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Chapter 97: A Different Choice
🕑 Added 2024-10-26 19:08:35 +0000 UTCAs expected, Honey Mars acted just as Gilbert had anticipated.
But Elisha Lyon brought an unexpected surprise, catching Gilbert off guard.
He realized he had limited his own thinking before, but now, with his mind open, he saw many more possibilities.
Gilbert regretted not reading more rebirth novels on Qidian. If he had learned from them, he might have taken off even sooner.
Now he understood that waiting wasn't always necessary. Some things could be done on his own.
Of course, in North America, with its intense commercial atmosphere, a simple salary wasn't enough to attract talent like Honey and Eli to work for him.
Gilbert promised them a range of incentives, even offering future equity if they secured financing, making them part-owners in the company.
If they had a stake in the company, they would work with more dedication.
Gilbert had considered trying to own the company outright, but surviving in this land meant you couldn't do things alone.
If you try to monopolize everything, you'll find yourself surrounded by competitors, always protecting your "food" from those looking to snatch it.
But you can't hold out forever. In this capitalist society, raw profit drives people to fight.
Soon enough, Gilbert would face the squeeze from capital groups and potentially be swallowed up.
Someone might say, "But aren't you capital too?" Yes, he was, but Gilbert was still just one man, without allies.
A tiger alone cannot defeat a pack of wolves, and these capital groups are all savvy individuals. They'd destroy him in the early stages of growth if they saw him trying to keep everything for himself.
Even across the Pacific, the idea of "cooperation and mutual benefit" was loud and clear, despite being at odds with the Western world.
Why? Because they understood that going alone doesn't work; you need friends.
With friends, enemies decrease, and before an enemy makes a move, they'll consider your allies' reactions.
Gilbert already foresaw that if his company went public, the capital groups would go wild.
In protecting their own stakes, shareholders would naturally safeguard the company. Gilbert wouldn't even need to fight the opposing capital alone; friendly capital groups would step in to protect their shared interests.
This is what is called an interest group, and he would be at its core.
Anyone looking to go against him would first have to consider the responses of his allies in capital.
Of course, there are pros and cons to everything. Sometimes capital groups can backfire, and Gilbert knew he'd need to be vigilant in handling these relationships.
After receiving Gilbert's investment, Honey Mars returned to school and set up a preliminary website with his roommates, initially launching it within Yale University.
After some initial disinterest, Facebook quickly took the campus by storm within weeks.
As personal computer use increased, internet users were primarily highly educated individuals with a college background.
With North America's push for an information superhighway, internet infrastructure was improved significantly, leading to a surge in Facebook's user traffic.
After gaining traction at Yale, Honey Mars soon expanded Facebook to other colleges.
Despite its simple interface and slow loading speed, this new social concept resonated with young students.
One cheerleader at school even shared a picture of herself in a swimsuit on Facebook, which quickly grabbed the attention of many male students, who saw the platform's potential in helping them meet people.
Gilbert later discussed the platform with Honey Mars several times, suggesting practical yet straightforward features like class schedules, tags, and likes.
These little features earned Honey Mar's admiration, making him feel that Gilbert should have joined him in running the company instead of making movies.
But Gilbert preferred being a hands-off investor and didn't want to be directly involved in the company's operations.
Meanwhile Elisha Lyon work on a search engine was progressing slower due to some technical challenges.
The world's first search engine, Archie, was created in 1990, even before the internet took off.
Archie had matured over the years, but it couldn't keep up with the internet's growing demand, giving Elisha Lyon an opportunity.
After studying Archie, Elisha Lyon took Gilbert's one million dollars and established a company in Burbank.
In a playful nod to Apple and Gilbert's own Melon Studio, the new company was named Banana.
In a Burbank office, the world's first commercially mature search engine, Banana, was born.
Just a few months later, in March 1994, Yahoo was founded.
Whether one stole the other's luck is hard to say. After all, the real winner in the search engine battle would later be Google.
As he looked at his new company, Gilbert was filled with excitement. In an unnoticed corner, he had established two future giant companies.
Of course, this was his perspective as a reborn person.
Business is risky, and the future is uncertain.
Still, Gilbert felt that with his oversight, Banana had promising prospects.
What started as a small project to share movie stills and scripts online unexpectedly grew into two startups.
Gilbert had never imagined he would help others build companies. He had always thought he wasn't cut out for it.
But after trying, he found it exciting, like playing a simulation game.
However, his focus remained on filmmaking.
For now, online promotion wasn't reliable; for Real Steel, Gilbert had to stick to traditional TV, newspaper, and offline advertisements.
