The next role Billy accepted—much to his discomfort and reluctant frustration—was yet another one of those favors he simply could not refuse. He ended up committing himself to Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, a project that for nearly half a year had been quietly demanding his attention and would require two to three months of exhausting work. Cameron wanted a powerful performance, the kind only Billy seemed capable of delivering, and all because he wanted him to portray a rock star: the sort of man who is pretentious, abrasive, exhausting, narcissistic in his own peculiar way, careless toward everyone around him.
How meticulously Cameron asked for it, and how much skill it truly required to strike the heart of a character who, at first glance, appeared to be nothing more than an idealized stereotype of youth. Yet beneath that surface lay the attempt to narrate an entire life, with all its highs and lows, while Rolling Stone magazine itself hovered in the background, eager to borrow pieces of that life whether it was entirely appropriate or not. Alongside it all stood a mentor figure teaching the hidden mechanics of writing and the irresistible hunger people feel to read what lies beyond the pages.
--I accept. I really have no choice but to accept. - Billy commented.
From afar, he watched Monica immersed in her own quiet routine, carrying herself with such conviction. Producing Malena for Monica had become an idea that demanded every ounce of her character. It embodied the ideal of womanhood itself—the image of a woman who was perfect in the essence of how society perceived and treated women, while never denying her own place within that delicate world she touched time and time again.
--Thank you, Billy. - Cameron replied.
He had traveled all the way to Italy just to ask him for the role. What an absurd thing, Billy thought. What terrible timing. Cameron now carried two films in mind and had offered him not only the role in Almost Famous, but also one in Vanilla Sky, a role originally meant for Tom Cruise. Yet Tom's future had already begun drifting almost entirely toward action films, exactly as it perhaps always should have. It was better for everyone that way. Tom was the king of action cinema, surpassing nearly every competitor and evoking the same larger-than-life presence Stallone and Arnold once commanded at the height of their careers.
Billy took the strongest roles offered to him and embraced them completely. He no longer sought anything extraordinary beyond performing the roles he had been born to play: pure action. Years spent working in dramatic cinema had elevated him long before or perhaps long after he even realized it.
--It's no problem. I think we still have time to sit down for a drink. Ever since I did Jerry Maguire, studios haven't stopped coming after me, and I get the feeling you want us to keep doing this together. - Cameron asked.
--You already know I do. I want everything, and everything eventually becomes production and performance. There's no escaping that. Talk to Jim. We've got a list of no less than fifteen films. With you, we'll do well to split the remaining gap into three equal parts. - Billy commented.
The library of projects still needed something more. A careful calculation crossed Billy's mind. Alongside Universal, they were already planning Fast & Furious amid endless noise and anticipation. Now he intended to test the waters of larger franchises while another idea already circled in his head: taking Pirates of the Caribbean and reinventing it completely into something that, almost impossibly, would span six fully planned films. The roles would already be cast, the characters destined to shine in their own unique ways.
--We'll have a proper dinner. Wine, and a little of that old tradition everyone loves—eating until midnight, when nothing compares to the taste of vegetables with good bread and pasta with meat. - Billy commented.
Despite having so much left unsaid, Billy focused his attention on the recording studio. Many of the people working there carried brilliant ideas of their own for future productions, while he waited for Lux Animation's films to merge naturally with the television series he intended to produce. It was all part of becoming a piece of the future itself. The images remained fragmented while his empire continued expanding relentlessly, and the larger it became—
--It's a good thing. Offers must be raining down on you constantly. - Cameron commented.
--Not nearly as much as I expected. - Billy replied.
…
Later that night, when the world had grown quieter, and nothing urgent remained to be done—
--It was unbelievable. I had been a journalist for less than two years, and back then, my mother still called me every morning. I was in love with a woman and wanted to marry her. She was an incredible singer, and for some reason, I asked my mother for help. By complete accident, she ended up telling the woman that her son wanted her hand in marriage… I was so embarrassed. - Cameron commented.
He remembered it vividly, how things eventually led him into a relationship with one of that woman's friends instead, becoming the subject of playful ridicule among people who never truly took sincerity seriously. Yet somehow, he let it brighten his days and push him toward creating the great films that, despite everything, became works of remarkable quality.
Monica laughed softly while pouring herself another glass of wine.
--That's fantastic. - Monica commented.
--It was fantastic right up until I got married, and my wife absolutely hated it. - Cameron joked between laughs.
It was a lie. His wife was entirely different from him in every possible way, and that contrast was precisely what filled their marriage with both anguish and love. How wonderful it was. How dangerous it could become.
Monica laughed again as the wine slowly rushed to her head.
--How ironic life can be. - Billy commented.
--You know, love has surprised me countless times. And just as often, it's forced me to reconsider everything. - Billy added.
--That's true. Love is like wine. You drink it and keep drinking it, never stopping to wonder whether you're doing something wrong. You just keep going until one day you realize how perfectly everything fits together in the end. - Cameron replied.
--So the two of you are making a film together. - Monica commented.
--I gave him two films to make. - Cameron replied.
--Some time ago I thought we'd be heading to New Zealand. - Monica commented.
--Yes, that's true. We're going to New Zealand. Cameron says filming will last three to four weeks. - Billy explained.
--Nobody wants to do it. - Monica commented.
Now she realized they would temporarily separate because of Malena, while she herself would remain waiting for Cleopatra to finally come to life—a project that could still take months, perhaps even years, before it truly materialized.
The producers and screenwriters never rested anymore. Entire projects were either abandoned or absorbed into Cleopatra in hopes of crafting a film capable of reaching Titanic-level grandeur, something projected for late 2001. At the same time, The Lord of the Rings was already beginning production on an astonishing scale, with early filming underway and plans being made for the cast to fully assemble between June and July.
Unfortunately for Billy, he eventually turned down the role. It was handed to Viggo instead. They pleaded with him, but Viggo already had other commitments in hand. Other actors were approached, but nearly everyone refused to sign a year-long contract covering three films for the proposed salary. Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen, however, became deeply attached to the project, held captive by their love for the story and by roles that far exceeded their expectations.
But Aragorn remained a difficult casting problem, and for that reason Billy ultimately traded Gladiator at the last moment in favor of The Lord of the Rings, even while accepting a salary of only two million dollars for the two films.
--Wow. People said you wanted to relax, and instead I come along causing trouble. - Cameron commented.
--It's always like this. It doesn't matter anymore. - Monica replied.
--I'll stay for two days. We can talk about the character as much as you'd like. - Cameron Crowe responded as he stood up.
He looked exhausted from the time difference, and the weight of the remaining days still lingered heavily behind him.