hollywood melon man

Chapter 386

Many scenes of "Pirates of the Caribbean" were built at the Fox Studios in Baja California, Mexico.

In addition, the crew also simply built some scenes on an uninhabited island not far from the land, where they can shoot some scenes when the time comes.

However, the most labor-intensive work was undoubtedly the cave where Barbossa hid his treasure in the film and the construction of the Intrepid.

The studio left over from the filming of "Titanic" is still there. It has a very large space, and the crew transformed the studio into a cave where Barbossa hid his treasure.

Gilbert Jr. came from Los Angeles to supervise the construction progress, which was very ideal.

Selina, the art director who designed the place, introduced it to Gilbert: "We built this place based on the legend of Pirates of the Caribbean, some of our own imagination, and the settings in the script.

There are about a thousand workers involved in the construction, and it is expected to be completed in a month."

Little Gilbert looked at the busy construction site and expressed satisfaction. He then asked, "How is the water injection going?"

"Very good. We designed an incoming waterway and an outgoing waterway that lead directly to the sea." Selena took little Gilbert to the front of the pool and continued the introduction.

“When filming is needed, it only takes one day to fill this pool with 30 gallons of water.”

"Well done..." Little Gilbert praised.

The preparation of each film requires a very long process, and the work is also very delicate, so it is impossible for Gilbert Jr. to take care of them all.

Therefore, having a reliable team can greatly improve work efficiency.

After scouting the location in Mexico, Gilbert Jr. went to the Caribbean to reunite with Charles Rowan, and then returned to Baja California to see the Black Pearl.

The relevant person in charge of the cruise company also came. They mainly provided personnel to drive the boat and maintain it, but the salaries and maintenance costs had to be paid by the crew.

The cruise manager took little Gilbert and Charles Rowan on board the wooden sailboat and introduced the basic situation.

After coming down, Little Gilbert said to the shipping company: "We want to make some modifications to the Black Pearl. Is it possible?"

The person in charge of the cruise company said that it was no problem: "Of course, as long as they don't make any modern modifications."

"Of course," said little Gilbert as a matter of course, "there won't be a single ship equipped with electricity on the ocean in the sixteenth century."

The ship we are talking about here is the Black Pearl, which was previously designed to be electrified in order to meet demand.

What Gilbert wanted to modify was the electricity, at least to ensure that there would be no mistakes during filming.

Soon, the Black Pearl was towed into a shipyard in Mexico and began some modifications.

Gilbert Jr. also told the art director Selina: "Keep an eye on the shipyard at all times. I'm not sure about these Mexicans.

They do things too arbitrarily, you have to watch out and make sure the ship is modified strictly according to the design plan."

Serena nodded to show that she understood.

After finishing his inspection in Mexico, Gilbert Jr. returned to Los Angeles, where a ship was also being built. It was a ship of the British Royal Navy in the film, called the HMS Intrepid.

The HMS Dreadnought was designed and built based on the HMS Victory of the British Royal Navy.

Prince Charles helped a lot in this regard. He specially sent several historians and experts in wooden sailing ships and naval battle history to help the crew design and build many scenes that were in line with the historical background.

In addition to these tasks, Gilbert Jr. emphasized the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park project during meetings with Warner Bros. and Disney.

In a private chat with Doug Walter and Robert Iger, Gilbert Jr. said: "In fact, the story originally came to me when I was riding on a pirate ship and feeling the centrifugal force.

If there is such a theme park project, I think everyone would be happy to experience it after watching the movie."

The prospect that Gilbert Jr. described was very attractive, so Disney and Warner both planned to build pirate parks in their own theme parks.

There is also good news. The Shanghai Disney-Warner Theme Park project in China has been landed.

According to the plan, the theme park project will break ground in 2005 and is expected to open in 2010.

In order to implement this project, the local government provided a number of policy benefits, such as relaxed bank loans and preferential tax policies.

With the increasing cooperation there in the past two years, we are no longer in a state where we are completely unfamiliar with that land.

Many economic experts believe that in the next few years, the consumption capacity of the Chinese market will increase significantly, which is also the biggest reason for Disney and Warner to enter the Chinese market.

After Disney and Warner Bros., other Hollywood giants and media companies have entered the Chinese market.

Not only these companies, but also Internet technology companies have long seen the huge potential of the Chinese market. Microsoft started its layout with pirated systems.

Jobs also planned to find a foundry in China and move the manufacturing of all products except for core technologies such as chips there.

Many multinational corporations are sharpening their knives, waiting for the Chinese leeks to thrive and then harvest them.

Back to the preparation of the film, the preparation of "Pirates of the Caribbean" went very smoothly, without encountering any problems, and the work efficiency was quite high.

While busy preparing for the film project, Gilbert Jr. also asked his investment manager David to start paying attention to the developments in the Premier League, especially Arsenal.

Prince Charles and Abramovich had aroused Gilbert's interest in football. He planned to buy a Premier League team and indirectly expand his business territory. As the world's largest sport, although it is not very popular in North America, there are still many people paying attention to it. Not to mention that there are so many fans in other parts of the world.

