Chapter 378: Dissatisfaction with Scene Design

The blue sea was crystal clear, the golden sand fine and soft, and towering coconut trees dotted the landscape, creating a scene of unimaginable beauty.

A sampan rowed towards the beach, accompanied by a speedboat equipped with cameras.

Matthew, sword slung at his side, dressed in a white shirt open nearly to his chest revealing well-developed muscles, sat in the sampan, asking the temporary actor rowing, "Why have we stopped?"

The temporary actor, a bald Black man with a French accent, responded, "I can't go further, that ship is cursed!"

"We're almost at the beach!" Matthew argued, "Put some muscle into it!"

The actor shook his head, his face showing clear fear, "No, I can't go!"

Matthew glanced at the green screen erected on the distant beach and stood up sternly.

"Goodbye, sir!" the actor added, "I wish you well."

On the speedboat, Director Gore Verbinski instructed the cameraman, "Close-up, catch Matthew taking off his shirt."

The cameraman, understanding it was time for Will Turner to flaunt his physique again, quickly complied with Gore's request.

On the sampan, Matthew ripped off his shirt, revealing his muscular build, honed from years of relentless training, which gave his muscles a particularly sculpted and naturally flowing appearance. His physique was all naturally developed, unlike those muscle-bound brutes who resorted to drugs.

Matthew had heard from Nebula that some Hollywood stars create explosive muscle growth through workouts and drugs. These substances, mainly steroids and testosterone, allow for rapid muscle development with minimal exercise but come with significant side effects, such as muscle atrophy upon cessation and decreased natural hormone production, leading to dysfunction or even atrophy.

Despite these risks, many still use these substances, especially those who rely on their muscles for their livelihood.

Under the camera lens, Matthew stood tall, casually tossing his shirt aside and diving into the sea with a graceful motion.

"Cut!" Gore Verbinski nodded in satisfaction and shouted towards the sea, "Matthew, that take was good!"

Matthew emerged from the water, wiping the droplets from his face, swam to the speedboat, where someone helped him aboard and handed him a blanket.

Despite the heat in the Dominican Republic, a breeze was blowing, so Matthew wrapped himself in the blanket as the speedboat sped to a nearby pier, where the crew was stationed, waiting for the next shot.

A makeup artist approached to touch up Matthew's makeup, but Gore Verbinski stopped them, "No need, keep it as it is!"

The crew moved non-stop to a green screen set up on the beach and continued shooting.

Matthew discarded the blanket, handing it to Bella Anderson, and walked towards the sea as previously directed.

In fact, his makeup had already been worn away. For this shoot, Gore Verbinski continued the styling from the first film, where the actors who spent long periods at sea, including him, Depp, and Keira Knightley, all showcased a rugged appearance to emphasize the effects of sun and wind.

In simple terms, the characters were meant to look dirty.

Especially Keira Knightley, Matthew had seen several of Elizabeth Swann's styling concepts, where after her adventures at sea, not only would her hair become straight, but her skin would also darken and roughen.

These details were crucial; it would be laughable if seafarers appeared delicate and tender.

When Matthew, Depp, and Knightley first arrived in the Dominican Republic, they even shot new promotional posters against the local seascape, including one of Elizabeth Swann wielding a pirate's cutlass.

During the shoot, aside from using lighting and camera angles to darken Keira Knightley's skin and accentuate her facial contours, she appeared in front of the camera without any foundation, emphasizing the harshness of her sea adventures and the natural blemishes on her skin, which matched the corroded and rugged metal of the pirate cutlass.

If this were in Matthew's previous environment, it would be unimaginable for any actress to appear in a poster like that. The heroines, regardless of their roles, always had smooth, flawless skin—almost as if scraping it with a fingernail would leave a mark.

Of course, this was unobjectionable since different styling comes from different aesthetic preferences of the target audience.

The texture of the styling is hard to explain. For instance, Matthew had seen some martial arts TV dramas from Hong Kong in the eighties and nineties and wondered why the heroes always dressed so finely in long robes and capes, which seemed impractical for fighting, but he never delved too deeply and got used to it over time.

However, when he participated in action movie shoots, all action scenes, including those of the gentlemanly Will Turner, featured simple and neat clothing to avoid any interference during combat.

Different aesthetics create entirely different film styles.

If the mainstream aesthetics across

 the Pacific favored ruggedness and strength, martial arts heroes would probably strip before a fight, and instead of being genteel scholars in fine clothes, they would be transformed into muscular brutes like him.

For a 17th or 18th-century pirate film like this, it needed to meet the aesthetic expectations of North American audiences, so the characters portrayed by Matthew, Depp, and Knightley, except for specific scenes like Elizabeth Swann's initial appearance as a noble lady, mostly reflected a typical Western aesthetic—primitive, rough, and wild.

In essence, "Pirates of the Caribbean" was not necessarily aiming for realism but rather to cater to market demands.

For instance, the image of pirates themselves was inherently messy; clean pirates wouldn't make sense. The crew went even further with exaggerated and theatrical designs, which, although really messy and a bit cheap-looking, created a unique comedic effect.

The shooting already completed had featured many innovative and indescribable costume designs, like Barbossa's gilded wooden leg; skinny and fat pirates with a bald head and a wooden eyeball, respectively, and quirky cross-dressing; Davy Jones playing an organ with his tentacles; and crew members of the Flying Dutchman covered in seaweed.

Director Gore Verbinski was known for his imaginative approaches.

Now, his conflict with producer Jerry Bruckheimer was intensifying, not just over control but also over the content of the films. Verbinski wanted to introduce some creative ideas he found interesting in these sequels.

However, as the producer, Bruckheimer was naturally skeptical of any overly novel or risky endeavors.

In the water, the constant waves made it difficult for Matthew to stand steady. A makeup artist rushed over with a spray bottle, dousing his face and body with warm water to make him look like he had just climbed out of the sea.

Once the makeup artist left, shooting resumed.

Matthew, sword at his side and bare-chested, walked towards the green screen on the beach, as if it were the Black Pearl he was searching for.

He reached a cable anchoring the green screen and shouted, "Jack! Jack Sparrow!"

No one responded. Matthew continued forward, calling out other names on the ship, "Marty! Cotton! Anyone there?"

Still no response.

Matthew didn't stop, walking into a grove of coconut trees, stopping by a broken coconut tree, and speaking to the air, "You're a familiar face!"

According to the script, he was supposed to encounter a pirate's parrot here.

After a pause, Matthew shook his head at the broken tree, "I won't eat you. I don't eat parrots."

With that, he walked forward, moving out of the camera's range.

Director Gore Verbinski's voice rang out again, "Good, that take was good!" He then shouted, "Get the Dominican actors ready!"

On Matthew's end, the stunt coordinator approached to discuss the action design for the next scenes.

The upcoming scenes involved Will Turner being captured by natives, played primarily by local Dominicans, some of whom were actual tribal members.

"You're searching for Jack and others..." the stunt coordinator explained as he led the way to a large tree, "You find a clue here, then fall into a native trap and get captured."

Matthew frowned slightly, "Just like that?"

The coordinator nodded, "That's how the action scene is designed."

Matthew considered the script, which only described Will Turner being captured by the natives; the specifics of the capture were left to the director and stunt team to design. He found the design overly simplistic.

Unsatisfied, he voiced his concern, "I think there's a problem with the action scene design."

As one of the lead actors, Matthew's input was significant, and the stunt coordinator couldn't just dismiss his concerns, suggesting, "You should discuss this with the director."

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