Chapter 111: Unqualified Opponent

A long red carpet stretched out in front of the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel, flanked by throngs of paparazzi and reporters. Hollywood stars and celebrities, dressed to the nines, stepped onto the carpet in pairs, showing off their best sides amid the relentless flash of camera lenses.

This was the Warner Brothers anniversary party, and its sheer scale rivaled even last month's Oscars.

"Director Rosenberg, is Miss Watts your girlfriend?"

"Rumors have been circulating that Miss Watts snatched the lead role in Independence Day from Nicole Kidman because of your backing. Is it true?"

Walking the red carpet arm in arm with Naomi Watts, Duke heard the reporters' frantic questions but had no interest in answering. Ever since last year, tabloids had been hyping rumors that he and Naomi were dating. He had never bothered to clarify. This kind of gossip would only keep popping up in the future, so why bother explaining?

Besides, it also served as free publicity for the movie.

Since he had no interest in dealing with the media, Duke walked down the red carpet at a brisk pace. Naomi Watts was a different story. She continuously waved to the surrounding reporters, wishing every camera lens were trained on her.

Hurrying off the red carpet, the two arrived in front of the hotel. Even more reporters had gathered here, but fortunately, they were fairly orderly. The guests obligingly stopped to sign autographs and pose for photos in front of the Warner Brothers backdrop.

"Looks like a friend of yours."

As they approached the photo area, Duke looked at the couple standing with intertwined fingers. "No wonder it's so lively. It's the Cruises."

"We haven't spoken in a long time," Naomi Watts said softly into Duke's ear.

Turning to look at her, Duke immediately understood what was going on. This was far too common in Hollywood. There were countless examples of so-called best friends turning into bitter enemies over a role.

"Miss Kidman, Miss Watts..."

A reporter who had just spotted Duke and Naomi Watts shouted, "I heard you two are good friends! Can we get a photo of you together?"

"Of course!"

Standing in front of the backdrop, Nicole Kidman looked over with the warmest smile on her face. Without a second thought, Naomi let go of Duke's arm, flashed an almost identical smile, and strode over. She opened her arms and embraced Nicole Kidman, striking a touching pose of sisterly affection.

Watching this unfold with great amusement, Duke walked over and extended a hand to Tom Cruise with a smile. "Long time no see, Tom."

"Yeah, long time no see."

Though he could be a bit airheaded at times, Tom Cruise was no fool. Flashing his iconic smile at Duke, he gave his hand a firm squeeze.

"Let's take a photo together."

Duke looked at the two women linking arms next to him. 'My acting skills seem to have improved quite a bit,' he thought. He could easily cameo in a minor role in the future.

The four of them stood together like the best of friends, letting the reporters snap away. Only they could feel the underlying tension in the air.

"Congratulations, Nami."

Beside him, their seemingly intimate chat was anything but. Beneath the brilliant smiles, the words were laced with mockery and hostility. "You're the leading lady of a blockbuster now!"

"Thanks." Naomi Watts subtly lifted her chin.

After the photos, the four turned and headed into the hotel. The moment they were out of the media's line of sight, they pulled apart as if on cue, putting distance between themselves like total strangers.

But Nicole Kidman wasn't finished. Walking into the temporarily empty elevator lobby, she quietly sidled up to Naomi Watts as they waited.

"I never expected you to steal my role," she said, keeping her voice low.

"You're the one who told me never to miss a single opportunity in Hollywood." Naomi Watts had no intention of backing down.

Nicole Kidman's expression remained unchanged. Leaning close to Naomi's ear, she whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "What exactly did you do to get this role? Do you really think getting Duke Rosenberg's backing guarantees success? Hollywood is never that simple."

The elevator doors slid open. Duke and Cruise stepped inside one after another, but the two women lingered behind, neither making a move to enter. Naomi lowered her voice and shot back, "To gain a foothold in Hollywood, Mary, didn't you rely on Tom Cruise? Duke is single. At least I didn't ruin someone else's marriage!"

Nodding slightly, Nicole Kidman proved much better at holding her temper than her husband. She stepped into the elevator first, followed closely by Naomi Watts.

Catching a glimpse of the two women's exquisite makeup out of the corner of his eye, Duke knew exactly how this would play out. These two Australian women would act just like before: besties and loving sisters in front of the media, and bitter enemies who wanted nothing to do with each other behind closed doors.

Then again, the competition among A-list and B-list actresses in Hollywood was brutally fierce. Only a fool would believe in any so-called friendship between them.

