 Chapter 18 - The Wrap of Captain Jack: At Production's End |
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 On the last day of the combined “Dead Man's Chest and “At World's End” shoot, for all of that day, and the one preceding, the usual raucous and explosively noisy atmosphere of filming inside of the “Site 9” hangar gave way to a hushed, almost cathedral-like mood. Only Johnny Depp was working on those days-the hundreds of extras and stunt players that usually populated the set were taking a day of rest, and it was remarkably peaceful and quiet. On both days, members of the crew had almost confused looks on their faces, as the realization dawned that incredibly, the impending departure of Depp proferred some kind of proof that filming was, incredibly, drawing to an inexorable finale.
“It's not a gig, it's a lifestyle,” was a refrain often heard amidst the company…you wake up, you get dressed, you go pirating for 12 to 14 hours a day, and you just keep doing it week after week, month after month, and, for that matter, year after year.
Although Depp completed his last scene at about noon, he was put into a holding pattern until Gore Verbinski learned whether or not some footage shot the day before has made it cleanly from the camera to processing in the lab. Six hours later, the word came in that all looked fine…which meant that Johnny Depp was free to leave.
Except that four years, one month and 8 days after “The Curse of the Black Pearl” first commenced filming, Depp wasn't quite sure that he wanted to.
“The possibility of saying goodbye to Captain Jack perhaps forever is not one I look forward to,” he said about a month earlier while filming in the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes near Santa Maria, California. “But if that is the case, we had a good run. I know Captain Jack will always make me smile.
`Pirates' has done a lot for me, and in every way you can imagine. But most importantly, what I've felt is this intense, pure joy. Playing this character, and being this character and delivering this character will always bring a smile to my face…always make me happy and proud.”
In the hangar, a large pastry which looked for all the world like the birthday cake for a little boy who's crazy about pirates, replete with toy figures and little ships, was positioned next to the shooting set, reading:
DEAREST CAPTAIN JACK, MAY YOUR COMPASS ALWAYS LEAD YOU BACK TO US THANK YOU.
The group exploded into cheers and applause at Depp's appearance in the hangar. “I'll be incredibly brief,” he told his friends and comrades, “because I may weep. You guys have made this the most amazing experience of my life, except for having my kids. I'd go to war with any of you.
“I'm going to call this a break, or a hiatus, or something…it's happened to us before, hasn't it? But I don't feel like I can say goodbye…certainly not to any of you…and not to Captain Jack either.
“Thank you for the ride.”
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 Next Page: Aloha Oe: Hawaii Farewell |
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