Chapter 188: The Use of DV

"Aerin wants to introduce a friend of hers to serve as assistant director."

A black sedan wove through crowded Manhattan as Mrs. Leah spoke to Duke, who sat beside her. "She's spent some time on Broadway and in Hollywood. Of course, it's only a suggestion from Aerin..."

"As long as she meets my basic requirements."

Duke had no intention of turning her down; favors within the rules were sometimes unavoidable. "Mom, my crew is still on vacation, so I'll have to use Saintphia's production team."

"No problem." Mrs. Leah nodded.

Aside from directing, Saintphia was already handling everything else for the commercial. After exchanging a few more words with his mother, Duke spoke to the female assistant in the front passenger seat. "Tina, remember to contact Ms. Lily Fred on Broadway and set up a meeting time as soon as possible."

Lily Fred and her team were the choreographers ICM had found for Duke.

The car soon pulled up in front of the Lauder Group's office building. Beyond visiting his mother, Duke had flown from Los Angeles to New York to fulfill the commercial directing contract he had signed with the Lauder Group.

Entering the Lauder Building, Duke and his party followed his mother straight up to the Brand Image Promotion Department on the seventh floor. Waiting to receive them were Aerin Lauder, whom he had met before, and the head of the department.

The male and female leads for the commercial were there as well.

Duke had sent the commercial script over to the Lauder Group as early as last month. The commercial called for two leads: the female lead would be played by Lauder's spokesperson, Elizabeth Hurley, while the male lead was Leonardo DiCaprio, brought in by Saintphia.

"I didn't expect we'd be working together again so soon."

Hearing Leonardo's words, Duke gave him a light pat on the shoulder. Xiao Li had benefited immensely from Saving Private Ryan. Not only did he now have a high-grossing hit to his name, but his publicist and agent were also in touch with the producers and distributor, trying to campaign for a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

After returning a nod to Aerin Lauder, who was smiling at him, Duke asked in a low voice, "Leo, I heard you're in talks for James Cameron's new project?"

"We've already initialed a preliminary agreement."

Leonardo knew how to conduct himself these days and made no attempt to hide it. "Barring any surprises, I'll be the male lead in Cameron's new film."

Duke said half-jokingly, "I suggest you take out a hefty insurance policy before joining the crew."

"That's what I was planning to do." Leonardo chuckled softly.

After True Lies, James Cameron's reputation as a tyrant on set had spread like wildfire. He was ruthless not only with his actors, but with himself as well. A story had circulated widely through Hollywood: while filming the sequence at the Miami Cross-Sea Bridge, Cameron demanded that his leading lady, Jamie Lee Curtis, personally hang beneath a flying helicopter for the shot. When the furious actress confronted him to ask what he would be doing, Cameron flatly replied that he would be strapped into a safety harness outside the helicopter, filming her from above himself.

And in the end, that was exactly what those two crazy people did.

It had to be said that no successful director got there by luck alone. Achieving results beyond the reach of others often took an unimaginable amount of effort.

People from other relevant departments of the Lauder Group arrived one after another, kicking off the preparatory meeting for the commercial. Once the Lauder side briefly went over the budget, schedule, and other plans, Duke laid out a few basic requirements of his own.

"For the shoot, I'll need to use Times Square and a building directly facing central Manhattan." He turned his gaze to Elizabeth Hurley. "The female lead's wardrobe, accessories, and styling must meet my specifications. Filming won't take more than three days, so I hope the Lauder Group can have all the preliminary groundwork ready in advance."

Looking away from Elizabeth Hurley, Duke wasn't entirely satisfied with the Lauder Group's spokesperson. She had plenty of sex appeal, but lacked elegance. Still, since she was the face of the Lauder Group, dropping her was out of the question.

"Also..." Duke looked at the two leads. "Leo, Miss Hurley, rehearse together before the cameras roll and find your groove as quickly as possible."

The preparatory meeting lasted until quitting time. Right after it adjourned, Duke was getting ready to meet up with his mother when Aerin Lauder walked over.

"Thank you for your hospitality last time in Los Angeles."

Holding a folder against her chest, she stood across from Duke. "Now that you're in New York, may I have the honor of inviting you to dinner?"

It was nothing more than an ordinary business dinner, and Duke had no reason to turn her down. "The honor would be mine."

Aerin Lauder glanced at her watch. "Shall we meet in fifteen minutes at Mattia Restaurant on the first floor?"

After shaking hands with Aerin Lauder to part ways, Duke called Tina Fey over, phoned his mother, and headed down to the first floor. He stopped by the restroom to straighten his clothes a little, sat in the lobby for five minutes, and then walked through a side door into Mattia Restaurant as agreed.

