A One Percent Gamble
Titanic was a project born from James Cameron's sheer, relentless obsession. A blockbuster-scale film that blended a real-life historical tragedy with cutting-edge underwater cinematography and a sweeping romance. Looking at the blueprint alone, it had garnered massive expectations from its very inception.
The executives at 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures had smiled, imagining the awe-struck reactions of audiences overwhelmed by the colossal scale of the silver screen. Moreover, because the director pitching the film was James Cameron—a titan who had repeatedly proven his mettle with blockbuster hits—no one doubted its success.
However, as production dragged on, whispers of concern began to ripple through the industry. The budget poured into making Titanic had ballooned to a staggering $200 million. It cost far more to make the movie than it had to build the actual, historical ship itself.
20th Century Fox, which shouldered the bulk of the financing, had initially projected a budget in the mid-$100 millions. Since previous mega-blockbusters like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and True Lies had already shattered the $100 million ceiling, the studio executives accepted that producing a proper blockbuster required that kind of capital. Thus, even as production costs climbed, they didn't raise any serious red flags at first.
'But then, the Waterworld disaster struck.'
When a film with a colossal $175 million budget completely tanked at the box office, an anxious chill swept through the Titanic production team. The money already spent was astronomical, and with James Cameron's notorious perfectionism showing no signs of letting up, the budget was constantly spiking. To make matters worse, a similar water-themed project had just crashed and burned. In fact, a rumor was actively circulating in Hollywood at the time: 'Any movie set on water is cursed to fail.'
The sentiment that had started as "It's James Cameron, let's trust him!" gradually warped into "Is this really going to be okay?" By the eve of its release, the studio executives were practically preparing their resignation letters and looking up flights to countries without extradition treaties. Because of this sheer panic, Sion Lee's contract for a 1% running guarantee of the total box office gross was accepted without much resistance.
'I really do feel like a bit of a bastard.' But what could he do? It wasn't like he was doing anything illegal. A man had to secure his bag when the opportunity presented itself. Besides, using this as a springboard, he could give a few interviews later claiming, "I just had a feeling it would be a masterpiece!" That would only bolster his reputation, making people trust the "eye" of the actor Sion Lee even more.
...In a way, by predicting things no one else could possibly foresee, Sion felt like he was slowly turning into some kind of cult leader.
"Woof."
"...?" Sitting next to Sion, who had let out a random dog bark in a fleeting moment of self-reflection, Elena Asimov tilted her head in confusion.
"What was that for, all of a sudden?"
"Just... suddenly wondered what kind of sound I'd make if I turned into a dog."
"You really are unpredictable." Elena let out a soft chuckle and returned her focus to the papers in her hands. Just then, the door opened, and a man who had gone to the restroom stepped back inside.
"Ah, goodness... The hallways are so confusing, I got a bit lost." It was the director, Daniel Summit. Meeting him again after some time, he looked remarkably different from his awkward days during Swing in Chicago. He had grown his hair long enough to tie into a ponytail and was wearing glasses.
'How should I put it? He looks more like someone who's actually survived on a film set.' Yet, his gentle, unassuming demeanor remained entirely unchanged. He was a man with a certain cute charm, even shouting, "It is an honor to meet you again!" the moment he saw Sion. But his films? They were the real deal.
"Our agency has gotten pretty nice, hasn't it? ...Ah, right. This is your first time here."
"Y-yes, indeed. It really makes me realize how different Hollywood is." Sitting next to Sion, Daniel was still fidgeting restlessly. And understandably so. The actress sitting across from him, who had come after receiving a casting offer for the lead role, was none other than the famous Elena Asimov.
Having primarily worked in the indie scene, Daniel felt a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of a face he usually saw on massive theater screens starring in his film. Elena, however, had eyes that sparkled as she looked over the offer sheet. Her delicate hands turned the pages of the full script with unmistakable intrigue.
Sion watched her with a gentle expression, adopting the perspective of a producer rather than a fellow actor. Finally, having finished reading, Elena slowly raised her head.
"Director."
"Yes! Oh, m-me?"
"...Yes, you, Daniel." Sion nudged him playfully from the side, boosting his confidence. In a situation that could easily have been awkward and tense, Sion's lighthearted intervention acted as a gentle lubricant to ease the conversation.
"What is the reason you want to cast me?"
"..." Daniel fell silent for a moment. Sion deliberately held his tongue, trusting the artistic instincts of a director who, in the near future, would carve out his own unique niche in cinema.
"...Well, I'm not very good with words, so I might ramble a bit." After letting out a soft sigh, Daniel offered his first direct thought. "When I look at Elena Asimov's face, I catch a glimpse of... sorrow."
