Chapter 118: Reading The Art of War, Reflecting on Mason's Life

The prison scenes were shot on a constructed set.

This included parts of the Alcatraz underground prison facility, which were built on the set, while exterior scenes were filmed on Alcatraz Island itself.

After deciding to film The Rock in San Francisco, the crew found it exhausting to return to Los Angeles due to the extensive travel required.

Fortunately, when 20th Century Fox joined the project, they resolved this issue.

Due to the high cost of land in Los Angeles, 20th Century Fox had built new soundstages in San Francisco.

With Fox's involvement, the crew gained access to the San Francisco studios, saving them the hassle of constant back-and-forth travel.

Roger Moore was in makeup, putting on a wig to give him a more captive appearance. Shackles were placed on his feet, and he held a copy of The Art of War.

Gilbert noticed the prop book was in Chinese and immediately realized something was wrong. He quickly sought out the props manager: "Why is this book in Chinese? How could John Mason, a prisoner, understand it?"

The prop master immediately acknowledged the error: "My apologies, Director. I'll get it fixed right away."

Gilbert had a strong fascination with Chinese culture. His last film featured a Chinese-themed character, Mecha Master, so the crew wasn't surprised by the inclusion of a Chinese strategy book.

Since it would be difficult to find an English version of The Art of War on short notice, the prop team simply created an English cover and wrapped it around the Chinese version.

As long as they didn't shoot the contents, no one would notice it was a Chinese edition of The Art of War.

Gilbert spoke to Roger Moore, who was still in makeup: "Even though Captain Mason has been imprisoned, he's still a spy, a warrior. You need to maintain that air of authority, a sharp, ruthless presence."

Playing it cool wasn't challenging for Roger Moore. He nodded, shaking the The Art of War in his hand to show he understood.

Filming quickly began. Roger Moore lay in the prison cell as the sound of keys jingling signaled the opening of the cell door.

With shackles on his hands and feet, he was led out of the cell. The camera gave a close-up shot of two books left inside the cell: Shakespeare's Macbeth and an English version of The Art of War.

In an amusing twist, the streaming version of The Rock in China had these two books translated as a single title: Shakespeare: The Art of War.

Of course, Shakespeare never wrote a book called The Art of War. The real author was a Swiss, Nommé, who served in Napoleon's army and later became a military advisor for Imperial Russia.

Whether this mistranslation was intentional or an error is unknown, but it looked humorous.

Most people wouldn't pay attention to such details, but Gilbert, who had a strong impression of the original, was aware of this amusing detail.

Roger Moore's portrayal of this scene was entirely different from Sean Connery's.

In the original film, Connery's performance exuded the classic James Bond style: a quintessential British gentleman, charming and elegant.

However, as a British spy imprisoned for over thirty years, one would expect him to either become disheartened or grow angry over time. It was hard to believe he'd still maintain a gentlemanly image.

This suggests that, in the original script, the character wasn't intended to be a James Bond-style British spy. No wonder Sean Connery wasn't the original choice for the role.

Now, Gilbert had no need to compromise for Sean Connery.

During the scriptwriting process, he and the studio's screenwriters developed John Mason's character into someone whose personality and appearance better reflected thirty-plus years of imprisonment.

This adjustment removed the slight oddity in the original, making the story flow more naturally and giving the character greater depth.

In terms of acting skill, Roger Moore and Sean Connery were equally matched.

However, unlike Connery, who was concerned with maintaining his image, Moore, despite his own Bond history, didn't feel as pressured. This allowed him to follow Gilbert's vision for the character.

Popularity-wise, though, the first James Bond was certainly more famous than the third.

But Gilbert believed that, with his box-office appeal and the improvements made to the film, this version of The Rock could shine even brighter than the original.

John Schwartzman operated the camera, capturing this scene.

Under the watchful eyes of military guards, John Mason emerged from his cell, his eyes full of cold determination and anger, shown in a close-up.

"Good job, Roger. That's a wrap for this shot."

Roger Moore was dismissed to rest, and the scene shifted to Nicholas Cage and a guest-starred Naomi Watts.

Two scenes were planned for the day involving both actors. They were simple, and with both in good form, filming was completed quickly.

In this largely male-dominated film, Naomi Watts' character provided a splash of color, adding a bright note to the film.

Since she had other commitments, Watts' scenes were filmed in a condensed schedule, and in just three days, her work was essentially done.

