After giving birth, Naomi Watts actively began her recovery, mainly focusing on losing weight and regaining her figure.
Ordinary families might have to worry about taking care of the baby themselves, but at Melon Manor, there were professional nannies. Housekeeper Kyoko was an expert at taking care of children.
Upon hearing that Naomi Watts had given birth, She even brought over a professional childcare nanny from Japan.
Gilbert couldn't quite understand what childcare had to do with Japanese people.
But it was said that the North American upper class liked to hire Japanese nannies, just like people in Hong Kong liked to hire Filipino maids maybe because they served more properly?
As for Naomi Watts, Peter Jackson was waiting for her to start working and join the King Kong crew.
According to the schedule, the film would begin shooting around August or September, and if things went quickly, it might make it in time for next year's summer release.
Because of her long silence during pregnancy, Naomi Watts had lost quite a bit of popularity, and she indeed needed a box office hit to reclaim her lost fame.
As a remake of a classic movie, Gilbert thought this version of King Kong had the potential to be a proper commercial film, and casting Naomi Watts was perfectly fine.
In addition, because the first installment of Ocean's Eleven had performed well, director Steven Soderbergh was planning a sequel, and Naomi Watts would return for a cameo.
As for Cameron Diaz, even though she was considering moving behind the scenes to become a producer, her recent films included Gangs of New York and the upcoming summer release Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
She could still take a role here and there for fun. Previously, Gilbert had mentioned the movie National Treasure to her.
Cameron Diaz was very interested and accepted the invitation to review the script.
The film's lead actor was Nicolas Cage, who had worked with Gilbert on The Rock, and was Sofia Coppola's cousin.
But according to Sofia Coppola, Nicolas Cage had recently run into financial trouble. Looks like things weren't going well for Cage.
Charlize Theron, after winning the Best Actress Oscar, was quite satisfied and continued to receive a flood of commercial and endorsement offers.
She accepted a few projects on her own, one of which was The Terminal, a collaboration with renowned director Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
Even though the movie was produced by DreamWorks, competition was competition this didn't stop Hollywood A-listers from working with Spielberg.
It was rumored that producer Laurie MacDonald actually preferred Catherine Zeta-Jones, but Spielberg ultimately chose Charlize Theron, most likely due to Gilbert's influence.
Miss Jones had also been doing well these past couple of years. Even though she didn't end up living at Melon Manor, she gained a firm foothold in Hollywood after her success in Chicago.
A few months ago, there were even rumors of her and Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins being involved who knows if it was true or not.
It was said that Miss Jones and Rachel Weisz had also reconciled and were good friends again.
Maybe the British circle in Hollywood needed to stick together completely normal.
As for Jennifer Connelly, the roles she took were mostly romance and comedy films. She was about to work with Adam Sandler on 50 First Dates, and she was also doing voice work for Shrek 2.
Anne Hathaway had taken two roles: Warner Bros.' A Cinderella Story and Universal Pictures' The Phantom of the Opera.
For someone as popular as Anne Hathaway, landing the lead roles in these two modest-budget films wasn't difficult at all.
As long as she wanted the role, producers and directors basically didn't consider anyone else.
As for Scarlett, after filming Lost in Translation, she mostly just relaxed and played with Ilian. But she wouldn't be idle for long—soon a chick flick called Mean Girls reached out to her.
After reading the script, Scarlett liked the story and accepted the role, co-starring with Rachel McAdams.
In addition, after the flop of Gangs of New York, Martin Scorsese was aiming for the Oscars again with a new film titled The Aviator, telling the legendary story of Howard Hughes.
Leonardo DiCaprio starred in the film, and Cate Blanchett, known as a Hollywood powerhouse, also joined. Scarlett even made a cameo appearance.
That was because Gilbert had helped get Scarlett the part. If one wanted to win the Best Actress Oscar, besides good timing, connections, and luck, adequate preparation was essential.
Starring in a film that could receive an Oscar nomination was a good way to build credentials.
These women were all doing quite well in their careers and didn't need too much of Gilbert's help they could thrive just fine on their own.
After Ilian was born, Gilbert didn't have to worry much, so he shifted his focus back to promoting Pirates of the Caribbean.
He, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley, among the main cast, appeared on several programs to do some promotional work.
In those shows, talk inevitably turned to Ilian, the baby.
Whenever that happened, Gilbert would smile broadly: "I think my father would be happy there's someone to carry on the Landrani family line."
"I'm also very happy. The moment Ilian came out of the delivery room, I felt like the whole world changed colors."
The host asked, "Do you prefer boys or girls?"
If someone asked that question twenty years later, the host would've been blasted by social justice warriors and radical groups. But things weren't so crazy back then, so it was still a normal question.
Gilbert thought for a moment and replied, "Personally, I actually prefer girls a bit more."
"Oh?" The host was curious and followed up, "Why?"
