Ridley Scott felt a bit uneasy, but he also believed that hastily changing his release date after Gilbert announced his film's schedule would make it seem like he was afraid.
Ridley Scott was a man who cared about pride, and he wasn't willing to admit defeat so easily.
Moreover, he thought Kingdom of Heaven might not necessarily lose to Batman. After all, it had been seven years since the last Batman movie.
Kingdom of Heaven was a $130 million epic, starring Orlando Bloom, Edward Norton, and other big names. It wouldn't be inferior to Batman in any way.
Of course, Ridley Scott knew that Gilbert had assembled a star-studded team for Batman Begins.
As Gilbert put it himself, he wanted to use this lineup to enhance the film's epic scale and grandeur.
See? Even Gilbert was emphasizing that "epic feeling."
But Ridley Scott didn't quite understand that an epic feeling wasn't the same as an epic film. Or perhaps he fully understood—he just didn't want to dwell on the difference.
In any case, Batman Begins and Kingdom of Heaven were destined to clash next year, and no one could yet say who would come out on top.
With the release schedule set, every part of production began moving toward that goal, and the project finally had a clear timeline.
Preparation began in July. By October, when Christian Bale could finally don the Batsuit, Gilbert led the crew to Iceland to start filming.
Meanwhile, The False finished its theatrical run during the last weekend of September, grossing $294 million in North America—temporarily ranking third on the annual box office chart.
In first place was DreamWorks Animation's Shrek 2, which made $442 million domestically and became the only billion-dollar global hit of the year.
Second place went to The Passion of the Christ, which earned a stunning $370 million in North America.
In overseas markets, The False was still showing in several countries and regions, but the box office returns were modest.
Its international gross reached $426 million, bringing the film's worldwide total to $720 million.
An original crime film, directed by Gilbert and featuring two Toms, Charlize Theron, and a lineup of powerhouse Hollywood actors—its impact was nothing short of incredible.
The story itself was gripping, and audience reception was very positive. On Rotten Tomatoes, the freshness rating held steady at 82%, and on IMDb it scored 8.5.
For an action crime film with strong commercial appeal, that level of acclaim was exceptionally high.
Though some media outlets kept predicting failure, anyone with sense could see that The False was far from a flop.
A global box office of $720 million—and even the highest-grossing film of Tom Cruise's career—was hardly a failure.
If that's failure, other directors might as well jump off a building.
Interestingly, during its run in France, police uncovered a real-life counterfeit money case.
Interrogations revealed that the culprits were amateurs inspired by The False.
Because the movie depicted in detail how fake currency was produced, they followed the process step by step—recruiting an art student from the Paris Academy of Fine Arts to design plates, obtaining acid-free paper, and even securing a gravure printing press.
Their downfall came when they were caught experimenting with car paint, which drew police attention. Investigators followed the clues and eventually busted the entire gang.
Amusingly, several figures from the French film industry immediately criticized The False, claiming it had corrupted viewers and encouraged crime.
However, the Paris Police Department held a press conference, during which the detective who solved the case admitted he initially thought it was just a random act of vandalism.
After watching The False, he found the crucial lead that led to the counterfeiters' arrest.
That made things ironic: one side accused the movie of disrupting social order, while the other credited it for helping maintain it—using it as a tool to catch criminals.
When reporters interviewed Hollywood insiders about the issue, one said: "There's nothing wrong with the movie itself—it depends on how people interpret it. After all, a pair of scissors can also be a weapon, but it's still just scissors."
In truth, it was quite ridiculous—the counterfeit-making process shown in The False was already outdated. Who would've thought it'd inspire a bunch of fools?
Still, it turned out well enough—the Paris detective became famous and was later dubbed a "super sleuth." He even became the prototype for a detective character in novels and films.
October in Los Angeles was scorching hot, but in Iceland, the chill was bone-piercing.
Although Iceland was relatively mild for its latitude, "mild" was a very limited term. Cold was still cold.
During the day, temperatures stayed around seven to eight degrees Celsius, while at night they dropped below freezing, giving the Batman crew a real taste of both "ice" and "little ice."
One comfortable aspect, though, was that Iceland, being rich in volcanic activity, had abundant geothermal resources and many hot springs.
Although most hot springs were unusable due to high sulfur dioxide levels and strict environmental protection policies, a few had been developed for use.
The hotel where the crew stayed was one of those hot spring resorts. After a long and exhausting day of filming, everyone could return to the hotel and soak in the springs.
It washed away the day's fatigue, making the hot spring a favorite spot for the production staff.
After extensive preparation, Batman officially began shooting its first scene at Vatnajökull Glacier.
Driving along a temporary road with the window rolled down, Gilbert felt the biting wind whip across his face while discussing filming plans with the core production team.
According to the prior agreement with the local government, the road had been built by local authorities with partial funding from the film crew.
In return, during the filming period in Iceland, Gilbert agreed to hire local residents as temporary crew members.
"You give something to get something" — that was the basic rule. Most of the time, Gilbert followed the rules of the game closely.
The scene being filmed that day was a fight between Liam Neeson's character, Henri Ducard, and Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne on the frozen plains.
Before shooting began, both actors stepped onto the ice, and a sharp cracking sound echoed beneath their feet.
The noise made everyone uneasy, worried the ice might break at any moment.
Gilbert turned to the local guide and asked, "Are you sure it's safe to film here?"
"Of course," the guide replied confidently. "The ice layer here is solid and thick. Nothing will happen. Every early winter, many tourists come here to play, and we've never had any accidents."
Even so, Gilbert insisted that both the actors and crew wear safety gear to prevent any unforeseen mishaps.
The action sequence went smoothly. Liam Neeson and Christian Bale had both undergone months of training, and their movements were sharp and precise.
During filming, Gilbert avoided using overly rapid cuts out of consideration for viewers who might get dizzy watching choppy editing.
Over the next few days, the team successfully finished shooting all scenes for the glacier training sequence.
But the very next day, after the crew had left, the glacier where they filmed cracked apart.
When Gilbert heard the news, he looked at the guide, waiting for an explanation.
The guide was embarrassed and admitted he had never seen anything like that before.
Fortunately, the glacier scenes were already complete, and the crew didn't have to risk returning to film there.
Otherwise, Gilbert would have had to consider finishing the sequence inside a studio.
....
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