"Emma?" Gilbert opened the door and asked, "Why aren't you asleep so late? What are you doing here?"
Emma Watson stood gracefully at the doorway. "May I come in?"
"Come in," Gilbert stepped aside, letting Emma Watson enter and sit down.
"It's late at night, so no drinks or coffee." Gilbert mercilessly served her a glass of water and gestured for her to sit.
Emma Watson accepted the glass and looked around the room.
It was a suite—on the left side was the bedroom, on the right the study, with a small balcony attached. The living room even had a little bar stocked with various kinds of alcohol, though none seemed to have been touched.
Clearly, the accommodations for the main cast and crew were quite decent.
"Have you finished your work?" Emma Watson asked.
"Yeah, I was just about to rest when you came over."
"So that means I interrupted your rest?"
Gilbert shook his head. "Not really, but did you come to me for something in particular?"
"You still haven't answered my question from this afternoon," Emma Watson pressed stubbornly. "In your future plans, will there be a place for me?"
"Listen, Emma, you're incredibly talented, I know that. But you also need to understand—the future is uncertain."
Seeing the look on Emma Watson's face, as if she were about to cry, Gilbert softened. He simply could not stand to see a beautiful woman cry—he was helpless about that.
"How about this? I do have a film that actually has a role quite suitable for you."
Seeing Emma Watson's eyes light up, Gilbert quickly added, "But you must study hard."
Emma Watson tilted her head, confused. "Study? Study what?"
Study how to please a man? She might need some practice with that.
"Of course, I mean your academic studies. Your SAT scores must meet the standard—you need to get into an Ivy League school with your own ability.
Can you do that?"
Emma Watson pouted in disappointment. "I thought you were talking about something else."
"What else?"
"Nothing," Emma Watson said confidently. "Don't worry, I'll get in with my own strength. Which school do you like? How about USC? Didn't you graduate from there?"
Becoming quite the chatterbox, Emma Watson was eventually escorted out by Gilbert. Once she left, the whole world felt much quieter.
Two days later, at the set of The Last of Us, Emma Watson returned to Los Angeles. The promotional campaign for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was about to begin, and as one of the three main leads, she could not be absent.
Time gradually entered October. Golden autumn in the northern hemisphere was the season of harvest, but in the southern hemisphere, it was the season of sowing and waiting.
However, the land of Australia was relatively barren, relying more on grazing than on farming.
The Kidman family owned vast ranches and forests in Australia, with rivers and lakes running through them. When they had nothing to do, Gilbert and Tom Cruise would go hunting together.
"Bang!" With a loud shot, a sika deer fell to the ground. The gunfire startled a chorus of birds, and countless birds took off from the forest as if fleeing from a terrifying monster.
Feeling the slight numbness in his shoulder from the shotgun's recoil, Gilbert watched as several hunting dogs surrounded the dying deer.
"Good shot, Gilbert," Tom Cruise praised. "When did you learn to shoot like that?"
"Did you forget?" Gilbert handed the shotgun to one of the ranch staff while walking with Tom Cruise toward the deer.
"Last year I bought a farm in Kansas, named it Stardew Valley Farm, and that's where I practiced."
"I remember that—it even made the papers," Tom Cruise laughed. "The media said our summer box office king was retiring to become a farmer.
I thought it was a pity—retiring so young."
"That's not happening," Gilbert laughed. "I'll keep going until I can't direct anymore."
"Hahaha, that's my plan too. Hopefully when I'm eighty, we can still make a movie together," Tom Cruise said, suggesting that he and Gilbert retire at the same time.
"No problem, Tom." Gilbert looked at the sika deer, as well as the captured wild boars and rabbits, then told his assistant, "Go tell everyone—barbecue party tonight."
That evening, at the barbecue party, Gilbert personally grilled pork ribs and rabbit for everyone. The sika deer was handled by professionals—part of it for barbecue, part for traditional stews and pilaf.
First, the venison was simmered with the classic Western trio of onion, celery, and carrot. Afterward, the vegetables were removed and discarded.
Then fresh water was added, along with cabbage, tomatoes, and chunks of potato for another round of stewing.
It was hard to describe the flavor—like a traditional Spanish stew, only made with venison instead of pork.
The pilaf was more complex. The bones were first fried in oil, then whole garlic cloves were added for aroma, followed by chopped onions and celery.
Next came the venison, stir-fried until it changed color, then water and long-grain Indian rice were added and cooked together.
Of course, with so many people in the crew, the game Gilbert and Tom Cruise had hunted wasn't nearly enough. The ranch roasted five whole lambs, slaughtered a calf, and prepared plenty of sausages, vegetables, and seafood.
Naturally, beer and other drinks were indispensable.
Filming was exhausting, so taking a day off now and then to treat everyone was only fair.
Watching the crew dance around the bonfire, Gilbert and Tom Cruise sat on lounge chairs nearby, gazing at the stars and chatting.
Tom Cruise asked about Gilbert's plans for next year. "After this project, are you going to shoot the sequel to Batman?"
"No," Gilbert shook his head. "I plan to make a TV series."
"A TV series?" Tom Cruise was surprised.
Normally, film directors rarely ventured into television. TV directors and actors often tried to move into film, but few succeeded.
"That's right," Gilbert said. "I've come up with a very cyberpunk-style series, with a whole framework planned out. I want to start with the show and use it to tell a complete world."
"Sounds fascinating," Tom Cruise said. "If you need any help, count me in."
"Deal!" Gilbert replied.
Although movie actors usually don't star in TV series, guest appearances are no issue. The most typical example is Friends, which had a long list of guest stars, all of them major Hollywood names.
With Gilbert's reputation, inviting a few movie stars to make cameo appearances in the show wouldn't be difficult at all.
In fact, film directors have made TV series before. For instance, DreamWorks once collaborated with HBO—Steven Spielberg served as producer, and Tom Hanks wrote and directed one episode of Band of Brothers.
Recently, news came out that HBO would continue working with the now-split DreamWorks to produce a series called The Pacific War.
Of course, there are also eccentric figures like Woody Allen, who suddenly decided to direct a television series.
In this era, it's quite unusual for film directors to venture into television. But in the future, it will become completely ordinary.
David Fincher directed several episodes of the first season of House of Cards, Ridley Scott produced Raised by Wolves, and Tim Burton created the series Wednesday.
More and more big-name Hollywood actors are also getting involved in producing and starring in TV series.
In the future, the line between movie actors and television actors will no longer be so clear.
Of course, that was mainly due to the impact of the pandemic. The shrinking film market left many actors with nothing to do, so they turned to television instead.
And once that boundary was broken, the consequences were hard to predict.
....
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