Stage 2 had long since been transford. The area to the left of the entrance had beco a 17th-century seaside town, dotted with the interiors and exteriors of various buildings. To the right, a more spacious section was designed to look like an island cavern, the setting for the grand battle at the end of the script. The cavern was still dry and devoid of any golden treasures, as no scenes had been fild there yet.
Inside a partially enclosed, antique-looking blacksmith's forge on the left side of the stage, Gore Verbinski stood before a rather dilapidated door, beckoning to Matthew and Johnny Depp, who were ready for the shoot.
Johnny was wearing heavy, smoky eye makeup.
Matthew, in contrast, wore only a thin layer of foundation to enhance the texture of his features. His long, dark brown hair was styled in loose curls behind his head, and his exquisitely tailored costu accentuated the lines of his body, highlighting a powerful, untad beauty.
Back in mid-July, the crew had inford him that they would be making adjustnts to Will Turner's appearance, scenes, and action choreography to better align the character with his personal temperant, making him more like a blacksmith who both hamred iron and trained with a sword.
Perhaps so slender, almost effeminate blacksmiths existed sowhere in the world, but the vast majority of people imagined them as strong, muscular n.
The raw masculinity that the crew's designs for Matthew emphasized was sothing no skinny actor could embody.
"Matthew, the scene starts when you walk in." Gore Verbinski, wearing gold-rimd glasses, stood by the slightly worn wooden door. He pointed to a basin of water near the entrance and said, "It's the hot season, and you're wearing formal, restrictive clothing. Take it off, wash your face, and wipe away the sweat."
"Alright," Matthew replied.
Gore Verbinski continued, "As you're washing your face, don't forget to 'accidentally' splash water onto your chest muscles."
Matthew understood. A wet torso sotis made muscles appear more defined.
"While you're washing up, you'll notice sothing's off. Go and check it out," Gore Verbinski instructed, then turned to Johnny Depp.
"When Matthew gets closer, you erge from your hiding spot and point your sword at him. Then, the fight scene begins."
Depp said nothing.
Gore Verbinski glanced at him to make sure he'd heard, then left the set and returned to his director's monitor.
The caras started rolling.
Keira Knightley, having already fild a few scenes and finished for the day, hadn't left. She stood with her assistant behind the cara, out of the way, watching from the sidelines.
On set, Matthew pushed open the wooden door and walked in. He removed his tight-fitting overgarnt, hung it on a hook by the door, and approached the washbasin. He scooped up water to wash his face, then took a towel, soaked it, wrung it out, and wiped the sweat from his body.
From the side, the cara operator zood in for a close-up, focusing on Matthew's bare torso. Droplets of water trickled down his skin, fully accentuating his musculature.
Matthew noticed sothing was amiss. He looked around the forge—so tools had clearly been moved, the hamr was in the wrong place, and the donkey seed agitated. The old blacksmith, however, was still passed out drunk, completely unchanged.
Matthew glanced at the donkey, then walked toward the anvil. Suddenly, a figure appeared. Johnny Depp stepped out from behind a wooden post, the pirate cutlass in his hand aid directly at Matthew's bare chest.
The cara operator imdiately adjusted the shot, panning back and forth between the sword in Johnny Depp's hand and Matthew's chest.
Depp advanced, and Matthew slowly retreated. It was the first ti both actors were in the sa fra.
Gore Verbinski stared at the monitor and exclaid, "What a stark contrast! Perfect!"
"Pirate," Matthew said, his British accent clear as he looked at Johnny Depp.
"You look familiar," Depp drawled, his accent a polar opposite to Matthew's. "Have I threatened you before?"
Matthew's expression hardened. "I don't think so. I hate pirates."
Without waiting for Depp to reply, he took a swift, sharp step to the right. He reached out, grabbed a sword hanging from a pillar, and leveled it at Depp.
"You think this is wise?" Depp responded with a smirk.
Matthew didn't hesitate. "You threatened Miss Swann."
"Only a little."
As Depp finished speaking, he lunged. Matthew, following the choreography, brought his sword down and then up with practiced skill. He advanced with confidence, his movents fluid and precise. He caught Depp's blade with his own, sending the pirate's cutlass flying from Johnny's grasp.
"Cut!" Gore Verbinski stopped the take.
Johnny shook his hand.
Seeing this, Matthew spread his hands helplessly. "Co on, I'm not that strong."
Gore Verbinski's voice ca from the side. "We'll resu after a short break."
Depp raised his hand and told the director, "I'm requesting a stunt double."
He looked at Matthew. "It's too terrifying to cross swords with this guy."
With that, he walked off the set.
Johnny Depp's stunt double, already in full makeup, was waiting just off-set, ready to step in at a mont's notice. And unlike Matthew, who wore only a thin layer of foundation, Depp's double had on makeup so thick that he was a 90% match for Johnny.
In a still shot, audiences would certainly spot the difference, but in fast-moving fight scenes that rarely showed a character's face up close, it changed everything.
In truth, not just Matthew, but most of the crew knew that Johnny Depp's years of wild living had taken a toll on his body. He had arranged for stunt doubles well in advance, and except for a few necessary shots, his action scenes were typically handled by them.
With a more professional stunt perforr, Matthew found the action scenes easier to film. Otherwise, he would have to hold back so much that his movents would look flimsy on cara. What kind of fight would that be?
As before, Matthew preferred action scenes to dialogue. For scenes that were really about showcasing his body and muscles, he didn't need to do much acting.
While Matthew was taking the action portion of the film very seriously, Johnny Depp would have to outshine him with his performance. To make his own character pop, Matthew had to excel in a way that was the complete opposite of Captain Jack Sparrow.
Depp would dominate the screen with his acting, so Matthew aid to counter him with his sculpted physique and magnificent agility.
When Gore Verbinski was casting, he had spoken with the main actors individually. Matthew had shared so of his ideas for the role, and the director had been supportive.
The two characters complented each other's strengths, an outco that he, as the director, was delighted to see.
The action sequences in Pirates of the Caribbean were fild in a completely different style from The Scorpion King. There were no long takes; everything was shot in fragnts and then pieced together in post-production. The longest continuous action shot was no more than five seconds.
Matthew fought with Johnny Depp's stunt double, filming as many as twenty action sequences in a single morning.
Between takes, Matthew walked over to the rest area. Mira imdiately draped a blanket over his bare back and handed him a cup of water.
Matthew took a few sips as his designated makeup artist ca over to touch up his makeup. After a brief ten-minute break, filming resud, and the sound of clashing steel once again filled the set.
...
For the next two days, Gore Verbinski focused on filming the scenes of Will Turner dueling with Captain Jack Sparrow. Thanks to Matthew, the crew had high hopes for the action sequences and shot them over and over, determined to capture the most effective and spectacular footage.
Matthew wasn't worn down by the demanding action scenes; on the contrary, his ntal and physical state only improved. By the third day of shooting, Gore Verbinski saw that Matthew had hit his peak and decided to reshoot many of the previously fild scenes.
In three days, the crew shot hundreds of takes for this one action sequence alone.
Afterward, Matthew was given a short break while Gore Verbinski began shooting a mishmash of scenes on a nearby set depicting dieval civilian life.
They were filming people and objects ant to look dirty.
In fact, most of the characters appearing in the film didn't look particularly clean. Captain Jack Sparrow, for instance, was so stylized that he looked no better than a beggar.
Compared to Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner's appearance was a bit cleaner, but he was still a far cry from a fresh-faced youth.
And that was to say nothing of the background actors.
To achieve the desired "grimy" look on screen, Gore Verbinski employed a special trick that had the group of extras groaning in despair.
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