When you're flush with cash, you gotta live it up, gotta spend some coin.
Now, Gilbert isn't like those second-generation rich kids who are obsessed with fancy cars, luxury homes, and antiques.
This time, back in North America, after some careful consideration, he decided to acquire a special effects company.
Constantly relying on Industrial Light & Magic, while they're undeniably skilled, they're also incredibly busy and might not be able to handle all of his projects.
Plus, the blockbusters Gilbert plans to make next will require a lot of special effects.
So, owning his own special effects studio would be a huge boon for his future film endeavors.
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### The Birth of Orange FX Studio
After some scouting, two special effects studios caught his eye.
One studio excelled in digital effects, and the other in practical effects.
Perfect! Combining the two would create a single, comprehensive special effects studio, covering all bases—absolutely ideal.
Riding the wave of Hollywood's booming film industry, both of these special effects studios were doing quite well, and their owners weren't initially keen on selling. But Gilbert's offer was simply too high, and they eventually couldn't resist, selling their studios to him.
With the basic studios in hand, management talent was essential. Gilbert poached a few talented individuals from the cooperative Industrial Light & Magic to manage the newly merged special effects studio.
George Lucas even called Gilbert to complain about him quietly snatching away some of his best people.
Gilbert could only apologize, but the poaching had to be done.
Sheena Boone asked Gilbert, "What will the new studio be called?"
With "Banana" and "Melon" already in play, Gilbert suggested, "How about 'Orange Studio'?"
Sheena Boone was speechless. Gilbert's naming conventions always revolved around fruit. Now another "Orange" popped up. Was he planning a fruit party?
Since Gilbert was the boss, his word was final, and so Orange FX Studio officially opened its doors at the end of 1995.
In its early days, this studio attracted considerable attention simply because its owner was Gilbert.
Soon, the studio landed its first gig: some outsourced special effects work for Titanic.
The primary special effects for Titanic were handled by James Cameron's own special effects company, Digital Domain. But Digital Domain couldn't do all the work, so some tasks were outsourced.
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### Saving Private Ryan Wraps and Critical Acclaim
After dealing with these miscellaneous tasks, Gilbert returned to the set, continuing the demanding shoot.
The most challenging days of filming were now behind them, and the remaining production moved along quite swiftly.
By early February 1996, Saving Private Ryan wrapped at a deserted airbase near London. After enduring the grueling shoot, the cast and crew, who had been tormented for months, could finally relax.
After wrapping, the crew held a wrap party in London to reward the hardworking team for several months of effort.
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### Critics and Confidence
During the party, Tom Hanks specifically sought out Gilbert: "I heard some critics aren't very optimistic about this film, especially Kenneth Turan, who thinks you'll ruin it despite the great subject matter."
Gilbert shrugged it off, "What does it matter? Roger Ebert, who's more famous than him, even listed this film as a must-see for the summer blockbusters. Critics have two mouths; what they say doesn't automatically make them authoritative."
Saying this, Gilbert patted Tom Hanks's shoulder: "Just you wait, Tom. This summer, our film will be a hit with both critics and at the box office."
This young director had accomplished so many incredible things, and Tom Hanks expressed his trust: "I believe you, Gilbert."
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### Gilbert's London Detour
After wrapping, Gilbert didn't immediately return to North America for post-production. Instead, he stayed in London for two days to explore Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, soaking in the English atmosphere.
It was also the height of the British professional football league season, and Gilbert even caught a London Derby match between Arsenal and Chelsea.
To be honest, Gilbert wasn't particularly knowledgeable about football.
In his previous life, he only remembered football as a sport when "the national team" was mentioned.
Of course, he knew Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. It seemed Cristiano Ronaldo was a "comeback king" in China, though he wasn't sure about other places, but in China, Cristiano Ronaldo had once again "turned the tables" on Messi.
His only regret, perhaps, was that Cristiano Ronaldo didn't have a World Cup title!
On his last day, Gilbert visited a local theater to watch a musical called 42nd Street.
This musical was renowned in London's West End and New York's Broadway, enduring for decades. It once held a record of 3,486 continuous performances and twice won the Tony Award, America's highest theatrical honor.
42nd Street conveyed a simple philosophy: "If people have talent and work hard, they can make their dreams come true."
As a musical depicting American stage life in the 1930s, it showcased scenes of actors' daily lives, rehearsals, and actual performances, essentially a play within a play.
Whether it was the storyline, the character costumes, or the street sets, 42nd Street authentically portrayed the essence of 1930s America, aligning with people's perceptions of that period in American history.
The musical was inspired by the 1930s musical film of the same name, 42nd Street, and was widely known in both the UK and the US.
