Thanks to the huge worldwide popularity of Titanic, the director, James Cameron, was now a superstar.
In his new interviews, he acted all cool and confident.
"What?" he'd say to reporters. "You said there were rumors I'd slit my throat with a razor if the movie failed? Man, are you kidding me? As the director of Titanic, I always believed my movie would be a hit. I'm Cameron! Don't you remember how much everyone hated The Terminator before it came out?"
"So," he'd say, "I didn't care about all the mean things the newspapers said. That stuff just pushes me to work harder! I expected the box office to explode!"
You have to know, in Hollywood, if you can't talk a good game, you can't be a director. You'd get eaten alive by the reporters.
Cameron had put up with months of people making fun of him. Now that his movie was a giant hit, he was going to brag a little. And that's okay! He was only human.
Plus, he had to say this. He couldn't just tell reporters, "Wow, I got lucky!" That would hurt the movie's ticket sales. And the bosses at Paramount and Fox would be very angry if he did that.
So, what do you do? You brag!
(It wasn't until 1999, after he was famous, that Cameron finally admitted the truth. He said he had been under so much pressure that he was almost crushed by it. He said he never expected the movie to be that big and was all ready to go back to his old job as a truck driver.)
In Zane's old life, Titanic was the number one movie for 15 weeks in a row! It made over $1.8 billion. It was a true miracle.
And Zane had invested $85 million to get 25% of all the profits. There was no doubt about it... Zane's investment had paid off, big time!
By the end of February 1998, all the planning for the movie 300 Spartans was finished. It was time to find the actors.
Zack Snyder would be the director.
Zane, who had been resting for two months, would be the main producer.
Kevin Fitch, the vice president, would be the second producer to help make sure everything ran smoothly.
Even before they announced they were looking for actors, the news got out. Big Hollywood talent agencies started calling Wald Pictures right away, all trying to get their actors a part in the movie.
Juno, The Purge, The Sixth Sense... Wald Pictures had a ton of hits. Everyone knew that the boss, Zane, had the "golden touch."
Now that a new movie was starting, of course actors were excited!
The movie 300 Spartans was going to cost $60 million to make. That was the biggest movie Wald Pictures had ever done. A movie that big could make an actor a superstar.
Wald Pictures wasn't a tiny, unknown company anymore. It was now a real, powerful, second-tier studio, right behind giants like DreamWorks and Touchstone.
...
At the CAA Talent Agency...
Matt Damon was staring at his agent, Darren. "Darren," he warned, "the lead role in 300 Spartans is mine. Don't mess this up. We already missed out once."
Darren nodded, looking serious. Matt Damon was filled with regret.
Back in 1996, Zane had invited him to be the star of Run Lola Run. But his agent, Darren, had been arrogant. He'd tried to force Zane to hire other actors from his agency, too.
"You're just a small, new company!" Darren had told Zane. "You're just a rookie director!"
That move had made Zane very angry. And after that, Zane had never hired an actor from the giant CAA agency again.
Back then, Matt and his agent didn't care. They thought, "Who cares about that little ant? We're an elephant."
But now... that "ant" had grown up. Wald Pictures was a huge success. And Zane was a billionaire. The tables had turned!
Matt, who looked quiet but was actually very smart, had wanted to fix things with Zane for a long time. Now that 300 was casting, he knew this was his chance.
"Even if I don't get the lead role," Matt thought, "just by showing up to the audition, I can send a message. I can show Mr. Blackwood that I'm sorry."
Matt Damon was smart. No one who makes it big in Hollywood is a fool.
...
At the William Morris Agency...
"Jacques," an agent said to his actor, "you've worked with Wald Pictures a few times. This new movie, 300 Spartans, is a $60 million film. We cannot miss out."
The actor, Joaquin Phoenix, nodded. He wasn't stupid. He had worked with Zane on Final Turn 1 and The Purge when other actors weren't sure about the new company. That was his advantage.
His agent added, "I've seen the info. The lead role, King Leonidas, needs an older, more muscular actor. We probably can't get that. But the second or third male lead? We can definitely fight for those."
"Okay," Joaquin said. "I'll leave it to you."
At the same time, all the big agencies in Hollywood were trying to get their actors into this movie.
Wald Pictures had truly grown up. They had gone from begging actors to come to their auditions... to having all the actors in Hollywood swarming to them.
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