After celebrating his 30th birthday once again, Gilbert didn't feel any different, nor did he feel that anything was off.
Perhaps the only difference was that those celebrating with him were all foreigners, wearing insincere smiles on their faces, lacking a sense of genuine warmth.
But that wasn't to say there weren't any sincere people.
At the very least, the mistresses of Melon Manor, Sophie Marceau, who had flown in from France, Winona Ryder, who no longer shoplifted, and Scarlett, who called herself a goddess—all of them had sincerity in their eyes.
There were also Disney and Warner executives like Robert Iger and Doug Walter, whose eyes were equally sincere.
After all, when looking at a money tree, who wouldn't appear sincere?
After his birthday, Gilbert turned his attention to X-Men's performance.
Sir Ian McKellen played the role of Magneto in the film. This summer, the knight had quite a heavy workload.
Many people claimed that the rise of Marvel movies started with Spider-Man, but Gilbert believed that X-Men was actually the beginning of Marvel Comics' adaptations into films.
It wasn't just Gilbert who had high hopes—Marvel Studios, which had been recently established, was also eagerly anticipating X-Men's success.
In fact, when the rights were sold, there was a clause stating that if X-Men wasn't adapted into a film within five years or if the film flopped at the box office, the rights would automatically revert to Marvel.
One major advantage that modern superhero films had over previous ones was the advancement of special effects technology, brought about by the hardware revolution.
This allowed superheroes, who could fly and perform incredible feats in the comics, to be brought to life through CGI.
While X-Men wasn't the most famous superhero comic, it set a strong precedent for superhero movies at the turn of the millennium.
In its opening weekend, X-Men grossed $54.47 million, securing the number-one spot at the box office—a very solid performance.
Though film critics lambasted it, general audiences responded well to the superhero film.
The success of X-Men led to two immediate changes.
First, over at Sony Columbia, Spider-Man had already entered pre-production. X-Men's strong showing convinced Sony Columbia Pictures that Spider-Man had great potential.
Special effects were the key, and for that reason, Sony Columbia allocated a budget of $125 million for the project. The film was currently in the scriptwriting and casting stages, with shooting planned for the following year.
The second change was that Marvel Comics, finally finding stability, stopped selling off its superheroes so easily.
Since Gilbert became Marvel's new owner, the company had escaped the financial crises and turbulence of the mid-90s.
Some of the artists and founding members who had previously left were gradually returning.
However, the comic industry across North America was facing a downturn—something that Marvel alone couldn't reverse.
Although Marvel was no longer struggling financially under Gilbert's ownership, it remained in a state of annual losses.
The success of X-Men significantly boosted related comic book sales.
This gave Marvel hope and strengthened its resolve to focus on superhero films. As a result, Marvel Studios, headquartered in Burbank, became Marvel's core subsidiary.
When it came to filmmaking, no one understood the industry better than Gilbert.
Therefore, Marvel Studios' executives hoped Gilbert would participate in internal meetings to provide insights and strategic direction for future development.
However, Gilbert was currently busy with the premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, so Marvel Studios had to settle for sending senior executive Kevin Feige to attend the premiere and have a preliminary discussion with Gilbert.
The day before The Fellowship of the Ring's premiere, The Fast and the Furious, produced by Melon Studios and distributed by Warner Bros., officially surpassed $100 million at the North American box office.
For a mid-budget commercial film with only a $38 million budget, this was an impressive achievement, earning Melon Studios a substantial profit.
Naturally, there was demand to turn it into a franchise.
After discussing with producer Alexander Dottos, Gilbert decided to make certain changes to the Fast & Furious series compared to its original trajectory.
The main adjustment was expanding the content of the second film.
Although Vin Diesel had a notoriously difficult personality, he clearly wouldn't dare offend Gilbert, so he would return for the sequel.
As for the third film, instead of being a standalone installment, its core elements would be condensed into the ending of the second movie as a cliffhanger. Any excess material would be cut entirely, and the storyline would then transition directly into what was originally the fourth and fifth films.
In other words, the original Tokyo Drift would be removed entirely, and what was previously Fast & Furious 4 would now be the third film in the new plan.
