Emma Watson curiously watched Saoirse Ronan and Tom Cruise perform on set, feeling a bit envious.
She had come to visit the crew, using it as an excuse to see Saoirse Ronan's acting up close.
"So, what do you think? Isn't Saoirse quite a bit better than you? She's also a few years younger, you know," Gilbert said teasingly from the side.
Emma Watson pouted. "If I had gotten that role, I'd be better than her."
"Really?" Gilbert smiled faintly. "Saoirse did much better than you during the audition. You just have more fame, that's all."
In Gilbert's film crews, fame was never something he cared about. The biggest selling point of his projects had always been himself. Even when working with superstars like Tom Cruise, that fact didn't change.
What's done is done, and Emma Watson was only acting a bit spoiled; she had no real intention of stealing the role.
The young girl cheerfully grabbed Gilbert's hand and asked, "So, are there any roles for me in your future projects?"
"That depends on your performance," Gilbert replied.
Emma Watson immediately understood. "I'll buy you some ice cream."
With that, she actually bought two cones and handed one to Gilbert. The two of them ate their ice cream together, and Gilbert instructed the production manager to get some for the rest of the crew along with a few drinks.
Since Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, while the Northern Hemisphere was entering its cool autumn and winter seasons, it was summer down there—so eating ice cream wasn't strange at all.
"You still haven't told me," Emma Watson pressed on, unwilling to give up. "Are there any roles for me in your future movies? I know you got Scarlett to play Marvel's Black Widow. How about me as DC's Catwoman?"
Gilbert gave her a look from head to toe and shook his head. "No chance. Catwoman is supposed to be sexy, and you have nothing to do with sexy."
Although Emma Watson was only fifteen, no one really treated her like an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl. Like Natalie Portman before her, she was a clever and ambitious girl.
However, in terms of level, Natalie Portman was a bit more sophisticated than Emma. Back then, she had secured her lead roles in Léon: The Professional and the Star Wars prequels through a combination of talent and calculated moves.
This year, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith had been a huge success. Although it didn't add much to the actors' fame, Natalie Portman still managed to become an A-list actress through clever marketing and publicity.
Her new film V for Vendetta had already wrapped up. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by the Wachowski siblings.
She actually took the role from Scarlett Johansson. At first, Warner Bros. wanted Scarlett for the part, but the Wachowskis preferred Natalie Portman. Since Gilbert didn't interfere this time, and Scarlett herself wasn't particularly interested in the project, Warner Bros. eventually agreed to cast Natalie.
When Natalie Portman learned she had gotten the role, she felt both happy and somewhat resentful, believing that the role had merely been handed to her.
But there was nothing she could do. Scarlett Johansson had Gilbert's full support and had been soaring ever since, practically becoming Hollywood's princess.
The Wachowskis' own fate was rather peculiar. Their most famous project, The Matrix, had been taken over by Gilbert.
Because of that, when Warner Bros. decided to invest in V for Vendetta, Gilbert didn't oppose it.
Before V for Vendetta, the Wachowskis had directed two unsuccessful B-movies, so getting another directing opportunity naturally made them very happy.
From a commercial perspective, while V for Vendetta received good critical reviews, its box office performance was only average. Still, with revenue from copyrights, it would eventually turn a profit.
Hearing that she wasn't suited to play Catwoman, Emma Watson pouted.
In terms of figure, she was indeed not as attractive as Scarlett Johansson, but Scarlett was older than her. Emma thought that once she grew a bit more mature, she would definitely be just as sexy.
In the open-minded Western world, parents were often quite tolerant, which was probably one of the reasons such inappropriate tendencies existed in some corners of the industry.
Emma Watson was a rather unique girl. From a young age, she already knew exactly who she wanted to belong to in Hollywood, so she rejected every pursuer and even turned down people she actually liked.
However, as time passed and her "flower" had long bloomed without being picked, she began to feel anxious that Gilbert had never taken any real interest in her.
That night, after wrapping up work, Gilbert held a short meeting to summarize the day's progress and to arrange the schedule for tomorrow.
"Annie, I have to attend the premiere of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," Gilbert told assistant director Annie Burton. "You'll take charge of the crew and shoot the simpler scenes while I'm gone."
Annie Burton nodded in understanding.
Charles Roven then asked, "Gilbert, around what time will the film be finished? Warner and Disney have both been asking."
Gilbert thought for a moment and said, "Filming should wrap up by the end of the year, and post-production will continue into February next year."
"All right, I'll inform Warner and Disney," Charles replied.
Once the main arrangements were settled, Gilbert returned to his room to handle other work.
Ivanka's composer, Jane Lauder, had come to Australia to visit her, so Gilbert gave Ivanka a few days off. The two friends went sightseeing, leaving most of the external work for Gilbert to take care of personally.
The first matter involved Apple. Under the treatment of Master Shikong, Steve Jobs's health had shown remarkable improvement. Because of this recovery, his mood had stabilized, which in turn further aided his condition.
Master Shikong had even come to the United States for a follow-up session and expressed a very optimistic outlook about Jobs's future.
No one could say exactly how many more years Jobs might live, but at least he would not pass away prematurely. This was of great importance to both Apple and Gilbert.
News of Jobs's improved health naturally spread throughout North America and even Europe's upper-class circles. For these wealthy elites, who already possessed power, status, and immense wealth, the only thing they lacked was time.
The higher one's position, the more one feared death. Having not yet enjoyed enough of life's luxuries, how could they possibly accept the reality of growing old?
Unfortunately, time is a merciless killer. No matter how much one tries to delay it, what must come will always come.
That is why so many tycoons invest heavily in the medical field, while various capital groups use so-called "elixirs of immortality" to lure those fortunes and bind those powerful connections to their own interests.
This tactic has been repeated countless times, yet each time, there are still wealthy people willing to fall for it, allowing their influence to become the tools of corporate giants.
To outsiders, it might seem absurd. Were these billionaires really that foolish? How could people living in the scientific twenty-first century still believe in something like an elixir of eternal life?
It was understandable for Emperor Qin Shi Huang two thousand years ago to believe such things; his limited worldview left him little choice. But modern magnates should have known better—anyone could see these promises were nothing but lies.
Yet in reality, more and more of them joined these so-called immortality programs every year, investing astronomical sums. From cryogenic preservation to genetic modification to digital mind-storage, they had explored every possible avenue.
Without exception, not a single one of these experiments had ever succeeded.
.....
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