The Lord of the Rings production had embarked on its long filming journey in China, making every single shot an extraordinary experience in this country.
Meanwhile, Chicago was reaching the end of its theatrical run worldwide.
After its Oscar triumph, the film stayed in North American theaters for another six weeks, ultimately closing with a domestic box office of $172 million—a remarkable achievement.
However, outside North America, musicals often struggled to gain traction.
Still, thanks to its massive Oscar success, along with the star power of Gilbert and Tom Cruise, the global box office remained impressive.
At present, overseas earnings had surpassed $146 million, bringing the worldwide total to $318 million.
Compared to Gilbert's other blockbuster films, this number didn't seem particularly high.
But one must remember—this was a musical, a genre long considered outdated. The fact that it reached this level of box office success had already shocked the industry.
Many critics who adored musicals went so far as to claim that the golden age of the genre had returned.
In reality, following Chicago's phenomenal success, numerous first- and second-tier studios rushed to greenlight musical projects.
Nicole Kidman, for instance, received an offer to star in Moulin Rouge. Initially, she was inclined to decline, but the studio assured her they would wait for her schedule to clear. Ultimately, she accepted the role.
Meanwhile, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman had just welcomed their child into the world—a baby girl named Suri Cruise.
Gilbert happily agreed to be Suri's godfather, further strengthening his relationship with Tom Cruise.
Chicago continued sweeping awards across the globe. It won seven BAFTA Awards, including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
Additionally, it secured accolades at the Japanese Academy Awards, despite not performing exceptionally well at the Japanese box office.
Interestingly, Chicago also saw a theatrical release in China.
For many Chinese moviegoers, the musical format was an unfamiliar one. When they first saw Chicago, they were completely blown away.
It was an eye-opening experience—they had never realized that films could be presented in such a way.
Directors like Zhang, known as the "National Master," and Chen, often called "Pigeon Chen," openly praised Chicago, hailing it as a true representation of Hollywood's cinematic artistry.
This, of course, implied that they didn't consider Gilbert's previous films to be "artistic" enough, which was a sentiment that ruffled some feathers.
Regardless, Chicago didn't deliver the same adrenaline-fueled experience as traditional Hollywood action blockbusters, but it did offer Chinese audiences a fresh and unique perspective.
However, if given a choice, most moviegoers still preferred The Matrix.
It was cool, stylish, and even had an artistic flair—plus, it featured Chinese martial arts, despite the foreign actors' somewhat clumsy execution of the moves.
Fortunately for Matrix fans, they wouldn't have to wait too long. Even though Gilbert was no longer directing the sequels, The Matrix's second and third installments were already in production.
Still, this year's summer box office season felt like it was missing something—after all, Gilbert wasn't part of it.
The reigning champion of the summer was George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
Despite being heavily criticized, the film still managed to rake in $280 million at the North American box office within its first four weeks.
By June, Tom Cruise's long-awaited new film, Mission: Impossible 2, hit theaters—ahead of its original release date from the previous timeline.
Perhaps because of this timing shift, the Hong Kong-style gunfight sequences in Mission: Impossible 2, directed by John Woo, didn't feel outdated.
Combined with Tom Cruise's immense star power, the film debuted with a staggering $55.24 million opening weekend.
During a phone call with Gilbert, Tom Cruise remarked, "I think every Mission: Impossible film should have a different director. That way, each one brings a fresh style."
Gilbert agreed. "Go with your instincts, Tom. I think this franchise has a bright future ahead."
Thanks to Mission: Impossible, a new iconic secret agent was born—Ethan Hunt.
From this point on, Ethan Hunt and James Bond would be regarded as the two greatest spies in cinematic history.
However, more competition was on the horizon.
Universal Pictures was reportedly adapting a novel into a spy thriller, with the title already set: The Bourne Identity.
It seemed that Jason Bourne was about to enter the scene as well.
In the previous timeline, many people considered Jason Bourne to be the ultimate secret agent, the most realistic and compelling one.
But in truth, all three of these spies had their own unique appeal.
For Gilbert, however, James Bond remained his personal favorite—for one simple reason: the Bond films always featured an abundance of beautiful women.
Although Gilbert's studio,Melon Films, didn't have any spy movies in its pipeline, it certainly wasn't lacking in action films.
In addition to Fast & Furious, The Matrix sequels, and Christopher Nolan's experimental thriller Memento, another major project was gearing up—Rush Hour 2, starring Jackie Chan.
The first Rush Hour had been a massive success, elevating Jackie Chan's status and market value in Hollywood.
Since then, he had received numerous offers from Hollywood studios.
However, Jackie Chan, taking the advice of his American agent, Sheena Boone, refrained from accepting too many random roles.
