Chapter 56: The Three Good Friends

After the auditions, Gilbert and the two producers had a private meeting behind closed doors.

Charles Roven remained adamant in his opposition to Keanu Reeves playing the role of Jack. His reasoning was that Keanu Reeves couldn't consistently maintain a good condition.

"I've heard he has a history of drug addiction and is close friends with River Phoenix and Johnny Depp. Those two are notorious in Hollywood!" Charles Roven said.

River Phoenix was known as a genius actor, but his chaotic private life was also widely recognized.

Johnny Depp, after "Edward Scissorhands," gradually ascended to A-list status, but his bizarre attire and personality made him difficult to tolerate.

No matter how dirty and full of gray and black transactions Hollywood was behind the scenes, there was still a basic consensus that everyone should maintain Hollywood's glamorous façade. Publicly, they should still act as good people.

But River Phoenix and Johnny Depp were the kind of people who didn't even pretend. They showed the dirty side of Hollywood to the public.

American society at the time wasn't as open as it would be decades later. Although influenced by hippie culture, the surface of American society still leaned toward conservatism.

Now, if you told the public that their beloved movie star was actually a hot-tempered, drug-addicted person with weird habits and a penchant for wild parties, how could the public accept that?

Fortunately, the media was controlled by large capital groups. As long as you were valuable, the media wouldn't report scandals about Hollywood stars.

But if you lost your value or offended a media conglomerate, you were done for.

Tabloids would constantly expose your dark side, and mainstream media would criticize you until your reputation was utterly destroyed.

No matter how much you tried to defend yourself, even if you were innocent, people would believe you were guilty.

In the previous world, Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise were examples of being manipulated by the media.

As someone who had experienced the era of social media, Gilbert had a clear understanding of the nature of the media.

In this era, controlling the power of speech was crucial.

Who controlled the power of speech? Disney, Warner, and the Time Warner group behind them were all media giants with that power.

You either become one of them or do it yourself.

However, going the independent route was much harder. Gilbert decided to join them first, then go independent later.

After all, things could change quickly, and he didn't want to end up defending a black mermaid or landing on some island's list, which would disgust him...

Resolving the issue with Keanu Reeves was simple. Gilbert said, "Here's the deal: when signing the actor's contract, we'll explicitly state that drinking, marijuana, and fooling around are prohibited. If the actor agrees, it's fine; if not, we'll recast."

Since Gilbert put it that way, Charles Roven couldn't argue further.

Two days later, the crew officially summoned Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock to discuss their contracts.

Sandra Bullock was easier to deal with. She had no bad habits, and although she was somewhat known, her asking price wasn't high. She easily agreed to a $200,000 fee.

However, Keanu Reeves' case was trickier. He had issues with some of the contract terms.

"This..." Keanu Reeves pointed to a few clauses in the contract. "Can we make some changes?"

Producer Kane Wexman shook his head. "I'm afraid not. These are Gilbert's requirements."

Charles Roven, standing by, smiled like a villain from a movie. "If you don't agree, you don't have to sign. We can find someone else."

Hearing the mention of a replacement, Keanu Reeves didn't hesitate and signed his name on the contract.

Charles Roven was halfway through his next sentence when he noticed that Keanu had already signed.

Surprised, he asked, "You're okay with all these conditions?"

Keanu Reeves nodded firmly. "Of course, I can manage it."

Charles Roven looked disappointed; his hope for Tom Cruise had vanished. Why was Keanu Reeves so quick to comply?

This had something to do with Gilbert. After the meeting, he had his assistant, Anna, spread the word.

It was said that Gilbert was very satisfied with Keanu Reeves' audition, but he was concerned about Keanu's private life and history with drugs.

If Keanu Reeves couldn't clean up his act, Gilbert was planning to recast.

This news eventually reached Keanu Reeves' agent, as well as River Phoenix and Johnny Depp.

While Keanu wasn't overly concerned, the people around him were.

His agent earnestly persuaded him to quit drinking, drugs, and marijuana, saying he should secure the role first.

River Phoenix and Johnny Depp went even further.

When the three friends went out for drinks, River Phoenix and Johnny Depp ordered lemon water instead.

There was no alcohol, no cigarettes, no marijuana—Keanu Reeves felt uncomfortable.

His two friends felt the same way, but River Phoenix said, "Keanu, you focus on the film. We'll quit as long as you're shooting."

"Yeah," Johnny Depp added. "Once you're done, we'll throw a big party with lots of girls."

Moved by his friends' dedication, Keanu Reeves resolved to secure the role.

So when negotiating the contract, although he hesitated briefly, he quickly signed when he realized there was no room for changes.

Having made up his mind, how could Keanu let the opportunity slip away? That would be letting down his two good friends.

With the actors on board, it still wasn't time to start filming.

This movie required a lot of physical exertion, and Keanu Reeves would have to do many of the stunts himself, so he needed training.

For this, Gilbert specifically hired experts from the Los Angeles Police Department as consultants for the crew.

They provided training on tactical movements, police terminology, and more.

The LAPD saw this as a good way to promote the local police force's image, so they sent their best people to assist the crew.

Not only that, but they also allowed the crew to film at their new headquarters and provided various police equipment, including helicopters, free of charge—except for fuel.

With such a good deal, Gilbert, of course, accepted. He took a few friendly photos with the LAPD chief and invited them to the film's premiere.

This would be a valuable point of promotion when the film was released.

Another task was securing sponsorships. Product placement in movies was nothing new.

Hamilton sponsored $200,000, and the male lead, Jack, would wear their latest mechanical watch.

All the costumes for the characters were provided by a local Los Angeles clothing distributor for free.

To get their brand name into the film, they added another $100,000 in sponsorship.

The Los Angeles bus company provided several soon-to-be-retired buses for filming and chipped in an additional $50,000.

Other small sponsorships for shoes, sunglasses, and other items brought in an extra $250,000.

Before filming even began, the production had already earned $600,000 in sponsorships—enough to pay Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock's fees.

And that wasn't the end. If the film performed well at the box office, these sponsors would throw in additional bonuses.

Could the film succeed? Others might have their doubts, but Gilbert was full of confidence.

....

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