Chapter 113: Provocation

After Warner's anniversary reception, Duke refocused his energy on the post-production of Independence Day. From mid-February to mid-April, he and Mike Dawson completed the rough cut and advanced to a fine cut of the film. However, with the CGI special effects still a long way from completion, the edited footage without them looked extremely rough.

Lucasfilm's Skywalker Sound also delivered the first version of the score. After listening to it, Duke discussed the piece with their lead and settled on the general tone of the soundtrack. This was only the initial version, however; Skywalker Sound still had to refine and expand upon it.

In addition, brands including the Molson Coors Brewing Company had joined the film's roster of advertising sponsors. During post-production, Duke had to figure out how to insert them into appropriate scenes.

At the end of April, Duke received another piece of news amidst his busy post-production schedule. After careful consideration, Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox had finally accepted his suggestion. When Independence Day held its test screenings, no professional film critics would be invited. The massive public relations expenses saved by this move would instead be invested into the film's advertising and promotion.

At the same time, fulfilling a request from the producers, Duke worked with the special effects department to edit the film's first official trailer. It inherited Duke's consistent style—explosive and thrilling—and the aliens invading Earth briefly bared their fangs at the very end.

Before the Summer Season arrived, Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox utilized their massive resources to blanket theater screens and television networks with the trailer. Many aspects of it caught the attention of moviegoers, especially the dialogue between the president and the alien at the very end.

"Can we live together in peace?"

The hideous alien appeared on the screen. "Peace? No peace!"

"What do you want us to do?"

"Die! Die..."

This dialogue was full of a higher organism's absolute contempt for a lower species, easily resonating with audiences.

After the trailer had generated buzz for a while, the public relations departments of Warner and Fox began to exert their influence. A flood of related commentary appeared in the media to grab the public's attention.

As noted in the Los Angeles Times, the public was extremely interested in a war between humanity and aliens.

"Although humanity continues to explore the universe in search of other possible life forms, our knowledge of the cosmos remains limited. Many films depict visiting extraterrestrials as cute, kind, and highly intelligent beings, such as in E.T. But if one day, the aliens visiting Earth are brutal and armed with immense firepower, viewing Earthlings as lower life forms that must be destroyed, will human civilization be rewritten from then on? Independence Day displays exactly this theme. Aliens and humanity finally face off openly, instead of spreading terror under a veil of mystery!"

The research companies hired by Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox also launched random street surveys in major cities across the United States to gather first-hand data.

In New York Times Square, James from the TPP Research and Consulting Company stopped a young man in his twenties. After a brief self-introduction, he asked directly, "Do you know about the movie Independence Day?"

"I do. I've seen the trailer. It's the new movie by that explosion maniac, Duke Rosenberg."

"What do you think of the trailer? Will you go watch it when the film is released?"

"Incredibly exciting, way beyond my expectations." The young man seemed to really like this type of film. "As long as I have the time, I'll definitely go to the theater to watch it."

Next, James stopped a boy who looked like a student and asked similar questions.

"I haven't seen the trailer, but my friends and classmates are all talking about this movie. Most of them want to see it as soon as possible, so I think I'll go watch it too."

In one afternoon, James interviewed over sixty people. Nearly fifty of them had heard of or seen the advertisements for Independence Day. More than half of those indicated they would head into theaters at a convenient time to see how Earthlings fought against aliens, and how the explosive madman director Duke Rosenberg would destroy the White House and major cities in North America. A significant portion of the rest said they would decide whether to buy a ticket depending on the circumstances.

During the few days James conducted his surveys, similar scenes played out in crowded areas across major cities throughout the United States. Through today's increasingly developed computer networks, the specific data was quickly transmitted to Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, and Independence Day Studio.

After the results came out, Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox held a joint meeting specifically to discuss the findings.

"These are the latest market research results."

As the project leader, Jeff Robinov personally stood by the projector. Switching slides, he spoke to the CEOs of both companies, "In this random survey, we questioned 45,678 people, primarily between the ages of fifteen and forty. Eighty percent of them have heard or seen news related to Independence Day. Forty-one percent said they will go to the theater to watch it, and another nineteen percent said they will decide whether to buy a ticket depending on the film's quality."

"Very optimistic data."