There was still one final scene where she'd need to make an appearance, so she'd return later to complete it.

After receiving well wishes from the crew, Naomi spent the night with Gilbert in his room.

After a passionate encounter, Naomi went to take a bath, then returned with a wine glass, unadorned, and asked, "Would you like some wine, darling?"

"A little wouldn't hurt," Gilbert replied, taking the glass. They clinked glasses, and he drank it down.

Naomi, however, didn't finish hers. Holding the wine in her mouth, she straddled Gilbert, leaned down, and kissed him, sharing the wine between them.

After they each swallowed their half, Naomi smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you. The wine's a bit strong for me. I couldn't finish it alone, but you saved me."

Gilbert understood the meaning behind her words and gave her a reassuring pat on her back. "Naomi, no need to thank me. You know what we have. There's no need for formality between us."

"I know," Naomi replied, resting on his chest, feeling content as she listened to his strong heartbeat.

"Darling, I want to learn Chinese…"

This was a signal, and Gilbert, eager to teach her, became a fervent instructor once again.

The next morning, Naomi didn't join the crew but instead stayed at the hotel to rest.

Thinking back on the previous night's intensity, Naomi silently cursed Gilbert's remarkable endurance.

She had heard stories of Gilbert's father's wild affairs and rumored stamina. He was known as a regular at various bars and parties. It seemed Gilbert had inherited his father's endurance but not his wild lifestyle.

Sophia had even mentioned that Nicholas Cage invited Gilbert to a wild party recently, which he declined.

In Hollywood, this was what one would call a "good man."

Though Gilbert had never expressed any intentions of marriage or starting a family, he was far better than those Hollywood figures who married and maintained a facade of respectability while secretly indulging in scandalous behavior.

Besides, why would he need marriage? Gilbert was strong enough to meet her needs, and his support helped her secure a steady footing in Hollywood.

And if she were lucky enough to have his child, her future would be secured even after retiring from the industry.

As his partner, Naomi knew Gilbert's substantial wealth better than anyone.

Recently, Netscape, a company he invested in, went public on Nasdaq, creating several multimillionaires.

Gilbert was on that list of shareholders, yet that was far from his full fortune.

In a Silicon Valley tech magazine, Gilbert was revealed as the owner behind two unicorn companies, drawing attention from both Silicon Valley and Wall Street as an investor and owner.

With stocks in popular internet companies like Microsoft, Cisco, and Oracle, plus his own production company, Melon Studios, Gilbert's assets had long surpassed the 100 million-dollar mark.

Apart from Apple, which was still unprofitable, all his ventures were generating positive income.

Gilbert even mentioned investing in someone named Jeff Bezos, who started an online bookstore called Cadabra.

Gilbert predicted that online shopping would have great potential in the future.

Naomi didn't quite understand it. With the current limitations of the internet, even transmitting images was challenging. It made little sense how a digital bookstore could have potential.

Though he offered her the chance to invest, Naomi declined, being a cautious woman.

But Cameron Diaz, after hearing Gilbert's advice, invested $100,000—the savings she had accumulated from acting.

Considering the high expenses of an actress, Diaz had managed her money wisely to save that much.

Diaz even joked that if she lost money, Gilbert would owe her a role. But Gilbert assured her it wouldn't be a loss and promised great returns.

With Naomi's scenes wrapped up, the filming continued as usual.

Soon, young Scarlett Johansson finished her cameo role and returned to school. Gilbert reminded her to study well, having heard she was quite mischievous at school, which he didn't approve of.

Scarlett's brief role had originally only included a few shots, but Gilbert added some extra screen time and even three lines, much to her delight.

As a male-centered film, The Rock focused primarily on its lead actors.

In particular, Nicholas Cage's performance was a source of concern for Gilbert.

Cage's acting could be remarkably inconsistent. He reminded Gilbert of a certain eSports player, who could deliver award-worthy performances in one scene, only to falter inexplicably in the next.

The most frustrating part was that Gilbert had personally witnessed Nicholas Cage performing well in one take, only for his state to be completely off in the next.

Roger Moore, acting alongside him, was also baffled and said to Gilbert, "Nicholas is truly a unique actor. I've never seen anyone like him."

Gilbert was equally exasperated. He had chosen the lead actor himself, so it was his responsibility to make it work.

As a result, adjusting Nicholas Cage's state became an extremely important task for Gilbert.

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