Chapter 137: Concept

Independence Day had just finished its tenth weekend in North American theaters. Its cumulative box office in North America had reached a staggering $328.75 million. While it was still a long way from the domestic numbers of the frequently re-released Star Wars series and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, it had a very real chance of challenging Jurassic Park's $357.06 million record.

It had taken Jurassic Park over sixty weeks to hit that mark. Duke estimated that Independence Day would similarly need dozens of weeks to break $350 million.

After ten weeks in theaters, the North American momentum for Independence Day was softening. The theater count had dropped to around a thousand. Although its week-to-week box office decline remained healthy, the number of screens continued to shrink. By October, it would be lucky to have a few hundred left.

As long as the film remained profitable for theaters, Independence Day wouldn't be forcibly pulled from screens like The Shawshank Redemption. It would continue its North American run on a small scale, likely lasting thirty weeks or more.

Duke was happy to see this. The higher the North American box office climbed, the more he earned from his twenty-percent cut.

By this point, theater chains had already settled their North American box office splits with Twentieth Century Fox twice, involving a total sum of $300 million. This meant the distributor's share of that $300 million was already in Fox's accounts. However, like every other Hollywood studio, Fox had yet to pay out the back-end shares to anyone else.

Duke's compensation was easy to calculate: twenty percent of $300 million was $60 million.

This figure took up nearly half of Fox's box office split, which seemed incredibly unfavorable to the distributor. In reality, Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox were willing to sign this contract because Duke already had the leverage to demand such a price. Furthermore, the profit-sharing agreement was tiered, and most importantly, the box office was only a fraction of a film's total revenue.

With Independence Day exploding at the box office, sales for television rights, videotapes, the original soundtrack, and other merchandise would naturally soar. These were long-term assets. As long as the studio held the copyright, it would generate a steady stream of income down the line.

Knowing the payout was sitting in Twentieth Century Fox's accounts, Duke had his accountant urge the studio to settle up as soon as possible. He was no longer a minor director forced to just wait around. Even against Hollywood giants like Warner Brothers and Fox, his words now carried weight.

Besides, both studios wanted to keep working with him.

Such a massive payout was certainly worth celebrating, but it also brought a new headache: taxes.

Under normal tax conditions, a significant portion of Duke's cut from Independence Day would go to the IRS, an entity absolutely not to be trifled with. For someone planning a long-term career in Hollywood amidst fierce competition, evading taxes was just asking for trouble.

Legal tax avoidance became the most logical choice.

Over the next few days, Duke held frequent meetings with his accountant and lawyer. He needed their advice on setting up a legal tax shelter foundation once the money hit his accounts. Most high-income earners in the United States had these funds under their names, using charity or other banners to shield their wealth. It was standard practice across Western society.

However, Duke's payout from Independence Day was so astronomical that his accountant and lawyer warned him that even with legal avoidance strategies, his tax bill would still be terrifying. Furthermore, those sheltered funds would be subject to certain oversight, making them restrictive and inconvenient to use.

In this country, the only eternal certainties were death and taxes.

With his trip to Europe canceled, Duke spent almost every day at Duke Studio while Nancy negotiated with the major film companies. He met with the two screenwriters he had hired to exchange ideas on the new script. This writing duo—a man and a woman—had both earned credits on The Rock and Independence Day, bringing in more money from those two films than the rest of their past earnings combined.

Duke could sense they had their own ambitions. They likely planned to gain a bit more experience before striking out on their own, and he had no intention of holding them back. In this industry, everyone wanted to make a name for themselves. He didn't need writers bursting with wild, original ideas anyway; he just needed cogs in an assembly line to flesh out his script templates. Finding writers like that in Hollywood wasn't particularly hard.

He guessed that once they finished padding out the current script, the two would probably leave Duke Studio.

Duke Studio, originally set up as a tax shelter, remained little more than an empty shell. Its finances were outsourced to an accounting firm, and its only true full-time employee was a middle-aged Latina woman responsible for cleaning and answering the phones.

"The studio is exactly the same..."

Following Duke into the office with an armful of thick documents, Naomi Watts set the files down on a simple desk. She pulled up a chair and sat down, rubbing her chest and catching her breath. "Independence Day hasn't even left theaters yet, and you've already gathered this much material!"

"You've been saying that the whole drive here, darling," Duke said.

