Although the whole "diversity" issue still seemed a little premature, Gilbert knew he had to plan ahead.
When all those demons and monsters were dancing wildly in front of the public, why did most of the world remain silent? At first, it was out of fear of being branded with a label. But later, people discovered they couldn't speak even if they wanted to—because the power of discourse, the media, was completely in the hands of those groups supporting diversity. Even the relatively free space of online opinion was under heavy control.
Gilbert thought the first thing he needed to do was give normal people a chance to have their voices heard.
His plan was to turn Disney and Warner Bros. into his supporters, to make The Los Angeles Times and ABC raise their banners for ordinary people—while clashing head-on with The New York Times and CNN.
Next, he would leverage his Italian heritage to approach the Vatican, seeking the Pope's blessing and letting the Catholic faithful speak out, spreading God's will.
Finally, he would ensure that speech on the social media platforms he influenced remained unrestricted—let everyone speak freely, so that this so-called "diversity" drowned beneath the sheer tide of public opinion.
This was the strategy Gilbert had pieced together after years of experience manipulating discourse. Simple, direct, effective.
But it was also dangerous. It might push some of his current supporters to the other side. Who knew—someone might even arrange a convertible, hire a gunman, and stage an assassination.
Still, after so many years as a director, climbing to his current height, Gilbert felt the weight of responsibility pressing down on him. Almost like a superhero.
After all, he couldn't bear the thought of one day watching some future sports ceremony descend into sheer chaos, with grotesque performances that shattered every sense of beauty. The thought alone was explosive.
One matter worth mentioning: the Athens Olympics were opening next year. The city had even invited Gilbert to visit, to serve as a consultant and provide creative advice for the opening ceremony—or even to take on the role of chief director.
This had to do with his age. Gilbert was still considered young among directors, while the Olympics already had more than a hundred years of history. Having Gilbert direct would symbolize a spirit of continuity and legacy.
But Gilbert refused, claiming he was too busy with work. And indeed, he was.
The minor issue of the Black protests hadn't slowed his pace. On the set of False, the team's immediate challenge was filming the counterfeit money sequences.
There had been films on counterfeit cases before, but they never really showed how fake bills were made; they usually focused on the cat-and-mouse game between cops and crime syndicates.
This film, however, told its story from another angle. With the protagonists being counterfeiters, showing the actual process of making the bills became essential.
In preparation, the production team—thanks to FBI assistance—interviewed several convicts who had served time for counterfeiting. They asked in detail about their experiences: the methods, the materials, every little step. Everything was written down.
The FBI agents who accompanied them even suspected the filmmakers might be planning to print money themselves—otherwise, why dig so deeply into the craft?
In truth, that agent wasn't entirely wrong. Once they had the information they needed, a rundown warehouse at Fox Studios was transformed into a counterfeit workshop.
There, Gilbert and the art department experimented, figuring out how to create bills so realistic the audience would believe them.
At the same time, Sofia Coppola, fresh off promoting her new film Lost in Translation, happened to stop by the Flase set.
When she saw the counterfeit bills in progress, she jocked.
"If I didn't know you were shooting a movie, I'd call the FBI and have them arrest the lot of you."
Gilbert laughed and gave her a tour of the set, explaining,"This will be the first time a film truly shows the process of making counterfeit money. I think it'll be a big surprise for audiences."
"I'm excited too. I want to see how you tell this story," Sofia said, then tilted her head. "But Sally told me your script is really brain-twisting. I'm worried audiences won't understand it."
"How could they not? The story's not complicated at all. Don't listen to Sally—she probably never even read it properly," Gilbert teased.
Charlize Theron, for instance, had started out as a model, studied dance when she was young, and chased her artistic dream to Los Angeles at seventeen or eighteen.
You couldn't exactly call Charlize an emblem of Hollywood's "uneducated" stereotype—but nor could you say she was particularly academic either.
In reality, most Hollywood stars didn't have much education. Many hadn't even finished high school, let alone college.
But once they entered Hollywood, actors naturally learned everything about how to be a star.
Of course, this didn't mean Hollywood lacked highly educated celebrities. Natalie Portman and Matt Damon were both Harvard alumni. Jennifer Connelly graduated from Yale. Cameron Diaz studied for an MBA.
Gilbert himself was a proud alumnus of USC—junior to none other than George Lucas.
Sofia continued,"Gilbert, we're stepping into an era of stupidity. Movies like The Matrix might not even suit Hollywood anymore.
Audiences don't need to think—they just want to sit back and enjoy."
Gilbert shook his head firmly, disagreeing.
"Sofia, I think you're wrong. If audiences don't want to think, that's on the director.
For a film to truly shock and move its viewers, it has to communicate with them. The first step is to make sure they understand what they're watching."
Sofia paused, then broke into a smile, conceding slightly.
"So, what you're saying is… most directors just aren't as good as you?"
"That's right," Gilbert replied with complete confidence. "If most directors were like me, Hollywood would already be in chaos."
And that was true. Good films needed bad ones to act as contrast.
It was precisely because so many Hollywood directors churned out films that were little better than garbage that the works of a select few—like Gilbert—shone like pure gold.
Meanwhile, Tom Hanks, as one of the film's leads, even had to learn how to draw. His character needed to create counterfeit bills on-screen, and for realism, he had to do it himself.
At first, Tom Hanks protested. His hands weren't steady, his sketches sloppy. But under Gilbert's insistence, he kept practicing, time and again. Eventually, he could sketch Gilbert's portrait with ease—and drawing dollar bills became second nature.
Beyond that, the cast frequently held script reading sessions to dig into their characters, exploring not just the lines but the performances beneath them.
At one such session, Gilbert emphasized:
"Structurally, the script shares some similarities with the 1995 film The Usual Suspects.
But I always felt that movie was twisting just for the sake of twisting. On the other hand, I admire Fight Club, where the reversal serves the story itself."
Tom Hanks leaned forward with curiosity.
"So when you designed the character of Ido Dash, you built in enough reversals?"
"Yes," Gilbert nodded. "But the reversals aren't decoration—they're the content. Ido Dash makes counterfeit money, builds a counterfeit life, even creates a counterfeit woman.
And all three are modeled after the ideals in his mind—what is the perfect romance? What is the perfect counterfeit bill? What is the perfect lover? What is the perfect life?
Once I understood that, the character of Ido Dash appeared before me. And with him, the whole story emerged."
Tom Cruise, who had been quiet for most of the discussion, chuckled.
"Sounds like I'm just the sidekick here."
"No, Cruise," Gilbert reassured him. "You're crucial. You've got a lot of action scenes."
In truth, the two male leads had been given carefully balanced screen time. Neither the East wind nor the West wind could overwhelm the other—each had to hold their ground.
Off set, however, Hanks and Cruise kept their distance. They didn't socialize, didn't dine together, barely exchanged words beyond professional courtesy. It was a silent, mutual understanding.
Hollywood superstars always carried a kind of unspoken separation—like kings who avoided meeting each other.
That was why it was so rare to see Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise in the same production. Only Gilbert could make it happen.
...
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