Chapter 182 Visiting the Big Ship Studio
In the coastal development zone of Rosarito, Mexico, the Big Ship crew is working hard on filming here.
In fact, director James Cameron initially chose a natural puddle in Malta, but the local government refused to accept the project because of fear of damaging the environment.
So the Rosarito Coastal Development District was ultimately chosen, and 20th Century Fox purchased forty acres of land in Rosarito, plus an additional sixty acres for contingencies.
Because James Cameron kept asking for additional investment, 20th Century Fox and Paramount were unable to bear it, and finally agreed to an investment of US$50 million from Melon Studios.
For little Gilbert, this was a pretty good investment.
Because although the weekly box office of Big Boat is not high, it is a long-term benefit, not to mention that there will be a remade 3D version in the future.
In addition, the copyright surrounding the film is also a big deal, and you can also get a lot of profits, but the waiting time is just a little longer.
Little Gilbert came from Los Angeles to the Big Ship crew in Rosarito to visit his investment, and James Cameron warmly received him.
"Little Gilbert, how are you? Isn't my place very spectacular?" James Cameron took little Gilbert to visit the set.
Looking at the bustling set and the half of the big ship in the center of the Bay Area, little Gilbert nodded and said, "Francis, you really did an amazing job."
Francis is James Cameron's middle name, and people with good relationships usually call him that.
Although the truck driver has a bad temper, he often treats the situation rather than the person, and he admires the young director Little Gilbert quite a lot.
He has always been arrogant. When interviewed by the media, he listed Gilbert Jr. and himself as the two best directors today.
As for Spielberg and others, they are not from the same era.
After hearing what little Gilbert said, James Cameron laughed and said: "Actually, to be honest, when Fox said they wanted you to take over this project, I was worried for a while!
But fortunately, in the end you chose to support me, which made me feel relieved. "
Little Gilbert also smiled and said: "Francis, only you can complete this project. It is impossible for anyone to take over the project halfway."
"Sure enough, filmmakers understand filmmakers best. People at Fox never think about issues from a movie perspective."
It can be seen that James Cameron is quite dissatisfied with the constraints imposed on him by 20th Century Fox.
After chatting for a while, James Cameron continued to visit the set with little Gilbert. He now needs little Gilbert's support so that he can continue to control the Big Ship crew.
"We discovered during the pre-production process that the company that made the Titanic's carpets still exists.
And this company can still make the dyes of the time and retain the carpet styles of the time, so we immediately ordered a batch of carpets. "
"What are these furniture?"
“My production team worked in Mexico City, New York and Los Angeles to create sets and various furniture and accessories, replicating deck chairs, table lamps, china, suitcases, life jackets and nautical parts in real quantities, totaling thousands of pieces.
Building the 775-foot-long filming set was as complex as the real Titanic, and could be completed in one-tenth the time.
In addition, because the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, the interior decoration was not fully completed at that time, and there are few photos.
Through extensive research and the help of consultants, my art director, Peter Lamont, led the production team based on the few remaining interior photos of the Titanic.
Photographs of her sister ship Olympic accurately recreate the first-class dining room, saloon, first-class smoking room, promenade area, afternoon tea room, gymnasium and multiple staterooms. "
James Cameron's tone was proud when he introduced it.
He can be proud that these amazing jobs were all done by his hands.
Little Gilbert gave a thumbs up in admiration and said: "That's amazing, Francis, only you can complete these tasks with determination.
By the way, your body doesn’t matter! "
Little Gilbert was referring to the incident where James Cameron was poisoned by a crew member and sent to the hospital.
The pressure involved in such a huge project can be imagined.
The crew couldn't bear the high-pressure work for a while, and they thought about poisoning James Cameron to death so that this project would not be done.
James Cameron waved his hand and said: "It's okay. I'm in good health and can understand them, so I didn't look for the murderer afterwards."
Fortunately, Gilbert Jr. did not cause a butterfly effect and did not poison James Cameron to death or to the point of being unable to work. Otherwise, 20th Century Fox would definitely ask Gilbert Jr. to take over this project.
At that time, in order to protect his investment, little Gilbert had no choice but to bite the bullet.
"Let's go, I'll take you to meet the actors." James Cameron took little Gilbert and took a car to see where the actors rested.
The set is so big that it’s obviously not possible to just walk on your legs, and you have to rely on cars to get around.
In the resting area of the actors, all the main actors were also busy. Some were being manipulated under the makeup artist, while others were cooperating and studying the script.
This period of time has been quite a torturous process for the actors.
As soon as James Cameron and Little Gilbert came in, all the actors stood up and said hello involuntarily: "Hello, director..."
It seems that James Cameron has a good reputation within the crew, and at least these actors are respectful.
James Cameron introduced the actors: "You may also know that director Gilbert Landrini is also one of the screenwriters and producers of the film."
