Scarlett had her schedule filled for 2004, but the others wouldn't be idle either.
Charlize Theron, after expressing strong interest in Mad Max: Fury Road, effectively secured the role—Warner Bros. wasn't considering anyone else.
The only problem was director George Miller's health, which wasn't improving, and the project remained stalled.
Miller even suggested to Warner executives that if they couldn't wait any longer, Gilbert could take over the project.
But Gilbert quickly declined—he had no time. Warner wouldn't push him either; what they wanted most was for Gilbert to finish The False and then immediately move on to rescuing Gotham City. They certainly didn't want him tied down with yet another film.
Over at Disney, Robert Iger kept quiet. After all, this was an arrangement Gilbert had already made with Warner long ago.
Instead, Iger poured his energy into securing distribution rights for Marvel Studios' very first film, determined to counterbalance DC's superhero lineup.
Marvel Studios itself, after long months of planning, had under Gilbert's guidance already shaped its entire cinematic universe—up through Phase Three.
Why not Phase Four? Because that stage was too chaotic, even Gilbert couldn't sort it out, so he shelved it for the time being.
Even so, the clarity of the roadmap stunned Marvel's executives, who were stepping into the movie business for the first time.
"So this is what the planning ability of the world's top director looks like?" they thought. With a framework this precise, Marvel had a ten-year strategy ready to go.
Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, was blown away. He treated the plan like a sacred treasure, locking it away as a top-secret document known only to a select few executives.
Ordinarily, a new film company might make a single movie to test the waters, with little to no long-term planning.
That explained why, in another timeline, the early Marvel films had occasional contradictions—they had been experimenting, improvising, without a clear blueprint.
But now, things were different. Gilbert had pointed out the entire path ahead.
No one could explain his absolute confidence, but given Gilbert's track record at the box office, Marvel's leadership put complete faith in him.
How much faith? To the point where—even if God himself declared Gilbert untrustworthy—Marvel's board would still follow him. That was the extent of their belief.
According to the plan, Marvel Studios would begin production of Iron Man in 2006. Why wait until then instead of starting immediately? That was Gilbert's decision.
If production began in 2004 for a 2005 release, it would clash with his own directorial project, Batman Begins.
By delaying, he avoided direct conflict between DC and Marvel. As a Warner shareholder, with DC being a subsidiary of Warner, Gilbert had a stake on both sides.
Of course, this was wishful thinking. Competition was inevitable.
Still, compared to DC—still floundering, with no idea how to save itself—Marvel's future path was far brighter.
Interestingly, Tom Cruise had once told Gilbert he was open to playing Iron Man. But later, Cruise backed out, saying he wasn't interested.
That actually lifted a burden off Gilbert's shoulders. Now he could cast Robert Downey Jr. without hesitation.
Downey's star power didn't match Cruise's, but he had a clear advantage: he was cheap.
For a film universe that needed to sustain itself over many years, Downey was far more suitable than Cruise.
Back to Charlize Theron—though Fury Road was on hold, her schedule wasn't lacking.
Next, she'd appear alongside Geoffrey Rush, John Lithgow, and Emily Watson in the biopic The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
She also had Head in the Clouds, a romance starring herself, Penélope Cruz, and Stuart Townsend, plus a slew of other projects vying for her attention.
Most of them weren't particularly impressive. But then again, Gilbert had only heard of a limited number of Hollywood films. Many others simply weren't on his radar, which was only natural.
Naomi Watts' situation looked smoother. At least Gilbert had heard of King Kong, the massive project she was signed to.
She also took on two more films: one romantic comedy, one art-house drama—both aiming for awards consideration.
Gilbert hadn't heard of either, but after confirming Harvey Weinstein wasn't involved, he didn't interfere.
Gilbert could be petty, and he hadn't forgotten what Weinstein had once tried. Ever since, he remained on high alert.
But it seemed Weinstein had abandoned that idea—or perhaps that very night had forced him to let it go.
After all, Hollywood was full of beautiful women. Why risk offending Gilbert over Naomi Watts?
It also revealed something about Weinstein's preferences: he liked petite women. Of course, like many men, his tastes were broad enough—he wasn't exactly picky.
Besides those, Naomi also agreed to make a cameo in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp.
Her role was Mrs. Bucket—young Charlie's mother.
Normally, for an established A-list actress, taking on a motherly role in a commercial film would be unthinkable unless circumstances forced her hand.
Because once a star plays the "mother" in a mainstream blockbuster, it often signals the beginning of her marginalization—being pushed away from center stage, no longer suited for youthful leading roles.
But Naomi faced it calmly. To her, she had already lived enough for two lives—an Oscar winner, once firmly among Hollywood's top actresses.
Now, with children to raise, acting was more of a pastime.
As Naomi herself said, from here on she would only take on occasional projects to satisfy her artistic urges, and then return to family life—caring for Gilbert and the kids.
Of course, having already signed onto King Kong, Naomi still had to unleash what remained of her superstar glow.
After all, once an actress passes thirty, the decline begins. She was thirty-five, soon thirty-six. To still maintain a superstar's stature at that age was no easy feat.
Cameron Diaz, meanwhile, was pregnant, stepping away from work entirely to focus on her pregnancy.
Jennifer Connelly had a few films lined up as well, one of them a quirky comedy called House of Sand and Fog.
Gilbert deliberately cleared one of her slots, preparing to cast her as Rachel in Batman Begins.
He never liked Katie Holmes, nor Maggie Gyllenhaal, so Jennifer Connelly became his choice.
It was a fairly important role, and since Jennifer hadn't had much experience with major studio tentpoles, Gilbert wanted her to get a taste.
Then there was Anne Hathaway. After The Lord of the Rings, Anne found herself in something of an awkward spot.
Her role as Arwen had brought her immense popularity. But that same fame now boxed her in: the films she wanted didn't want her, and the films that wanted her weren't to her liking.
Caught between too high and too low, she could only scrape by with roles that were just "good enough."
But a pleasant surprise came her way—the fantasy epic The Chronicles of Narnia reached out, offering her a role.
Anne accepted gladly; she loved the character's placement within the story.
Looking at the careers of Gilbert's women, one could see clearly the awkward plight of Hollywood's leading ladies.
Hollywood was, and remained, a thoroughly male-dominated world. Men ruled everything. Which was why female roles in major blockbusters were fought over so fiercely—because they all knew how rare those chances were.
They weren't handed out every day. You had to fight for them, claw for them.
And if even Gilbert's women—backed by his influence—had to scramble in this way, one could only imagine the desperation of other actresses still struggling to survive.
Which explained why places beside Hollywood's great power players were always in such high demand.
After all, problems that could be solved in bed were the easiest problems of all.
.....
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