Chapter 16: Media Attention

Without Paul Collins' interference, Gilbert was able to edit the film as he had envisioned. He was confident that his version of the film would be favored by Universal Pictures.

Meanwhile, due to Spielberg's involvement as producer and the shark movie genre, *The Shallows* was receiving some media attention. Several outlets reported on the interesting events during the filming of *The Shallows*, and Gilbert's foolish and arrogant image was widely publicized.

Some of these reports were smokescreens by Universal Pictures to generate public interest in the film.

"During the filming of *The Shallows*, sources revealed that the 21-year-old director Gilbert Landrini was dictatorial and arrogant. Universal Pictures is considering a risk assessment and may decide not to release the film." — *Los Angeles City News*.

"As a new director, Gilbert Landrini is full of rebellious tendencies, interfering with the film company's editing rights and causing a huge commotion. While this is typical of young people, attitudes alone cannot resolve issues in filmmaking. The prospects for *The Shallows* are concerning and it may not be released in theaters." — *Santa Monica Morning News*.

"Reportedly, Universal Pictures has decided to separate Gilbert and the editor, having them each edit a version to see which one performs better before making a final decision." — *Burbank Honest Reporter*.

Gilbert was pleased to see his name repeatedly mentioned in the newspapers. Although it wasn't the best reputation, it didn't matter much to him.

In thirty years, these celebrities would start with negative attention and then use some event to redeem themselves. As long as *The Shallows* succeeded, all the negative reputations and criticisms would turn into praise and flattery.

The media's nature hadn't changed in decades, and Gilbert was well aware of it.

Unfortunately, top media outlets like *The Los Angeles Times*, *Time Magazine*, and *Vanity Fair* did not cover the story. Otherwise, Gilbert's bad reputation could have spread throughout the U.S., not just in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

Nonetheless, Gilbert was content with the attention from these secondary and tertiary media outlets, as it still raised his profile.

On the other hand, Paul Collins was furious to see the reports. While they criticized Gilbert, they didn't mention his name, referring to him only as "the editor". Who knew it was him?

But there was nothing Paul Collins could do about it. Unless he spent money to bribe the media, he could only watch Gilbert get criticized without any benefit to himself.

In 1991, media information channels were still quite limited, with TV and newspapers being the primary sources. If there were online media like Twitter, Paul Collins could have tweeted that the editor was him. Unfortunately, the internet was not yet developed, and Twitter was non-existent.

Gilbert wasn't Tom Cruise; the media wasn't interested in his enemies and just wanted to criticize him.

So, unfortunate Paul Collins was overlooked, and could only quietly edit the film.

If one were nearby, they could hear Paul Collins angrily cursing, "You should be filming in San Fernando Valley, and your whole family should go there to film…"

It was clear he was cursing Gilbert. It seemed Paul Collins had not forgiven Gilbert.

Ironically, Gilbert's qualities would actually make him quite popular in San Fernando Valley, but he certainly didn't want to go.

However, the media reports did attract some ordinary movie fans who became aware that a Spielberg-produced shark movie was in the works.

This generated anticipation.

Spielberg's 1975 film *Jaws* was made with a production cost of $9 million and earned $470 million worldwide. The film became the highest-grossing film of the time and held the record as the highest-grossing film until *Star Wars* took over two years later.

It's worth noting that *Jaws* was initially planned for a Christmas release in 1974 but was pushed to the summer of 1975. At the time, there were concerns that the film would perform poorly at the box office, but it ended up with a remarkably high gross.

Since *Jaws*, the summer season has become one of the most important times of the year for film releases. You could even say Spielberg was the pioneer of the North American summer blockbuster. Considering this was 1975, the significance was immense.

Since then, Spielberg has created one box office hit after another, but for Spielberg's fans, *Jaws* still holds an irreplaceable status.

The Spielberg-produced *The Shallows* was seen as a nostalgic successor to *Jaws*. As Gilbert had mentioned before, *The Shallows* could be considered a spiritual successor to *Jaws*.

While it was good to have Spielberg's name attached, Universal Pictures' internal decision was to wait and see the final film before deciding on a release strategy.

After all, the combination of Gilbert and Gwyneth Paltrow didn't seem likely to be a big hit.

Universal's internal disregard for the film was due not only to Gilbert's youth and perceived unreliability but also to Gwyneth Paltrow's involvement.

In the 1990s Hollywood, actresses did not hold the same status as their male counterparts. Most actresses played decorative roles, except for films specifically for women or independent films aiming for awards.

Of course, there were exceptions, such as Sigourney Weaver in the 1979 classic sci-fi film *Alien*, or Julia Roberts, who became America's sweetheart in romantic comedies and dramas.

But those were Sigourney Weaver and Julia Roberts; Gwyneth Paltrow, with just a connection to Spielberg, couldn't compare to these top Hollywood stars.

This was why Paul Collins focused on Gwyneth Paltrow's physical appearance in his editing.

Some within Universal Pictures saw *The Shallows* as merely a showcase for Paltrow's physique, labeling it as a film selling sex appeal.

If not for Spielberg and *Jurassic Park*, Universal Pictures would never have invested in or released this film.

But it was too late to change anything now; the money had been spent, and the film had been made. Despite their doubts, they had to proceed with the work.

As the film's producer, Tom Blake was very concerned about the post-production. He had reviewed both Paul Collins' and Gilbert's versions of the film.

Collins' version was as expected — a standard film with thrilling scenes but overall quite conventional.

However, Gilbert's edit surprised Tom Blake.

Firstly, Gilbert had significantly shortened the film's length, with the final cut being only 81 minutes long, including the end credits, less than 85 minutes.

A typical film usually runs for around 90 minutes, or an hour and a half. To ensure a film tells its story well, films commonly run over 120 minutes.

But Gilbert had taken the opposite approach, which amazed Tom Blake.

Gilbert explained, "To keep the audience engaged and make sure they're on the edge of their seats, I cut out a lot of unnecessary filler shots. A tight pace is one of the keys to stirring the audience's emotions."

Tom Blake was speechless. Having seen Collins' version, Gilbert's was clearly superior.

Could it be that some people were born to be film geniuses?

Blake felt like he might be witnessing the rise of another Spielberg, but quickly dismissed the thought as too exaggerated.

He dared not think that far.