Chapter 5: Universal High-Level Meeting

At Universal Pictures, a high-level meeting was taking place regarding the new science fiction film project "Jurassic Park." Steven Spielberg had just finished filming "Hook," and besides being busy with post-production, he was attending this meeting.

Before the original novel "Jurassic Park" was published, Spielberg had already discussed the dinosaur-themed story with the author, who was also a well-known screenwriter, Michael Crichton.

Since then, Spielberg had been closely following the progress of the novel's creation, realizing that it would be an excellent story to adapt into a film.

As it turned out, he wasn't the only one with this insight.

When Michael Crichton's novel took shape, it sparked a bidding war among Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Universal Pictures.

In the end, Spielberg, thanks to his good relationship with Michael Crichton, helped Universal Pictures secure the project last year.

To have Michael Crichton personally adapt the screenplay, Universal Pictures paid an additional $500,000.

While Spielberg was filming "Hook," Michael Crichton completed the screenplay adaptation, so it was time to discuss the project officially.

After Universal Pictures acquired the film adaptation rights last year, they expressed that it would be best if Spielberg directed the film himself.

However, Spielberg wanted to finish filming "Schindler's List" before directing "Jurassic Park," which led to some disagreement.

Subsequently, Sid Sheinberg, the president of MCA (Music Corporation of America), which was Universal Pictures' parent company, communicated with Spielberg, requesting that he finish "Jurassic Park" first.

Sid Sheinberg knew Spielberg well, realizing that after finishing "Schindler's List," Spielberg might lose interest in "Jurassic Park."

This was unacceptable for MCA, a company primarily focused on profits. Sid Sheinberg, who wasn't Jewish, didn't care much about a list or any other such matters.

Of course, to placate Spielberg, Sid Sheinberg instructed Universal Pictures' executives to give Spielberg some leeway.

Even if Spielberg wanted to cast one of his own people as the lead actor, it could be agreed upon.

However, before the project meeting could take place, Universal Pictures changed hands.

In 1989, after Sony acquired Columbia Pictures, other Japanese conglomerates also started to show interest.

Ultimately, with the help of well-known Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. acquired Universal Pictures in December 1990.

Not only Universal Pictures itself, but the wealthy Japanese conglomerate also bought MCA Television Group, MCA Home Video and Pay-TV, USA Network, a publishing company, theme parks, and Universal's vast film and television library.

At that time, Japanese businessmen were rumored to be buying up all of America.

Of course, it wouldn't be long before Matsushita Electric regretted its impulsive decision, as the entertainment industry was entirely different from the electronics manufacturing industry.

The change in parent companies did not affect Universal Pictures' operations, and the "Jurassic Park" project was still on the agenda.

The new Japanese parent company knew that Universal Pictures was preparing a major science fiction project, and Matsushita Electric, eager to turn the acquisition into actual profits, became anxious.

With the new president Akio Tani instructed to agree to whatever conditions Spielberg demanded, the long-awaited meeting about "Jurassic Park" finally took place after Spielberg finished filming "Hook."

During the meeting, everyone discussed the preliminary project approval, preparation, and casting.

Spielberg, already very familiar with the project, asked Vice President Lew Wasserman, "I previously sent an invitation to Harrison. Did he respond?"

Lew Wasserman shook his head and said, "Harrison flatly declined the offer for the lead role. We then invited William Hurt, but he refused without even reading the script."

Spielberg raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, but he still said, "It's okay. We're still in the early stages of preparation, so we can take our time selecting the right actor."

At this point, Akio Tanii added, "Director Spielberg, our chairman at Matsushita Electric has always admired you, and he specifically instructed me that whatever conditions you have, you can bring them up."

"All my requirements are written in the director's contract; there's nothing else," Spielberg said, remembering the script that young Gilbert had given him and asked his assistant to bring it in.

"Actually, there is one thing—take a look at this script..."

The assistant had printed out several copies in advance, anticipating that it would be recommended to Universal Pictures, so that all the high-level executives in the meeting could have a copy.

As soon as Lew Wasserman saw the title "The Shollws" on the cover of the script, he immediately had a conditioned response, recalling Spielberg's 1975 film "Jaws."

"Is this a sequel to 'Jaws'?" Lou Wasserman asked.

"No," Spielberg explained. "This is a script written by one of my assistant directors. He wants to seek an opportunity to direct independently, so I'm recommending the script to you."

Being recommended by a top director like Spielberg, the script must be something special, so the Universal Pictures executives all took the script seriously.

The story of the script was simple, just a tale of how a girl escapes from a shark's jaws—nothing particularly special.

If there was anything noteworthy, it was that the protagonist was a woman.

The script also included a few storyboard sketches that detailed a novel filming technique, which was quite unique.

Except for Akio Tanii, everyone present was a seasoned industry professional and quickly began calculating the potential profitability of this "The Shallows" script.

It was still Lew Wasserman who asked Spielberg, "Is it Bruce Cohen?"

Bruce Cohen had long served as Spielberg's assistant, and if it were him, Universal Pictures would confidently invest in the film.

However, Spielberg shook his head again and said, "No, it's Gilbert Landry, Jr."

"Who?" Lou Wasserman indicated that he had never heard of the name.

Spielberg had to explain, "You know old Gilbert, right?"

"The producer who squandered all his family fortune?"

Indeed, bad news travels fast, and all of Hollywood knew about the misfortune of young Gilbert's father.

"That's right," Spielberg nodded. "This is his son, Gilbert Landrini Jr., who wants to direct this film himself."

A Universal executive familiar with old Gilbert chimed in, "If I remember correctly, old Gilbert's son is only 21 years old this year. Can he really do it?"

At 21, wanting to direct a film independently seemed like a pipe dream.

Even Spielberg was already 29 when he directed "Jaws." Twenty-one-year-old Gilbert, Jr. was just a rookie.

Spielberg detailed Gilbert Jr.'s situation: "I've talked with Gilbert Jr.; he works diligently and practically on my set, without any far-fetched ideas.

If it weren't for young Gwen giving me the script, I wouldn't have known that Gilbert Jr. had the ability to create such a script.

We discussed our ideas about the script, and he neither overestimated himself nor felt inferior. I think it's worth a try."

Although Spielberg recommended the script, the Universal executives still felt it needed careful consideration.

If Gilbert Jr. were a bit older and had achieved some success, it would be much easier for the industry to trust him with a directing opportunity.

Even with Spielberg's endorsement, they still couldn't trust an inexperienced young man.

Lew Wasserman suggested, "Why don't we get another, more experienced director to helm the project? We could offer Gilbert Jr. a buyout fee for the script."

Although he hadn't interacted much with Gilbert Jr., Spielberg felt that the young man was similar to himself.

"I don't think Gilbert Jr. would be willing to hand over his work to someone else to direct. He will insist on directing it himself," Spielberg said.

"Then it's unfortunate. If that's the case, Universal Pictures cannot invest in this film," Lew Wasserman said, with a tone that clearly indicated he wasn't too sorry about it.

Similar scripts were plentiful in Universal Pictures' script library. If it weren't for Spielberg's recommendation, this script wouldn't even have made it to a high-level meeting.

What about stealing the script without paying? That's something Hollywood studios could indeed do.

However, the Landrini family was part of Hollywood, albeit a struggling one, but still industry insiders.

Stealing from one of their own was not something Universal Pictures would do.