Duke found a table by the window and waited less than two minutes before Aerin Lauder walked over in a business skirt suit, her heels clicking against the floor. Wearing a bright, professional smile, she took the seat across from him after Duke stood up and pulled out her chair.

"That'll be all." Duke closed the menu and handed it to the waiter. "Thank you."

Neither of them ordered much. Though she wasn't an actress or a model, as a fashionista from a luxury conglomerate family, Aerin Lauder was also on a diet and ordered only two light dishes of vegetables and fruit.

"Back in the day, whenever I finished watching one of your movies at the theater, I'd always come here for a big meal."

There was almost no trace left in Aerin Lauder of the near-fanatical obsession with movies she'd had a few years ago. "Then I joined the company and realized all my dress sizes had changed. A size two had long since turned into a four, and a size zero had become a two. The figure I used to be so proud of had somehow become synonymous with fat, so I had no choice but to turn to dieting and working out."

"I think your figure is ideal," Duke said, setting down his teacup and offering unsparing praise. "You don't lose out to many Hollywood actresses at all."

Tilting his head slightly, Duke looked at Aerin Lauder with an appreciative eye and added, "By my eye, you're about five feet eight inches tall, right? If you got any thinner, it would actually ruin your overall aesthetic."

From an angle Duke couldn't see, Aerin curled her lip slightly. Would this explosion maniac really know how to appreciate beauty? Destroying beauty was more like it.

Duke had no idea the brunette across from him was judging him by his movies. "In my personal view," he continued, "the thinness trending in the fashion world right now is a completely morbid kind of beauty. It ruins the natural beauty God gave human beings, and it isn't good for your health either."

"I don't see it that way." Aerin Lauder clearly disagreed with Duke's words. "As the saying goes, there are no ugly women in this world, only lazy ones. A great deal of beauty comes from deliberate refinement—like the work I do now, or the products made by the Lauder Group. Duke, if most people only pursued natural beauty the way you say, brands like Estee Lauder and Chanel wouldn't need to exist at all."

The waiter brought their food just then. Aerin handed over a tip, looked at Duke, and said with a slight curve of her lips, "You only dislike it because it doesn't match your aesthetic taste."

"My aesthetic taste?" Duke picked up his knife and fork, asking in surprise, "You know my taste?"

"Of course."

Aerin Lauder smiled, looking like a lovely brown-haired fox. "Have you forgotten? I'm a devoted fan of your movies. Anyone can pick up on your preferences in women just from the films you make."

"Did you also ask my mom?" Duke eyed her warily; he knew she was on very good terms with his mother.

"I only asked Aunt Leah a little in passing." Aerin Lauder put away her smile, seemingly worried Duke might get the wrong idea, and said earnestly, "I love your movies, and I just wanted to know what the director who could make those films is like in everyday life. Honestly, Aunt Leah didn't say much anyway."

"Then what do you think my taste in women is like?"

At Duke's question, Aerin Lauder thought for a moment before giving her answer. "Blonde, tall, sexy—well... just like those Angel models from Victoria's Secret."

"I'm only just realizing this now." Duke swallowed his food and said with a touch of exaggeration, "Aerin, it turns out you're the one who knows me best."

At some point, a genuine smile had appeared on Aerin Lauder's face. "Doesn't the saying go that fans are the ones who know their idols best?"

"You told me before that you only liked my movies." Duke laughed as well. "Besides, fans are the ones most blind to who their idols really are."

As time went on, the unfamiliarity that had grown between them from not seeing each other for so long gradually faded, and they returned to the easy rapport they had shared at the party in Los Angeles. Whenever they touched on topics of mutual interest, they would chuckle together like old friends.

"The assistant director I recommended is Anna."

As the conversation turned to the upcoming commercial shoot, Aerin brought up the assistant director position. "Remember her? I introduced her to you at the Saving Private Ryan premiere."

Duke nodded. "As long as her skills are up to par."

If her professional ability met the bar, Duke would certainly do Aerin this favor; if she wasn't up to standard, he wouldn't use her even with Aerin Lauder's recommendation.

"You know, Duke," Aerin set down her knife and fork, dabbed her mouth with a napkin, and said, "some people were originally against having you direct this commercial, but once they saw your script—especially the copy—they all dropped their objections."

"Do I really have that much appeal?" Duke looked puzzled.

"That final piece of copy is actually very moving."

Recalling the lines for a moment, Aerin Lauder recited in a low, magnetic voice, "It's not a journey. Every journey has an end, but we go on. The world turns, and we turn with it. When plans disappear and dreams take over, wherever I go, there you are! My luck, my fate, Estee Lauder Youth-Dew—irreplaceable!"

After dinner, Duke saw Aerin Lauder home, then returned to his mother's apartment to prepare for the upcoming commercial pre-production and shoot.