After all the hard work on the Omaha Beach scenes, the crew was finally able to relax a bit. The film's opening sequence was a nightmare to shoot, taking the team over two months and using 1,600 Irish soldiers to get it done. It wasn't cheap either—that 20-minute battle alone cost $12 million.
Once the final scene on the beach was wrapped, the crew let out a collective sigh of relief. Gilbert decided to treat everyone. He announced, "I hear the pubs in Dublin are legendary. Let's go grab a drink there after this; my treat!" The crew's cheers were loud enough to be heard over the explosions. Even Tom Hanks, looking exhausted, said to Gilbert, "I'm going to have a few drinks with you to get even."
Tom Hanks playfully accused Gilbert of making the cast's life miserable during training and shooting, with Gilbert feigning fear and trying to hide behind Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo, ever the character, complained that he had it worse, saying, "I don't think I'll make it out of Dublin alive after seeing the looks in their eyes."
The crew and cast had a good laugh, and Tom Hanks added, "It's your own fault! Who told you to stand there and enjoy yourself while we were busy rolling around in the sand?"
Leo, however, defended himself by saying, "Captain, you're being unreasonable. The director himself put me there. I'm innocent!"
Gilbert had a good reason for this. To get the main actors to really feel the resentment toward the character of James Ryan, he intentionally had Leo relax on the set while everyone else was working. Leo even took it a step further by eating and drinking on the side and, at one point, even had his model girlfriend come by for a sweet, public display of affection. This, of course, drove the other actors insane and helped them get into the right headspace for the final battle scene.
Meanwhile, this was all happening because James Cameron's Titanic production was way behind schedule. Originally, he wanted to start filming in December, but the pre-production work kept getting pushed back. He even moved the set to Mexico to build a life-size replica of half of the Titanic. This meant Leo's start date was delayed until February of 1996. While Gilbert's crew worked with extreme efficiency, Cameron took his time.
It's well known that James Cameron is a tough director to work for. He's a perfectionist who often invents new filming techniques on the fly, making life difficult for his crew. It was said that some crew members were so fed up that they considered poisoning him. This also caused problems with the studio, 20th Century Fox, which was getting nervous about the film's budget. The film's release date was even pushed back from the summer of 1996 to the summer of 1997, and even that was questionable. Of course, all of this would have been a non-issue if Gilbert had been available to take over. But he was busy, and frankly, a project like this requires a director of Cameron's unique ability.
Once filming wrapped, the crew headed straight for a Dublin pub. The city's nightlife is well known throughout Europe, and the pubs are filled with history, with some even having signs that say they don't serve Englishmen.
Leo, a bit confused, asked Gilbert, "Why don't these pubs serve Englishmen?"
Gilbert, who didn't know much about European history himself, turned to Charles Roven. Charles explained, "It's because of the Great Irish Famine in the last century. The British government stood by and did nothing, which caused the Irish population to drop. From then on, the Irish held a grudge against the English."
Leo's face lit up with understanding. "Oh, so this has nothing to do with the Scottish?"
"Well, not exactly," Charles said. "But Scotland has always wanted to leave the United Kingdom and form their own country, just like Ireland."
Gilbert added, "That's why Mel Gibson's film Braveheart was blacklisted by the British."
Speaking of Mel Gibson, his legal troubles were now behind him, and the final judgment had been passed down. He was sentenced to thirteen years in prison, and the women he assaulted received their rightful compensation. Sophie Marceau, who was no longer in Hollywood, was one of them.
Sophie, who heard that Gilbert was filming in Ireland, made a special trip to Dublin to meet him. She showed up at the pub wearing a red dress, seemingly to match Gilbert's taste, with a white shawl to keep warm.
Leo, who was about to go looking for women himself, saw them together and gave a knowing smile to Gilbert before leaving him and Sophie to talk.
The two found a private spot in the pub, where they chatted and drank. As the rest of the crew saw Gilbert with a beautiful woman by his side, they wisely left them alone and went to find people to hang out with themselves. Charles Roven, seeing his young director surrounded by women, sighed, "Look at our handsome young director; he has women following him everywhere."
"Yeah," replied Kane Waxman. "Nobody likes old guys like us anymore." Just then, a beautiful woman walked by, and Kane suddenly came to life. "Charles, I think I'm still young!" he said as he left to go talk to her, leaving a stunned Charles Roven behind. Charles laughed, but when another beautiful woman walked by, he, too, got in on the action. "There are so many beautiful women in Ireland!" he said, joining the fun.
Inside the pub, Gilbert and Sophie chatted happily. Without Mel Gibson around, Sophie realized that this was the first time she had been able to talk to Gilbert like this. She thought about how funny and charming he was and that he was a much better man than the crude Mel Gibson. She even wondered if her career would have been different if she had met Gilbert first. "I almost forgot what it was like to be with you," she said.
The alcohol and the romantic atmosphere of the pub eventually brought them closer. Sophie, however, stopped Gilbert and said, "My dear, not here. Let's go back to the hotel." Gilbert, who barely managed to control himself, led her back to the hotel room where they had a night of passion.
The next morning, after a night of romance, Sophie was so satisfied that she told Gilbert, "I can see now why Naomi says she has to team up with other women to handle you."
"Aren't men like me what you women want most?" Gilbert asked as he playfully pinched her cheek.
"It's true," Sophie replied. "If you were in France, you would be very popular. Next time you come to France, would you like me to introduce you to some beautiful French women?"
"Sure," Gilbert said jokingly. "But they have to be pretty. I won't accept anything less."
"Don't worry, you'll be satisfied. They're all beautiful and are all hoping to get into a Hollywood director's bed to get their big break," she laughed.
"What about you?" he asked.
"Me?" she replied. "I've had plenty of opportunities, but for now, I don't want to go back to Hollywood." She explained that she wanted to wait a year or two for the Mel Gibson scandal to die down before trying to get back into the industry.
After the scandal, Sophie didn't want to be in the spotlight for a while. She felt it was best to lie low until people forgot about the incident.
After their night together, a satisfied Sophie went back to France. She never intended to stay with Gilbert or become like Naomi Watts, who lived in his home. Instead, she thought that a casual fling and a romantic night were the best way to go for now.
After their night out, Gilbert gave the crew a Christmas break. He also went back to North America to spend the holiday with his family, though he still had a lot of work to do during his vacation.