Even though Cameron Diaz kept begging Gilbert to let her be the female lead, he flat-out refused her.
"You're not right for the lead role," Gilbert stated.
"Why?" Cameron Diaz was confused. She thought she was perfectly fine; she had the popularity now, a great figure, and she was beautiful.
"It's just not going to work," Gilbert explained. "You can't always rely on me. You need to forge your own path, you know?"
"But I don't know how to do that, what should I do?" Cameron Diaz asked.
Of course, she knew Gilbert couldn't always look out for her, but without his guidance, she felt lost.
"Don't worry," Gilbert reassured his little lover. "First, stick with Kate, take on some advertising endorsements. You can start going for some roles now. When the time is right, I'll tell you which movie to go for as the female lead, and you'll go get it."
"Really?" Seeing Gilbert nod confidently, Cameron Diaz understood that he wasn't abandoning her, and she felt relieved. "Okay then, I'll listen to you."
Due to Gilbert's intervention, Cameron Diaz became famous earlier.
But Gilbert hadn't forgotten that Cameron Diaz's breakout role in his previous life was The Mask.
That movie was adapted from a comic released in the 1980s, but unfortunately, Gilbert didn't have much spare cash, so he couldn't get the rights.
Plus, the comic adaptation rights had already been acquired by New Line Cinema, so it wouldn't be right for him to try and snatch them.
Of course, if he were willing to direct the film, maybe New Line Cinema would agree.
But honestly, the biggest contributor to that film's success was actually Jim Carrey, who was a four or five-tier actor in Hollywood at the time, and it had little to do with the director.
Without Jim Carrey, The Mask wouldn't have been a hit.
Rather than making The Mask, Gilbert preferred to stick to his own rhythm and take things one step at a time.
---
New York was the final stop for promotions. After wrapping up the New York leg, Final Destination officially concluded all its promotional activities.
Gilbert brought the cast and crew back to Los Angeles, officially disbanding the production team.
Robert Iger quickly came knocking, having coffee with Gilbert.
"Gilbert, do you have plans to turn Final Destination into a film series?" Robert Iger chatted for a bit with Gilbert before getting to the main point.
"A film series?" Gilbert thought about it. "This film is definitely well-suited for a series. If Touchstone Pictures has a plan, they might as well find someone to take it on."
Anyway, he had a ten percent share and corresponding copyrights, so Touchstone Pictures couldn't make a sequel without him.
At that point, whether it was investing or selling off his copyrights, Gilbert would have options.
Hearing Gilbert say that, Robert Iger understood his meaning.
"Don't worry, Touchstone Pictures will offer a fair price to acquire part of your copyrights," Robert Iger guaranteed.
It seemed that Final Destination's huge success had made Touchstone Pictures restless; they didn't want anyone else to get a piece of the pie when developing a sequel.
---
After discussing the Final Destination sequel, Gilbert naturally inquired about the revenue sharing.
According to relevant regulations in North America, for a long-running film, the theater chain would pay the distributor the first share of revenue after twenty-eight days of screening.
Subsequent shares would vary with the screening time, and generally, most films would receive all their shares a week after they left theaters.
Of course, this was the situation in the North American market; overseas distribution sharing was much more complex.
However, just because the money reached the distributor didn't mean it would quickly reach other investors and producers.
It was absolutely normal for distributors to delay paying out box office shares for a year or even longer. Even Hollywood's top eight studios, known for their good reputations, often dragged their feet on payments.
It wasn't uncommon for such matters to end up in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Hollywood has no moral bottom line; in some ways, even the vampires on Wall Street have more conscience than them.
But Gilbert didn't want his money to be delayed for a year or two; he couldn't stand it. After all, he had many plans, and he couldn't move forward without money.
For this, he had a secret weapon: a new project.
Everyone knew that Gilbert was currently the most sought-after director in Hollywood. Once he started a new project, the film companies willing to invest would line up down half of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"Bob, I wonder if Touchstone Pictures is interested in my next project?" Gilbert began to fish.
Robert Iger indeed took the bait: "What genre? Is it still a thriller or horror film?"
"No," Gilbert shook his head. "It's an action film. I plan to make an exciting, explosive action movie."
As soon as he heard it was an action film, Robert Iger's heart sank. "Gilbert, weren't horror films working out great before? Why change genres?"
"Bob," Gilbert took a sip of coffee, then said, "Do you see how many horror movies are flooding the market right now?"
"But... I don't think any of those horror movies are as good as yours!" Robert Iger said.
"They're definitely not as good as mine, but with so many horror films on the market, audiences' enthusiasm is getting worn out," Gilbert declared. "I'm sure that if I keep making horror movies, I'll be finished."
Transitioning is a choice every director makes after achieving some success in a particular genre.
To become a top-tier film director, you need to dabble in many areas and be able to direct all sorts of genres.
Spielberg is like that; he can make thrillers, family-friendly movies, and even art-house films.
Gilbert knew he wasn't as skilled as Spielberg, but he also wasn't willing to be pigeonholed as a B-movie horror director.
Hearing that the next project wasn't a horror film, Robert Iger hesitated a bit.
Robert Iger wondered if the "Horror Prince" could still work magic in a field he wasn't specialized in.
After thinking it over, Robert Iger still said, "Submit the script, Gilbert. We'll need a high-level discussion to make a decision."
The approval of any film project is not a simple matter; even independent films have many complications, let alone mainstream commercial films.
Gilbert clearly understood this and didn't think there was anything wrong with Robert Iger's attitude. He just nodded in agreement.
If Robert Iger had immediately agreed that Touchstone Pictures would invest, Gilbert would have been suspicious of a trick.
---
After his meeting with Robert Iger, Gilbert returned to his studio, where his agent, Sheena Boone, was already waiting for him.
"Sheena, help me find an accountant from PwC. We need to prepare to settle the box office shares with Disney."
"Okay, I'll go find one right away..." Sheena Boone acknowledged.
Having his own accountant was essential. Without his own accountant keeping an eye on things, who knows if Disney would mysteriously lose hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars when doing their accounting.
While PwC accountants are expensive, their professional abilities and reputation are trustworthy.
"Also," Gilbert instructed, "contact other film companies and tell them I have a new project. See if they're interested."
"Didn't things go well with Robert Iger?" Sheena Boone asked.
"Not exactly," Gilbert explained. "It's about putting some pressure on them, and also having a fallback plan."
Sheena Boone understood and nodded.
---