Ahoy Mateys! Thar be movie spoilers ahead!

[Figment's friends]

This article appeared in our local paper. I was a bit unhappy to read spoilers because there was no warning about them and I really wanted to see the movie with no prior knowledge. So if you read, consider yourself warned!

Spoiler Warning!!!!

On the front of our paper a photo with this caption

Watch for County Pirate of the Caribbean

Peter Carpenter of Cherry Valley, is Pirate #007, in the new Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest movie opening in theatres world wide today. He shares this photograph, and his experiences as a pirate on Capt. Jack Sparrow's ship the black pearl, on pg. 10.


On pg. 10

County Snowbird joins Jack Sparrows Crew.

When Cherry Valley resident Peter Carpenter visited his home in the Bahamas last winter, piracy was the last thing on his mind. But as of today there is proof of his transformation. Peter talks to the County weekly news about how he joined Jack Sparrow's crew and became a Pirate of the Carribean for the new film, Dead man's Chest.

How did you get to be in the movie?

My wife and I have a home on Grand Bahama Island, and the movie was shot there. Last spring the movie company was looking for people who wanted to be extras. I happened to be visiting a friend of mine who's a jeweller and his daughter said, "Oh, my friends and I are going to try out for the movie." The jeweller said,"Well Peter, you look like a pirate.' So he closed the door and locked up the shop and we all went over. They did mugshots. We each held up a numberin front of our chests and had our pictures taken, front view and side view. They asked us odd questions like are we farmiliar with ordnance and have I ever rowed a boat and things like that. Then last summer I got an email asking, "Have you still got your beard?" And I said yes. So they said 'Fine. We want you."And so they began at the end of September last fall for the filming. We were taught rigging, how to put up the sails and take them down with the lines.

 

[Figment's friends]

Did you have to climb the mast?

A little bit. I was a pirate on the Blacklpearl which is Jack Sparrow's ship. And it's a real ship! IT's fully rigged except for the tops of the masts. IT actually has engines as well but can sort of sail along.

Did your character have a name?

No, I just had a number. I had two characters, actually. I was pirate #20 and then another Pirate didn't show up, so I replaced him and became pirate #007.

What was an average day of filming like?

We got up very early in the morning, usually 3:00 or 3:30, went over to the local hotel and we were bused out to the movie site. We would go there and have an excellent breakfast. That was one of the high points of the day really. Then we'd put on the costumes the wigs, makeup. It took about half an hour for each person. Of course each of us had a kind of persona, so some had scars, and some had different odds and ends. Then we'd be taken on Zodiac(inflatable) boats out to the Pearl. THe filming was mostly done offshore, several miles out to sea. We'd get off the boats and hang around while we waited for the sun to come up. We had to be there for sunrise and throughout the entire day. So in the morning the technical people would be setting up for the day's shoot, putting up the cameras and so on, and a lot of arranging of the set because nothing was ever done in chronological order. One day the set would be all wrecked after a battle scene and the next day it would be back in fine condition again. Some of the things were desined to look smashed and could quickly be replaced with unsmashed things.

 

[Figment's friends]

Did you get to meet Johnny Depp and the other actors?

Well we arrived at sunrise but the principal actors didn't come to the set until perhaps 10 am. Up until then they were represented by stand-ins. The stand-ins were dressed exactly like them and they would stay put while the camera people and the lighting people were setting up. Then they would step aside and Jhonny Depp and Keira Knightly would step in. Johnny Depp struck me as being very professional and very much a method actor. He very much became his eccentric character. Keira Knightly was much the same. She also took her role very seriously. Can't say the same for Orlando Bloom. ?He just seemed to be having a good time.

How lo9ng was the filming?

It went from the end of Sept to the beginning of March. There were two breaks. There was a break for hurricane Wilma. They shipped 700 people back to Los Angeles. We endured the hurricaine and then they all came back again. Then they shut down over Christmas.

What do you do when you aren't being a pirate?

I'm retired I used to work for IBM.

 

[Figment's friends]

WHat was the best part of doing the film?

Being a retired engineer I enjoyed seeing how the movie was made. Particularly of interest were the actors who portrayed the dead sailors. They were real people, of course but they were dressed in what they called grey suits. They resembled grey pyjamas with belts around they're middle and legs and so forth with black and white checkers and those were targets for the computer animation to focus on, so that when they were converted into the dead sailor5s they would look realistic but you didn't actually see the human character.

What was the worst moment?

One of the worst moments was when things got very dangerous. There was a ramp that lowered down from the BlackPearl, and on one occasion the sea had become very rough one of the makeup girls was sitting on the bow of the Zodiac when it nearly went underneath the ramp. Fortunatley someone pulled her away and avoided that injury. But then the ramp came down on top of the Zodiac and punctured it. Zodiacs don't sink when they are punctured but it made it difficult to get back to shore. But after that the ramp was damaged and it couldn't be used and they wanted us to climb up the side of the ship. Again, the weather was very, very rough and in the end we couldn't do it.

 

[Figment's friends]

What was your favorite moment from filming?

There was one point where they used water cannons that were on small boats floating alongside the Pearl. They fired a huge amount of water into the air. This was for the battle scene with the monster. We were all supposed to be spread out and dead on deck. But of course you couldn't help but jump when you were hit with gallons and gallons of freezing cold water! It was a bit difficult to hold onto you rigor mortis. Also, Mr. Cotton (the mute helmsman on the Black Pearl) keeps a pet parrot on his shoulder. Of course there was a real parrot, supported by a team of animal handlers and there was also a stand in parrot. During the shooting the real parrot who had a number of conversational phrases he could say, such as "Good Morning!", also learned to say "Cut! Cut!" at unexpected moments.

I need a break from typing- will resume later

 

[Figment's friends]

Where in the movie can we see you?
You'll find me at the very end of the movie. I'm involved in a terrible battle with the Kraken. IT's a giant squid. He comes up underneath the Black pearl and wraps his tentacles around the masts and we have a terrible fight with him. My job is to help turn the cspstan which pulls up a net that is full of explosives. We drop this on the Kraken and it explodes and that is the end of the Kraken. But its and awful mess at the end and there are bits of kraken everywhere and fires burning all over the ship and everybody's dead. Including me.

So, you die in the movie?

Oh, yes a most ignoble end. I end up with my bottom in the air over a cannon. How much of that we'll see I don't know. I haven't seen the film yet.

Are you going to see the movie?
My wife and I are going down to the Bahamas to see the film, and hopefully some of my fellow pirates will be there.

Will we see you in the third movie?

No, most of the extras in that one are Chinese.

Are you glad you did it?

I've been to visit two schools (to talk about the experience) and last weekend I did a birthday party. I've been having more fun since I got home.


So there you have it folks! That is the article. I did not alter it. I am not responsible for any statments made in the article. I just thought someone might be interested. I was personally interested in the third movie being shot with Chinese Extras... I haven't seen the movie yet but am already wondering how that will work in.

 

[WeLuvDCL]

What an awesome experience this must have been! I'm sooo jealous!!! It sounds like fun but I'm sure it was a lot of long hard days. Thank you for sharing!

 

[sistertrip]

Thanks for posting. That was interesting!

 

[Figment's friends]

I didn't mean any confusion. The article was not about me, just a guy that lives near me, I just thought I would share it with anyone who might be interested.

 

[JakeJoshMom]

Chinese extras? HUMMMM.
Does that mean Singapore?

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

Interesting article - thank you for posting it and sharing it with us!!!!