The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 373

Beneath the night sky, Matthew, Keira Knightley, and Johnny Depp finished their street tour of Santo Domingo and returned to their hotel, taking the elevator up to the sub-penthouse floor. Johnny Depp's suite was closest to the elevator; he gave Matthew and Keira a casual wave before heading into his room.

Matthew and Keira walked a little further down the long corridor to Matthew's room.

"Time flies." Matthew stopped but didn't open the door, turning his head to look at Keira. "It feels like no time has passed, and it's already over."

Keira bit her lower lip, her gaze fixed on Matthew, but she didn't seem inclined to speak.

Matthew smiled. "It's been a while since we really talked. Care to spend the night catching up?"

As he spoke, he opened the door to his suite, leaned out of the doorway, and made an inviting gesture toward Keira.

This wasn't the first time the two of them had shared long nights and deep conversations. Keira hesitated for only a couple of seconds before stepping into Matthew's room. Matthew followed close behind, his arms wrapping around Keira as he kicked the door shut. It closed with a heavy click, completely muffling the sound of their quickening breaths inside.

****

The next day, just as the sun was rising, the film crew arrived on an island thirty-five nautical miles from Santo Domingo to prepare for a major action sequence.

Since last August, Disney Pictures had been leasing this private, white-sand island, reconstructing it to suit the film's needs. The main construction had been completed by the end of last year, but director Gore Verbinski had requested that the natural vegetation be allowed to overgrow the sets to achieve a more weathered and rugged texture.Matthew finished his makeup aboard the crew's chartered yacht—a vessel hundreds of feet long—and then took a speedboat with Depp to the island's pier.

Once on the pier, the two men and their assistants strolled leisurely toward the white-sand beach where the shooting was taking place.

Standing at the edge of the set, Matthew watched as Keira filmed her scenes.

On director Gore Verbinski's command, Keira threw off her hat, feigned being overcome by the sun, clutched her forehead, swayed, and then collapsed headlong onto the beach.

Keira was only twenty years old, and already considered one of Hollywood's more skilled actresses. Watching her, Matthew could see that her acting had genuinely improved, aside from her familiar mannerisms like biting her lip.

The shot was captured in a single take. The crew hurried to reset the scene, and an assistant director came over to tell Matthew and Depp to get ready.

Just then, Keira walked over to them.

After a few minutes of waiting, Gore Verbinski called the actors to the set. Matthew, Keira, and Depp made their way to the beach.

Also participating in the scene was Jack Davenport, who played James Norrington.

Gore Verbinski first took Keira aside and said, "You're here to watch them fight. Don't forget to scream."

Keira nodded. She wasn't foolish enough to miss that her character was essentially a supporting player in this sequence.

It was fine by her. She was determined to use the pirate films to boost her popularity and make money, so she didn't much care about the role's prominence; her primary focus was now on literary dramas.

After speaking with Keira, Gore moved over to the three male actors, who were the central focus of the shot. Matthew, Depp, and Jack Davenport stood in a triangle around Davy Jones's heart.

He started with Matthew. "Will Turner's objective is clear: pierce Davy Jones's heart and save his father."

"Got it," Matthew replied.

Then Gore Verbinski told Jack Davenport, "Your goal is to get the heart. Whoever has the key is your enemy."

Jack said nothing, just nodded vigorously.

Finally, Gore Verbinski stood before Depp and said decisively, "Depp, your attitude will define this fight. You're familiar with Will Turner and know that he'll win when it comes to brute force. So, if you want to get Davy Jones's heart, you have to team up with Norrington against Turner. At the same time, you have to guard against Norrington snatching the heart for himself. You need to adapt as you go."

"Don't worry," Depp drawled. "For me, this is a trivial scene."

Gore left the set to operate one of the cameras himself for this take.

The scorching sunlight poured down from the sky, illuminating Matthew, Depp, and Jack Davenport.

"We'll talk later," Jack Davenport declared, the sword in his hand aimed at Depp. "Right now, I'm going to kill the pirate who ruined my life!"

Depp suddenly interjected, "Wait! Shouldn't we think this through first?"

He flashed a smile at Matthew, then turned to Jack Davenport. "When you had me, a notorious pirate, behind bars, who exactly took the opportunity to free the pirates and claim your beloved for himself?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Was it me? No. So whose fault was it? Who reduced you to a drunken, pathetic sailor forced to take orders from pirates?"

Depp suddenly brandished his pirate cutlass and pointed it at Matthew. "It was him!"

He shouted to Jack Davenport, "Don't you want revenge? You can't beat him alone, but together, we have a chance."

Matthew drew his sword and aimed it at Depp.

"I should thank you, Jack," he said, his face grim and his expression furious. "Even though you tricked me onto Davy Jones's ship and forced me to pay your debt."

Depp replied, "You're most welcome."

Jack Davenport interjected, "Unfortunately, Mr. Turner, he's right."

Depp laughed. "I knew you'd be on my side."

Jack Davenport took the initiative, his cutlass striking straight ahead. Matthew dodged as Depp attacked from the other side, his sword aimed at the hand in which Matthew held the key.

Matthew swung his sword to block, the impact nearly knocking the cutlass from Depp's hand.

But from the other side, Jack Davenport's sword swept back around. Matthew dodged, grabbed his wrist, and, following the pre-planned choreography, kicked Jack Davenport in the rear. He stumbled forward several steps, nearly falling onto the beach.

Seizing the opportunity, Depp lunged to snatch the key from Matthew's hand, who parried with his sword and engaged him in a fight.

Then Jack Davenport rejoined the fray, and Matthew handled them both with ease, making the two-on-one fight look effortless.

But action shots like this couldn't last long.

"Cut!" Gore Verbinski yelled, stopping the take while the fight was still controlled. "That's a wrap on this shot!"

Long takes of action scenes were exponentially more difficult to shoot, especially when they involved someone like Depp, who lacked raw strength and physical agility.

Shooting in short takes and piecing them together in post-production was definitely the superior method.

When filming paused, Matthew waved Bella over, and she approached with a bottle of water.

At that moment, the assistant director entered the set, called Matthew and Depp over, and began to explain and demonstrate the breakdown of the next shot in detail. He also had the trio rehearse all the necessary movements again before filming resumed.

The pace of filming slowed. Most takes lasted only two or three seconds, with very few exceeding five, but there were few mistakes.

However, for the fight sequences that didn't feature close-ups, they were all performed by stunt doubles, and that included Matthew's part.

The number and scale of the action scenes were enormous, and a person's energy and stamina are finite. Matthew couldn't afford to exhaust himself in a single day of shooting.

Besides, there was another action scene set to take place on giant wooden wheels moved by a crane.

Filming on this island continued for about ten days before the crew moved to another island to shoot the scenes with the cannibals.