A Royal Navy navigator has said meeting Hollywood star Brad Pitt when he filmed scenes of his new film on board the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus “wasn’t too shabby”.
Steven McMenemy, 31, from Falkirk, Stirlingshire, was joined by the actor and the rest of the cast and crew of zombie flick World War Z.
Paramount Pictures had asked the Ministry of Defence if one of their ships could be used to play the role of a helicopter carrier.
The ship’s crew thought the request was a “wind-up” by commanding officer Captain Paul Kehoe.
But when RFA Argus returned to the UK after an anti-piracy patrol, film location scouts were already waiting on the jetty.
A few days later the ship was told that World War Z director Marc Forster was impressed and wanted to film on the Argus.
Mr McMenemy, the ship’s navigator, was appointed host of the film crew and got to sit next to the director while the scenes were shot.
He said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the cast and crew of World War Z. It has given me an unprecedented level of behind-the-scenes access and I have enjoyed seeing how it all comes together.
“The major highlight must be sharing daily banter with director Marc Forster, as I had a seat right next to him on every scene.
“But it wasn’t too shabby to meet Brad Pitt and the rest of the actors. The bizarre thing was that once he’d walked by a few times, everyone got very blase about it and he was just another actor walking back and forth.
“The ship sailed and we were joined by four small catamarans which were being used as markers for the cameras, so that warships could be added in with CGI (computer-generated imagery) later.
Mr McMenemy added: “Our Zombie Fleet in place, we sailed out beyond Portland Bill in Dorset and headed for clear water. Later we were joined by the film company helicopters flown by two of Hollywood’s best stunt pilots. Despite the ship’s staff being very used to helicopter operations, some of the manoeuvres were simply breathtaking to watch.”
RFA Argus was later turned into USS Madison, which involved stencilling new “pennant number” 19 on to the ship’s funnel, as well as adding some “Americanism” to the superstructure.
Mr McMenemy added: “In a gap between scenes I arranged for Mr Pitt to meet Capt. Kehoe to wish him a happy retirement. The captain, in return, presented Brad with a ship’s crest to hang in his production company’s office as a reminder of his time on RFA Argus.”
The filming on board RFA Argus took place before the cast and crew headed to Glasgow, where parts of the city centre were “turned into Philadelphia”.
Filming in Glasgow wrapped up yesterday, with city council leader Gordon Matheson hailing the experience a success.
World War Z is expected to be released in December 2012.