This adjustment was somewhat risky, but given that Tokyo Drift had nearly killed the franchise in the past, it seemed like a necessary change.
It was only after Vin Diesel's return that the franchise was revived, granting him significant influence over the series.
However, under Gilbert's complete control, such a situation would never occur again.
Vin Diesel was merely a lead actor—he would never have decision-making power over the franchise.
If he was unhappy with that? No problem.
There were two other bald actors ready to replace him.
In Hollywood, no one was truly irreplaceable—not even Gilbert himself.
Turning his attention to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Gilbert noted that the film had wrapped shooting in the UK this past May and had officially entered post-production.
According to the distribution plans set by Disney and Warner Bros., the film was slated for a Christmas release later this year.
At this point, the Harry Potter books had already become widely popular across the Western world.
Though they weren't quite household names yet, they had been dominating bestseller lists for years.
This gave Disney and Warner Bros. great confidence in the film, believing it would perform well at the box office.
Internal analysts predicted that the film would gross between $500 million and $600 million.
However, in a conversation with Robert Iger and Doug Walter, Gilbert felt the analysts were being too conservative. He believed the film would generate between $700 million and $800 million, possibly even more.
And for this type of film, the most important factor was never the box office—it was always the merchandise, which would generate the real profits.
On another front, James Gunn had finished directing the next two installments of The Matrix, and both had entered post-production.
After discussing with Gilbert, Disney and Warner Bros. decided to schedule The Matrix Reloaded for release in June of the following year.
The third film, The Matrix Revolutions, was set for a summer release in 2002.
Because Gilbert served as the producer and had full control over the direction of the sequels, the later Matrix films avoided the issues created by the Wachowski brothers. Instead, they fully leaned into the commercial film style.
While this approach might mean the sequels wouldn't match the first film's critical reception, it was a necessary decision—because overly complex themes had never been a winning formula for summer blockbusters.
Moreover, Gilbert was only the producer, not the director. That role belonged to James Gunn, meaning any potential backlash wouldn't affect Gilbert's own reputation.
Beyond Gilbert, the three directors signed under Melon Studios were all occupied with their own projects.
After being nominated for Best Director at this year's Oscars, Sofia gained a huge confidence boost. She was convinced that her path as an independent filmmaker was viable and planned to continue down that road.
Gilbert fully supported his friend—not only because of his personal bond with Sofia but also because of the immense respect her father, Francis Ford Coppola, commanded in the Italian-American filmmaking community.
Independent films required relatively small investments, and Gilbert could easily afford to back them.
Moreover, independent films weren't necessarily unprofitable—Eternal Sunshine was a prime example. After its Oscar success, Melon Studios made a decent profit from its licensing deals.
Sofia was currently developing a new story. From what she mentioned, it was about an old man and a young woman in Tokyo.
Christopher Nolan was also making progress. Memento had wrapped up production.
Since small-budget films would get crushed in the summer box office competition, Gilbert decided to schedule the film for a September release to see how Nolan would fare.
After all, Nolan had already proven himself in his past life, so Gilbert wasn't too worried.
After a few more film projects, Nolan would be ready to take on major productions and compete for big-budget directing opportunities.
Another project tied to Gilbert was Rush Hour 2, starring Jackie Chan.
Originally, the film should have been completed and released this year.
However, Jackie Chan was injured while filming Gorgeous and spent several months in the hospital, delaying the production schedule for Rush Hour 2.
Under the usual stingy and strict policies of Hollywood studios, they likely would have already filed for damages.
But Gilbert didn't hold it against Jackie Chan that his injury had delayed filming. After all, it was an unavoidable accident.
It wouldn't be fair to punish someone who got hurt working hard on set. That would be incredibly unethical.
So Rush Hour 2 only officially entered production after Jackie Chan had fully recovered. Chris Tucker returned, and the cast also included John Lone and Zhang Ziyi, who had gained international fame from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Given the strong performance of the first film, this sequel was scheduled for a summer release to test its potential.
Before filming began, Gilbert met with the production team and had a private chat with Jackie Chan, advising him not to push himself too hard. He told him to use a stunt double whenever necessary.
