March 18.
If everything were left to the previous answer, then Billy already had three films under his belt that scraped across the European atmosphere like no other craft, and it left behind the lingering thought that perhaps, in the future, all of it would eventually return to some conciliatory idea. Something that refused to exhaust itself no matter how far it was pushed.
After Renato bursts into the town square and shields Malena with the comfort of a devoted lover, the two of them eventually fall asleep wrapped in each other's arms, and together they flee from everything. They escape to Rome, where they live for a time, only to later return and reclaim their home, which is no longer the same and now lies fractured in every direction. From there they leave again, wandering the world in search of some place that might finally feel like home, surviving through their love alone. Scenes of kisses, scenes of weary affection where everything becomes pierced by the painful truth of the suffering a town can inflict upon a woman. A bittersweet tenderness unfolds, one in which Renato lives day by day, embracing life like a young man consumed by pleasures, eventually becoming a painter who pours his talents into everything his heart carries within itself. And once more, they are found by Renato's father, who begs him to come home and stay beside his mother, who is close to death.
A bittersweet ending.
A distinctly European ending that speaks to the human heart, to envy, and to the kind of behavior that is never far removed from how people truly act in daily life whenever they are cornered against the wall. Decisions end up forging destinies, and the joke itself becomes like gauze wrapped around the soul.
Renato meets Malena, but what truly shines is the obsession, and his collapse into the promise of love, a promise that somehow still manages to strike true.
…
--Billy, my dear, you're flying to San Francisco. I must admit, I'd like to stay and talk for at least another week, but you Americans only know how to work-- Giuseppe commented.
--And if I don't do it, who else would dare?"- Billy replied.
--No one. No one at all.-- Giuseppe answered.
--Then I suppose there's nothing left to discuss except waiting for your next project to finally move forward. Jim Gianopulos mentioned you opened an entire vault of projects that had been pushed aside for years because of budget limitations,-- Billy said, already aware that some of Giuseppe's ideas bordered on madness itself, such as shutting down parts of Rome to film scenes in broad daylight, or using thousands of extras to create a living frame. But that required the kind of money that transformed an independent film into a blockbuster, while Giuseppe desired the exact opposite.
He wanted to make an independent film with a tangled, deeply layered story and an enormous production cost. Yet that was exactly the kind of art Billy wanted to protect: art without limits. He wanted to give Giuseppe the forty million dollars he was asking for and let him create freely. But that would only become possible once the studio's upcoming releases hit theaters—films like The Matrix or The Mummy—projects that would generate the kind of revenue needed to sustain such ambitions.
--You'll love it. I'll make sure it's worth every second. The other two directors are friends of mine, and they ask for less than what they deserve. Crumbs. Mere crumbs in exchange for making art.-- Giuseppe replied.
To him, Lux Films had become a place where ideas were allowed to breathe, though they were far from the first production house to dream of something like that.
Many studios had poured their savings into similar visions only to collapse once the weight of money began to speak louder than inspiration. But Billy intended to break that pattern with The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings, ensuring that all the projects still inside his mind would continue moving forward. Apple was finally beginning to stand on its own feet, no longer merely consuming money but generating its own. And Autodesk would soon become a gold mine once its next release launched in June, fueled by the technological frenzy and stock-market obsession gripping the world. Billy expected those movements to bring him an avalanche of wealth, enough to gamble on companies and breathe life into others he had not even begun to imagine.
All while playing with money and shaping ideas meant to last the next fifteen years.
--I won't disappoint you.-- Giuseppe answered, watching Billy slowly move toward the idea of creating one production company in Italy, another in France, and another in Germany, hoping to reshape European cinema into something uniquely his own, something that would inspire admiration in audiences and unease in those who currently ruled the industry. Because to Giuseppe, Italy was the cradle of cinema itself.
--Good morning, Giuseppe.-- Billy replied as he stretched.
Nearby, Monica was talking with one of the actresses from the cast, a young woman beautiful in her own way, both of them laughing loudly as they whispered to each other.
--Yes, yes..."-
Billy stepped away from the director's chairs and crossed the street. The wrap party had arrived, where everyone would gather around a table and recount the smallest details behind the making of the film, uncovering truths that had never been spoken aloud. It would become a celebration blending wine with memories of all the work that had begun so long ago.
Elesa Morucci carried a resemblance to Monica. She had that unmistakable Italian spark, the kind of beauty that seemed to dance and sing through her bloodline itself.
A small motorcycle passed in front of them as Monica waved.
--My love, Elesa is joining our coat line as a model.-- Monica commented, already envisioning how everything would function: coats, dresses, and shirts for now, while the lingerie collection slowly prepared to emerge.
--Then I'm glad to have her with us.-- Billy replied.
--Yes, Mr. Carson.--
Elesa's heavy Italian accent sounded divine, and Billy immediately understood why Giuseppe had cast her. Even the way she pronounced the word "Signore" carried elegance.
--Do you work in films often?-- Billy asked.
--Very often.-- Elesa answered without hesitation.
Only moments earlier, she had been listening to Monica joking in detail about Billy, and the image, combined with the wine she had been drinking, had gone straight to her head.
That same night, she, Monica, and Billy shared a passionate encounter that remained mostly in the realm of implication, shaped more by Monica's teasing words than by anything openly spoken.
--We want to build the niche.-- Billy answered at last, knowing that the niche belonged to quality above all else, tied to a brand that would eventually stand alongside others of smaller scale and lesser reach.