Only a short time remained before the passing weeks allowed Cameron's film to take the shape that brought so much satisfaction in creating it. There was not much he had to do, but it was quite costly for Billy's purposes. The following shooting days in March flew by while he waited for the promotion of Episode 2 to arrive, while the series would begin its own promotion in August, almost five months after the film had caused a stir, creating a close-knit circle when it came to following the plot, although none of them had a clear lifeline. It was simply the proper work of many people, and every piece of work was valued.
-Thank you for showing up. - Billy commented, offering a handshake. The films left on the table were, without a doubt, the remake of Cleopatra, the Grand Hotel film, and of course Billy also made himself available for the occasional supporting role while trying to stay cleanly involved in the course of The Lord of the Rings, which was now moving in another direction, because with Aragorn's role as the lead, others were leaving, and that only caused problems. So much so that Billy believed nothing would work out. With Hugo Weaving leaving the role of Elrond, and Sean Bean hesitating because another project had been offered to him, Warner was moving forward with a major King Arthur trilogy that would shake the world. With the help of New Line Cinema, it would be a battle. They went after every artist they could. Some had already signed, but Hugo chose to leave in order to play Arthur's father, Uther.
That left a vacancy, and on top of that Sean Bean was uncertain, but Billy hoped to keep him. The issue was that they had lost several actors who worked for reasonable prices.
-I don't like to bother people, but I owe you a lot of favors. - James Cameron commented.
-There's no doubt about that. - Billy replied, handing him the design, a production contract, along with a script and the idea of creating another great masterpiece, nothing ordinary or polished for appearance's sake; it was a true feat to show everyone.
-I need you to be part of this new production, both in ambition and in production itself, and I need the use of Digital Domain intensely. I want the first points on the list completed by December. - Billy commented, clarifying that those first points were nothing more than finding locations, hiring certain actors, and beginning the storyboard alongside Robert Zemeckis, who had been chosen as director. James grimaced, but none of that mattered now that some ideas were being laid out with the veteran director.
-I may need to make a few adjustments. - James commented, already seeing a project forming in his mind, something to do.
-But... -
-I know. You have a project that's even more expensive than your great ship and you need to make it. We'll do it together when the time comes. - Billy commented, extending his hand. James nodded, still weighing several ideas. Such as the fact that he did not really want to work, but after success came rest, and after rest came boredom. His projects were not entirely polished, and this work, alongside Billy, could help him solidify some ideas while keeping his grand plan on another burner, one he desperately wanted to make. And that was the alien film, while Dancing with Wolves.
Not before stopping to ask a few questions about the world of Marvel.
-If you want to do it, you can take it, but I want five Spider-Man films. The actor can't be expensive and he has to be low-profile. - Billy commented, thinking of many people, although everyone would say that such an actor delivered a great performance. The truth was the opposite, and anyone could give a great performance as long as they met the conditions of acting quality, attractiveness, and age, no older than twenty-one. He needed the new era; he needed that young man, that charismatic Spider-Man.
-You won't have the money. - Cameron commented.
Calculating that Billy's latest productions were becoming increasingly ambitious. There was The Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter saga, which already had a certain direction, the fast-car movie, the pirate saga, Cleopatra, and Grand Hotel, all competing heavily with Warner's schedule. The question was how much money he had, and Billy responded with a smile.
With Matrix he would pay the advance costs of all the films while waiting for the profits from the other projects. But it was true, they were at zero. With the growing expansion of Lux Films, the payments, the money, stood at zero, and although they had no debt within that company, the expected credit line of five hundred million dollars from the state of Montana, scheduled for June, was already in process, carrying an interest rate of three percent. For such an amount, it was certain that the state would profit quickly and safely, considering that the state itself borrowed at two percent. A win-win arrangement, all through the hands of William Domer.
-It's a deal, but know this: I'll squeeze every dollar out of it for the sole purpose of making the best remake possible, now that you have that bold idea of bringing those films back. - Cameron commented.
-Well, I always hope we'll change the story completely. I made some posters and tried to bring the film to life through a proper use of war and violence, things that were not shown in those films. Through the use of the lens, I want to reproduce slow-motion combat techniques and epic storytelling for a blockbuster. - Billy said, already immersed in the creation of those films that would become so closely tied to time itself. Such was the case with Troy and Gladiator, which possessed the action, the plot, and the strength to be considered epic ballads.
While using whatever remained available to him to play different roles that came into his hands, it was indifferent. Completely indifferent to the success that seemed to be approaching, and nothing remained merely a verse now that time allowed him to pursue his projects.
-I like it when you do work in that style. - Cameron commented. -People say that in the coming months you'll be engraved in people's minds as firmly as everyone expects.-
Billy did not want to deny it; Billy did not want to deny it because of his own insecurities, but the uncertainty of acting remained. Films of every kind kept arriving and fitting themselves into his work. What a good idea, now that all that remained was to complete a small class project, a project that was moving ahead into the world of animation, although with the many supporting characters, his roles such as Alex the lion in Madagascar.
That did not last long, and what remained for Billy was fieldwork, work that vibrated with stories and with the roles he had yet to perform.