Chapter 156: A Cinematic Spectacle

Thirty seconds was enough time to change a lot of things. For a movie, thirty seconds was far too brief, but the thirty-second commercial for Saving Private Ryan that aired during the Super Bowl halftime show displayed only the most authentic reality of war and the battlefield.

The Super Bowl was an annual carnival in North America. Even those with no interest in American football would sit in front of their televisions just to watch the halftime commercials and performances. Much like how people on the other side of the Pacific Ocean tuned in to a certain broadcast on a specific night every year, this wasn't just driven by interest—it had become a habit.

In a luxury mansion on the Upper East Side of New York, Aerin Lauder sat with her younger sister. Estimating that the first half of the Super Bowl was over, they immediately switched the channel to ABC Television. They had absolutely no interest in the game itself; the channel change was purely to catch the halftime commercials. Not only would the Lauder Group's latest ad campaign air, but there would also be a commercial for a new movie by Aerin's favorite director.

"Aerin, you seem a little too obsessed with that director's work."

Hearing her sister, Aerin Lauder shushed her with a gesture. "Jane, it's starting!"

Placed at the very front of all the movie commercials was the spot for Saving Private Ryan. Aerin's eyes went wide, staring straight at the television. Jane seemed influenced by her older sister and watched the screen with unusual intensity as well.

Landing craft surged toward the coast. Aboard the boats, officers barked instructions at the soldiers. Men kissed their crosses. Then the ramps dropped, bullets swept in, and the beach turned into a living hell—a gruesome scene awash in blood red.

Jane subconsciously covered her mouth. Aerin pressed her lips tightly together...

A man carrying his own severed arm searched for a medic. Another clutched his stomach, trying to hold in his spilling intestines. One soldier took off his helmet, staring in disbelief after it had just saved his life, only for a second shot to finish him off. One by one, soldiers collapsed in pools of blood.

Every single frame told the audience: this was the true reality of World War II!

The camera shook silently, observing the war from the first-person perspective of the officer played by Tom Hanks. The brutal reality of the carnage felt as if it were happening right in front of them.

The Lauder sisters had completely different reactions. Aerin felt a profound psychological impact and shock, whereas Jane just wanted to vomit...

The short thirty-second commercial only showed the beach landing. While it still possessed his usual grand scale and continuous explosions, even a layman like Aerin noticed that Duke Rosenberg seemed to have altered his style.

There were no bright, rich colors like an oil painting. There were no rapid-fire quick cuts, no picturesque wide-angle shots, and definitely no unkillable characters surviving every explosion...

Aerin suddenly recalled what her good friend Anna had said: if Duke achieved massive success with Independence Day, he would have to undergo an appropriate transition. Since even Anna could see it, the man himself, as a professional director, clearly understood it too. He was evidently a very calm and rational filmmaker.

If an ordinary young director had achieved Duke's level of success, they probably would have gotten carried away, wouldn't they? They would have likely assumed their style was enough to conquer moviegoers all over the world.

The moment these thoughts popped up, Aerin shook her head. That assumption couldn't hold water anyway; in this world, only Duke Rosenberg could create such unbelievable commercial success at his age.

"Aerin, you're not actually thinking of going to see this movie, are you?" her sister asked beside her.

"Why wouldn't I?" Aerin said matter-of-factly. "This is a Duke Rosenberg film. It's the work of a director you simply can't refuse."

"I never thought I'd see the day you started worshipping an idol."

"I just really like his movies." Aerin merely smiled. "Didn't you also think Independence Day and The Rock were pretty good?"

"But this one..." Jane fought down her earlier urge to vomit. "The colors are muted, the visuals are cold and gloomy, and it's far too bloody. It doesn't have the aesthetic beauty of the last two films at all."

"It's a war movie," Aerin defended him subconsciously. "What beauty is there to be found in war!"

"Aren't you working in the brand image department right now? I remember your department has been looking for a suitable director for next year's ad campaign, right?"

Jane Lauder, who was still in school, was completely tossing out a ridiculous idea. "Why not invite Duke Rosenberg? His previous films were like massive, feature-length commercials. If we invited him to shoot our ad, the sensational effect alone would be worth the price of admission."

"That actually sounds like... a pretty good suggestion." Aerin Lauder thought for a moment. "I'll bring it up with our cousin."

Then she asked, "I spaced out for a second and missed the release date for Saving Private Ryan."

"It hits North American theaters on May 26th. The weekend right before Memorial Day!"

This was the first time Saving Private Ryan had officially announced its release date to the public. The selection of this date—to say nothing of the reaction from moviegoers—sparked fierce reverberations within Hollywood itself.