A satisfied smile appeared on the face of Twentieth Century Fox's Tim Fisher. "Duke Rosenberg is building his own directorial brand, just like Spielberg. Our promotional work is also hitting the mark right on time."

"I suggest..."

Charles Roven, representing Independence Day Studio at the meeting, said, "We should continue to increase our promotional efforts. Duke's films won't disappoint us! And he has never disappointed anyone before."

The conference room fell silent for a moment before everyone nodded in agreement.

In Hollywood, nothing was more convincing than data and recent success. Just a few days ago, The Rock finally concluded all its overseas screenings. Its final global box office reached a staggering 405.84 million dollars. Among all the movies released last year, it only trailed behind the super blockbuster Jurassic Park, seizing the second-highest global box office record!

It had to be noted that Jurassic Park not only had a massive reader base as its foundation, but its director was Steven Spielberg, who had been famous for twenty years!

And Duke Rosenberg? Even counting this year, he was only twenty-four years old and had been in Hollywood for barely three years. His future in the realm of commercial films was simply incalculable.

Moreover, all the executives sitting here were absolutely certain of one thing: Duke Rosenberg's explosion scenes were incredibly marketable!

After some discussion, both Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox made the decision to ramp up pre-release promotion. They would also inject additional promotional funds depending on the market reaction once Independence Day hit theaters.

A new Summer Season was approaching. If one were to judge solely by promotional intensity, the film appearing most frequently and prominently in the media and the public eye was neither the all-ages feature The Flintstones, which premiered in May, nor the inspirational and nostalgic Forrest Gump. Nor was it Disney Animation Studio's The Lion King, which had been five years in the making. Instead, it was Independence Day, directed by Duke, whom many moviegoers jokingly called the explosion maniac.

Although this film was still two months away from release, its presence could be found in prominent positions across the Big Four Television Networks, the Big Three Newspapers, major professional magazines, and other influential media. Even on the currently burgeoning computer networks, many people were discussing Independence Day.

As time marched into May, the 1994 Summer Season box office war commenced. With the film's CGI effects gradually being completed, Duke entered his busiest phase since post-production began. Temporarily tossing aside all trivial matters, he threw himself entirely into the work, even turning down Charlize Theron's party invitations.

Yes, with his accumulated experience and having grown accustomed to working under pressure, Duke indeed found things a bit easier than before. But that didn't mean he could afford to divide his attention. This was Hollywood, where the competition was so fierce that people practically fought with knives in hand. Indulging himself too much would very likely lead to failure.

He never believed that just because he had lived an extra life, everything would naturally succeed. Moreover, success was never a simple matter.

Adding special effects, finalizing the soundtrack, calling in actors for dubbing, carrying out appropriate sound editing, and so on—although Duke didn't have to do it all himself, he had to review every single step. Any flawed segment would be sent back by him for a redo.

Throughout May, while it wasn't as exaggerated as Cameron eating and sleeping in the studio, by the end of the month, Duke found that he had successfully lost nearly ten pounds. He didn't know whether to lament his misfortune or praise his luck.

However, the results of his work also left him satisfied. Even though post-production wasn't completely finished yet, it was drawing to a close. It absolutely wouldn't delay the test screenings in June.

While Duke was busy, the new Summer Season was engaged in a fierce slaughter. The Flintstones, which premiered first, raked in 29.68 million dollars in its opening week. In ten days of release, its North American box office accumulated a staggering 60 million dollars, getting the 1994 Summer Season off to a great start.

Entering June, Forrest Gump's opening week result of 24.45 million dollars seemed very average. However, as time went by, a trend sweeping across North America had only just begun. The film's box office never exploded dramatically, but it was exceptionally stable. During its first two weeks of release, one couldn't even sense a drop-off.

By mid-June, Disney Animation Studio ushered in its absolute peak and ultimate moment of glory. The pinnacle of 2D animation, The Lion King, struck with full force. Its North American box office of over 40 million dollars in its opening week meant that it would dominate the entire June release window alongside the exceptionally stable Forrest Gump, whose box office was neither too high nor too low.

Amidst all this turbulence, Independence Day completed all post-production work, including the addition of its opening and closing credits. The test screenings were about to begin. Yet, what the outside world didn't expect was that the co-producers, Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox, had invited ordinary moviegoers, theater chain representatives, and media journalists to attend the screening, but deliberately left out the professional film critics!