"...Is that so?"
"It's pure and somewhat cold, yet carries a certain melancholic weight. At the same time, I was deeply drawn to your ability to portray a character with intense emotional highs and lows." Daniel then cited Fragments of You as an example.
"I've watched that movie about ten times."
"I should grab a poster and a VHS tape for you on your way out."
"Please sign them for me as well. Anyway, the more I watched that film, the more a question kept echoing in my mind: 'Who did this actress think she actually was when she portrayed this character?' It's a difficult question. It's not just about the mechanics of acting, but asking a more fundamental, existential question."
"What did you conclude?"
"I... well, you might find this a bit strange." Daniel paused, offering a bittersweet smile. "The more I watched, the more it felt like you acted while knowing."
"Knowing that I was a reconstructed entity created by someone else through a program?"
"Yes. Even while displaying an obsessive attachment toward the protagonist, there was a sort of detached, transparent emotion beneath it..."
"..." Elena smiled with deep satisfaction and turned her gaze to Sion. "Mr. Producer?"
"Yes, my dear actress?"
"I want to work with him, but I have a condition."
"Hmm, what might that condition be? If it's a date, you don't even have to make it a condition—I'm available anytime."
"Let me do whatever I want. I want to get a little messy."
"..." For a split second, the words 'Oh, that's a rather heart-fluttering thing to say' almost slipped out of Sion's mouth. But looking at the burning passion in Elena's eyes, he forced himself to keep his lips sealed.
Upon reading the script for Rainbow Road, Elena seemed to have instinctively realized that this was the perfect project for her return to acting. Her eyes shone as if she had finally glimpsed the path she was meant to walk.
'The successor to Meryl Streep... is it?' Sion asked casually, "When you say 'messy,' what do you mean?"
"Rolling around in the mud... and I want to say 'Fuck' too."
"Oh, fuck. It's a great word, but... I wonder if Olga will let me live."
"My mother doesn't matter. This is between you and me, isn't it?" The moment the words left her mouth, Elena seemed to realize how suggestive they sounded. She quickly looked away, trying to escape the awkwardness. "A-and the director too..."
"I welcome those kinds of ideas anytime! Please don't hesitate to reach out!" Seeing the two of them overflowing with passion before they had even begun, Sion wore a highly satisfied smile.
The production of Rainbow Road proceeded smoothly. ...Or rather, there wasn't much of a complex process that could even be called "production."
Before conceiving this film, Daniel Summit had decided, 'I still need to see more of the world!' He packed his belongings into a small van and traveled far and wide. He wrote the screenplay based on the breathtaking natural landscapes he encountered and the diverse people he met along the way, meticulously detailing potential shooting locations in his idea notebook.
He sent official requests to places that might cooperate with filming, conducted location scouting, and drew up a shooting schedule. Meanwhile, with the support of CK Entertainment, the casting process went off without a hitch.
By the time they purchased and modified a pickup truck, they had assembled a large van to carry their modest filming equipment and a skeleton crew willing to endure the grueling road trip. During this process, Sion Lee, acting as the producer, pitched an idea.
"What if we cast extras and minor roles on the spot whenever we need them?"
"...I don't know about that." Chloe, who was busy filling out mountains of paperwork, narrowed her eyes. "Between acting ability and contract issues, I think that might be difficult."
"But I think that would fit the vibe of Rainbow Road much better. Let's see what the director thinks."
"..." Naturally, Daniel Summit, who wanted to make the film as realistic as possible, welcomed Sion's suggestion with open arms. ...Though Chloe's expression grew a fraction colder in the process.
While pre-production was underway, Sion was tasked with one more mission: teaching Elena Asimov how to drive.
"Ugh, uuuugh...!" The problem stemmed from the fact that Elena was the type to get incredibly tense when doing something she lacked confidence in.
"What do I do?! What do I do?!"
"What do you mean, 'what do you do'? Step on it."
"W-what?! Are you crazy?! How can I step on it any more than this!"
"...We're going twelve miles an hour, Ellie. We are moving slower than a sloth rushing to mate."
They were on a quiet, nearby road perfect for driving practice. Sion had rented a cheap truck that wouldn't matter even if it got wrecked. After explaining how to operate the clutch, he had handed over the wheel, and this was the result.
Cars behind them honked furiously, shouting "Fuck!" as they overtook them. However, the drivers who glared back, thinking, 'What kind of lunatic drives this terribly?' froze like statues the moment they recognized the gorgeous actor, Sion, casually waving from the passenger seat.
"Okay, right. I can do this. I can..." Elena slowly increased her speed. Watching her with an affectionate gaze, Sion spoke up.
"Make sure you don't stall it."
