Chapter 133: Saving Duke

Although he didn't appear on the cover of Vanity Fair, the article still attracted a lot of attention. Without professional PR, and with Nancy Josephson busy negotiating, the two sides hadn't communicated enough beforehand. Fortunately, while the piece carried a faint trace of sarcasm, it didn't use any overly harsh words. Overall, it relied on good-natured teasing to draw readers in.

"The Ultimate Guess at Hollywood's Most Impossible Event—Duke Rosenberg Directing an Art Film!"

This was the article's title, perfectly fitting Vanity Fair's slightly exaggerated style of celebrity-focused reporting.

"Reason for Impossibility—We all know that Duke Rosenberg made his name in Hollywood through his earth-shattering talent for explosions and dazzling camera work. Deafening blasts, thrilling car chases, tough-as-nails men, and smoking-hot women... if an element can spike adrenaline, Duke's films have it in spades. Absolutely none of this intersects with low-budget art films or auteur cinema."

"The Ultimate Guess—Because he is so adept at blowing things up, recent rumors claim Duke Rosenberg is 'the man born when a comet struck the Earth'..."

"To crush this rumor, Duke Rosenberg decided to shoot a semi-autobiographical art film focusing on his high school life and youthful dreams. But during production, Duke discovered that a slow-paced teen movie was simply too boring. Therefore, he decided to personally act in the film—as an armed campus security guard. With a tough male lead and a gun, the rest was easy. Gunfights, explosions, seas of fire... everything fell into place naturally. The only question is, would this actually be a small-scale auteur film or a high school version of The Rock?"

"Of course, this is all just the author's speculation. If you ever wake up one day to the startling discovery that Duke Rosenberg has switched careers to shoot art films... please don't suspect you're dreaming. Remember, in the global dream factory of Hollywood, nothing is impossible!"

Reading the article, Duke merely smiled. In the dream factory of Hollywood, truly nothing was impossible, and he wasn't going to stick to the path of explosions forever.

Furthermore, it brought up another consideration for him. Should he hire a dedicated PR manager like other major stars and directors?

"You definitely need one."

When Duke asked her, Sofia Coppola offered her reasoning. "I think you need an excellent public relations team to help you handle future gossip and scandals."

"Is it really that extreme?"

Compared to other established directors, Duke felt he was already quite restrained. "There's nothing worth hyping up about a director's scandals anyway."

"That's assuming you don't hang around famous actresses," Sofia said. She picked up her coffee cup, paced around the office, and stopped in front of the window. "Take Cameron Diaz, who asked you out to dinner yesterday. She's popular now, so the paparazzi definitely photographed you two."

Duke shrugged. When they left the restaurant yesterday, they had indeed run into paparazzi. However, since both of them were busy, they had only shared dinner.

"In fact, some tabloids are already hyping up your relationship today." Sofia cast a sidelong glance at him before turning back to look into the distance. "Maybe another day, after you get photographed with Naomi Watts, the gossip media will claim you're two-timing them."

"Let them write what they want." Duke didn't care about these things.

He had no intention of getting a girlfriend in the short term, nor would he be stupid enough to admit to dating anyone. Getting a little close to women wouldn't give people much to talk about, and even if he was photographed entering and leaving the same apartment as someone, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Besides, once the hype around Independence Day faded, few media outlets would continue paying attention to a director.

"Sofia."

As he left the office, Duke instructed her, "Keep an eye out for a suitable PR manager for me."

Nancy Josephson had more than one client and couldn't take on this role long-term. Her time and energy were relatively limited.

Starting in August, with the releases of The Mask and Clear and Present Danger, the buzz around Independence Day plummeted. By the first weekend of August, its North American box office had dropped to 11.24 million dollars, and the number of screening theaters had dwindled to just over 1,500. Its pace of raking in box office revenue had significantly slowed, an inevitable rule for all films.

The popularity of James Cameron's True Lies was declining even faster than Independence Day. According to Twentieth Century Fox's estimates, its North American box office wouldn't exceed 150 million dollars. Because the film had a massive budget, breaking even would depend entirely on its performance in overseas markets.

Meanwhile, The Shawshank Redemption had long since fallen out of the top ten at the box office. Continuously squeezed by new releases, it was now playing in fewer than 400 theaters. Its final North American box office was unlikely to surpass 20 million dollars.

Given the current situation, Duke figured that even if the film received a post-Oscar re-release as it once did, it would still be a box office flop.

