THE GOONIES Star Sean Astin Debunks the Pirate Ship Reveal Myth
For decades, The Goonies has held a special place in pop culture, thanks to its unforgettable characters and adventure-fueled story. But one widely accepted behind-the-scenes story, that director Richard Donner didn’t let the cast see One-Eyed Willy’s pirate ship until the cameras rolled, just got torpedoed by the Goonies themselves.
During a recent panel at Awesome Con in Washington, D.C., Goonies cast members Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Joe Pantoliano, and Robert Davi gathered for the “Hey You Guys! The Goonies Reunion” to reflect on the film’s 40th anniversary.
Astin had something to say about that long-standing legend.
“I was sort of offended that [people] had that idea, that they wouldn’t let the kids see the pirate ship, so that they could capture their real reaction. Like, what? We don’t know how to do real? We did real reactions all the time.”
He added that he had seen the pirate ship before the cameras rolled and actually played into the myth while acting:
“But I remember wanting to perform in such a way, because I had had a sneak peek of it. So I wanted to perform in a way that really made them think that they had captured the honest reactions, so they would for 40 years be like, ‘Oh, we got these kids to do this thing!’”
I’m not sure why he would be offended by that rumor because it seems like it would’ve just been such a cool experience for them while shooting the film!
Meanwhile, Plimpton hadn’t seen the ship before filming, and her reaction? 100% genuine. “My performance was honest,” she said. Pantoliano, who played Fratelli brother Francis, asked her, “How many takes of your reaction did they do?” Plimpton’s answer? “One. [That’s] all they needed, baby.”
So where did this whole “first time seeing the ship” story even come from? Most roads point to the 2001 DVD release, where Donner and the cast reunited for an audio commentary.
During that session, the idea was floated that the kids weren’t shown the ship in advance to get their “natural reactions.” Feldman admitted to sneaking a look around the set, and Brolin supposedly dropped an F-bomb when he saw the 105-foot-long Inferno, forcing the scene to be reshot.
Since then, the myth took on a life of its own, repeated across trivia pages, articles, and fan lists for years. But, it sounds like the story is partly true. While Astin says he was shown the ship, Plimption says she wasn’t, and we don’t know about some of the other young actors, so it is true for some of them.
Via: PEOPLE