"...! Ugh!" Elena began to tense up again. Don't stall. Don't stall. Don't stall. Don't... She had to manage the clutch and accelerator very carefully...
"How did you tell me to step on them again?"
"Gently, like you're stepping on a carton of eggs."
"R-right! Like stepping on eggs. Like stepping on eggs. Like stepping on eggs..." Chug-chug-sputter!
"W-why is it doing this?! Sion! H-help me!"
"It's just an old car. Don't worry so much. If we die, let's get married in heaven, okay?"
"Marriage should be done in the living world! ...A-ah, no! I don't mean I want to marry you! I'm really serious right now, so stop teasing me!"
Sensing she might actually cry if he pushed her any further, Sion chuckled and patted her shoulder. "Why don't we just use a stunt double? We can CGI the driving scenes."
"How could I do that as an actress...! Absolutely not!" Elena gritted her teeth and kept driving.
Honk—! Beep beep!
"You fucking—! Oh, Sion?"
"Sorry. Road practice. Have a great day!" Sion waved with a relaxed smile. Regardless of his antics, Elena kept her focus, speaking with determination.
"This is my comeback film after years. I want to do it right. You know how it is, don't you? Using a double means you have to fill that empty space with your imagination. But... I absolutely don't want to do that. At least not for this project."
Elena Asimov was striving to move forward as an actress. The girl who had lived under the comfortable shadow of her mother was stepping out into the world for the first time. That was why she had boldly chosen this indie road movie, wanting to deliver a raw, realistic performance unlike anything she had done before.
Sion, who had recommended this project knowing exactly how she felt, leaned back against the seat, feeling the vibration of the truck. Before long, the vehicle's speed began to pick up.
"I think swearing in a movie is going to be so much fun...!"
A life born and bred to act. It was no exaggeration to call her an elite actress, one of the top 1%. Yet, Elena didn't feel constrained by the environment she had grown up in. Instead, like a figure in a Greek tragedy embracing her destiny, she sought to boldly forge ahead, expressing her desires to the fullest on the path laid out before her.
And in that journey, the actor Sion Lee had played a massive role.
"...How about you?" Elena asked, stepping on the clutch pedal with a bit more ease now.
"Hmm?"
"I heard. You're starring in Titanic?"
"That's how it turned out. I'm playing the villain who gets in the way of the main couple."
"Really? Who's playing the leads?"
"Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet."
"Those two are pretty big names among the generation right below us... but still, seeing those names together, it feels strange that you're not the lead."
"Well, the director is James Cameron. His perfectionism is legendary. It seems he didn't want a massive star overshadowing the film itself this time. ...Not that I'm saying I'm a bigger name than the Titanic itself, of course."
"Will you be okay with that?"
"I'll just have to give it my all."
Elena's voice seemed to pierce right through his thoughts. Because of that, Sion playfully changed the subject. "Alright, we're merging onto the highway now."
"W-wait! Hold on! I'm not mentally prepared yet...!"
"Sometimes you just have to dive in even when you aren't ready. I suppose Titanic is exactly that kind of case for me."
The movie Titanic was a love story between Jack, a lower-class artist, and Rose, an aristocrat. And Caledon Hockley—the role Sion was set to play—had simply been a plot device to obstruct their romance in his past life.
More than a decade after the film's release, internet commentators and cinephiles would spark debates re-evaluating Cal's character. From the perspective of the 1910s, they argued, Cal hadn't really done anything wrong; rather, he was the victim of a smooth-talking grifter named Jack and an immature girl named Rose who had stabbed him in the back.
'But looking at how the movie actually portrays him, he's undeniably a gaslighting villain.'
James Cameron was a director who insisted on auditions. Thus, even though Sion had been provisionally cast, he still had to perform an impromptu table read. As he channeled the "arrogant, top 1% elite man" on the spot, various thoughts had swirled in his mind.
The narrative of the leads would unfold according to the storyboard the director had already set in stone, just like in his past life. 'In that case... what kind of person should my Caledon Hockley be?'
Since he was taking over a role in a monumental film, he wanted to make a definitive mark. An actor was someone who mechanically executed a script, but they were also creators who harmonized with the filmmaker's vision to elevate it to a higher artistic plane.
As the beat-up truck slowly cruised down the highway, Sion fell into deep contemplation. Elena, who had grown relaxed enough to steal a glance at him as he drifted into thought, looked out at the sun-drenched desert highway and spoke.
"Don't worry too much, Sion."
"Hmm...?"
"Because you're the most charming villain I know."
Caught off guard, Sion stared at her blankly for a moment. Then, a slow smirk spread across his face.
"Then I'll have to make sure I live up to your expectations."