However, knowing Jackie Chan's personality, unless it was something he physically couldn't do or something that wouldn't look right on screen, he likely wouldn't use a stunt double.
Zhang Ziyi was thrilled to finally meet the legendary director Gilbert.
She had heard about Gilbert's incredible career from the renowned filmmaker known as "the National Master" and knew that this Hollywood director had gained quite a reputation in China.
Although she wasn't starring in a film directed by him this time, at least she was acting in a project he was producing. That still meant she had a connection with a major Hollywood director.
Zhang Ziyi wondered if Gilbert might take notice of her. Perhaps she could replicate Gong Li's success—or even surpass her.
But before she could act on this thought, she noticed that another Chinese woman was by Gilbert's side—someone she recognized. It was Xu Qing.
"I didn't expect you to be involved in so many films, including some with Chinese leads," Xu Qing expressed her surprise.
Gilbert raised an eyebrow and said, "That's nothing surprising. The first Rush Hour brought in significant revenue for the studio, so of course, we're making a sequel."
"But isn't Hollywood known for being exclusive? Especially when it comes to Chinese actors? Aren't you worried this could cause trouble for you?" Xu Qing asked.
She was somewhat aware of the situation in North America. After Gilbert had filmed The Lord of the Rings in China, he had left behind a large amount of high-end film equipment that was invaluable to the Chinese film industry.
These tools weren't a big deal in North America, but for China's filmmaking industry, they were a game-changer.
Because of this, some hostile media outlets questioned Gilbert's motives. If he weren't a white man—if he weren't a "squid" (a term used in some circles to describe Westerners)—then the FBI would probably have already investigated him.
While the FBI hadn't come knocking, the media had been relentless in their scrutiny.
Gilbert's explanation was that China was too underdeveloped—stuck in a filmmaking era equivalent to North America's 1930s and 1940s. He claimed the equipment he had left behind was outdated and broken, not worth bringing back for repairs. Since Hollywood had better technology, he simply scrapped it on-site.
And besides, Gilbert argued, the Chinese wouldn't even know how to use the equipment properly, so there was nothing to worry about.
Strangely enough, many Americans believed him. After all, to them, the world outside of Europe and North America was still primitive and backward.
Some journalists even interviewed Chinese immigrants, students, and workers in North America, and most of them confirmed Gilbert's claims.
That put an end to the speculation. After all, the only way to disprove Gilbert's statements would be for skeptics to travel to China themselves.
Gilbert was surprised that the North American public bought his story so easily—but that was a good thing, so he didn't bother correcting them.
This was thanks to decades of effort by the media and elites in shaping an informational echo chamber. With the influence of so-called "happy education," the general public lacked the critical thinking skills to question the narrative.
As a result, only a handful of people doubted Gilbert's story.
And even those who knew he was lying wouldn't call him out on it. At the end of the day, while Gilbert's statements were false, these intellectuals still instinctively looked down on the country across the Pacific.
This wasn't a mindset formed overnight—it was the result of over a century of ingrained prejudice.
This was why, two decades later, when China rapidly advanced, North America's elites found it impossible to believe and difficult to accept.
Xu Qing, having learned about these dynamics after arriving in North America, worried that Gilbert might face danger.
Gilbert chuckled and handed her a ten-dollar bill. "Miss Xu, you don't need to worry. In North America, money is the ultimate passkey.
"As long as I unite those around me and form an interest group centered on myself—one that becomes too big to fail and influences the entire North American system—no one will dare touch me."
"Aren't you afraid they might send someone to assassinate you?" Xu Qing asked. She was familiar with North American history and knew that several major figures had been taken out this way.
Gilbert replied, "I'll make sure they don't dare."
"Really?" Xu Qing was skeptical.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally said, "If you ever find yourself in danger here, you can come to China. We will protect you."
"Is that a personal promise, or are you speaking on behalf of your country?"
Xu Qing nodded solemnly. "Both."
"Good," Gilbert said with a slight nod. He didn't give a direct answer.
For now, there was no need. If the time ever came, that would be a matter for the distant future.