Time slowly moved into late August, and the summer box office race was nearing its end. The undisputed winner of this year's summer season was without a doubt Transformers 2, produced by Sky Dance Studios and distributed by Sony Columbia Pictures.
The film raked in $391 million in North America and was still accumulating, making it this year's North American box office champion.
Global box office also surpassed $800 million, though the worldwide top spot went to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which had already exceeded $900 million globally.
The third-best performer was Iron Man 2, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Disney, earning $311 million in North America and $721 million worldwide.
Thanks to Iron Man 2, Marvel Studios' brand was firmly established.
When pushing forward the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the studio could now rely on its accumulated fan base for unstoppable success.
Marvel Studios was naturally satisfied with these results. Their next focus would be The Avengers, and it was already publicly known that Gilbert would personally direct the film.
However, Marvel still had to wait for Gilbert's schedule, as he was currently occupied with another major project.
"The train is a very important element," Gilbert discussed the shooting plan with stunt coordinator Luca Farias at a location in downtown Chicago.
"I want the train to burst straight onto the streets. Ideally, we should place several cars in the way so the train can smash through them."
Luca Farias was not surprised by Gilbert's audacious idea.
"We obviously can't bring in a real train unless we build a new track, which would be too costly," Luca said, stroking his chin. "We could modify a semi-trailer and connect them to model a train."
"That idea works. Get a plan ready as soon as possible," Gilbert agreed.
Turning to DiCaprio to discuss the scene, he said, "Although we don't want the dream to feel chaotic, having a train crash through a bustling city street is impossible in real life.
But I think this scene is necessary to emphasize the latent danger that Cobb brings."
DiCaprio was thrilled. "Exactly! Just thinking about this scene already excites me."
Nowadays, with advanced CGI and green screen technology, most directors would likely just film against a green screen, and producers would insist on it to simplify coordination.
But Gilbert didn't make that choice.
If it could be filmed practically, it would be. If practical conditions didn't exist, he would create them. CGI was only the last resort.
Take the train-charging-streets scene—it was breathtaking.
Guo Fan had finished filming Source Code and entered post-production. In his free time, he visited the Inception set with his friends Liu Ji and Gong Ge'er.
Gong Ge'er, seeing the semi-trailer being modified, curiously asked Guo Fan, "What are they doing?"
"I'm not sure either, maybe for filming," Guo Fan guessed.
He approached someone he knew in the props team. "Evans, what are you doing with this?"
Evans recognized Guo Fan and didn't hide anything. "We're modifying this truck to become a train for filming."
Gong Ge'er was puzzled. "I thought Hollywood's CGI was advanced. Why not just do it digitally?"
Liu Ji explained, "Every director has their own style. Gilbert is the type who will film practically whenever possible."
Gong Ge'er admired him, giving a thumbs-up. "No wonder he's a top director—truly impressive!"
Guo Fan led the two through the set without obstruction. Familiar crew members greeted him along the way.
This surprised Gong Ge'er, who had just arrived from China, giving him insight into Guo Fan's standing in Hollywood.
Since they were visiting the set, they naturally went to meet Gilbert.
At that time, Gilbert was discussing art design with the production designer when Guo Fan brought them over.
"Director, let me introduce—this is Liu Ji, my producer, and Gong Ge'er, a singer and my good friend."
Gilbert nodded slightly, and the two quickly greeted him.
He didn't particularly care why they were there but asked Guo Fan, "How's Source Code coming along?"
"Very smoothly," Guo Fan said excitedly. It was his first Hollywood-directed film.
"It's currently in post-production, and if all goes well, it should meet the spring release schedule next year."
"Great," Gilbert nodded with satisfaction. "This will be a test for you. Don't just sit idle during post-production—come visit often."
With Gilbert's words, Guo Fan essentially had free rein to move in and out of the Inception set.
Naturally, Guo Fan was extremely grateful. Opportunities to frequently observe Gilbert's set weren't something everyone could get.
After Guo Fan left, Charles Roven expressed concern, "There are rumors outside that you've taken on a Chinese director as a student. I worry that people might talk behind your back."
Gilbert glanced at Charles Roven and said dismissively, "Let them talk, Charles.
As the saying goes, 'the more fleas, the less itchy; the more debts, the less worry.' I've been criticized before, so this isn't new. Since they say I've done this, why not actually do it?
I want to see—God or Satan—who can really do anything to me?"
Gilbert had the arrogance to back this up. In the past, he would never have dared. But now, as a leading figure of Silicon Valley capital and Hollywood's new forces, showing no attitude would make people think he was easy to bully.
In reality, this was a test to see who would back down first.
The truth proved that as long as you have enough strength and toughness, the weakness of capital would become evident.
Now the barking dogs are there because of your strength. If you were weak, they wouldn't bark—they'd just point their guns at your head, forcing you to give up everything valuable.
Dogs that bite don't bark. Dogs that make noise at you often do so out of fear, using bluffing to try to scare you off.
Gilbert, of course, had no reason to fear. He wasn't going to be intimidated.
For the next period, besides being busy with the post-production of Source Code, Guo Fan would also frequently bring his Chinese team members onto the Inception set.
His goal was to let his team fully understand how the best crews in Hollywood, and indeed the world, operate.
If you want to build a first-class crew, the best model is undoubtedly Gilbert's team.
However, given the current small workshop model of the Chinese-language film industry, achieving such a transformation remained extremely difficult.
Guo Fan, however, wasn't afraid. The real problem is being unwilling to start. Once you start, no matter how difficult, Guo Fan would see it through.
The Inception crew basically didn't restrict Guo Fan's movements—art design, set design, props workshops, actor rehearsals, and more.
There was only one place Guo Fan could never go: Orange Studios.
....
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