Getting a film project approved in Hollywood typically involves a highly complex process. Take Universal Pictures, for example: generally, once a script arrives, it undergoes a review process. A seven-person team conducts a cross-review and then votes on the script. If it receives more than five votes, it's passed to an eighth person for approval. If approved by the eighth person, the script is then sent to the market research department. This department then analyzes the script, examining the market performance of similar films over the past three years. If comparable films have performed well, the script is then submitted to senior management for discussion, and only at this point does it enter the project approval stage. However, most scripts never even reach this stage, ending up gathering dust in the script library.
Other Hollywood companies have different systems, but they are broadly similar. The purpose of this rigorous process is to minimize risk and increase the likelihood of profitability for each film project. Of course, no system is foolproof; many factors influence a film's success, which is why there are so many failed movies.
The Shallows script was a special case. Spielberg didn't send it to the review committee; he took it directly to the executive meeting, essentially skipping the first two steps. Doing so essentially bypassed the established procedures, which was a reckless move. But because he was Spielberg, whatever he did seemed acceptable. Even so, just being discussed at an executive meeting meant The Shallows script had reached a point that 99% of Hollywood scripts never do.
Even more bizarrely, the script was greenlit by Universal Pictures directly because its new president, Akio Taniguchi, wanted to curry favor with Spielberg. News travels fast, and commercial spies planted by other companies within Universal Pictures quickly leaked this information. However, the news about The Shallows was secondary; the main objective was to report on the status of Jurassic Park.
While other film executives focused on Jurassic Park, they simply laughed off The Shallows. Similar to the thinking of Universal's own executives, most believed it was merely Taniguchi's way of buttering up Spielberg. However, when they heard that the director of this film was only twenty-one, many executives were taken aback. Young Hollywood directors weren't unheard of, but one this young was truly unprecedented. After their initial surprise, everyone began to mock Akio Taniguchi, saying he must have lost his mind to let a twenty-one-year-old direct a film just to please Spielberg. Although this young man was reportedly old Gilbert Landrini's son, old Gilbert himself was a mess, so what kind of waves could his son possibly make?
In short, Universal Pictures' decision to invest in The Shallows and let a twenty-one-year-old direct it became a Hollywood laughingstock, a mere topic of conversation over tea. It wasn't that The Shallows script was bad, and Spielberg had indeed agreed to be the supervisor. But the director was unreliable; what could a fresh-out-of-college kid possibly achieve?
The Los Angeles Times once described Hollywood: "It's a movie club made up of old and conservative people, devoid of vitality, full of inertia, mechanically rigid." This quote illustrates the discrimination against young people in Hollywood, a bias that even overshadowed Spielberg's prestige as a supervisor. Of course, if Spielberg himself were directing, The Shallows would immediately become one of Hollywood's hottest projects. But Spielberg was busy; he still had post-production for Hook and pre-production for Jurassic Park to handle.
While writing the project proposal, Gilbert took some time to go home. Since Gilbert graduated, old Gilbert had kicked him out, calling it "learning to be self-reliant." What self-reliance? The old man just didn't want Gilbert to keep lounging around the house, forcing him to provide meals. It was better for Gilbert to be out; when he ate his fill, no one else in the family would go hungry.
Although old Gilbert acted like an irresponsible father, Gilbert still visited him often and mooched meals, especially since old Gilbert had helped him get into Spielberg's crew. The Landrini family didn't have many assets. Perhaps the only valuable thing they owned was their house in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Sunset Boulevard, near UCLA. The real estate market across the U.S. was doing well at the time, so the house was worth a decent amount; selling it for hundreds of thousands of dollars wouldn't be an issue. In fact, old Gilbert had long wanted to sell the house due to the substantial annual property taxes and maintenance fees.
However, old Gilbert's sister-in-law, Gilbert's aunt, prevented him from selling it. She believed the house shouldn't be sold; something needed to be left for Gilbert to inherit. If it were sold and the money was given to old Gilbert, he'd probably squander it all on debauchery again. But the old man had since repented and wasn't indulging as much, though he still occasionally visited bars and clubs.
Old Gilbert was deeply influenced by the Beatle culture, believing in living for the moment, leading a rather flamboyant life. However, he seemed to have had bad luck and hadn't produced any illegitimate children, leaving only Gilbert as his sole heir.
When Gilbert arrived home, a bar girl was leaving, carrying her high heels, with several hundred dollars tucked into her V-neck top. Seeing Gilbert, the bar girl was briefly stunned; she hadn't seen this handsome young man before! Out of professional habit, she flirtatiously winked and greeted, "Hi, handsome..."
Gilbert nodded, not intending to reply. However, the bar girl wasn't going to let him off the hook. She walked over, slipped a contact number into his hand, gave him a knowing look, winked again, and then walked away, swaying her hips.
Gilbert casually tossed the contact information into the trash and found old Gilbert in the backyard, lying on a lounge chair by the swimming pool, puffing away. Judging by the shape and smell of the smoke, it was a normal cigarette.
Old Gilbert looked back and saw it was Gilbert. The old man grunted, grumbling, "I didn't call you back. What are you doing here? I'm not making you food."
"Look at you talking like that. I'm treating you," Gilbert said, placing the fried chicken on the table. "Fried chicken, and your favorite donuts."
"That's not bad. I wasn't planning on eating today," old Gilbert said, extinguishing his half-smoked cigarette without discarding it. He couldn't afford to waste it; he was short on cash recently and couldn't even buy cigarettes.
Looking at the fragrant fried chicken, old Gilbert grabbed it and devoured it, wolfing it down. "Eat slowly, no one's going to steal it from you," Gilbert retorted. "Seriously, you have money for passionate encounters with bar girls, but no money for food? You really only feed your lower half and starve your upper half!"
"What do you know?" old Gilbert replied, eating. "I'm fulfilling God's mission for me. What does eating or not eating matter?"
"Ugh!" Gilbert looked disgusted. His cheap father was practically a sex-crazed fiend, willing to go hungry for passion. Crucially, the old man was incredibly fit for his age and still had plenty of stamina, as evidenced by the satisfied look on the bar girl who had just left.
Old Gilbert asked while eating fried chicken, "I heard you got a directing opportunity?"
"News travels that fast?"
"Duh! In Hollywood, nothing stays hidden. After a morning meeting, all of Hollywood knows by the afternoon."
"Good grief, Universal Pictures is like a sieve," Gilbert joked, then became serious. "Yes, Uncle Steven asked me to write a project proposal, and I've pretty much finished it."
Concerned about his son's future, old Gilbert added, "This is a great opportunity. Since Steven is supervising, given his personality, he'll definitely be involved in this project. You need to seize this chance, learn as much as you can from him. The heavy responsibility of restoring the Landrini family's glory is now on your shoulders."
"Do you have to put so much pressure on me?" Gilbert said, both exasperated and amused, but nodded earnestly. "Of course, I'll seize this opportunity." He silently added: Restoring the family's glory isn't important, but since I'm already here, it would be a shame not to make a name for myself...