He grabbed a pitcher, poured Naomi a glass of water, and pushed it across the desk. "Musicals, especially jazz musicals, are a relatively unfamiliar field to me. I need to get a basic understanding of them."

"You always put your prep work first..." Naomi picked up the glass and took a huge gulp. "Everyone else is getting ready to go on vacation, and you're still working."

Duke drank his water in one breath, relishing the coolness, before refilling both of their glasses. "Transitioning isn't an easy thing. Even though the next film is a war movie, well..."

He shook his head and left the thought unfinished.

"Only those who are fully prepared succeed," Naomi said.

Slowly building her own reputation, Naomi Watts was certain of how true that statement was in Hollywood. She looked straight at him. "Actually, the things you told me helped a lot."

"That's the result of your own hard work." Duke ignored her intense gaze and joked with a smile, "Maybe in a few years, when you're an A-list star, you'll look back and think it was no big deal."

While A-list actresses were still at a disadvantage compared to A-list directors, they had enough capital to make their voices heard. Moreover, actresses who reached the top tier were often eager to sever all ties with their pasts.

"I'll always remember you!" Naomi's eyes were full of sincerity.

Duke just smiled without replying. He opened the thick stack of files, clearly ready to get to work.

Seeing him shift into work mode, Naomi smartly chose to stay quiet. She finished her water in peace, picked up a random file from the pile on the desk, and began reading it carefully, connecting it to the song and dance routines she had been practicing off and on for the past few months.

After reading for about ten minutes, her neck started to feel a little stiff. Naomi stood up carefully, walked over to the window to gaze into the distance for a moment, and then turned to look at Duke.

A few years had passed. This guy had gone from an obscure young director to a top-tier commercial director in Hollywood, yet he still maintained that same earnest, focused work ethic. He could always automatically tune out everyone around him.

Naomi was quite sure of this, so she moved quietly, making no sound. Having known Duke for a few years, she had gradually figured out many of his habits.

"What are you thinking about?" Duke asked.

Closing his file, he looked up just in time to catch her staring at him. "You look completely zoned out."

"Seeing all these materials you've prepared makes me feel like I need to hurry up and get ready too."

Walking back to her chair, Naomi gently flipped through a book on jazz dance. "If my performance isn't up to par when the time comes, you definitely won't cast me, will you?"

"I'm glad you understand." Duke didn't try to deny it.

Although he had advised Naomi to start practicing singing and dancing as early as possible, he hadn't guaranteed her anything. If she couldn't even pass a basic audition, there was nothing else to discuss. After all, it wasn't unheard of for an unqualified actor to ruin an entire film.

This was especially true for dancing and vocals. Even though post-production equipment could tweak her singing, and the choreography could be broken down into countless short takes, an actor still needed a solid foundation.

After exchanging a few words, Duke simply set his files aside and started discussing the material with Naomi. He owed her a favor from the fire incident on set. If the Australian actress ultimately met his requirements and appeared in this musical, he could consider the debt paid.

While Duke wasn't exactly a saint, he generally kept his promises, provided the other party didn't cross his bottom line.

The two of them discussed the project late into the evening. When they left Duke Studio, neither had any intention of going their separate ways, so they headed straight to a nearby hotel. Even though camera flashes went off in the distance as they walked in, Duke didn't care.

Since he was bold enough to do it, he wasn't afraid of the media leaking it.

The next day, because his mother had returned from New York to Santa Monica a few days prior, Duke dropped Naomi off in Beverly Hills and headed straight to his home in Santa Monica.

"Mom..."

He had just stepped out of the garage when he saw his mother walking over from the villa, holding her goddaughter's hand. "Are you heading out?" he asked.

"I have some work to handle at the company," she replied.

"Hi, Duke," Scarlett waved at him.

"No school today?" Duke asked in surprise.

"Scar's school is on a short break," Mrs. Leah answered for her, immediately nudging Scarlett over to Duke. "Since you're back, I'm leaving Scar in your care for the day."

There was no room for negotiation in his mother's voice. Duke hesitated. "I have an appointment with a real estate agent this afternoon. I'm going to Malibu."

"I won't get in your way," Scarlett said obediently.

"Looking at houses?" his mother asked.

Hearing her question, Duke nodded. "I found a beachfront villa in the listings that looks good. I'm planning to go check it out in person."