s end credits rolled. (London is abuzz with reports that Sir Paul is dating two Americans—actress Rosanna Arquette and trucking heiress Nancy Shevell.

At a post-screening reception, Richard told us that he had jumped at the chance to work with Tim and Stephen because he considers them the Van Gogh and Picasso of modern entertainment. We met the film’s young actors—Jayne Wisener (who plays Johanna), Jamie Campbell Bower (Anthony) and Edward Sanders (Toby, Pirelli’s boy assistant). Casting these film neophytes was another gamble on Tim’s part—but the three acquit themselves well.

The next morning, we had press cons with Helena, Tim, Alan and Stephen. It was a pleasure talking to Stephen, who wrote the music and lyrics of such gems as “Into the Woods,” “Company,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Passion” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and, as lyricist, “West Side Story” and “Gypsy.”

Long day

The following day was a long one—press cons with the cast of “The Golden Compass,” the epic fantasy adventure which New Line Cinema hopes will be its next “The Lord of the Rings” blockbuster franchise.

The talents included Daniel Craig and Eva Green (by coincidence, 007 and the Bond Girl), Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, director Chris Weitz and Dakota Blue Richards, the 12-year-old newcomer chosen from over 10,000 young actresses to play the crucial role of Lyra Belacqua, main character in this film adaptation of “The Golden Compass” (“Northern Lights” in the UK), the first book in Philip Pullman’s trilogy known as “His Dark Materials.”

Some groups that claim the books are anti-Christian are calling for a boycott of the film. We asked Nicole and company about this issue. We’ll discuss it in a coming column.

We were in the same LA to London flight with Sam Elliott, who quipped as we claimed our luggage at the Heathrow airport, “We could have done the interview on the plane.” There was no mistaking that beautiful, distinctive voice, as unique as his long silver hair and handlebar mustache. With him was Cleo Rose, his daughter with wife, actress Katharine Ross, memorable to this day in her bicycle scene with Paul Newman and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” as the musical background in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

In the evening, New Line threw a huge party following the premiere of “The Golden…” The guests were transported from Leicester Square to the Tobacco Dock, a huge former warehouse. The complex’s two floors were decorated to suggest the icy north, setting of the film’s second half. Replicas of the powerful polar bear towered over the cavernous place.

The cast mingled with special guests, which included Gollum himself, Andy Serkis. Amid the party din, Andy said he’s getting ready to direct his first film, “Dark Blue Rising.” On her first big premiere night, Dakota Blue ran around with her friends.

Sam and Cleo Rose stayed past midnight and were among the last guests to leave. They managed to show up for the late morning flight back to LA. Dakota Blue and her mother, who were also on the same flight, pored over celebrity magazines.

At the Los Angeles International Airport, Sam, not his assistant or a hired help, picked up his own luggage from the carousel—a refreshing sight.

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585 @yahoo.com and read his blog, “The Nepales Report,” on www.inquirerbloggers.net/ nepalesreport.