Cast Away Marooned on the set of The Beach
The following comes from a magazine called Black Dog, Fall '99. It is written by Brad Gishen.
It was March '99. A warm Phuket
evening. The cameras were set, the crew was in focus, the extras
grinned from adrenaline as a four-wheel drive approached. About
400 people stood in every single space surrounding the set, some
shouting for autographs, some just for the fun of it, and others,
as thoug
h their life depended on it. They
were all reaching for their dreams. That's when Leonardo DiCaprio
floated out of the four-wheeler and smiled at the throng. He
was tall, slim, proud and dressed in the hottest backpacker fashion.
He swaggered around for a split second and then disappeared.
The movie is called The Beach, directed by Trainspotting's Danny Boyle, but Leo beat Ewan McGregor to the role - and got 20 million dollars. It was shot in Thailand this year; it pulsates with romance and deep thinking and adventure and best of all, it's got me in it.
I was there, I was a guy on the beach. By profession, I am an extraordinary accountant. I also work as an eccentric videographer and here I was on vacation, on location - in Thailand. I was on set for 8 days, 12 hours a day, and in 16 scenes.
So to fill you in, Leo never made a single appearance in the extras' dining room and spent most of his time hiding from the locals. As the camera crew set up scenes in the heat of Asian summer, Leo and co-stars, Virginie Ledoyen and Guillaume canet were covered by personal stylists, makeup artsts and bodyguards and they let their doubles sweat it out on the set.
A typical night went like this. At 7 p.m. the floodlights powered up, illuminating the town and surrounding nightlife for what seemed like miles. Intimidating cranes loomed overhead. Cigarettes were sucked down uneasily by directors and actors as the tanned, unshaven, relaxed, and friendly extras - some awake, some stealing a 10 minute power nap - puttered through the day. We were simply obeying director's orders. Sometimes we were sitting, sometimes standing, sometimes eating - but we were always making like scenery.
Someone calls, "Take one!" and we retreat to our positions. Then, you know: lights, camera, action! The silence is broken by actors regurgitating well-rehearsed lines. Each scene is shot over and over again, thus ensuring no breaks or time off for anyone but those making too much money. One night, Leo enlivened the monotony by posing with his mother and grandmother for photos taken by his stylist. He is, after all, 24 years old with an immediate family.
Let me just say that he was always at work on time. He bit his nails to the quick, chewed toothpicks, and incessantly wheezed up Marlboro Lights.
Besides the repetition and lack of mingling rights, the shoot did generate some interesting controversy. A plantation was uprooted to make space for exotic trees imported to Phi Phi Leh island for the film. The entire production was subsequently slandered by protestors who claimed The Beach was exploiting Thailand and was destroying Phi Phi Leh's ecosystem. They didn't seem to realize that everything had been replaced and restored to its original condition by environmental specialists. The other hot topic was the rumor of the dietary magic worked by nutritionists who melted a good 25 pounds off of Leo DiFlabbio's frame before the filming began.
The Beach is scheduled for release in December and naturally the hopes are that it will take the world by storm. It's definitely expected to boost tourism in Thailand. All I know is that I'm in the new Leonardo DiCaprio movie, but while it was going on, the whole thing felt like it was happening to someone else.
By Brad Gishen
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In this article, Brad writes about being an extra on the set of The Beach. The location he describes is at the On-On Hotel in Phuket. About 40-50 extras were used to fill the hotel bar and sidewalk outside. The scene is for the start of the movie when Richard, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, first arrives at the guesthouse on Khao San Road in Bangkok. Here he meets Daffy, played by Robert Caryle in the bar of the On-On hotel. These photographs are copyright ThaiStudents.com