This identity of screenwriter and producer was forced on little Gilbert by James Cameron. He said it himself, the whole idea of the big ship came from little Gilbert.
Of course all the actors knew each other, and they quickly and respectfully greeted little Gilbert.
Compared to the tyrant on the set, little Gilbert looked so calm, cute, handsome and gentle... James Cameron introduced the actor to little Gilbert again: "Leo, you know, this is Miss Kate Winslet, who plays the heroine Lucy Silk."
"Hello, Miss Ruth." Little Gilbert did not call her by her real name, but by her character name.
Kate made a ladylike gesture and waved the hem of her skirt slightly: "Welcome to the Titanic."
Little Gilbert said to James Cameron: "This heroine is well chosen, very beautiful."
James Cameron also had some inappropriate moments: "Would you like me to help you arrange a dinner with Miss Ruth in the restaurant?"
"Forget it!" Little Gilbert pointed at Little Plum and said, "I'm afraid Jack will kill me."
The relationship between Leonardo DiCaprio and Gilberto is that of a close buddies. They can also joke: "Hey! Gilberto, I will stone you to death while we are fishing together."
Little Gilbert pretended to be scared and said, "Then I have to put on a helmet."
"Wear a helmet when fishing?"
“How can anyone fish without a helmet?”
Kate Winslet was a little envious when she saw DiCaprio chatting and laughing with little Gilbert. She is now a little afraid of any director because of James Cameron.
These directors are just devils on set, it’s so scary.
After communicating with the actors for a while, James Cameron and Little Gilbert continued walking towards the bay, where the right half of the big ship was parked.
Little Gilbert curiously asked James Cameron: "There is only the right half of the hull, so how was the left half taken?"
"Damn this..." James Cameron pointed to some props with opposite words and said: "We shoot with this, and then flip the screen during post-production.
In this way, the crew can save nearly 10 million US dollars in production costs. "
Although this is said, the nearly 10 million US dollars in production funds were ultimately spent elsewhere.
Among other things, James Cameron's special effects studio Digital Domain has been developing new technologies while participating in the film's special effects.
James Cameron said: "I asked the special effects supervisor to create a panoramic shot of the Titanic, and I also used a lot of motion capture technology to bring the people on the deck to life.
Speaking of which, I also want to thank you, little Gilbert. "
"Thank me?" Little Gilbert looked stunned: "What did I do?"
“You used motion capture technology on a large scale during the filming of Iron Fist, which has made great progress in this technology.
This made the technical difficulties we encountered during the filming process much smaller. " James Cameron said.
Among Hollywood's technical directors, James Cameron and George Lucas can be counted among them, and now little Gilbert has also become a representative of technical directors.
Little Gilbert only stayed on the set of Big Boat for one day. He had a dinner with James Cameron, DiCaprio, and Kate Winslet in the evening, and returned to Los Angeles that night.
At the same time, with James Gunn in place, preliminary auditions have begun for the role of the child in "The Sixth Sense."
Scarlett successfully passed the preliminary round, and there was another person who performed well in the preliminary round, Haley Joel Osment.
Haley Joel Osment was recommended by Tom Hanks. This young actor once played Forrest Gump's son in "Forrest Gump" and performed very well.
After little Gilbert came back, he watched the video of his audition.
Assistant director Anne introduced at the side: "During the audition, Hailey's performance shocked us all. His eyes were sincere and powerful, very dramatic and quite attractive."
Little Gilbert watched the video and found that Haley's performance was indeed good.
He turned around and asked: "How is Scarlett doing?"
"Scarlett is also good," Anne shook her head and said, "But to be honest, Hailey's performance is better."
Although Scarlett was recommended by Anne, when it comes to the role, of course whoever is outstanding chooses whom, but in the end it still has to be decided by little Gilbert.
"Isn't there still a final audition?" Little Gilbert said: "Then we will arrange a second audition to see how the two young actors perform."
The director decided, and no one else said much.
There were originally re-examinations and final auditions, but now that two young actors stand out in the preliminary auditions, there is no need to look at the performance of other young actors, and they go directly to the final stage.
To be honest, after seeing Hailey's performance, little Gilbert had already decided on the candidate, but he was not there after all, so he needed to see it live.
But in this case, Sijia would suffer.
I had been notified a long time ago and had been preparing for this for a long time, but I was defeated by someone who showed up unexpectedly.
There is one more chance in the final audition. If she fails to seize the opportunity this time, Scarlett will have no choice but to play the role in "The Sixth Sense".
Little Gilbert still had to think about how to comfort the little girl.
Although she had said beforehand that if she did not pass the audition, she would not be chosen in the end. But saying it and doing it are two different things. Who knows if the little girl will lose her temper.
But you have to ask Ms. Sloan about this first. As Scarlett’s mother, she should know what Scarlett likes best.
If you like sweet romance novels with heroines, you can read this book, it’s okay.
(End of this chapter)