Director in Hollywood

"Happy Birthday..."

At Melon Manor, everyone was celebrating Scarlett Johansson's birthday.

Today was Scarlett's thirteenth birthday. Girls generally mature early, especially Western girls.

At thirteen, Scarlett could already be considered a blossoming young lady.

When blowing out the birthday candles, Scarlett made many wishes, the first being that she could grow up quickly.

If she didn't grow up, how would she have a chance?

Gilbert didn't forget his promise and prepared a whole room full of dolls for Scarlett.

When he led Scarlett to open the door, her excitement and joy were beyond words.

"Thank you, Gilbert." Scarlett couldn't contain her excitement, kissed Gilbert on the cheek, and then dove into her sea of dolls.

"Gilbert, I want this room. No one else is allowed to stay here," Scarlett said coyly, looking back at Gilbert.

Gilbert chuckled. "Scarlett, if you don't go home, your mother will be angry."

"She won't," Scarlett seemed to have thought about this long ago. "I already told my mom I want to stay here, and she didn't object."

"Alright then, Scarlett." Gilbert patted Scarlett's head. "As long as your mom doesn't mind, this room is yours."

Scarlett's own room was probably too small to fit so many dolls, so having a dedicated room for them at Melon Manor was a great idea.

Besides, it would prevent her younger brother from messing around and ruining her doll collection.

"Thank you, Gilbert, you're such a good person." Scarlett beamed. "There are a lot of great girls at my school. Should I introduce you to some?"

"Hey, Scarlett..." Gilbert knocked on her head lightly, making Scarlett cry out in mock pain.

"Scarlett, you're tempting me to commit a crime." Gilbert sighed.

"I know I was wrong," Scarlett pouted. "I won't say nonsense anymore. Sorry, you can punish me, just be gentle."

After saying that, Scarlett even turned around, as if preparing for punishment.

What else could Gilbert do? He simply flicked her forehead twice as a warning.

But judging by his experience, it probably wouldn't be very effective. Scarlett had a habit of "forgetting" lessons rather quickly.

As he walked downstairs, Gilbert could still hear Scarlett mumbling behind him, "All those big shots like it, and the law doesn't do anything about it. So why is it different with Gilbert?"

Gilbert turned back and gave Scarlett a stern look. She immediately shut up and mimed zipping her lips.

He hadn't noticed before, but now he realized—Scarlett was quite the chatterbox.

After Scarlett's birthday, filming for The Matrix continued, though it was already nearing its end.

The most difficult scenes had already been completed early in the production, and the remaining work mainly involved visual effects.

The dramatic scenes weren't particularly challenging.

As December arrived, another major event was on Gilbert's agenda—his $50 million investment in Titanic was finally ready to meet audiences.

Before its release, as the film's North American distributor, 20th Century Fox signed agreements with theaters, keeping the box office split similar for the first four weeks. The key difference was after the fourth week.

This was Gilbert's suggestion. He proposed negotiating long-term revenue-sharing agreements with theaters, ensuring that for the first sixteen weeks, the distributor's share wouldn't drop below 40%, with gradual reductions afterward.

There was no need to worry about overseas revenue splits. Apart from a few specific markets, international box office revenue shares were generally fixed.

The main concern was North America. Gilbert remembered that Titanic didn't have an exceptionally high weekly box office but maintained a remarkably steady run.

If released using the usual Hollywood distribution model, the biggest winner in North America would undoubtedly be the theater chains.

Fortunately, for a commercial film, revenue sources were quite diverse. Aside from ensuring the box office could break even and even turn a profit, the real money came from merchandise and licensing.

Before the film's release, merchandising was already in full swing—Jack and Rose dolls, Titanic model ships, and more flooded the market.

Meanwhile, theater chains ramped up their advertising, promoting the arrival of James Cameron's Titanic.

In recent years, due to Titanic's repeated delays, the industry had lost confidence in the project's completion.

Almost everyone in Hollywood believed this would be Cameron's swan song.

But unexpectedly, Titanic was finally finished, though it had burned through $200 million in production costs.

With marketing expenses included, the total budget exceeded $250 million—a true mega-production.

Thanks to several test screenings and early limited releases, both critics and audiences gave overwhelmingly positive feedback, boosting the confidence of 20th Century Fox and Paramount.

As for Gilbert, he was even more confident than James Cameron himself.

At the film's marketing meeting, Gilbert stated, "I've seen the finished film, and it's quite impressive. I suggest treating this movie as the most important project of the Christmas season."

Gilbert's words were practically unnecessary because the sheer scale of the investment meant that no one could afford to ignore it.

What Gilbert truly wanted to emphasize was one key point: the market behavior of this film was unpredictable. No one should lose confidence in the movie just because the opening weekend box office wasn't spectacular.

This was a fact—after all, no one expected the film's debut to be underwhelming, but even fewer anticipated that its box office performance would be so remarkably steady in the long run.

To help promote the movie, Gilbert made time to attend the film's premiere. There, he reunited with his friend Leo and saw Kate Winslet, whom he hadn't met in a while.

After exchanging a few words with Kate, Gilbert noticed that Leo seemed rather downcast.

"What's wrong, Leo? You don't look too excited."

Leo sighed gloomily. "Buddy, do I really not look handsome?"

"Why would you say that? Who told you that you're not handsome?" Gilbert was curious.

"Someone did." Leo lifted the newspaper in his hand and said, "The New York Times review says I don't look as good as you."

Gilbert took the newspaper from him and burst into laughter as soon as he read it.

The article stated that at the start of Titanic, James Cameron's first choice for the male lead was Gilbert, but later, the role went to Leo instead.

The New York Times critic even speculated whether Leo had done some questionable favors for James Cameron to secure the role—otherwise, how could he have taken over Gilbert's position?

The review implied that if Gilbert had played the lead, Titanic would have had a greater chance of success. But now, the film's prospects seemed bleak.

After reading it, Gilbert laughed heartily. "Leo, did you somehow offend the critics?"

Leo had always been outspoken, and in the past, he had nearly offended the Academy's old-guard members. If not for Gilbert's advice, he might have suffered serious consequences.

Now, it seemed he had also upset the critics—something that wasn't surprising given his big mouth.

Although critics had their own factions, they could unite when their collective interests were at stake.

Leo looked frustrated. "Could it be that at the nude masquerade party last time, I offended that fifty-something female critic because I didn't sleep with her?"

"You know what? That's actually quite possible," Gilbert nodded with certainty. "Older women hate feeling unwanted. You hit her sore spot."

"Oh, come on! She's not Madonna," Leo groaned in despair.

"All right, the premiere is starting." Gilbert patted Leo's shoulder. "If you take the critics' words seriously, you've already lost—you'll have fallen right into the trap they set for you."

"Just ignore them. After this movie, you'll be a Hollywood superstar."

"I hope you're right," Leo said, still a bit uncertain. But when it came to Gilbert's judgment, he had absolute faith.

If Gilbert believed in Titanic, then the film was bound to succeed.

...

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