On the sea, a small speedboat turned a circle, gradually approaching the hotel beach, circling around the edge of the shark net.
The man driving the speedboat slowly adjusted his speed, trying to keep the boat as steady as possible.
In the seat behind him, a bald black man raised a camera, its long lens aimed at a man and a woman standing motionless at the edge of the beach.
"is that them?" the man driving the speedboat asked loudly, "I paid one hundred and fifty dollars for this information from inside the hotel."
"Steady! Steady!" the black man first warned, then added, "Yes, it's them! The male and female leads! And in swimsuits! They're the only couple on the beach, are they on a date? They seem to be arguing..."
He shouted to the person in front, "That one hundred and fifty dollars was well spent!" Then he muttered, "It'd be best if they had a passionate beach scene, a beach romp between the male and female leads would definitely sell for a lot!"
The speedboat gradually moved away along the shark net, the man in front skillfully turned the rudder, and the speedboat turned back.
The bald black man changed direction and continued to use the telephoto camera to shoot.
"What a sight!" he shouted to the man in front, "Max, you really should see this, this couple is truly rare!"
The man in front didn't turn his head, asking loudly, "What did they do? They didn't start doing it on the beach, did they?"
"No!" The bald black man pressed the shutter while raising his voice, "They're looking at us side by side now! They're both wearing swimsuits, and the female lead, Keira Knightley's chest, isn't even as big as the male lead, Matthew Horner's!"
He suddenly laughed, "Hahahaha... This photo comparison is very striking, the gossip newspapers will definitely love it, we can sell it for a good price!"
If these two could have a scandal, it would be even more interesting.
A woman whose chest is smaller than her boyfriend's would definitely become the target of gossip media's ridicule.
"How is it?" the man in front asked loudly again.
The bald black man put away his camera and said, "There's nothing more explosive.
They're walking towards the hotel, they should be going back to the hotel."
The man in front shouted again, "Take a few photos of them going back, we can write about them spending a romantic night together."
Although the entire crew was staying at this hotel, no one would believe such gossip, but that's what paparazzi and tabloids do.
What else would they use to attract attention if not fabricated stories?
"Are those two reporters?"
At the entrance from the beach to the hotel, Keira Knightley looked back.
The speedboat on the sea had already become a black dot.
"Are you sure, Matthew?"
Matthew didn't look back, walking directly towards the changing room near the hotel's back door.
"It should be correct, I saw someone with a camera."
Keira Knightley didn't care, "Who cares, we didn't do anything shady."
After changing their clothes, the two went to the hotel's bowling alley on the first floor.
Keira Knightley was going to teach Matthew how to bowl.
At the same time, in the coffee shop on the second floor of the hotel, Helen Herman was waiting for Keira Knightley's agent.
"Hello, Jamie."
The two had met before and were somewhat acquainted.
Helen Herman stood up and shook his hand, "We meet again."
Jamie Baines pulled out a chair and sat down, saying, "You're looking for me?"
Helen Herman smiled slightly, "What do you think of my proposal last time?"
"Have Matthew and Keira team up against Johnny Depp?" Jamie Baines shook his head, "Haven't you noticed? Their relationship in the crew is very good, which is also beneficial for publicity."
"It's not about Matthew and Keira teaming up against Johnny Depp!" Helen Herman emphasized.
"It's about you and me teaming up against Johnny Depp's agent! We fight for the rights our clients deserve in the crew, trying not to involve Matthew and Keira."
Jamie Baines didn't speak, still weighing his options.
Helen Herman continued, "Such resources are very rare.
Once the film is successful, as long as it's promoted properly, Matthew and Keira can steadily enter the second tier!
However, Johnny Depp has the biggest name, the best acting skills, and currently seems to have the most outstanding role.
Although he himself is a bit eccentric and doesn't care much about many things, he has a very strong agent who demands that the crew's publicity resources focus on Johnny Depp, which would reduce what Matthew and Keira receive."
Jamie Baines still didn't speak, but he inwardly agreed with Helen Herman's statement.
Johnny Depp's agent was indeed very strong, and some of his demands on the crew were indeed a bit excessive, diluting the resources Keira Knightley could obtain.
He thought for a moment and said, "What are your suggestions?"
"We'll approach it from multiple angles." Helen Herman deliberately lowered her voice and spoke to Jamie Baines for a long time.
