During the filming on Kauai, Hawaii, even though Gwyneth Paltrow, as the lead actress, had her own hotel room, she still preferred to share a room with Gilbert.
The crew members were used to this; after all, if it weren't for Gwyneth Paltrow, their young director might not have gotten the directing opportunity so early.
A director sleeping with his lead actress is quite common in Hollywood, especially in the independent film scene.
Moreover, influential figures in Hollywood have their peculiar preferences; you might think it's a man and a woman, but it could easily be two men, two women, or even three or four.
Comparatively, the independent film scene is a bit more chaotic, while mainstream cinema is more structured.
At the very least, sleeping your way to a leading role might work in independent films, but it's not effective, or at least not very impactful, in mainstream Hollywood.
However, for Gilbert and Gwyneth Paltrow, the situation was quite different.
Gwyneth Paltrow referred to her relationship with Gilbert as a "temporary partnership," admitting she was only attracted to his body, not to him as a person.
For a while, Gilbert felt like he was being a scoundrel. According to traditional views from the other side of the Pacific, if you've been with someone, you should take responsibility.
But later, seeing Gwyneth Paltrow's nonchalant attitude, Gilbert temporarily let go of his psychological burden.
Even in that country across the Pacific, two or three decades later, young people's views on life underwent drastic changes.
Many similar temporary partnerships emerged, with a more apt term being "friends with benefits."
However, this temporary partnership came to a halt with the arrival of Mr. Paltrow, Gwyneth Paltrow's father.
Mr. Paltrow was a very traditional and conservative man who despised the so-called "free love" culture, and naturally forbade his daughter from fooling around.
Gwyneth Paltrow had no choice but to dutifully sleep in her own room.
The night before Mr. Paltrow arrived, Gwyneth Paltrow and Gilbert had an intense "workout" session until she was completely exhausted, unable to even lift a finger.
The next day, as she returned to the hotel room she hadn't stayed in, Gwyneth Paltrow left her sexy nightgown with Gilbert as a memento.
"Gilbert, my father is watching me this time; I'll probably be dragged home after filming," Gwyneth Paltrow said, looking at Gilbert with teary eyes.
Gilbert couldn't say much. Should he tell her father to give her freedom?
According to Gwyneth Paltrow's description, Gilbert would likely be sued by Mr. Paltrow for indecency.
Even if he wasn't convicted, it would still be a messy situation.
This was... quite helpless.
Sighing, Gilbert opened his arms: "Surely a hug is okay, right?"
Gwyneth Paltrow's tears turned to a smile: "Of course!"
They embraced, exchanging a final moment of intimacy.
Gwyneth Paltrow still wasn't satisfied and whispered in Gilbert's ear, "Don't worry, I'll find a way to escape. I won't forget the joy you brought me..."
"Alright, alright, be a good girl and listen to your father. It's not necessarily a bad thing. Go on, your father will be here soon," Gilbert patted Gwyneth Paltrow's backside and escorted her out of the room.
"Then I'm off. Remember to miss me on nights without me!" Gwyneth Paltrow walked away reluctantly, eventually returning to her own room.
Back in bed, Gilbert stared blankly at the ceiling fan, his mind filled with random thoughts.
Honestly, in the few years he'd been in North America, Gilbert felt his worldview had undergone significant changes.
He couldn't tell if it was for better or worse, only that he was more adapted to the North American social environment now.
---
In the afternoon, Gilbert met Gwyneth Paltrow's rigid father.
Mr. Paltrow looked at him somewhat like a prisoner, which made Gilbert a bit intimidated.
However, it's possible Gwyneth Paltrow kept her mouth shut and didn't let Mr. Paltrow catch any evidence, so Gilbert escaped Mr. Paltrow's piercing gaze.
But, as with sneaking around, there's always either zero times or countless times.
During a break in filming one day, while Mr. Paltrow was strolling around Honolulu, Gwyneth Paltrow pulled Gilbert to a secluded spot.
"What are you pulling me here for?" Gilbert was still puzzled.
But to his surprise, Gwyneth Paltrow immediately started stripping off her clothes, urgently saying, "Hurry up! My father will be back this afternoon, and we won't have time."
Gilbert was instantly speechless. She pulled him here just for this? In broad daylight, in the wild, this... this was too embarrassing!
Gwyneth Paltrow couldn't care less. She directly pulled off Gilbert's clothes and knelt down, beginning her "yoga" session.
This scene, usually only seen in various unmentionable films, was now playing out in real life.
The crucial part was that cars and pedestrians occasionally passed by on the main road outside, and the small bushes couldn't completely hide what was happening.
If anyone paid the slightest attention, they would be discovered.
Perhaps it was this thrill that made today's "yoga" experience particularly special and quick.
After finishing their "yoga," Gwyneth Paltrow wiped her mouth and reminded Gilbert, "Don't give anything away when we go back. Don't let us get caught."
With that, she sashayed away, leaving Gilbert bewildered in the wind.
---
In the days that followed, Gwyneth Paltrow occasionally sought similar opportunities to spend intimate moments with Gilbert, even though it was summer.
Each time, Gilbert feared Mr. Paltrow would burst in and discover their activities, but he had to admit it was quite thrilling and addictive.
Perhaps it was these tense and exciting encounters that helped Gwyneth Paltrow find her footing, leading to increasingly better performances in her acting.
These thrilling days continued until the filming of "The Shallows" concluded, and Gwyneth Paltrow returned to Los Angeles with Mr. Paltrow, marking a temporary end to their escapades.
Although it was exhilarating, Gilbert remained clear-headed amidst the passion.
He understood perfectly that his foundation was his directing career. If he couldn't do that well, everything else would slip away from him.
The ultimate outcome would simply be resorting to finding bar girls, just like old Gilbert.
Whether or not emotions were involved was another matter, as the American girl had no intention of a relationship with him. But Gilbert certainly didn't want to give his "noble body" to bar girls; that would be a huge loss.
Incidentally, it wasn't Gilbert who thought his body was noble; it was Gwyneth Paltrow who said so. After all, having inherited old Gilbert's genes, his physical prowess was quite strong in all aspects.
---
After wrapping up filming in Hawaii, a simple American fried chicken wrap-up dinner was held, and Gilbert announced the crew's disbandment.
He then took the raw footage back to Los Angeles and dove headfirst into post-production editing.
Universal Pictures, following Spielberg's suggestion, allowed Gilbert to participate in the post-production process, giving him control over his film's final cut.
Aside from his involvement in editing, Gilbert also paid close attention to the shark effects created by Industrial Light & Magic.
Special effects technology in this era was still far behind what it would be two or three decades later, but Industrial Light & Magic's technology was already cutting-edge.
From Gilbert's perspective, it was just "okay," but in the eyes of the film's producer, Homer Blake, the shark's image was already vivid and terrifying enough.
Throughout the film, Gilbert used sophisticated camera work, employing subjective perspectives to replace many direct shots of the shark, so the shark's actual screen time was limited.
If the entire film featured the shark, the production budget of $3.5 million would certainly not be enough.
In reality, this was also the reduction made in the original film to minimize and compress production costs.
What Gilbert did was the same as the original: achieving the best possible effect with an appropriate production budget.
However, the actual impact of the film would depend on what the final cut looked like.
For the final cut, Gilbert had a clear vision in his mind.
Therefore, during post-production, Gilbert vigorously controlled the pacing to ensure the film was completed according to his envisioned direction.
However, doing so meant encroaching on the editor's authority, which inevitably led to some disagreements and disputes.