Over at Universal Studios, the distribution department of Universal Pictures convened an emergency meeting the moment the Super Bowl ended. Even CEO Ron Meyer made a point to attend.

"I believe it is absolutely necessary to adjust the release date for Casper!"

As the head of distribution, Justin Fellini wore a look of deep-seated worry. "Although our early promotional campaign has been ongoing, we haven't officially announced a release date yet. Right now, the Memorial Day release window already has Mel Gibson's Braveheart, and with the addition of Duke Rosenberg's Saving Private Ryan, it's gotten too crowded!"

He emphasized his point: "Mel Gibson is one thing; he hasn't proven himself as a director. But Duke Rosenberg has been the king of the Summer Season in recent years!"

"Just a reminder," deputy head Bellerstein suddenly interjected. "Casper is a PG-rated film, whereas Saving Private Ryan is bound to be R-rated, judging by that commercial. The two have completely different target audiences. We have no..."

"That's exactly what Sony Columbia Pictures thought last year!"

Justin Fellini cut him off directly, his voice grave. "Interview with the Vampire up against The Rock; The Shawshank Redemption up against Independence Day—are these bloody lessons still not enough? We haven't advertised our release date yet, so there is still time to adjust everything. If we had already burned through massive resources and spent half a year promoting a May 26th premiere like Paramount Pictures and CAA did for Braveheart, I wouldn't be recommending a delay for Casper either!"

The opposition temporarily shut their mouths, and the others opted to remain silent as well. Over the past three Summer Seasons—especially the most recent one—Duke Rosenberg and his films had proven their supreme dominance in this red-hot release window. Unless they were past the point of no return like Braveheart, nobody wanted to actively clash with him and his new project.

All eyes fell on Ron Meyer. Ultimately, the final decision still rested with him as the CEO.

Sitting in his chair, Ron Meyer hadn't spoken a word. As one of the original five founders of CAA, he understood Martin Bob's tactics extremely well. The fact that Duke Rosenberg had managed to rise so rapidly despite being suppressed by Martin Bob actually proved one crucial thing: Duke Rosenberg was far more than just a successful director.

Looking at his track record of successful films, it wasn't hard to see that this was a director who knew exactly how to leverage outside power and share the profits.

Back during Speed, when no one paid him any attention, he borrowed the might of Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century Fox to complete his successful first step. When it came to The Rock, he leveraged Warner to counter Fox and CAA, thereby laying the initial groundwork for his status in Hollywood. Then look at Independence Day—he cast aside past grievances to pull Fox back into a collaborative partnership, utilizing the two giant platforms of News Group and Time Warner to create a commercial box-office record previously unseen in sci-fi cinema!

All of this showcased his rationality and intelligence. In the past, Hollywood had seen its share of relatively young directors who achieved decent results, but why did those directors vanish into the river of history? Because unlike George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron, they didn't know how to share profits. The moment they scraped together a bit of capital, they couldn't wait to set up their own shops, vainly attempting to challenge Hollywood's established order!

In the end, all those foolish pieces of trash were swept into the dustbin of history.

Looking at Duke Rosenberg, on the other hand, although he had established Duke Studio, anyone with eyes could see it was merely a shell company used to avoid taxes. He constantly accepted investments from the major studios, and while generating profits for them, he also used their influence to escort and protect his own growth.

If he broke away from the major studios to produce films independently, who knew if he'd suffer ostracization from Hollywood's traditional powers? Martin Bob deploying the might of CAA alone would be enough to force him into a dead end.

This was arguably Duke Rosenberg's smartest trait! Ron Meyer let out a soft sigh. The young man seemed entirely devoid of the naiveté typical of his age; he was keenly aware of the cruelty of Hollywood's competition.

"Ron..."

Hearing Justin Fellini's reminder, Ron Meyer snapped back to the issue at hand. This kind of problem required absolutely no thought on his part. "Justin, delay Casper. Find a suitable release window in June. As for Memorial Day, we'll just sit back and watch Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan compete."

Casper was adapted from an animated television series. By nature, it didn't require too many resources for its promotional campaign, and lacking a marketing strategy centered around its release date made it easy for Universal Pictures to adjust course. But Braveheart could not easily turn around. Paramount had not only mobilized massive resources and invested millions of dollars in funding, but they had also broadcast the release date early during their preliminary promotions and Super Bowl ads. Rumor had it that even their overseas marketing was planning around this North American release date. Making an adjustment now meant scrapping all their preliminary work and starting over from scratch!

At that exact same moment, in the conference room of Century City CAA, many people wore solemn faces and tense expressions.