After visiting his somewhat estranged father, Old Gilbert, Gilbert continued to immerse himself in work.
Finally, at the end of June, Gilbert submitted his project proposal for The Shallows to Spielberg.
In the post-production area for Hook, Spielberg was reviewing the project proposal, making annotations and revisions from time to time.
Gilbert waited nervously nearby. The opportunity was given by Spielberg, but Gilbert couldn't relax; he had to show Spielberg his capabilities.
After all, the greenlighting of this project by Universal Pictures was a done deal, a promise made and set in stone.
Universal Pictures wouldn't back out now, as it would risk displeasing Spielberg.
While the film project itself was a sure thing, the director wasn't necessarily. Though the script for this film came from Gilbert, he wasn't guaranteed to be the director.
Therefore, the project proposal was the first step in proving to Spielberg that he had the ability to direct the film.
The rest would depend on his subsequent performance.
Gilbert's project proposal was excellent; at least, Spielberg seemed very satisfied.
After a general review, Spielberg expressed his satisfaction: "Well done, Gilbert.
When do you plan to shoot? How much investment do you need?"
The shooting schedule would depend on funding and preparation, while the investment was the part that the producer needed to calculate.
However, as a director, one also needed to understand the film project they were directing.
If you didn't know how much money your crew had to spend, then how to shoot and the shooting methods would be out of the question.
Gilbert had already made a rough estimate, so he replied, "If all goes well, I plan to go to Hawaii to shoot in July.
Under the current model, I need three to four million dollars in production funds."
Currently, a major Hollywood A-list production typically required $40 to $60 million, sometimes more, like $70 or $80 million.
Apart from James Cameron's films, it was rare for a single film's investment to exceed $100 million.
In comparison, the three to four million dollars Gilbert requested was indeed a small investment.
Spielberg acknowledged: "Okay, I'll hand this project proposal over to Universal. Get ready.
By the way, what's Little Gwen doing now?"
"Oh, her? She's practicing surfing!" Gilbert replied.
Meanwhile, at Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles, Gwyneth Paltrow was undergoing her first outdoor surfing lesson under the guidance of a surf instructor.
"Wow wow wow, this is amazing!" One round of surfing left Gwyneth Paltrow, who was trying sea surfing for the first time, exhilarated.
The young girl indeed loved thrills. Ever since she started practicing surfing, she had been enthusiastic about it and even planned to drag Gilbert along to try it.
This time, besides the coach, Gwyneth Paltrow's friend Winona Ryder also came along.
Winona Ryder was now a notable star, having gained recognition last year after co-starring with Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands.
Upon learning that her friend was practicing surfing for a film's lead role, she volunteered to join her for practice.
When Gwyneth Paltrow returned from surfing, Winona Ryder handed her a bottle of water: "Good work, Gwen."
"Thanks," Gwyneth Paltrow unscrewed the cap and guzzled down the water like a cow, completely disregarding any pretense of being a lady.
Of course, she didn't really have much of a lady-like image to begin with.
Winona Ryder was very curious how Gwyneth Paltrow knew Gilbert and asked, "Gwen, can you tell me about Gilbert? How did you meet him?"
Gwyneth Paltrow was very honest: "At first, I just thought he was handsome and that getting involved with him seemed like a good idea.
Later, I found out he was writing his own script, and I thought it was good, so I wanted to play the female lead and recommended the script to Godfather."
Winona Ryder frowned, "It sounds like you got the short end of the stick, since he got a directing opportunity through your connections."
"Oh, it's not about keeping score that way," Gwyneth Paltrow said. "He's been doing yoga with me, so I haven't lost out!"
"You've been doing yoga with him?" Winona Ryder covered her mouth, disbelievingly: "If Uncle Paltrow found out about this, you'd be toast."
Gwyneth Paltrow complained, "I'm telling you this because you're my good friend. If you tell my dad, I'll cut you off."
"Don't worry, my lips are sealed. But, is he good in that department?" Winona Ryder was very curious.
"Of course he is," Gwyneth Paltrow said, a look of reminiscent pleasure on her face, glowing with vitality.
She patted Winona Ryder's hand, "I heard you're dating Johnny Depp, is that true?"
Winona Ryder nodded shyly, admitting, "Yes, we're dating."
"No way, he's eight years older than you and he's been married," Gwyneth Paltrow said, disbelieving.
But Winona Ryder was unconcerned: "What's wrong with being eight years older? He's divorced and single now, and I'm single. I feel like we're a great fit!"
"He'll hurt you," Gwyneth Paltrow said.
"Hurt? No one can hurt me." Winona Ryder seemed determined to be with Johnny Depp.
She didn't let Gwyneth Paltrow off the hook either: "What about you? Aren't you also seeing Gilbert? Aren't you afraid he'll hurt you?"
"We're partners, not in a romantic relationship. It's a popular type of relationship among young people right now, where we explore topics about each other," Gwyneth Paltrow stated self-righteously.
Her words left Winona Ryder speechless.
After a long pause, Winona Ryder finally quipped, "Your life is truly messy."
"Messy? What's messy? I'm only involved with one guy at a time; I'm not promiscuous," Gwyneth Paltrow said with even more conviction.
In the early nineties in North America, heavily influenced by the counterculture of previous decades, young people discussing topics like marijuana, drugs, and relationships was considered a sign of freedom.
In this era, if you didn't dabble in something, didn't go to social gatherings or parties, or didn't date boys and girls, you might even be seen as having a problem.
Actually, at first, Gilbert found this decadent lifestyle unacceptable.
He used to think that as a director of online movies, he was already open-minded enough, but it turned out he wasn't.
Even now, Gilbert still finds this lifestyle unacceptable.
Speaking of which, Gwyneth Paltrow was only the second girl he had done yoga with. The first was a girl from the USC football cheerleading squad.
Gilbert had forgotten the exact details of how it happened, but it was his first experience with the passion and yoga skills of an American girl.
For this, Old Gilbert even opened a bottle of wine to celebrate that his stoic son had finally "broken his fast."
Old Gilbert often told Gilbert that he wasn't like his son at all.
Gilbert initially thought Old Gilbert had realized his son was a different person, but it turned out the old man was just complaining that he had too few girlfriends and lacked his youthful swagger.
According to Old Gilbert's bragging, by Gilbert's age, Old Gilbert had already had seven or eight girlfriends.
Gilbert would then retort, stating directly that the Landrini family's downfall was due to Old Gilbert's inability to control himself.
This would always make the old man huff and puff, but he couldn't deny that Gilbert was speaking the truth.
In Gilbert's view, career is the foundation. Once a career is established, what kind of woman couldn't he have?
Being young is good, but youth doesn't put food on the table.
This summer, Gilbert's career was about to take off.