"There's an old saying daughters are their fathers' lovers from a past life. I think that makes a lot of sense." Gilbert smiled as he explained his preference.
"That's true," said the host, also a father, agreeing. "I have three kids two boys and a girl."
"I definitely prefer my daughter. I treat her like a princess. Maybe she really was my lover in a past life."
The two fathers began chatting enthusiastically about parenting experiences, leaving everyone else bewildered.
Were we here to promote a movie, or was this a parenting talk show?
On another show, the host was equally interested in the baby and even offered Gilbert some parenting tips and experience, such as how to raise and educate a child.
The host also asked Gilbert, "If you have a daughter in the future, and she gets a boyfriend, what would you do?"
Gilbert thought for a moment and replied, "I'd break his legs…"
The host was stunned for a second, then agreed, "I might make the same choice."
Although it was just a joke, it fully reflected a typical father's mindset. Compared to sons, who need to be roughened up, people generally believe daughters should be spoiled.
Of course, for now, Gilbert only has a son. It's not yet time to worry about a daughter.
Even though topics about family and children are quite popular and well-received by audiences, the main purpose of appearing on these programs is still to promote the film.
Pirates of the Caribbean has already been scheduled for release on May 2nd, marking the start of the summer movie season.
This has almost become a tradition over the past few years, Gilbert's films have consistently been the blockbusters that kick off the summer season.
Gilbert has been the reigning box office champion in North America and globally for three consecutive years. This time, Pirates of the Caribbean is coming in strong and cannot be underestimated.
From a certain point of view, even though the Pirates of the Caribbean story is based around pirate ships, it's actually considered an original film.
As everyone knows, adapted and sequel films are usually more likely to succeed than original ones. That's why studios are more enthusiastic about making sequels and adaptations rather than original films.
Needless to say, Melon Studio receives plenty of original scripts every year, each hoping to catch Gilbert's eye.
But because they're original and carry uncontrollable risks, many of them are still just sitting idle in Melon Studio's script vault.
That's why some people believe that Gilbert has been on a downward trend since The Return of the King. After all, original movies aren't The Lord of the Rings the risks are high.
But these same people forget that when Gilbert first decided to make The Lord of the Rings, they also said that it was difficult to adapt and carried the risk of failure.
And now, the Lord of the Rings series has become one of the most profitable franchises in global film history. The risks that were present in the early stages of production are now completely overlooked.
Now let's take a look at this summer's competition for Pirates of the Caribbean.
After seeing the release date for Pirates of the Caribbean, 20th Century Fox immediately announced the release of X-Men 2 set for the weekend right after Pirates of the Caribbean.
Additionally, Universal Pictures scheduled Bruce Almighty for release on May 23rd.
It's worth noting that this film stars Jim Carrey and Jennifer Connelly, with Morgan Freeman also involved.
Ever since The Mask, Jim Carrey has remained a top-tier Hollywood comedy actor. Any comedy film he stars in tends to be a major player in the summer movie race.
Another competitive entry is Finding Nemo, which is the last film under Pixar Animation Studios' distribution agreement with Disney.
Finding Nemo is set for release at the end of May. Once it's released, Pixar Animation Studios will become the most sought-after company in Hollywood.
Robert Iger has had several meetings with Steve Jobs, hoping to acquire Pixar Animation Studios.
However, the interests involved are complex. Plus, other major Hollywood studios are also fighting for it. Jobs is in a strong position and is in no hurry to sell Pixar.
At Jobs' level, money is not what he lacks. When the time comes, the acquisition will definitely be in the form of a stock swap.
Also releasing this summer is Bad Boys II, directed by Michael Bay.
Previously, Michael Bay was praised for going head-to-head with Gilbert, but ever since Pearl Harbor, no one really thinks Bay can compare with Gilbert.
Years have passed, and Gilbert has already become a master of cinematic art. As for Michael Bay, he still relies on explosions audiences are growing tired of the same old thing.
But there's still hope for Bay. The Transformers project, which Gilbert didn't land, ended up in the hands of Sky Flim Studio.
Sky Flim Studio has a close relationship with Michael Ovitz, and Ovitz will definitely arrange for Michael Bay to direct Transformers.
Aside from Bad Boys II, this summer will also see the release of Melon Studio's 2 Fast 2 Furious and Rush Hour 3.
Jackie Chan is now a top-tier Hollywood star. Compared to Jet Li, who entered Hollywood around the same time, Jackie Chan has undoubtedly done better—probably because he latched on to Gilbert's leg.
Rush Hour 3 is the final chapter of the series, but Jackie Chan still has The Mystery of the Talisman 2 lined up.
The previous film,grossed $562 million at the box office. For an original adventure-fantasy film, that's quite an impressive performance.
It's also the highest-grossing film ever led by a Chinese actor.
Given the positive response to the first film, the sequel has been prioritized for production this summer. And it has to move fast, or else the actress playing Jade, Shu Chang, will grow up too quickly
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