Miami to Florida—both are famous beachside tourist cities. Of course, for a lot of folks in China, Miami's claim to fame might just be the NBA's Miami Heat.
Picking Miami as the filming location to capture the Caribbean vibe? Solid choice by the crew.
Right now, the production team was set up in Miami at a small, custom-built dock for the shoot, with all the ships they'd need parked right there.
Around the dock, they'd already constructed a medieval town set.
Filming had kicked off, and as soon as Luke arrived, he had to jump straight into work.
When Luke and his team got to the set, the first thing he noticed was a tall, hefty white guy walking toward them.
The guy looked about 50, with graying hair. He was just a smidge shorter than Luke, who'd grown to 6'2", but with his stocky build, he looked like he could hold his own.
"Luke, this is Gore Verbinski, the director of Pirates of the Caribbean," Mr. Eisen introduced.
Man, every director Luke had met in Hollywood was tall. He'd heard James Cameron was 6'2" too, and Nolan was 6'0".
Maybe in North America, directors needed a big presence to command the set?
This Verbinski guy was of Polish descent and hadn't really directed any big commercial hits before. His one semi-famous project was the American version of The Ring.
So how'd he land the director's chair for Pirates of the Caribbean?
Luke didn't dwell on it, though. Everyone's got their own path, and he wasn't here to dig into stuff that didn't involve the job.
"Nice to meet you. Looking forward to working together," Verbinski said with a smile, extending his hand.
Huh? Friendlier than expected.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm excited," Luke replied, flashing a polite smile.
"This movie's got a huge budget," Verbinski went on. "The thought of it tanking stresses me out. You're the lead, so we're counting on you."
"Uh?" Luke caught the subtext. Counting on me? What's that supposed to mean?
"Your role's got a lot of screen time, so the responsibility's big," Verbinski clarified. "I'm expecting a stellar performance!"
There it was—the trap. Verbinski was subtly implying that if Luke didn't deliver, he'd be the one to blame for hogging so much of the spotlight.
Luke wasn't about to play humble. In the States, modesty just makes you look weak.
"Don't worry, Director. My performance will make the studio, the crew, and the audience happy. The rest is up to your skills," Luke shot back confidently.
Verbinski paused, caught off guard by Luke's bold response.
He knew Luke had picked up on his hint, but he didn't expect him to come back so self-assured, basically saying, I've got this!
Here's the thing: Verbinski was the director. He decided who was good enough, and if he said you weren't, you weren't.
Unless Luke's performance was flawless, Verbinski could always find something to nitpick.
Sure, Mr. Eisen was the producer, but on set, the director called the shots.
No need to get into a verbal sparring match, though. Verbinski pointed to a black wooden sailship nearby. "That's the Black Pearl for the shoot."
Luke followed his gaze to a pitch-black ship with tattered sails, straight out of everyone's idea of a ghost ship, docked at the pier.
The ship was about 160 feet long, probably displacing 600-700 tons.
Its main mast towered over 100 feet, made of spliced oak beams, weighing a good 5 tons—taller than a 10-story building.
The three masts held sails with a total area of over 16,000 square feet, the largest single sail weighing a whopping 880 pounds.
Those sails gave the Black Pearl enough power to be the fastest ship in the Caribbean.
It wasn't shiny or fancy, but it was undeniably cool—that was most people's first take on the Black Pearl.
"Super cool. I bet audiences will fall in love with it the second they see it," Luke said sincerely.
Verbinski nodded. "Yeah, but handling her's gonna be a challenge."
"What?"
Luke knew they wouldn't actually make them sail the thing—hardly anyone could manage a ship like that these days.
"Seasickness," Verbinski explained. "A small-tonnage sailship like this rocks like crazy. A lot of actors can't last long before they're hurling."
He wasn't kidding. Even people who'd never been on a boat could get queasy on a modern 10,000-ton cruise ship.
The Black Pearl, a mere few hundred tons? That was a whole different level of rough.
Seasickness hits harder than carsickness. When it's bad, some people feel like they're puking their guts out.
Luke nodded. "You get used to it. Might be tough at first, though."
"Do you get seasick? You should spend some time on the ship to get a feel for it, so it doesn't mess you up during filming," Verbinski suggested.
Luke was surprised by the heads-up.
Verbinski could've said nothing and used any discomfort during shooting as an excuse to criticize him.
But he'd gone out of his way to warn Luke.
It showed that, despite any reservations about Luke, Verbinski was putting the movie first.
Not bad. This guy had principles and knew how to keep the big picture in focus.
"I'll go check out the ship," Luke said, heading toward the Black Pearl.
He'd never been on a small sailship like this—or hardly any boat, for that matter—but he wasn't worried about getting seasick.
With 20 points in agility, he had near-human-peak balance and coordination.
And with 15 points in constitution, he was way tougher than the average person, which would help keep dizziness at bay.
Luke approached the Black Pearl alone, climbing the gangplank slowly.
The waves rocked the ship, making the gangplank sway with it.
Walking on a wobbly gangplank makes you bounce a little, which is why they call it a "springboard."
Keeping steady while boarding wasn't exactly a walk in the park.
Suddenly, a figure rushed down from above, slamming hard into Luke.
Luke had clocked the guy already and knew it was intentional—trying to knock him off balance and into the water.
But with his master-level martial arts skills, Luke wasn't about to let that happen.
With a casual shrug and a shift of his elbow, he deflected the impact. Then, with a powerful Iron Mountain Lean backed by over 25 years of martial arts mastery, he shoved back.
The figure went flying backward…
Splash!
With a clean splash, the guy hit the water.
"Someone help! Man overboard!"
"Johnny Depp's in the water!"