With a soft ding, the elevator doors slid open. Without waiting for the Cruises to move, Duke took Naomi's hand and led her out first. They turned out of the elevator lobby and arrived at the entrance of the grand banquet hall, where Warner Brothers executives immediately rushed forward to offer an enthusiastic welcome.

"Hi, Duke."

"Hi, Jeff. Hi, Kevin."

Entering the banquet hall, Duke shook hands with several Warner Brothers executives. Meanwhile, the Cruises trailing behind them were momentarily left out in the cold.

Nicole Kidman watched as the executives from Warner Brothers and other studios enthusiastically greeted Duke Rosenberg and Naomi Watts ahead of them. She felt the hand holding hers clench tighter and tighter. She frowned slightly. Over the past few years, they hadn't experienced this kind of cold shoulder. Given Tom's temper, he was probably seething with rage right now.

"Tom, calm down," she whispered.

She knew that if she didn't warn him, Tom might just turn on his heel and storm out. And that wouldn't just humiliate him—it would humiliate her, too.

"If his next movie bombs, these people will..."

Nicole faintly heard her husband muttering something under his breath. His grip on her hand grew even more crushing. Feeling a sharp flare of pain, she finally snapped in irritation. "Tom, you're hurting me!"

Tom Cruise shot her a cold glare and dropped her hand.

After finishing his pleasantries with the Warner executives, Duke headed toward the center of the banquet hall. He glanced back to see Tom Cruise looking thoroughly grim and Nicole Kidman's face tight with tension. It looked like the couple was having a spat...

Guided by the Warner staff, Duke and Naomi arrived at a small table near the center of the front row. After shaking hands with the guests who reached out to greet them, they took two adjacent seats.

"What did you say to Nicole Kidman?"

Feeling a bit bored, Duke couldn't resist the urge to gossip. "Outside the elevator."

"She mocked me..."

Naomi didn't seem to care as she lowered her voice. "She said I only got the role in Independence Day because I screwed you so well."

Duke shrugged and kept quiet. Strictly speaking, she wasn't completely wrong.

"Like she's any different?" Naomi gave Duke a sidelong glance and continued, "If she hadn't wrecked Tom Cruise's marriage, would she have ever gained a foothold in Hollywood?"

Hearing the trace of resentment in Naomi's voice, Duke guessed that this was definitely not the first time these two had locked horns.

Sure enough, before Duke could ask anything, Naomi went on. "After the Independence Day audition results came out, she started spreading rumors in Australian acting circles. She claimed I tossed aside our friendship and all the help she gave me just to steal her role."

"Now the entire Australian Gang is shutting me out!" She glanced back toward where Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were sitting. "And she even sabotaged one of my auditions!"

"Don't dwell on it too much," Duke advised after a moment's thought. "Getting caught up in personal grudges won't do your career any good."

Competition was everywhere in Hollywood. Anyone trying to climb to the top would find enemies and rivals at every turn. If someone wasted all their energy feuding with them, they would end up achieving nothing.

Clearly, Nancy Josephson had already given Naomi similar advice. Withdrawing her resentful gaze, she picked up her wine glass, clinked it against Duke's, and downed it in one gulp.

"Hi, Duke."

An enthusiastic greeting came from beside them. Duke stood up and stepped forward to meet him. "Great to see you, Thomas."

The man greeting him was none other than the current CEO of Twentieth Century Fox, Thomas Rothman. After Duke gestured for him to take a seat, he temporarily sat down at their table.

"How's post-production coming along?" He was, of course, asking about Independence Day.

"Everything is going smoothly."

Post-production on the film was taking quite a while. Because he had to wait for the visual effects to be completed, Duke's schedule wasn't nearly as packed as it had been on his last two projects. "It will definitely be finished on schedule in June."

"Then Fox will be waiting for your good news." Thomas Rothman smiled brilliantly, as if the film were already a massive blockbuster. "I believe this will be a collaboration as successful as Speed."

"I believe so too."

Seeing Thomas getting ready to leave, Duke stood up to shake his hand, and watched the head of Twentieth Century Fox walk away.

"It's only been a few years, and you're already a highly sought-after director for the studios," Naomi remarked, her tone tinged with admiration. "You're a real Hollywood success story now, Duke."

"Thanks."

Just as he nodded to Naomi, Duke noticed two more people walking over. Leading the way was the middle-aged Jewish executive vice president of Warner Brothers, Robert Solomon. And trailing right behind him was a man Duke had nearly forgotten about entirely—Rick Salomon!