Note:
I'm starting to suspect that the amount really was one hundred million.
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During filming, Katherine focused mainly on Bruce Lee's fight scenes and Connery's performance, while Freeman—though also a lead—played a role that was more important to the overall storyline.
Katherine used the Cinema widescreen filming system.
Cinema widescreen, also known simply as Cinema, is a type of widescreen film format. During shooting, three linked cameras each capture one-third of the panoramic image onto three separate strips of 35mm film. During projection, three synchronized projectors simultaneously project the three partial images onto the screen, merging them into a single picture. When shown on a wide, curved screen, Cinema films provide a horizontal field of view of 146 degrees and are equipped with multi-channel stereo sound.
Katherine used 70mm film, resulting in much sharper image quality.
While Katherine wasn't excessively demanding about visual fidelity, she was dissatisfied with the outdated visual style of contemporary films. She believed that a movie like this should deliver a true visual feast.
The film ends with Connery carrying a weapon as he walks along a bleak, deserted beach. Katherine filmed this shot for a full minute. Then Connery climbs onto a broken bridge and gazes into the distance.
"This is our future. There is no salvation here."
"Perfect! Absolutely wonderful!" Katherine laughed.
Although filming had wrapped, the movie still needed editing, post-production, and other processes, which could last until mid-1963. The earliest possible release date was Christmas of that year, though a 1964 release was more likely.
However, Katherine was thrilled that the film might be released a few days ahead of schedule.
Meanwhile, 1963 marked the peak of the civil rights movement in the United States.
That year, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Later, Kennedy also said "I have a dream" shortly before being assassinated. His killer was described as "mentally unstable," though it was clearly a premeditated act.
A film released during such a period could be extremely impactful.
Kathleen wasn't worried about the assassination.
Kennedy was killed because he was president. His brother was also assassinated during his presidential campaign. Martin Luther King Jr. would be killed in 1968.
Besides, she had bodyguards. As long as she was careful, she should be fine.
If all else failed, Kathleen could even flee to Europe and lie low; she had relatives there, even if she hadn't been in touch with them for a long time.
Kathleen was practically risking her life for Wasteland. She sincerely hoped the film would succeed.
Although filming was complete, aside from Connery, the other two lead actors could still be reused.
The one-hundred-million-dollar budget was spent primarily on props and sets.
But even if it were just for set construction, wouldn't it be a waste to throw all that meticulous work away?
So Katherine came up with another plan:
a Fallout television series.
This wasn't the original Wasteland, but an adaptation of the novel.
The original story was a trilogy, so adapting it into a TV series seemed perfect, didn't it?
With the release of the Fallout novels and strategy games, and with personal computer sales booming, Katherine could easily scrape together a million dollars. After all, a TV series cost far less than a movie. Even so, Katherine continued to pursue realism, treating it almost like a film production.
Sean Connery, with his mysterious and unique character, was obviously ruled out. Besides, Connery might not even be willing to act in a TV series.
Katherine planned to bring Freeman in for the second season, while the third season would depict the period after Washington, D.C. in the East, where Bruce Lee could also appear.
For the protagonist of the first season, Katherine sent a letter to Clint Eastwood.
At the time, Eastwood was filming the CBS television series Raw Whip. That didn't matter, though; the contract would expire in 1963, and Kathleen didn't need to film the first season right away. She decided to shoot the second season first, and then the first. In short, the time gap between the two seasons would be roughly thirty years.
Oh, right. When she said "American TV series," she was really referring to the first and second seasons.
In any case, the concept of an American TV series hadn't fully taken shape yet, so it didn't really matter what Kathleen called it.
Kathleen even wrote in her letter that she wouldn't mind if Eastwood himself directed it.
Who was Eastwood?
The lead actor of A Fistful of Dollars (1964), the star of The Bridges of Madison County, and the director and lead actor of Million Dollar Baby, which won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor at the 77th Academy Awards.
He was a multi-talented actor and director whose full potential wouldn't be revealed until he went to Italy in 1964. At this point, he was like an uncut diamond waiting to be discovered. Unlike Freeman, who still needed to hone his skills, Eastwood was already a seasoned actor. His years in Hollywood had given him extensive experience and insight.
Just imagine Clint Eastwood, who rose to fame with A Fistful of Dollars, now becoming famous for a Fallout TV series. How satisfying would that be?
Even thinking about it made Katherine even more excited.
For several consecutive months, Katherine stayed on set, even through Christmas.
By the time she finally paid attention to what was happening outside, Bruce had already sent her news from the company.
Intel had made a major breakthrough; they had overcome the bottleneck in supercomputing.
In other words, Katherine could now build supercomputers.
By the time she returned to New York from Mexico, it was March of the following year.
"Dad, can we really build a supercomputer?" she asked.
Those were the first words Katherine said when she got home.
Immediately afterward, she saw her mother, Emma, hand her a white towel.
"I wanted to come see you, but Bruce said it was better not to disturb you. Kate, I really wanted to be on set."
Emma smiled.
Catherine no longer attended classes at SAB. On the one hand, her dance skills had already reached a professional level; on the other, she simply didn't have the time.
"Thanks, Mom…"
Catherine's excitement quickly cooled.
Right. What about her friends?
How had they been over the past six months?
Did they miss her?
Catherine felt a faint sense of anticipation.