As for District 9, Gilbert had no requirements in terms of profit. As long as it could break even, that was enough.
Judging from the current box office performance, breaking even would not be difficult. However, achieving profits like those of a major blockbuster commercial film was basically impossible.
This was the dilemma currently facing original films: how to attract audiences was a major problem.
A highly appealing A-list star, a top-tier director, and a good story were the foundation for an original film to draw viewers.
That was why Gilbert had thought of inviting Tom Cruise to star in Knives Out. After all, in terms of box office appeal, since the 1990s there had been very few who could compare to Tom Cruise.
After the script was completed, Gilbert had his assistant deliver it to Tom Cruise.
"Darling, I got the script."
In his mansion in Beverly Hills, Tom Cruise happily received the script.
"Is this Gilbert's new film? This would be your fourth collaboration with him, right?"
Nicole Kidman was about to head to The Hobbit film crew. Because Tom Cruise's family was not very reliable, Nicole Kidman brought her own parents over from Australia to help take care of the children.
After all, with both of them going out to film, leaving the kids entirely to nannies was not very reassuring.
Tom Cruise said, "Yes. I was a bit hesitant at first, but this story is extremely exciting. I want to take it."
Tom Cruise realized that the scripts Gilbert brought him were basically all original screenplays. Perhaps because of his strong box office appeal, Gilbert brought him in as a form of insurance.
But there was no denying that The False and The Last of Us had both become representative works in his acting career and were exceptionally outstanding.
Nicole Kidman expressed her support: "Then take it! I think a lot of people are going to envy you, getting to work with Gilbert again."
"Is that so?" Tom Cruise laughed happily. "That just proves we have good judgment."
He had latched onto Gilbert early on and never let go.
News quickly came from Tom Cruise's side, confirming that he would take Knives Out and play the private detective Blanc.
After consulting Gilbert, Tom Cruise soon revealed on social media that he would once again be collaborating with Gilbert on a new film and asked everyone to look forward to it.
As soon as the news came out, it immediately attracted many film fans to dig for details, asking what kind of movie it would be.
However, Tom Cruise did not reveal anything more, only telling everyone to keep waiting, as it was a very exciting story.
When no answers were forthcoming, everyone turned to ask Gilbert. But Gilbert also did not reveal anything. After paying attention to the follow-up promotion of District 9, he once again set off for China.
This time, he was going as an art consultant to participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
At the same time, he also needed to keep an eye on the subprime mortgage crisis. This crisis was a good opportunity for him—one that could expand his wealth while also delivering a heavy blow to his opponents.
"What did Larry Fink say?" Gilbert asked Ivanka.
Ivanka said, "Based on our investigation, Larry Fink is indeed a spokesperson for multiple behind-the-scenes investors. However, our think tank's analysis believes that this person is extremely ambitious.
He is not content with being just a spokesperson and has definitely developed ulterior motives."
Gilbert frowned and said, "These things are ambiguous, but sometimes even if there's only a ten percent chance, we still have to seize it.
You need to be careful. Don't fall into a trap."
"Don't worry," Ivanka hesitated a little and asked Gilbert, "Are we really going to take this opportunity to intervene in the military-industrial sector?"
"What's wrong?"
"I'm worried that if we attract attention, we'll be targeted jointly."
Gilbert said indifferently, "At a time like this, don't worry about all that nonsense. When the situation is chaotic, only by holding the gun do you have the right to speak.
The problem now is that once others see you don't have weapons to protect yourself, they'll definitely act without restraint.
There's a saying: when they say you pose a deadly threat, you'd better actually have a deadly threat.
Otherwise, they won't just be talking—they'll be trying to eliminate you.
We have to risk everything. Only by going all in can we survive."
Ivanka was shocked. "Has it really come to this point?"
"Yes. It has to come to this point, especially after this subprime mortgage crisis."
Judging from the current support situation of the quadrennial boxing match, the Blue Team coming to power was a certainty. In the worst-case scenario, the Blue Team would dominate the North American boxing ring for eight consecutive years.
This meant the other side would have eight years to target Gilbert, fabricating groundless charges—for example, accusing him of assaulting some unknown and very unattractive writer in the mid-1990s.
Or they could pass special bills to break up Gilbert's business empire.
Don't doubt it. At this point, they were fully capable of doing such things.
By then, without weapons to protect himself, Gilbert would be meat on the chopping block, waiting to be minced.
Therefore, striking at and weakening the opponent's power was absolutely necessary. The Blue Team was not united internally either. At the very least, in California, Gilbert decided to pry loose some bricks from the Blue Team's wall.
Schwarzenegger's political ideals and views were close to Gilbert's, and he would step down in 2011. Gilbert needed to preserve his political legacy and support a new governor to take office.
At present, the Blue Team was not yet completely unhinged. As long as they did not want to cross political bottom lines, they would not go all out to destroy Gilbert.
In the worst case, they could always start hiring assassins and carrying out covert assassinations.
The world's wealthy were all flocking here, but once assassination games were in play, it was no longer safe. A place that could not absorb the world's wealth could no longer maintain its dominance.
A country held together purely by mutual interest would collapse immediately once that common interest was lost.
Gilbert was not afraid. Everyone else might love it, but he did not.
He was unafraid, even if floods raged across the land.
One had to carry that aura, that ruthless force, for others to truly fear you.
Capitalists were weak; they feared death the most. Once you risked everything against them, you would realize how fragile they actually were.
The plane flew to Beijing, China. Upon arrival, it had already become a sea of festivity. Banners were everywhere, signaling the great events to come.
As the Olympic art consultant, Gilbert attended several events consecutively, appeared at multiple forums, met with the organizing committee, and watched rehearsals for the Olympics.
Michael Jackson had ultimately been invited by Gilbert to perform at the Olympics. Additionally, China's national treasure-level singer Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman would jointly perform the theme song for this Olympic Games.
Furthermore, this Olympics primarily aimed to showcase the beauty of Chinese culture—Chinese characters, painting, classical traditional dance, and more.
Gilbert observed the rehearsals and found them extremely impressive.
For such an opening ceremony facing the entire world, no mistakes could be allowed, so everyone was extremely cautious and highly tense.
...
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