PIRATES OF BUMS' BAY
Oh buoy! Captain Jack and pirate crew are out of hiding
ANCHORS away! Look who’s on that horizon!
Hollywood and holidaymakers met in the middle of the Broadwater on the high tide yesterday as Captain Jack Sparrow took a bow from the bow of a ghostly pirate ship beached at The Spit.
After almost six months of cloak-and-dagger filming on sets locked down by security patrols, fans of the multi-billion dollar Pirates film franchise finally got a birds-eye view of what goes on when cameras roll on the set of the most expensive movie ever shot in Australia – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
While police on jet-skis discreetly patrolled in front of the film set, boaties circled to cast a curious eye over proceedings.
Day 83 of Pirates 5’ s 93day shoot saw Johnny Depp’s pirate character Captain Jack Sparrow front and centre for scenes filmed around the now-familiar pirate ship The Dying Gull at “the finger” – a strip of sand bordering the area of The Spit known as Bum’s Bay.
Cranes and tractors, graders, screens, ropes, pullies, trolleys and hoists have been trucked on to the sandy point to turn it into latest set of the $300 million Pirates 5 movie.
Vessels were kept further away to make sure they didn’t become part of the film’s backdrop and security guards patrolled beaches.
Jet-ski police raced over and stopped one boat bobbing around metres from the shore of the temporary set to find a TV reporter trying to record a report with the set as her backdrop. Arrgh! Nice try lassie! Jet-skiers, fishermen, people on surf-skis, yachties, teens in tinnies, families and landlubbers with binoculars and cameras jockeyed for position hoping to cast their eyes on Captain Jack.
All were surprised when they finally caught sight of their booty shortly after 10am as Depp, flanked by bodyguards, emerged from a row of palm trees planted especially for the shoot.
Dressed as Captain Jack and studying what appeared to be a script, Depp strode along the sand to report for duty on the deck of The Dying Gull.
He spent the rest of the day filming with castmates including his trusty pirate crew – Martin Klebba, who plays pirate Marty, and Kevin McNally, who reprises his role as Joshamee Gibbs.
Fans hope to get much closer to the star tomorrow when Depp is tipped to hang around and meet fans at The Spit after filming wraps.
Production will continue at The Spit as cast and crew race to capture footage before blue skies give way to showers later in the week.
Co-directors Espen Sandberg and Joachim Ronning are expected to launch The Dying Gull into the Broadwater at high speed along tracks in the sand.
According to the Pirates scrolls, The Dying Gull is a single-masted sloop that sailed the Caribbean during the 1750s.
Pyrotechnics experts have been seen at the set, raising hopes the scenes could include an explosive finale.
While Pirates stalwart Geoffrey Rush wasn’t on set yesterday, Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario were due at work for day one of the three-day shoot.
But the Bum’s Bay shoot ended on a bum note for one crew member.
A Pirates 5 spokesman said paramedics were called to the set about 5.30pm after a crew member experienced chest pains.
“A crew member was feeling chest discomfort,” the spokesman said.
“An ambulance was summoned. He seems to be fine but was taken to hospital as a precaution.”