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### A Chance Encounter
While watching the performance, Gilbert found two of the actors on stage very familiar. After thinking for a long time, he recognized one of them: Catherine Zeta-Jones.
She had briefly tried her luck in Hollywood but seemingly failed and returned to the UK.
He never expected that she would still be a musical actress at this time.
The other actress, Gilbert couldn't place, but he found her eyes very beautiful.
British actors all harbored a dream of making it in Hollywood. If Gilbert found her familiar, she must have been to Hollywood.
Befriending famous actors was one of Gilbert's interests, and there was a unique joy in discovering these yet-to-be-famous stars.
After the performance, Gilbert specifically went backstage, but he was stopped by a staff member.
He had no choice but to say, "Could you please pass a message for me? I'd like to invite Miss Catherine Zeta-Jones to dinner."
The staff member's reply was unfeeling: "I'm sorry, sir, I'm afraid I cannot help you with that."
Heh! This staff member was truly rigid.
Gilbert had no choice but to pull out his business card and hand it to the staff member: "Well, surely you can deliver a business card? If you refuse even that, I'll complain about you to your theater manager."
Perhaps the threat of a complaint worked. The staff member eyed Gilbert carefully, thinking he was an admirer of Miss Jones.
His attire also looked quite distinguished, likely a scion of some noble family.
Such noble offspring often had deep connections, and one of their contacts might even affect his job, so the staff member didn't want to offend Gilbert.
Although the actors backstage were tired of persistent admirers, a business card shouldn't cause any trouble, so he agreed.
If the staff member had glanced at the business card, he would have known that the handsome man before him wasn't a noble young master, but a Hollywood director.
And this director's fame in the UK was quite considerable, as his film The Rock had achieved remarkable success in the British market, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1995 in the UK.
The staff member entered backstage, where the actors, who had just finished their performance, were removing their makeup.
The staff member called out, "Miss Jones, Miss Jones, there's a handsome man outside who wants to see you. Here's his business card."
"Stop shouting," a brown-haired woman walked over and said, "Miss Jones has already left in her car; she had an early appointment tonight."
The staff member was accustomed to this. Catherine Zeta-Jones was very famous in the theater world, and her roles in 42nd Street and Street Scene were very popular.
Many elderly noblemen and wealthy businessmen wanted to invite her to dinner, offering tens of thousands of pounds for the privilege.
The actors backstage even rumored that Catherine Zeta-Jones had dated a sixty-something old knight, and they had just seen her get into the old knight's car.
As for younger admirers, Catherine Zeta-Jones didn't care for them.
According to Catherine Zeta-Jones, most of these young admirers were uneducated rich kids, lacking talent and living off their ancestors' prestige.
Given that, why wouldn't she bypass these second-generation rich and noble types and directly approach their fathers, going straight to the top?
Logically, that made sense, but a beautiful young woman dating an old man on the brink of the grave... that image didn't quite sit right.
Of course, this was quite normal; taking a shortcut could save a lot of detours.
If she could convince the old man to write a will and leave all his inheritance to her, Catherine Zeta-Jones would strike it rich.
However, for an actress, Hollywood was the ultimate dream. If the opportunity arose, Catherine Zeta-Jones would abandon the old man without hesitation.
The brown-haired woman who had spoken earlier said, "Give me the business card; I'll pass it to Miss Jones."
The staff member, not suspecting anything, handed the business card to the brown-haired woman: "Alright, Miss Weisz, thank you."
---
### Rachel Weisz's Secret
After the staff member left, Miss Weisz playfully whistled, holding up the business card. "Look at this, our Miss Jones is really popular!"
From her tone, it was clear that Miss Weisz was full of jealousy. She was also a lead actress in this musical, yet she received less attention than Catherine Zeta-Jones. It just wasn't fair.
Not just Miss Weisz, the other actors backstage seemed quite indifferent. One actress spoke up, "Rachel, whose business card is it? Another knight's son, or a duke's?"
"Alright, let me see." Miss Weisz opened the business card and glanced at it. "It's an American. So, not a noble's son."
"What's the name?"
"Let me see... The name is Gilbert Landrini...?" Miss Weisz's voice grew softer and softer as she read the name.
The actors backstage were curious, "Rachel, you're mumbling too much; we can't hear you. Who is it?"
"Nothing," Rachel Weisz subtly put away the business card, casually replying, "Just another rich kid."
Hearing that, everyone lost interest. As long as you were pretty and had starred in a few musicals and plays, you weren't short of similar admirers.
Not to mention, Rachel Weisz herself was stringing along several noble young men, enjoying their pursuit without letting them succeed.
Only the actors backstage had no idea that the business card Rachel Weisz had discreetly put away belonged to the famous Hollywood director, Gilbert Landrini.
People usually called him: Gilbert...