The fan base is definitely larger than that of Gilbert Jr., so by choosing a big club, is it equivalent to turning the fan base into your own fan base?
It’s hard to say, but at least it can expand its influence.

It's a pity that Gilbert Jr. cannot get shares in Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​which are unique membership-based operations in La Liga.

If I get shares in Barcelona, ​​I will just put Yosi on the bench and make him useless.

It’s easy to deal with in North America as the preparations go smoothly. "Pirates of the Caribbean" is scheduled to start filming at the end of October.

Two days before the start of filming, at Stern's invitation, Gilbert Jr. and Stern attended the opening game of the NBA 2002-2003 season, the Rockets against the Lakers.

The center confrontation between Lao Yao and Lao Sha was over, but the limelight was stolen by Lao Ke with the afro.

As the No. 1 pick, Yao Ming did not play well in this game. He only scored 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 turnovers and 2 assists.

In this game, the TV broadcast frequently focused on Gilbert Jr., giving him enough screen time.

It is quite common to see Hollywood stars coming to the Staples Center in Los Angeles to watch games, so there is nothing special about it.

The most special thing was probably that the TV station arranged an interview with Gilbert Jr. during halftime: "How does it feel to watch the game live?"

Gilbert Jr. replied: “It was very, very good, a very good experience, there were many details that you couldn’t see on TV.

I think that’s the charm of watching a game live.”

The TV reporter then asked: "We know that you have watched the Bulls games led by Jordan many times. Who do you think is Jordan's successor in today's league?"

After Jordan got old, the topic of Jordan's successor was constantly hyped by the sports media. The NBA needs such hype.

Gilbert thought for a moment and replied, "I think Kobe, Carter, Iverson and Magic's McGrady all have hope."

That's what he said, but after the game, Gilbert didn't go to chat with Kobe. Instead, he took the initiative to find Yao Ming and communicated with him in fluent Chinese.

It's no wonder that although Gilbert Jr. is a foreigner, Yao Ming had heard of Gilbert Jr.'s name when he was with the Sharks, and he even went to see Gilbert Jr.'s movies with his girlfriend.

Lao Yao felt a sudden lump in his throat when he heard the familiar Chinese language in a foreign country.

But he quickly calmed down and chatted with little Gilbert with a smile.

Many NBA players were from the bottom of society before entering the NBA, and they were a little nervous when they suddenly met a big shot like Gilbert Jr.

Seeing Gilbert Jr. and Yao Ming chatting and laughing, they were a little jealous. This Chinese No. 1 pick in the draft didn't play basketball very well, but these big shots really liked to communicate with him.

Gilbert Jr. did not show excessive enthusiasm. He just praised Yao Ming's performance and asked for a No. 11 jersey as a souvenir.

Afterwards, Gilbert Jr. went to dinner with Stern, during which they talked about the problems of the NBA team.

Stern mentioned that an NBA team will be established in Charlotte next year, temporarily named the Charlotte Bobcats, and asked Gilbert Jr. if he was interested in buying a stake.

Gilbert Jr. said he was not interested: "If I want to buy an NBA team, from a serious perspective, I would rather buy a team in a big city like the Knicks and the Lakers."

Stern said he was powerless: "Neither the Buss family nor Dolan can give up this, this is their most important asset, especially the Lakers, which is everything to the Buss family.

What about the indecent ones? "

"Not serious," Gilbert said, stroking his chin, "Then I want to buy the Cavaliers. I heard that you are very interested in a kid named LeBron.

After I buy the Cavaliers, you give me a No. 1 pick, I select him, and then let him sit on the bench for four years and just ruin him, how about that? "

Stern was stunned. What kind of game is this?
Gilbert looked at Stern's expression and laughed: "Don't be nervous, I was just joking. I'm currently involved in the acquisition of a Premier League club and have no time to take care of the NBA."

Stern finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had already made a plan to create a star. There are many potential new stars in next year's draft, and LeBron James is the one he is most optimistic about.

If Gilbert really does what he does, LeBron James will be ruined, which is not what Stern wants to see.

In fact, as for the NBA team, Gilbert had already chosen the Seattle SuperSonics. The Thunder's three youngsters once resounded throughout the league, but also left some regrets.

Little Gilbert thought that if he were to become the detonator, he would definitely not choose to let the bearded man go. The three young masters would continue to work together to block James. What a good plan.

What? You mean the luxury tax?
Then little Gilbert can only tell you that the further he gets, the richer he becomes, and he can even buy the entire NBA league without any effort.

Of course, these are just some episodes that can be used as a diversion from the filming work.

In other words, whether it is Arsenal in the Premier League or the NBA, they are all toys of Gilbert Jr. However, these toys are expensive and most people cannot afford them.

After watching the NBA's opening game, Gilbert Jr. officially led his crew to Mexico to start shooting another movie.

In addition, Gilbert Jr.'s amateur work, "The Fault in Our Stars," which stars Scarlett Johansson, will soon be released to movie fans.

The first thing we'll introduce to you is the theme song composed by Avril Lavigne for the film.

(End of this chapter)