Chapter 125: Encirclement

"On July 1, Independence Day, with a production budget of 100 million dollars, premiered in North America as scheduled..." In the live broadcast studio, Gene Siskel sat on the sofa facing the camera and spoke to Roger Ebert across from him. "Following its release, the film has faced a barrage of unanimous negative reviews across the United States. Some media outlets and critics have even given it a zero. Duke Rosenberg, whose career had been smooth sailing until now, has run into massive trouble."

Acting as if Duke's film truly had no takers, he asked, "Roger, can you break down the reasons for this?"

"The failure Duke Rosenberg has encountered is actually due to a variety of reasons."

Sounding like the film industry's supreme authority, Roger Ebert steadily began his analysis. "Let's start with the film itself. The plot and structure of Independence Day both have very serious flaws."

"Anyone who has seen the movie, or even just the trailer, can tell that Independence Day is yet another alien story, yet another fantasy of America saving the world. Aliens attack, the world falls into a panic, humanity—led by the American President—launches a counterattack against the extraterrestrials, and finally, world peace is restored. Hollywood has relied on this cliché for far too long!"

"And this one is the absolute worst I've ever seen. The plot is thin, the logic is riddled with holes, the dialogue is dry, and the special effects are simplistic!"

Siskel chimed in right on cue. "Roger, can you give a few examples?"

"The most classic example is using a computer virus to disable the aliens' energy shields. Anyone with a basic understanding of computers knows that a virus relies on the system's fundamental architecture. Are we supposed to believe the aliens use the exact same systems as humanity? Do they use the DOS Operating System? Or Intel CPUs?"

"Furthermore, the film's attempts at emotion are far too cheap and heavy-handed..."

With Siskel's cooperation, Roger Ebert viciously mocked everything in Independence Day, from its plot and structure to its logic and dialogue.

"Duke Rosenberg's first two films, Speed and The Rock, did receive some praise, but Independence Day is clearly his Waterloo."

Following their scripted routine, Siskel asked another question. "Roger, does the failure of Independence Day have anything to do with a decline in Duke Rosenberg's own directing skills?"

This was no longer just about the movie, but Roger Ebert showed no signs of stopping. "I've spoken with Duke Rosenberg before. His problems are obvious. First, his desire for destruction during filming is far too strong, completely suppressing any pursuit of cinematic art."

He paused for a moment, as if organizing his words. "Second, it relates to his personal ideology. It's not hard to see that in Duke Rosenberg's mind, commercial success and box office numbers come first. Film quality takes a back seat."

Without waiting for his partner to ask another question, Roger Ebert continued directly. "Including Independence Day, Duke Rosenberg has released three films. From these three, anyone can see that his filmmaking techniques are limited. He just recycles the same few tricks over and over. After a while, people naturally get sick of it."

"Could you provide a more detailed analysis?" Siskel asked once more.

"Of course!"

Roger Ebert cleared his throat before saying, "First, he loves to show off. Dazzling camera movements, sharp editing, and explosive special effects. This is Duke Rosenberg's signature style, and it's what audiences relished in his first two films. It really is thrilling to watch. These elements have seeped right into his blood, becoming an inseparable part of his DNA..."

"Duke Rosenberg has never strayed from his penchant for showing off across all three films. In contrast, his narrative ability has gradually evolved—and it's getting worse and worse! Independence Day is the prime example! The story is perfunctory, the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes, and there's a heap of plot holes. All of this makes his 'showing off' increasingly obnoxious."

"Second, the abuse of three specific techniques. It's been a few years since Speed, yet Duke hasn't shown any progress. He overuses slow motion, he overuses wide angles, and he overuses explosions. Endless explosions. A retired cop sets off terrorist explosions, rogue American soldiers cause explosions, and the aliens bring explosions. Everyone tries their hardest to squeeze in an explosion at every possible moment. Then, the protagonists, wearing their invincible plot armor, escape those explosions in elegant slow motion!"

"Third, a complete lack of restraint! For the sake of all those excessive car chases, explosions, slow-motion shots, and special effects, Duke Rosenberg doesn't care how much he guts the film's plot. He has absolutely no mind for artistic integrity or human compassion! Instead, he pushes his showing off and grandstanding to the extreme. Take his personally acclaimed 'bomb POV' shot, for example, where a bomb drops from an F-18 Hornet onto Alcatraz Island and triggers a massive explosion. To put it bluntly, this is nothing more than his own self-indulgent game of explosions."

Broadcast over the cable network, this episode reached countless viewers. Some people felt Roger Ebert made a lot of sense, especially those over forty who regularly followed his reviews. Others, however, felt he was just nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking—particularly the demographic in their twenties.

