These demanding conditions were clearly not something a rookie agent could agree to on her own, and Sheena Boone's face remained dark for a while. After hearing Gilbert's terms, Sheena Boone knew there wouldn't be any results today, so she ended the discussion.
"I'll go back and talk to my company about these conditions, and I'll contact you if there's any news," Sheena Boone said.
"Alright," Gilbert, still quite fond of the first agent to contact him, left his contact information. "If you change your mind, get in touch."
Sheena Boone was speechless; those lines should have been hers. Saying more was pointless, so Sheena Boone left with her bag, leaving Gilbert to enjoy two aromatic cups of coffee by himself. He just couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't as good as the tea from his hometown, Gilbert thought to himself.
Sheena Boone wasn't the only one willing to take a gamble. Over the next few days, other agents from different companies contacted Gilbert. Without exception, they were all deterred by Gilbert's outrageous demands. Perhaps out of anger and a desire for revenge, one agent at a public gathering shared Gilbert's conditions as a joke.
Suddenly, Gilbert's demands became a laughingstock in the Hollywood agent community, and he himself was branded an arrogant kid who didn't know his place. Almost everyone was waiting to see old Landrini's son make a fool of himself. When Gilbert went to Universal Pictures' headquarters, he could feel people there whispering and pointing behind his back.
However, Gilbert didn't care in the slightest. He clearly understood that before achieving anything substantial, any defense would sound weak and ineffective. Only tangible results could truly hit back at those who had mocked him.
What surprised Gilbert a little was that Sheena Boone, the agent who had first contacted him, even sent him an encouraging email. It basically advised him not to worry about what others thought and that concrete achievements were more convincing than any words. This greatly increased Gilbert's good impression of Sheena Boone; with that attitude, Sheena Boone was better than most agents.
As for the agent who had ridiculed him, Gilbert had heard his name from his old man. Gilbert was never a magnanimous person; on the contrary, he was quite petty. Now that he remembered that agent's name, he would get his revenge one day. And while he was at it, he'd make an example to show everyone that he wasn't someone to be trifled with.
Signing a director's contract with Universal Pictures wasn't overly complicated. Gilbert hired a lawyer to ensure the contract had no legal issues, then promptly signed the director's agreement. His combined salary as director and screenwriter was only a meager $100,000. But there was no alternative; he was a new, unknown, and young director. This price was only given out of Universal Pictures' respect for Spielberg. Otherwise, Gilbert might not have even received $50,000.
With the director's contract signed, Gilbert breathed a sigh of relief. This meant Universal Pictures couldn't replace the director anymore, and he had finally secured the opportunity to direct. With the contract finalized, the next step was the project preparation meeting. To support Gilbert, Spielberg invited Frank Marshall, a producer from his own Amblin Entertainment, to oversee things. Although Gilbert was the director, the real decision-maker was Universal Pictures producer Domer Blake.
Knowing that Gilbert couldn't bring his own team, Domer Blake had already assembled the crew before the director's contract was even finalized, just waiting for the director to be in place. Frank Marshall remained silent like a wooden figure, so the discussion in the meeting room was mostly between Gilbert and Domer Blake.
"We'll set the filming location in Hawaii. It has beautiful scenery, it's an excellent surfing spot, and most importantly, there are actual sharks there," Gilbert explained his reasoning.
Domer Blake agreed, then added, "I've read the script. Besides the female lead, there are several other characters. What are your plans for them?"
"We'll go to the actors' guild, state our requirements, and they'll find suitable actors. Then we can hold simple auditions," Gilbert said, his thoughts clear. "The key to this film is the female lead; everything else can take a backseat."
The female lead, of course, was already set as Gwyneth Paltrow. She was Spielberg's goddaughter, and without Spielberg, this movie wouldn't even exist.
Gilbert continued passionately, "In the initial stages, we can leverage Uncle Steven's previous Jaws film. For example, we could say this movie is a spiritual sequel to Jaws. What do you think?"
Domer Blake's eyes lit up. "Indeed, after all these years, Jaws remains a classic shark movie. Using Jaws for promotion would definitely work. Frank, what do you think?"
Frank Marshall nodded. "No problem. Mr. Spielberg said the same thing."
"That's good then..."
Spielberg's approval meant the crew could use his name to promote the film. In later terms, it was riding on Spielberg's coattails.
The two key figures of the production team had finished discussing the main preparations, and it was now time for the other crew members. First, for the special effects, Spielberg used his personal connections to bring in Industrial Light & Magic, owned by his friend George Lucas, to handle the visual effects.
The head of Industrial Light & Magic explained the current status of their effects work: "We plan to use a combination of CGI and physical models to simulate realistic sharks. Newly developed rendering software, combined with improved computer hardware, will help us achieve this effect quickly."
Industrial Light & Magic's capabilities were trustworthy, and their price was equally high. It could be said that most of the film's production budget was spent on that one shark.
The director of photography was a newcomer, or rather, not entirely new. After several years as an assistant, this was Dur Randolph's first time as director of photography. "As requested, we've extensively experimented with underwater photography techniques over the past few days and have accumulated significant technical experience. When filming begins, we'll definitely be able to meet the requirements," Dur Randolph assured them.
With both special effects and cinematography confirming they were ready, the other aspects of the film wouldn't be a major issue. This initial preparation meeting went smoothly. Gilbert had even prepared himself for some dramatic confrontation or proving his worth, but he waited and waited, and no assistant director or crew member challenged him.
On second thought, it made sense. Although the outside world viewed Gilbert as a joke, having signed the director's contract, Gilbert was indeed the director. Unless the producer questioned or challenged Gilbert, the other crew members wouldn't be so foolish as to step forward and provoke him. They were all adults; they weren't that naive. Their job descriptions were clearly written in black and white in their contracts; all they had to do was their own work. As for whether Gilbert would become a joke? Well, they certainly wouldn't be the ones laughing at him.
And so, in a harmonious atmosphere, The Shallows crew was successfully assembled. There was no press conference, no reporters covering it, just like any other unknown Hollywood production. Only Spielberg's supervision provided a slight buzz. Entertainment media mentioned it briefly, perhaps mocking the overly ambitious Gilbert, then quickly lost interest. It was assumed that the film's ultimate fate would be similar to other failed movies: quietly filmed, quietly released, then quietly flopped, eventually turning Gilbert into a genuine joke.
Come to think of it, Gilbert should probably thank Spielberg; otherwise, he wouldn't even have the credentials to be a joke. With so much going on in Hollywood every day, who had time to pay attention to an unknown young director?
Regardless of the outside commotion, after Universal Pictures' $3.5 million landed in the third-party escrow account, Gilbert, along with the entire crew and a reunited Gwyneth Paltrow, headed to Hawaii for filming.