Of course, Gilbert didn't forget about the Super Bowl halftime ad. When Speed first advertised during the Super Bowl, it attracted massive attention.
By 1994's Super Bowl, the landscape had changed, with numerous summer blockbusters placing ads, including James Cameron's True Lies, Harrison Ford's Clear and Present Danger, and The Mask, starring Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz.
But New Line Cinema was deterred by the high ad costs and opted for traditional promotion for The Mask.
Cameron Diaz, worried about the film's success, confided in Gilbert.
Holding her close, Gilbert reassured her, "Don't worry, Michelle. This movie will be a hit. Trust my judgment."
She playfully gave him a look, saying, "You better be right, or you owe me."
"Alright, what kind of compensation are you looking for?" Gilbert asked.
After some thought, she said, "How about making me the female lead in your next movie?"
"Ha, the next movie might not even have a female lead," Gilbert replied.
"Then what about the one after that?" she asked.
"No female lead there, either. All-male cast," he joked. "Do you want to turn into a guy and join?"
"Ugh, you're awful," she said, throwing a pillow at him before heading to the shower.
Unexpectedly, Gilbert felt the workout wasn't over and followed her into the bathroom.
In her half-teasing voice, they continued their second "workout" of the night.
Gilbert initially considered The Shawshank Redemption or Forrest Gump, but by the time he had the resources to buy the rights, other studios had already claimed them.
He was more interested in The Lord of the Rings and prioritized it.
Another reason was age and experience; these films needed life experience to produce well.
Not that Gilbert doubted his own. After all, having been reborn, he had unique life experiences.
But the industry wouldn't see it that way; they'd think Gilbert was too young and question his ability to handle deep, humanistic stories.
For Shark Beach, Final Destination, Speed, or Real Steel, being young was seen as an advantage—he was a director with a wild imagination.
But a Forrest Gump-style film? That would seem unsettling.
Without the rights, he moved on.
There would be other chances, and the Oscars were a challenge he intended to tackle.
So Gilbert crafted a sequence, following Real Steel with a prison-themed film.
Afterward, he'd focus on a project set on Alcatraz, hoping to take it from Michael Bay.
If Bay's rise started with Bad Boys, Gilbert could let him have that and take The Rock.
With The Rock secured, it would be time to aim for the Oscars, perhaps with something set on D-Day in Normandy.
After all, even Spielberg acknowledged Gilbert as his student—surely he'd help him chase that dream.
So, Normandy was a project he would "reluctantly" handle.
If Bay and Spielberg knew Gilbert took their projects, they might just want to meet him for a good old American-style talk.
But for now, this was all premature, as Real Steel hadn't even been released.
With Christmas and New Year's over, 1994 had arrived—a magical year filled with unforgettable films from East and West.
In comparison, Real Steel might seem average.
But for the present-day audience, Real Steel was highly anticipated.
As the New Year rolled in, both the Saturn Awards and the MTV Movie Awards released their nominations.
Speed was nominated for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Action Thriller.
While it wasn't an Oscar, getting the Saturn nomination for Best Director made Gilbert throw a triumphant fist.
The MTV Movie Awards were more playful.
Speed got nods for Best Movie, Best Action Scene, and for Best On-Screen Duo.
Dennis Hopper was even nominated for Best Villain.
Compared to the Oscars, the Saturn and MTV Movie Awards were less formal, creating a perfect promotion platform for the new film.
Gilbert accepted the invitation to attend, knowing this summer would be a busy one.
Naturally, he wouldn't go alone.
Since Naomi Watts attended the Oscars, Cameron Diaz pouted for days.
Cameron envied Naomi, feeling she got all of Gilbert's attention.
But when Gilbert invited her to the Saturn and MTV Awards, Cameron was all smiles again.
She also boasted to Naomi Watts: "I get to go twice; you only get to go once."
Naomi just smiled, not arguing with Cameron. She was four years older and saw things differently. Cameron could playfully act spoiled and cling to Gilbert, but that wasn't Naomi's style.
Naomi had her own way of standing out, showing a more mature side to attract Gilbert's attention. She knew that men often enjoyed being cared for, even if they liked to play the role of protector. She believed that by being steady and attentive in her own way, she'd capture his interest just as much as Cameron.
In their unspoken rivalry, Naomi understood that whoever held more of Gilbert's heart would naturally receive more of his care. But she also sensed that they wouldn't be the only ones in Gilbert's life forever; other women would likely enter the picture. When that time came, Naomi knew she'd have to decide whether to leave or adjust her mindset and stay by his side.
For now, though, she was content, letting things unfold naturally, confident that her approach was drawing Gilbert closer in its own way.