"It's pure jealousy. I happen to love explosive movies with fast pacing. When it comes to that, who can even compare to Duke Rosenberg?"

In front of their televisions, young viewers grumbled, "These film critics are just a bunch of high-class trolls. They think they're so refined and superior, but in reality, they don't even know what they're talking about."

Others echoed similar sentiments. "Watching a movie with a mind full of jealousy and prejudice guarantees it won't be enjoyable, no matter how many times you watch it."

Everyone has a different perspective, but people are also swayed by the prevailing winds of public opinion. It was hard to say exactly what kind of impact Roger Ebert's program would have on Duke and Independence Day.

As midnight approached, Sarah, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, bid farewell to Duke and Nancy. She stepped out of the high-end restaurant and immediately drove back to the newspaper's headquarters, ready to work through the night to finish the assignment handed down by her editor-in-chief so it could be published on time the next day.

As her fingers struck the keyboard with a crisp clacking sound, Sarah realized with a touch of sadness that despite her lifelong dream of becoming a film critic, she was likely going to stand in direct opposition to them this time. It might even shatter her dreams of ever becoming one.

But she couldn't afford to worry about all that. Her job in the media was her actual livelihood.

It wasn't until midnight that Sarah finally handed her completed article over to her editor. The editor quickly formatted the text, slotted it into the space they had reserved long in advance, and transmitted it to printing plants scattered all over the country. From there, it would be printed, published, and delivered into the hands of subscribers in every corner of North America.

Having coordinated with the production and distribution companies ahead of time, Duke didn't participate in the North American promotional tours like the actors did. Instead, he focused his energy on the public opinion war that had already begun.

The sun had just crested the horizon on Sunday, its rays barely touching the beaches of Santa Monica, when Duke jogged all the way home along the coastal highway. He went upstairs to his room to take a quick shower, changed into fresh clothes, and headed back down. By the time he walked into the dining room, his mother was already seated inside, waiting for him to join her for breakfast.

"Morning, Mom," Duke said, taking a seat and picking up his knife and fork. "Are you heading to New York today?"

"Mhm..." His mother nodded. "New York is the fashion capital of North America. Saintphia's operations are currently shifting toward the East Coast."

"You should just hire a professional manager to run the company," Duke suggested.

"I don't want to retire just yet," Mrs. Leah shot the idea down immediately. "Besides, I wouldn't have anything to do if I did."

Knowing his mother's temperament, Duke didn't press the issue. He turned to the maid. "Ellie, has today's Los Angeles Times arrived yet? Ah, thank you!"

The maid quickly brought the newspaper over. Duke flipped straight to the entertainment section. Right there on the front page was his exclusive interview.

Usually, Duke didn't pay much attention to what the media had to say about him. A commercial director like him was never going to get good reviews from the professional press anyway. But today was different. This was the start of a public opinion war!

"With his tall, athletic build, Duke Rosenberg exudes a fearless momentum in his every gesture, and even his words transmit a signal of resolute courage. Our reporter met with this Hollywood director at his studio in Santa Monica. You could easily picture Duke Rosenberg as an indomitable fighter, like a champion bull dominating the arena in Madrid. In the entertainment industry, where the goal is to please the audience, he can rightfully be called an artist who excels at creating destruction..."

"When our conversation turned to Independence Day, with its staggering production budget of 100 million dollars, the twenty-four-year-old Duke simply laughed off the immense pressure he was under. 'If you want to make a name for yourself as a director in the film industry, you need high pressure and surging adrenaline'—those were his exact words."

"When asked why he wanted to shoot Independence Day, this was his response: 'I just want to entertain the masses. I want to bring audiences the simplest, purest form of joy.'"

"When questioned about why there are always so many special effects in his movies, Duke Rosenberg offered an unexpected explanation. 'Nowadays, you can watch movies anywhere using a VCR or by flipping on the television. What do you have to rely on to convince people to walk into a theater specifically to watch your movie?'"

"Endless massive explosions, deafening noise, perilous chases and fights, the destruction of iconic landmarks everywhere, all mixed with crowd-pleasing comedic banter—these are the reasons legions of viewers love Duke Rosenberg's films. His first two movies, Speed and The Rock, achieved massive success, and Independence Day is no exception. After taking in 22.45 million dollars at the box office on Friday, the film brought in another 24.29 million dollars on Saturday. A massive commercial success is a foregone conclusion."

"However, the film's critical reception seems to be in a bit of trouble, so our reporter specifically asked Duke Rosenberg for his thoughts on the fierce backlash from film critics..."