Fun facts about the Pirates
Young actor Brenton Thwaites, who portrays Henry in
Salazar’s Revenge, has been a fan of the film series since he was a schoolboy growing up in Queensland, Australia.
In typical Pirates of the
Caribbean tradition, which has seen the cast and crew of four films battle extreme conditions – this film’s primary shooting location of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, suffered its wettest conditions in 61 years due to a cyclone named Marcia.
The extraordinarily detailed St. Martin town set sits on 5 acres in the Hinterlands suburb of Maudsland and is an artist’s concept of a British colonial village in the Caribbean.
For the film’s bank heist sequence, an entire 18th century bank was constructed around a mechanized tractor called a Manitou. The driver of the Manitou was able to see out of a plexiglass false front, but no one could see in, and the illusion of four walls was perfectly sustained.
To properly age the wardrobe, Penny Rose and her team used a variety of innovative techniques, including putting them along with pebbles in a cement mixer, using cheese graters to wear them down and, occasionally, taking blowtorches to materials as well!
The so-called “ship arena” in Helensvale, Queensland, Australia was the site of 11 ships, which were constructed on computers.
The public could catch a glimpse of a mast or two peeking out from 100 shipping cargo containers piled on top of each other like bricks. In fact, the containers formed the frame for a remarkable technology called Aircover Inflatables – massive inflatable blue screens. The four inventors of this technology were honoured with a special Technical Achievement Award at the 2016 Oscars.
Costume designer Penny Rose and her team converted an entire 20,000 foot soundstage at Village Roadshow Studios in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia into a wardrobe warehouse filled with 2000 costumes, hats, shoes and accessories, all meticulously arranged by character names, types, genders and ages.
Key hair designer Peter Swords King’s department created more than 1,000 wigs for the film, and on the biggest days made up 700 extras and 30 principals, with a main team of 22 people and another 70 in a vast tent for background, stunt players and wranglers.
Captain Jack Sparrow’s hero bottle prop is an actual 18th century item from England. Meanwhile, several of the film’s parasols were handmade by a little old lady in her 70s in Brisbane.