Another project, The Fast and the Furious 2, was also facing quite a few troubles during its initiation phase.
After the success of the first film, the cast's pay had all gone up to varying degrees. Lead actor Vin Diesel had also starred in XXX, which turned out to be a moderate success.
Furthermore, the second installment had a larger scale, requiring a bigger production budget. As a result, the entire film's investment rose to $90 million.
In contrast, the first film's production cost was only $38 million.
However, this level of investment wasn't considered particularly high in today's Hollywood.
These days, it's common for a commercial blockbuster to exceed $100 million in budget. If it doesn't hit that mark, audiences might actually suspect that the film is shoddily made and just a cash grab.
Several beautiful women were added to the series. Amanda Seyfried and Alexandra Daddario, both of whom had auditioned for Pirates of the Caribbean, joined the cast in small roles.
Both of them also participated in the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean, marking their official entry into the industry.
Another newcomer was Paris Hilton, heiress of the Hilton family a rich second-generation who also dreamed of breaking into Hollywood.
But unlike David Ellison, Paris Hilton wanted to be a popular actress.
Her father made a phone call to Gilbert, and just like that, Paris Hilton was placed into the cast, playing a minor role a starting point.
When Paris Hilton arrived in Mexico, she finally met the legendary Gilbert, and was visibly thrilled.
"Have you ever studied acting before?" Gilbert asked.
Paris Hilton shook her head and said, "No, but I did join a drama club at school and performed on stage. Does that count?"
Gilbert exchanged a glance with assistant director Annie Burton, then shook his head. "Stage experience doesn't translate well to film, but it's still some experience.
You need to carefully study your script and do your homework.
If your performance isn't up to par, it won't make it into the final cut.
If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask Annie Burton."
As he spoke, Gilbert introduced Annie Burton to Paris Hilton.
Paris Hilton's eyes seemed to sparkle flirtatiously. "Then can I ask you instead?"
"Of course," Gilbert shrugged. "But you'd better be ready to get scolded."
Paris Hilton became even more excited. "I like being scolded. I'd prefer if you hit me."
"???" Gilbert was full of question marks, waved his hand, and told Paris Hilton to go prepare.
"Director, I think we may have brought ourselves some trouble," Annie Burton said as she watched Paris Hilton.
"That's normal," Gilbert wasn't surprised. "These rich heiresses, pampered since birth it's not unusual for them to have some odd quirks."
"That's true," Annie Burton agreed.
She'd seen plenty of eccentric habits among the wealthy. It didn't faze her anymore.
Gilbert chuckled again. "Besides, not everyone is willing to spend a million dollars just to buy a role."
"That's true. This is a first for me," Annie Burton laughed as well.
To participate in the film, Paris Hilton had forked out $1 million to sponsor the production.
Only a rich second-generation with loads of allowance money could afford to do something like that. Most Hollywood stars had to claw their way up from the bottom.
It was obvious that Paris Hilton had taken a liking to Gilbert but really, which woman in Hollywood hasn't?
However, Gilbert had no interest in Paris Hilton. In the days that followed, Paris's attempts to seduce Gilbert failed, so she set her sights on Orlando Bloom instead.
It just so happened that Orlando Bloom's girlfriend, Miranda Kerr, came to the set for a visit, and caught Paris Hilton in the act of flirting with Orlando Bloom.
So the two women ended up fighting, drawing a crowd of gossip-hungry onlookers from the crew.
At that very moment, Gilbert was in the director's lounge having tea and chatting with Charles Roven, discussing the next stage of production when the assistant director came rushing over to report the incident.
"Director, something's wrong Paris and Orlando Bloom's girlfriend are fighting. It looks pretty serious."
Gilbert and Charles Roven looked at each other in surprise. Charles quickly asked, "What happened?"
The assistant director wasn't too sure either. "Apparently, Orlando Bloom's girlfriend caught Paris flirting with her boyfriend, so the two of them started fighting."
This was a personal grudge purely a private matter. In theory, the production team shouldn't get involved, and normally wouldn't.
These things tend to be messy and bring nothing but trouble, so Gilbert usually kept a respectful distance.
But since it happened on his set, he had no choice but to step in.
Gilbert and Charles Roven hurried to the scene. By the time they arrived, the crew had already separated the two fighting women.
Once glamorous and elegant, the two women now looked like street brawlers, hair disheveled, scratches visible on their faces.
Neither of them was willing to back down. They hurled the nastiest insults at each other, clearly wishing they could tear the other apart.
Orlando Bloom stood awkwardly to the side, like sitting on pins and needles, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground.
When he saw Gilbert and Charles Roven approach, Orlando looked as if he'd seen his saviors and hurried over. "Director, I—"
Gilbert waved his hand to cut Orlando off and turned to the two women. "I don't care what reason you had for fighting, and I'm not interested.
But this is my set. Everyone here follows my rules, or you can get the hell out. Understood?"
As a top-tier director, his authority carried real weight. Though still unwilling to accept defeat, the two women lowered their heads. "Understood, Director…"
Gilbert gave them both a look, then instructed the assistant director to help them away. The scratch on Paris Hilton's face would probably take some time to heal, potentially delaying filming.
Since this incident wasn't a work-related injury, the actors' pay would normally be docked after all, it held up production.
But Paris Hilton had paid to be part of the project, so there was no real reason to dock her pay.
Gilbert did consider sending Paris Hilton home taking her money and cutting her scenes altogether.
But in the end, he decided against it. The Hilton family's reputation still carried weight, after all.
Once the two women had been calmed down, Gilbert swept his eyes across the staff still gawking at the scene and roared, "What, never seen a fight before? You all that free?"
"Disperse, disperse, disperse," Charles Roven called out, urging everyone to get back to work, and added sternly, "I don't want today's events getting out. Everyone, be mindful."
Of course, no secret stays hidden forever. It was impossible to keep the incident from leaking but at least they could delay it for a while and avoid disrupting the shoot.
The crew scattered like startled birds, vanishing in an instant.
Only then did Gilbert have the time to speak with Orlando Bloom. "You need to get your personal issues under control. Don't let them interfere with filming.
Next time, there won't be such a simple solution."
Orlando Bloom quickly nodded and promised, "Don't worry, Director. This won't happen again."
"It better not…" Gilbert was clearly exasperated. What a mess.
When Johnny Depp heard about the incident, he joked, "I wish I had two women fighting over me. That sounds like heaven."
Gilbert gave his blessing: "Sure, go for it just don't do it on my set, thanks."
Johnny Depp burst out laughing. "Relax, it won't happen."
...
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