Hollywood Immortal

[Chapter 379: The Big Ship Takes Off]

The filming of Mission: Impossible proceeded smoothly, and soon it was the end of May.

That day, Linton had just wrapped up shooting when his assistant Meena came over with the phone.

"Boss, it's James Cameron on the line."

Ah, the director finally got back to him. Ever since last November, when Cameron borrowed $500,000 from him to shoot footage of the Titanic wreck in the Atlantic, almost half a year had passed. Now, finally, the call came through.

"James, hello."

"Linton, when are you free? I've finished editing the short footage from the Atlantic dive. Let's find a time to watch it together."

"My daytime schedule's pretty packed, so how about tonight? Come to my company at 8 o'clock."

"Sounds good. See you tonight."

---

That evening, in Linton Films' screening room, Linton sat in the audience seats with James Cameron and Robert. On the big screen played Cameron's underwater short film of the Titanic wreck.

The fifteen-minute video went by quickly. The content was pretty dull -- just some wreckage under water. But what really caught Linton's attention was the crystal-clear image quality. The underwater wreck appeared vividly on the screen, with no blurring or shaking. It fully met film-grade standards.

"Linton, what do you think?" As the screen went black and the room lights brightened, Cameron eagerly asked.

"Excellent. These images fully meet film quality requirements."

"Yeah, now that the footage is edited, I'm confident we can nail Titanic."

"Let's move somewhere more private. How about the conference room?"

Since this was a screening room, it wasn't convenient for detailed discussions. The three went upstairs to a small conference room adjacent to Linton's office.

---

Even as one of Hollywood's most renowned directors, Cameron was stunned by the office's lavish luxury on the top floor. But it bolstered his confidence. According to his new budget, Titanic's production cost needed to increase from the original $120 million to $150 million.

At first, he hesitated to say this, but seeing how extravagant Linton's office was, he figured, 'This guy's got money. Asking for an extra $30 million shouldn't be a problem.'

The three settled in. Cameron took a sip of coffee from his assistant and then handed Linton a script from his bag.

"Linton, I believe the time is right to start filming Titanic. This is my revised script."

In 1985, the wreckage of the Titanic was discovered two and a half miles beneath the North Atlantic. American explorer Brock Lovett personally dived down and found a painting on the cabin wall. Lovett's discovery immediately caught the attention of an elderly woman.

Rose DeWitt Bukater, now 101 years old, claimed she was the girl in the painting. Inside the diving chamber, Rose began recounting the story from the ship:

On April 10, 1912, the luxury liner Titanic, hailed as "the wonder of the industrial world," embarked on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City.

Young aristocrat Rose boarded first class with her mother and fiance, Cal Hockley. Meanwhile, a free-spirited young artist, Jack Dawson, won a third-class ticket in a dockside card game.

Rose, tired of the superficiality of upper-class society and unwilling to marry Cal, planned to jump into the ocean, but Jack saved her. Soon enough, the lively and beautiful Rose fell in love with Jack, who introduced her to third-class dances and painted her portrait. Their love blossomed.

But on the night of April 14, the Titanic struck an iceberg. The "unsinkable" ship faced its doom. The budding romance between Rose and Jack endured a life-or-death trial, ultimately forcing them apart forever.

---

After reading the script, Linton found this version closely matched the one from the original movie.

"Not bad. A great story, using the real Titanic wreckage as the backdrop to tell a cross-class love story that's deeply moving and transcends life and death. It will definitely touch audiences worldwide."

"I think we can officially kick off the project now."

"Do you have a specific investment budget?"

"Linton, to make the movie truly exceptional, the budget may need to increase a bit. The original $120 million might not be enough," Cameron said, pulling out a brief investment budget summary.

"Oh, $120 million isn't enough? How much do you need?" Linton knew well that in reality, Titanic's budget ballooned to an astonishing $200 million. It nearly forced Fox executives to consider desperate measures, eventually giving overseas distribution rights to Paramount for $60 million to keep the film afloat.

No one expected the movie to become a timeless classic, breaking box office records and increasing its original earnings to an incredible $1.894 billion.

Despite his understanding, Linton needed clarity. "James, how much exactly?"

"To make the movie truly great, I need $150 million."

"$150 million?" Robert was stunned. For comparison, Independence Day, a movie full of huge scenes, cost only $90 million. James was a top Hollywood director, but just for this 'big ship' project, asking for $150 million really tested Robert's nerves.

"Robert, don't jump to conclusions. Hear James out," Linton quietly praised Robert while giving Cameron a chance to explain.

"It's like this. Initially, I planned to use miniatures and effects to create Titanic's structure and visuals, filming mainly on studio sets. But during my Atlantic underwater shoot, I realized that no special effects could capture a massive ship like Titanic realistically. So, if we want to get it right, we need to build a large aquatic filming base and commission the original shipyard to build a full-scale Titanic replica."

"Mr. Cameron, is it necessary to be so meticulous just to make a movie? By that logic, when we shot Independence Day, should we have built an alien spacecraft miles long?" Robert couldn't hold back. Hollywood has countless prop masters, set designers, and effects studios to solve these issues. Otherwise, Hollywood would go bankrupt pretty fast.

"It's different. The real stars of Independence Day were humans, not aliens or their ship. So effects are fine because no one scrutinizes those details. But Titanic's nearly every scene is on the ship, so audiences will demand authenticity. Effects alone won't make viewers truly connect emotionally."

Cameron knew his demands were extreme, so he explained carefully, ending sheepishly, "Linton, if you think the investment is too large or risky, I can swallow my pride and approach Fox to co-invest."

"No need. $150 million isn't a problem for our company. What worries me is whether in a few months you'll ask for more money."

"No, absolutely not. $150 million is enough. Your producers can oversee the budget."

"Good. That settles it. Our company will quickly form a project team to coordinate with you and discuss terms."

Linton had been waiting for this moment. In reality, Titanic's budget kept swelling because Fox foolishly handed full control to Cameron, who ran wild.

Now with a producer supervising, while the producer would still be under Cameron's authority as director, controlling the financials was the biggest win. Even if costs overran, it would be to a limit.

"There's one more thing I want to clarify."

"What's that? Go ahead."

*****

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