Since starting this site I’ve had the privilege and very great honor to meet a few people associated with the filming of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and without exception all of them have been so nice and so willing to connect with fans. Recently I was contacted by Captain Andrew Reay-Ellers, who helped train the cast of the movie. He has very kindly consented to answer questions about the production, but there’s just one problem… I’m not very good at coming up with questions! Help? What do you want to know about the filming process? Leave your questions as comments, or send them via the contact form, and I will happily compile and present them to the captain!
Image: Capt. Andy Reay-Ellers flies through the air with the greatest of ease!
Dr. Maturin suggests further reading:
- Sailing Master’s Perspective on Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
- Interview With Gordon Laco, Historical Consultant on Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
- The Ships, Sets and Storms in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
- Cast and Crew in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
- Captain’s Log From Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
This is going to be a fantastic chance to hear about the movie, can’t wait!
Like most fans of the film, I would have loved to see more adaptations coming to the screen.
On the DVD extras the one thing that struck me was the huge amount of preparation that went into realising The Surprise and her crew.
Was it ever discussed to take all the infrastructure, such as the model in the giant water tank, the crew, the CGI techniques and use them in future projects?
Look forward to reading the interview
Matt
Great to see you back!
A couple questions:
1) was the french ship in the opening sequence the same ship used in filming as the Surprise or was it CGI, a model or another ship altogether.
2) Same as above, but the french ship later in the movie is found by the doctor on the other side of the island. Real ship or model?
I’ve always wondered how trainable the cast was. They all looked remarkably seamanlike on screen but post-production can probably help turn a gawpus into a jack without much trouble. Any lubbers among the hired hands? Anyone who caught on particularly quickly or applied themselves to such a degree that they had no choice but to catch on? (And I’m not necessarily looking for “big names” here; I’d just like the Captain to comment on whether or not he’d sail with this crew).