Surat Thani

I grabbed some lunch in a cafe, with the intention of trying to find a bike shop to fix another broken spoke. However the owner started talking about being a film extra, so after a chat with her and a couple of other foreigners who were being ropped in as well, I decided to go along. I grabbed my bags and bike and threw it in the back of the pickup.

After a while of going round in circles, sign were spotted that pointed towards the "Location". Once there we signed disclaimer forms about being filmed, something along the lines of them having the rights for "eternity" throughout the "universe". Guess the lawyers are taking any chances given the wording. The film is called BlackBeard, so you can guess it's a pirate thing. Actually I think it is a mini-series rather than a film. It stars Angus MacFadyen, who played Robert the Bruce in Braveheart. Haha, guess his career has gone down the tubes! He's seems to have bulked up for the role, he was pretty podgy.

Then grabbed a bit of food, noticing that everybody else had their plates piled high and was wolfing it down. The food was better than I expected with a buffet of various meat, veg & fruit. After food we were off to costume to get changed. I was handed the role of customer, a bit disappointing I wanted to be a pirate. Oh well, maybe they would see my latent talent. After the costume change we were pointed off to the set. Actually the set was quite impressive, with a large clock tower and a few streets, as well as a pier with ships.

Being an extra larged consists of sitting around doing nothing, until you get collared by some staff. I was grabbed for a bar scene, and made to walk from A to B to C. You do one take, then hang about some more. "Back to one, everybody!" They fiddle with the lights and cameras and then you go again. Except this time a lighting rig is in the path where you were walking! After an hour or so, I was dismissed to go back to sitting around out of shot. We arrived at 14.30 and filmed/sat about through the night, breaking for "lunch" at 10.30, some cold hotdogs and sandwiches done the rounds later. It finished about 06.00 and about 07.30 by the time we were back at the hotel. Then back on the bus at 15.30 for the next days shoot. The camp seemed to split into two groups, people like me who are nosy and then the people who actually want to be actors. Some of the latter are the kind of people who suddenly break into song while walking along. Unfortunately no cameras were allowed on set, so I don't have photos of me in my costume. (Phew!)

Same thing, walk about the background while they shoot the scene. Walking back and forward for a few hours. Then another few hours while the set up the next scene and change the lights. Then we were in the distant, distant background. Basically moving shadows. Finished up around 03.00 I think, the bus was going to the pier to Ko Samui, so I joined them. As the bus was about to leave, a huge guy stepped on the bus and walked up to a German geezer and says, "I think you have something belonging to me. Can I have your bag?" The German guy, walks up the back of the bus and takes his bag off, while another guy spots a bag under the seat and drags that off as well. Turns out he nicked a couple of pistols from the set. Stealing a firearm is probably not a charge you want in Thailand! Eventually the bus was off, stopping at a 7/11 in the middle of nowhere. But they are obviously wise to this, as they had 3 or 4 staff on during the dead hours. As the bus was about to leave, an Irish guy notices his bag is missing. The German guy must of grabbed his bag! He stays at the hotel to get it sorted out. Later at the pier one of the staff turns up with the missing bag, but it turns out to belong to a middle age woman, which the German thief had taken. The Irish guys bag must of being on another bus or something. All very complicated. Oh well, I untied my bike from the back of the bus and got on the car ferry to Ko Samui, I wasn't really planning on going here, but nevermind. I got a hotel close to the pier and slept, a lot. 09.00 till 19.00, got up had some dinner and then back to bed and woke up at 13.00. I'm losing days! I was going to get the 11.00 ferry to Ko Phan Nga but I missed that so another day here.


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