According to Sheena Boone, "As an outsider, and especially as an Asian actor, you need to be extra careful with your choices.
Hollywood actors can afford to fail a few times and still get opportunities. But for an Asian actor, one or two failures might mean the end of your Hollywood career."
Before starting production on Rush Hour 2, Jackie Chan made a special trip to China to discuss things with Gilbert.
At the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the Hobbiton set was already bustling with people.
The local residents had never seen so many foreigners—blonde-haired, red-haired, dark-skinned individuals—all gathered in one place. Their curiosity was piqued.
Fortunately, local authorities quickly arranged security measures and police presence to maintain order.
Otherwise, the Lord of the Rings filming process could have been disrupted by the noise and chaos.
"What kind of people are these?"
"They say they're here to shoot a movie. Haven't you seen that thing? It's called a camera."
"A movie? They came here to shoot? Now I understand why they built this place—it was for this!"
The onlookers chatted among themselves, fascinated by the scene. To them, the film crew was like animals in a zoo, surrounded on all sides and watched with great interest.
Gilbert frowned at the crowd and spoke to the local official in charge of reception. "With so many people watching, we won't be able to keep the set quiet. Our filming will be affected."
The official nodded and hurried to address the issue. "Xiao Wang, get some people to clear them out quickly.
What's everyone standing around here for? Don't you have work to do?"
"Well…" Xiao Wang hesitated, looking embarrassed. "Director, I've told them several times, but they won't leave!"
"I'll handle it," the director said, stepping forward with a loudspeaker. "Attention, everyone. This is a Hollywood film crew from the United States.
The government places great importance on this production, and senior officials have issued several directives regarding it. We ask for your cooperation.
Unless you are a hired crew member, please go about your business and stop crowding around."
Some of the onlookers dispersed, but a few remained, assuming that they wouldn't be punished if they stayed.
At that moment, the director decided to take a tougher stance. "If you continue to linger, Chief Wang and his officers will have to step in. Please don't interfere with the crew's work. Thank you for your cooperation."
Perhaps the sight of dozens of police officers had enough of a deterrent effect, or maybe it was because others were already leaving, but the remaining crowd gradually dispersed. Only those hired to assist the crew remained.
The first day of shooting was delayed by the crowd, and it wasn't until the afternoon that a single shot was completed, marking the beginning of The Lord of the Rings.
"Start with the map, then show the interior of Bag End. The camera moves forward and settles on Bilbo Baggins' back.
Let's do a test shot. One take for safety."
Once Gilbert saw that the set was properly arranged, he stepped out of the hobbit house and into the director's tent, watching the monitor.
Since the first assistant director, Annie Burton, was leading an exterior unit to shoot outdoor scenes, the second assistant director, LeBron, was in charge on-site.
LeBron, despite sharing a name with a certain basketball-playing Player, was a white man with an Italian grandfather.
He was the kind of person who didn't talk much but did excellent work, so Gilbert had complete confidence in his abilities.
"Director, have some tea." Xu Qing, who seemed to have stopped acting, was now working as Gilbert's assistant. She was getting more proficient at it and had even learned to brew tea.
"Thank you," Gilbert said, taking a sip. "Pu'er black tea, with a lingering sweetness. Not bad."
Xu Qing's eyes lit up. She hadn't expected a foreigner to appreciate tea. Weren't they all supposed to drink coffee? Curious, she asked, "Director, how did you learn to drink tea?"
"Is that so strange?" Gilbert tilted his head. "The British love tea, don't they? Although I'm not British, I took a Chinese language elective in college. That's how I learned Chinese—and how to drink tea."
This explanation provided a reasonable backstory for his fluency in Chinese. But judging by Xu Qing's expression, she clearly wasn't convinced.
"Isn't Chinese supposed to be really difficult to learn? Are you a genius or something? How did you pick it up so quickly?" she asked.
Gilbert replied, "That's a common misconception. Chinese is one of the few languages in the world that evolved from pictographs.
It's concise, elegant, and precise—there's no language more efficient.
In English, every time something new appears, another word is added. Over time, the total number of words will exceed a million.
No one can possibly remember a million words in their lifetime.
But Chinese remains much simpler. It's truly a brilliant language, full of wisdom."
In this era, when national self-confidence wasn't particularly strong, hearing these words from a well-known foreign director gave Xu Qing a peculiar feeling.
Somehow, she felt like she was the foreigner here, and Gilbert was the true Chinese.
Still, hearing such praise from a big-time director made her happy. Suddenly, she understood why Gilbert was so well-received in China.
Unlike many foreigners, he didn't carry himself with an air of superiority. Many members of The Lord of the Rings crew had subtle expressions of disdain in their eyes.
But not Gilbert. His gaze was sincere and passionate, without a hint of pretense. He truly was a great international friend!
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