[T/N:"Before this chapter, there were four or five chapters about Gilbert visiting China as the Olympic Artistic Advisor, and I decided not to translate that part."]
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"Boss, Ms. Rowling is here. She's waiting for you in the office," the assistant reported.
"She arrived this early?" Gilbert took off his trench coat, handed it to the assistant, and walked into the office. J.K. Rowling was drinking tea.
"Hi, Gilbert, long time no see." Rowling greeted him with a big hug.
"Long time no see. How have you been lately?"
"Not bad. And you?"
"As you can see, I'm doing fine too."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, they sat down to chat. The assistant replaced the tea with a fresh brew—new tea Gilbert had gotten from Old Tian.
"Every time I come here and drink this Chinese tea, it always gives me a different experience." Rowling was very professional about tea tasting—first smelling the aroma, then taking a sip.
"If you like it, take two tins with you when you leave," Gilbert said with a smile.
"Sure, that would be great." Rowling accepted happily.
After enjoying the tea, Rowling asked, "I heard you've run into quite a bit of trouble lately. Warner wants to withdraw from Melon Studio?"
"There is indeed such an intention, but don't worry. This won't affect our collaboration." Gilbert reassured her.
He continued, "Actually, we can expand the entire world of Harry Potter even further. For example, what was the history of the magical world before?
During the battle between Harry Potter and Voldemort, what were the wizards in other places doing?
Rowling, these stories and the shaping of the world—these still need you to complete!"
Rowling responded, "You're absolutely right. When I first wrote the novels, I didn't think that far ahead. But later, I realized Harry Potter shouldn't be only about Harry Potter, so I filled in the magical world's history.
The story of Harry Potter will end one day. Perhaps the magical world should start telling other people's stories too."
"Exactly," Gilbert said. "I've always believed third-rate films sell visuals, second-rate films sell stories, and first-rate films sell an entire world.
The world Harry Potter belongs to—that's the shared goal we must complete."
Undeniably, the reason Rowling has cooperated with Melon Studio for so many years—aside from the large share of profits—is inseparable from her personal appreciation of Gilbert.
Universal Pictures once approached Rowling, and she said one sentence: "If Gilbert goes to Universal, then I'll go with him."
This alone shows Rowling's admiration for Gilbert.
More importantly, Rowling believed the Harry Potter series could only succeed in Gilbert's hands—no one else could do it.
This year's release, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, had already reached $210 million at the North American box office, and worldwide box office had surpassed $500 million, with more growth ahead.
Although this installment was the worst-reviewed film in the Harry Potter series, it still couldn't stop enthusiastic fans from contributing huge box office numbers.
And Harry Potter had already developed into an IP on par with Star Wars. Every film's release was essentially an advertisement for merchandise.
In North America alone, since the release of The Order of the Phoenix, merchandise sales had already reached $113 million.
Box office was an important metric, but not the most important one for Harry Potter. As long as merchandise continued to sell, as long as the film itself broke even, everything was fine.
Of course, Rowling was dissatisfied with the quality of this installment, so she hoped Gilbert would keep a closer eye on the production of the next film.
Gilbert agreed immediately. According to the plan, there were still two installments left. The final one, to maximize box office revenue and extend advertising effects, would be split into two parts.
As August arrived, although National Treasure 2 performed poorly, another Nicolas Cage film, I Am Legend, was released.
Different from the previous timeline, the film had changed its director and lead actor.
Originally, Will Smith had offended Gilbert and was abandoned by the powers behind him. Overnight, he became a target of disdain and found himself with no films to shoot.
The project Hancock slipped out of his hands as well, and Brad Pitt and Charlize Theron ultimately starred in it.
And that wasn't all—I Am Legend had originally starred Will Smith too. But after what he did, he could no longer take the role.
Thus Nicolas Cage took on the responsibility. As a fellow member of the Italian circle, Gilbert naturally wouldn't watch Cage walk down the same old path as before.
Debt problems were Cage's personal issue, something he needed to resolve himself, but when it came to film roles, Gilbert could still help him.
To support the film, Gilbert even attended the premiere of I Am Legend together with Charlize Theron.
"Sally, how's that Mad Max: Fury Road project going lately?" On the way to the premiere, Gilbert asked Charlize Theron.
"Director George Miller says he's still preparing. He told me to keep my schedule open," Charlize replied.
"Has the male lead been decided? Who's partnering with you?"
"I'm not sure yet. Maybe you can recommend someone?"
Gilbert thought for a moment. "How about Adam Samsher?"
Charlize was momentarily confused. "Who?"
"I mean Dwayne Johnson. The one who played Adam Samsher, and I think he'd suit Fury Road as well. Most of the time he'd be wearing a mask anyway, so he doesn't need much acting.
But with his build, he has an immediate sense of power." Gilbert concluded.
Charlize Theron was undoubtedly an actress with an extremely strong aura—known as the Queen.
In a movie like Fury Road, with that kind of tone, if the male actor wasn't strong enough, he would simply be crushed by Charlize Theron.
To achieve balance, they had to choose a big-name male actor, someone like Tom Cruise, which would be quite suitable. Another option was to choose a male actor with a fierce and intimidating physique, and someone like Dwayne Johnson was very good.
Therefore Gilbert recommended Dwayne Johnson, and Charlize Theron said she would tell the director and let him consider it.
I Am Legend had changed both its director and lead actor, so stylistically it differed from the film of the previous life. But based on Gilbert's experience, the quality of the movie was quite good.
After the premiere ended, Gilbert went to find Nicolas Cage. "Nicolas, are you interested in collaborating with me again?"
Nicolas Cage asked curiously, "What movie is it?"
"A superhero movie, the one I'm directing. I think you're very suitable for Two-Face," Gilbert said.
Nicolas Cage knew Batman's story to some extent. Wasn't Two-Face a villain? He hesitated.
Gilbert noticed his hesitation and said, "I can tell you this is one of the very few remaining films of my collaboration with Warner.
To end this journey perfectly, I'm going to create an unprecedented superhero epic. If you don't participate, you'll regret it!"
Nicolas Cage remembered what Sophia had said: "If Gilbert ever invites you, don't hesitate—just agree."
Thinking of that, Nicolas Cage agreed. "All right, just contact my agent anytime."
That settled it. Nicolas Cage would appear in The Dark Knight.
And the next thing Gilbert needed to do was to bring Heath Ledger over—The Joker was waiting for him.
...
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