Australian cinematographer Jules O'Loughlin ACS has begun shooting big-budget US TV series Black Sails in Cape Town, South Africa.
The eight-episode pirate series is being produced by filmmaker Michael Bay's company, Platinum Dunes, and also stars Australian lead Luke Arnold, who will play pirate John Silver (McLeod's Daughters, Rush), as well as Toby Schmitz (Crownies), who will play the role of Rackham.
Black Sails tells the story of Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his crew twenty years before their appearance in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. It also stars Zach McGowan (as John Silver's rival Captain Charles Vane) and Hannah New.
O'Loughlin (Sanctum) was set to shoot horror film Wolf Creek 2 in South Australia before the call-up which led to "the hardest decision of my career to make," he said. The South African Black Sails shoot is expected to take five-months. O'Loughlin was recently nominated for an AACTA award for feature film Wish You Were Here.
Wolf Creek 2 is now being shot by Toby Oliver ACS in the Flinders Ranges and Adelaide.
Contact this reporter at bswift@www.if.com.au or on Twitter at @bcswift.