The air in the audition studio was stiff with cold. The lights were too bright, making everyone's eyes sting.
James Cameron sat with his arms crossed, leaning back in his chair, his expression dark.
On the monitor, Leonardo DiCaprio's image was paused. Cameron frowned and let out a single sentence:
"He's a boy, not a man."
The voice wasn't loud, but it hit everyone hard.
On the other side, Robert Shaye, the CEO of New Line Cinema, was tugging at his tie, looking completely fed up.
He glanced at Kate Winslet and spoke coolly:
"Link , the market wants a skinny beauty, not this healthy English rose. Her waistline is going to cost us an extra three million in promotion."
One thought the male lead was too soft; the other thought the female lead was too heavy.
Link ignored them both. He knew arguing with these two was a waste of breath.
He stood up and walked toward the two young actors, who were still a bit awkward.
As he passed the makeshift stern deck constructed with scaffolding, his heel pressed lightly on the wood.
A soft creak, and the wooden platform gently wobbled.
A crew member in the corner gave him a barely perceptible nod.
Link walked up to the two actors, his voice calm.
"Forget the script."
Kate and Leonardo both looked confused.
He pointed to the rough wooden platform—
The paint was peeling off, like an unfinished dream of a ship.
"Kate," he looked at her, "you are not a noble lady about to jump into the sea. You are a bird trapped in a gilded cage. The water is cold, but that's what freedom feels like."
"You are standing there not because you want to die, but because you want to breathe."
Kate's fingertips trembled slightly. She lowered her head, her breathing shallowing.
"And you," Link turned to Leonardo, "You are not a hero. You're just a poor kid who won a ticket in a card game. You wanted to see the ocean, and instead, you saw a girl who shouldn't have been there."
"You don't want to save her; you just don't want her to die right in front of you. When you talk to her, talk to her like she's a disobedient little sister."
Cameron's frown deepened.
To him, this kind of "soul coaching" was a complete waste of time.
Shaye simply pulled out his pocket watch and started timing the break.
"Go on."
Link walked back to the monitor and said flatly to Cameron, "James, watch the frame."
The lights refocused.
The entire studio felt vacuum-sealed, silent save for the sound of breathing.
Kate climbed onto the wooden platform.
The light hit her back, her shoulders shaking slightly.
She didn't yell, didn't cry; she just stood there quietly, like a shadow forgotten by the world.
Leonardo walked up.
He leaned against the railing and lit a cigarette. The tiny flare of fire drew a small arc of light in the cold air.
"If you jump," he said, the cigarette dangling from his lips, his tone airy, "I might have to follow."
Kate turned back, her eyes wide, her voice trembling: "Don't come closer!"
"I won't."
Leonardo gently blew out a puff of smoke.
"Just warning you, the water's cold as hell."
In front of the monitor, Cameron's crossed arms slowly fell away.
He leaned forward, his eyes glued to the screen.
In that moment, the atmosphere hung suspended.
Then, a faint creak.
The wooden platform under Kate's feet suddenly lurched.
She cried out, losing her balance, and fell backward.
Leonardo didn't even think; he lunged immediately, grabbing her hand.
"I've got you!"
In that instant, the entire room was silent.
On camera, the boy's young face suddenly hardened with resolve;
The girl's terror melted into trust.
Their breaths entwined, separated by the lights, like two stars pushed onto the same path by fate.
"I... I won't let go," Leonardo whispered.
Shaye suddenly snatched off his glasses and rubbed his eyes hard.
Cameron abruptly stood up, his eyes blazing like he'd found water in the desert.
In the corner, someone gasped first, and then an assistant forgot their job, standing there with their mouth open. Then, applause broke out, starting with one clap, then two, until it echoed through the whole space.
Link smiled. He knew they had nailed it.
But Cameron wasn't smiling.
His expression was stern. He walked to the table, grabbed a blank piece of A4 paper and a sharpie.
He leaned down and, with a few swift strokes, drew a messy but terrifyingly impactful storyboard sketch.
The stern of a massive ship, angled high, almost vertical.
A dense mass of falling figures on the deck.
He finished the sketch, looked up, his gaze like twin searchlights, fixed squarely on Link.
He held up the drawing.
"My Jack and Rose, I've found them."
He tapped the pen heavily on the outline of the ship on the paper.
"Now tell me, Link —"
"Where is my ship?"