"Hmm, okay, even if we don't get more, it won't be worse than the current situation." Jamie Baines clearly agreed with what Helen Herman said, but still added, "There's one problem, Keira isn't eighteen yet, so we need to get her family's consent."
Helen Herman nodded gently, "Okay, you contact Keira's family.
When the time is right, we'll go find Jerry Bruckheimer, I'm sure he won't refuse."
Jamie Baines stood up and extended his hand to Helen Herman, "Pleasure working with you!"
Helen Herman shook his hand, "Pleasure working with you."
Five days passed in a flash.
After rejoining the filming, Matthew found that Keira Knightley seemed to have a lot of opinions about him.
He specifically asked her, and Keira Knightley handed him an American newspaper.
The newspaper published a photo of him and Keira Knightley standing together on the beach in swimsuits.
In the photo, the two stood side by side, and the tabloid specially circled their chests: one with broad chest muscles, the other flat as a board.
The tabloid also used a very exaggerated headline: "Hollywood's Most Mismatched Couple!"
Matthew didn't read the content of the article; he knew without reading that it was all fabricated nonsense about him and Keira Knightley.
In the following two days, whenever Matthew entered or exited the hotel, paparazzi or reporters would always come up to him and ask about his so-called relationship with Keira Knightley.
He didn't say anything casually, specifically consulting Helen Herman.
Helen Herman's response was still the same: neither admit nor deny it.
Matthew also asked Keira Knightley, and she had already communicated with her agent.
Her agent's attitude was similar to Helen Herman's, making no response.
Since that was the case, Matthew put the matter aside and continued to focus on filming his scenes as Will Turner.
"Dead men tell no tales..."
By the side of the Interceptor's hull, many actors craned their heads out.
Angus Barnett, next to Matthew, looked at the sea and said, "This channel has claimed the lives of who knows how many good sailors!"
Matthew stared at the calm, azure sea, saying nothing.
Angus Barnett turned and walked back, Matthew followed him, a curious expression on his face, and asked, "Do you know how Jack got that compass?"
"Before Jack Sparrow went to Tortuga..." Angus Barnett pulled hard on a rope, "Very few people know about his affairs."
Angus Barnett turned and walked to the other side, "He was determined to seek the treasure of the Isle of the Dead at that time." He pulled out a flask and drank, "I met him when he was the captain of the Black Pearl."
Matthew's face immediately showed an incredible expression, and he said in surprise, "What? He never mentioned it!"
Then, the two began to talk about pirate treasures and Jack Sparrow's past.
This was a dialogue scene that lasted several minutes, and what Matthew himself didn't expect was that director Gore Verbinski called "cut" after only one take.
For such a long dramatic scene to be shot in one take was a first for him.
Since he couldn't watch the footage that had been shot, Matthew could only guess the reason for such a smooth shoot.
The main reason was that director Gore Verbinski's requirements were not overly strict, especially for his role, which primarily relied on physique, looks, and action skills, differing from the demands placed on Johnny Depp.
The standard was slightly lowered for him.
The requirements for scenes where Will Turner and Jack Sparrow appeared together were basically consistent, but when Will Turner appeared alone in other shots, Gore Verbinski's demands would be a bit more relaxed.
Secondly, just as David Aster said, although his acting progress was not that obvious, he had made some progress after all, and was not always treading water.
After this scene, all of Will Turner's scenes in the Caribbean region were also completed.
The rapid filming in the Caribbean region was also related to the reef accident involving the speedboat carrying Matthew, Johnny Depp, and Keira Knightley earlier.
According to the original plan, the crew still had some night scenes to shoot in the Caribbean, but after the reef accident, an on-site investigation revealed that tidal phenomena were frequently occurring at night in this area recently.
Jerry Bruckheimer, for safety reasons, decided to move some scenes to be shot on sets in the studio.
Otherwise, if any cast or crew member had an accident, it would be much more troublesome for the crew than simply changing the filming schedule.
The following day, Matthew, along with the vast majority of the cast and crew, took a chartered flight back to Los Angeles.
Upon returning to Los Angeles, the crew did not immediately resume filming, taking a long break instead.
They would reassemble at the Disney Studios in early October to begin shooting the remaining scenes.
After more than ten days in the Caribbean, although the work wasn't particularly busy, Matthew still rested well for two days after returning, as physical health is the foundation of one's career after all.
However, someone soon contacted him; Rachel McAdams specifically called.