Only a short time remained before the course of the weeks allowed Cameron's film to take the shape that was so gratifying to create. It was not much that he had to do, but it was quite costly, and for Billy's purposes, the following shooting days of March flew by while he waited for the promotion of Episode 2 to arrive, while the series would begin its promotion in August, almost five months after the film caused a stir, creating a clique in terms of story follow-up, although none of them had a clear line of life; 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 over were, without a doubt, the remake of Cleopatra, the Grand Hotel movie, and of course there was no shortage of Billy presenting himself for one film or another in a supporting role, while he tried to cleanly fit into the course of The Lord of the Rings, which was now heading in another direction, because with the role of Aragorn as the lead, others were leaving, and that only caused annoyance, so much so that Billy believed nothing would work. With the departure of Hugo Weaving as Elrond and Sean Bean's doubts after being offered another job, Warner was moving forward with a great King Arthur trilogy that would shake the world. With the help of New Line Cinema, it would be a battle. They struck hard at every artist they could; some had already signed, but Hugo chose to go and play Arthur's father, Uther.
A vacancy remained then, and on top of that, Sean Bean was uncertain, but Billy hoped to secure him. The issue was that they had lost some actors who worked at good rates.
-I don't like bothering people, but I owe you many 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 making another great masterpiece, nothing ordinary or polished; it was a true feat to show everyone.
-I need you to be part of this new production, both in ambition and in production, and I need the use of Digital Domain intensely. I want you to have the first points on the list ready by December. -Billy commented, clarifying that those first points were nothing more than finding locations, hiring some 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 discussed with the old director.
-I may need to make a few adjustments. -James commented, already seeing a project in his mind, something to do.
-But... -
-I know. You have a project that's even more expensive than your big ship, and you need to do it. We'll do it together when the time comes. -Billy commented, extending his hand, which James acknowledged with a nod, still weighing several ideas. Such as the fact that he didn't really want to work, but after success came rest, and then boredom; his projects were not completely polished, and this work, alongside Billy, could help him consolidate some ideas while leaving his grand plan simmering elsewhere, one he desperately needed. And that was making that alien movie while Dances 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 movies; the actor can't be someone expensive and must be low-profile. -Billy commented, thinking of many people, although everyone would say that a certain actor gave a great performance; the fact was the opposite, and anyone could give a great performance as long as they met the conditions of acting quality, beauty, 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 any 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 high-speed 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 smiled.
With Matrix, he would pay the deposits on all the films while waiting for profits from the other projects. But it was true, they were at zero. With the growing expansion of Lux Films, the payments, the money, were at zero, and although they had no debt within that company, the expected credit of five hundred million dollars, for June with the state of Montana, was already in process, carrying three percent interest, and for such an amount, it was certain the state would profit quickly and modestly when lending at two percent, a win-win situation, all through the hands of William Domer.
-It's a deal, but know that I'll squeeze every dollar for the sole purpose of making the best remake possible, now that you have this bold idea of bringing those movies back. -Cameron commented.
-Well, I always hope we'll change the story completely. I made some posters and tried to bring the movie to life with a proper use of war and violence that were never shown in those films. Through the lens, I want to reproduce slow-motion combat techniques and epic storytelling for a blockbuster. -Billy said, already working on the creation of those films that would remain tied to time itself, such as Troy and Gladiator, which had the action, plot, and power to be considered epic ballads.
While he used whatever came his way to fill different roles, it made no difference to him. Completely indifferent to the success that seemed to be approaching, nothing remained just a verse now that time allowed him to carry out his projects.
-I like it when you do work in that style. -Cameron commented. -They say that in the coming months, you'll be etched into 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 doubts about acting remained. Films of every kind kept arriving, fitting themselves into his work. What a good idea, now that all that remained was a small class project, a project that was moving ahead into the world of animation, although with the many supporting characters, his role,s such as Alex in Madagascar.
That did not last long, and what remained for Billy was fieldwork, one that vibrated with the plots and with the roles he had yet to perform