Just as Independence Day was continuously cooling down, Warner launched one last fierce promotional offensive. Time Magazine, which had conducted an exclusive interview with Duke the previous month, finally published the piece—and featured him as their cover story!

It was the simplest marketing strategy: riding the coattails of previous hype to promote the director, thereby re-gathering buzz for the film.

New York, inside the Lauder Group headquarters in Manhattan. Taking advantage of her lunch break, Aerin Lauder picked up the copy of Time Magazine she had bought that morning.

On the cover was a young man with brown hair and dark eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his resolute gaze looked off into the distance, making him appear supremely confident. Next to him was a text caption: Hollywood's Duke of Destruction!

"Duke of Destruction?"

Recalling the three movies of his she had seen, Aerin couldn't help but laugh. The title was simply too fitting.

Then, she opened the magazine and began to read closely.

"Beloved by the general public, abhorred by film critics—Duke Rosenberg is exactly this kind of director. His blockbuster films boast dazzling fast cuts, endless explosions and brawls, and two hundred percent audiovisual enjoyment."

"To date, the three films he has directed have grossed over 1 billion dollars globally, making his profitability absolutely top-tier in Hollywood! This is especially true for the still-screening Independence Day, which consecutively broke records for North American midnight screenings, opening weekend box office, fastest to 100 million, and fastest to 200 million—and it is even on the verge of setting the record for fastest to 300 million!"

"In stark contrast to his films' high box office returns, Duke Rosenberg's reputation among film critics is generally quite low. Critics dislike him, even calling him a demon and a sadist..."

"But someone pointed out the crux of the matter—Duke Rosenberg is the sort of director who clearly aims for mass appeal. Among film critics who constantly emphasize their high-end tastes, any reviewer planning to praise Duke must do so very cautiously to avoid being mocked by their peers. Yet, whether you acknowledge him, love him, or hate him, you simply cannot ignore him!"

"How is Duke Rosenberg able to drive the majority of audiences worldwide crazy for him? How can he make major directors like Simon West and Ridley Scott wait in long lines just to buy a ticket for Independence Day, a film heavily panned by critics?"

"Just what kind of director is he? Perhaps those who have worked closely with him have the most right to speak on the matter."

"Naomi Watts, an actress who has consecutively starred in his three films, said this: 'Duke's movies inject a dose of testosterone into American men.'"

"Oscar-nominated film editor Mike Dawson said this: 'Duke realized early on that the continuity of kinetic energy can replace editing logic. He excels at using medium shots mixed with upward angles to create a sense of excitement, and then, through fast cutting and shot arrangement, he makes the audience feel as if they are right there in the battle!'"

"A film is a director's best representative. Famous director George Lucas evaluated Duke and his work this way: 'Duke's films have two distinct characteristics. First, every filmed detail is polished to a brilliant shine, including the products that appear as product placements; they look so perfect in the movie. Second, every part of the film is outstanding.'"

"These are Director Lucas's exact words: 'Generally speaking, a two-and-a-half-minute movie trailer will definitely compile the film's best shots, best visual effects, and most exciting moments. But watching Duke's movies, you will find that the entire two-hour film consists of these gorgeous shots, lined up one after another, each one bringing an extreme level of excitement.'"

"'Just by watching his movies for a few seconds, you can tell it's the work of Duke Rosenberg. Without a doubt, he is influencing the visual language of contemporary mainstream Hollywood blockbusters!' This was the assessment from renowned producer Charles Roven."

"Thomas Rothman, the CEO of Twentieth Century Fox, which distributed Duke's first film, gave this review: 'Duke knows what the audience likes because he is one of them. He has great intuition, knows what can get people excited, and understands what makes a crowd-pleasing movie.'"

There was a lot more gossip about Independence Day and Duke following that, but Aerin didn't plan on reading any further. She dialed her friend's number.

"Anna, tonight, at the Upper East Side AMG Cinema. See you there!"

Closing the magazine, Aerin spaced out for a moment. If she had to evaluate the characteristics of Duke's movies, what would they be?

'Besides the explosive blasts, car chases, and other massive spectacles, the biggest hallmark of a Duke Rosenberg-style movie has to be the dazzling fast cuts, right?'

With these thoughts in mind, Aerin Lauder went back to her afternoon work, rushing off to the agreed-upon cinema the second she got off work.

At the same time, across the entire North American Region, many people were making the exact same choice. Some pushed this choice to the weekend, leading Independence Day to experience a rare short-term counter-trend surge at the box office!