Chapter 195: Irreplaceable

"I've seen a few of your films," Duke said after a brief silence. "Mary, your acting still has room for improvement. You have untapped potential, and you shouldn't pigeonhole yourself as just a pretty face."

If an ordinary person had said this, Nicole Kidman would have scoffed. But the man saying it was a director who had long since proven his ability. Deep down, she agreed with him; no actress was content with just being a pretty face, especially when she still had so many dreams and ambitions to fulfill.

"I've heard people mention," Duke said, subtly raising her expectations, "that you have excellent singing and dancing skills. Is that right?"

"Yes!" Nicole Kidman's lips curled upward. She could tell that the young director across from her thought highly of her.

Seeing the increasingly radiant smile bloom on Nicole Kidman's glamorous face, Duke suddenly shifted gears. "To be frank, Mary, you're excellent, but I don't think you're right for Chicago."

Her smile instantly froze, turning to ice on her pale, glamorous face. Nicole Kidman stared at Duke in silence for a long moment before suddenly asking, "Tell me, Duke, what do you want?"

"No, Mary, you've misunderstood." Duke quickly waved a hand to clarify. "I don't mean anything by it. I just don't think you're suited to appear in the same movie as Cruise."

"What?"

Right now, Nicole Kidman was a woman of a thousand faces; the ice instantly melted into confusion.

"Haven't you ever noticed, Mary?" Duke gradually took control of the conversation. "Aside from Days of Thunder, back before you and Tom officially established your relationship, none of the films you've collaborated on have truly succeeded commercially."

Thinking back for a moment, Nicole Kidman nodded. "That's true."

Duke picked up his cup and took a sip of water. "Hollywood might not have the statistics on it yet, but it's actually not just the two of you. Whenever actors who are officially a couple or married appear in the same film together, the movie almost always ends in failure."

Nicole Kidman was still thinking.

"You know I've always placed immense importance on the market," Duke continued. "I specifically had Vito's company investigate this. Most audiences don't like seeing actors with close real-life relationships interacting too much in the same movie. They feel it breaks their immersion, only reminding them of the actors' actual relationship and completely ruining any sense of escapism."

"So I've already been eliminated before even participating in the second audition?" Nicole Kidman arched her eyebrows. "Is that right, Duke?"

"I don't want to lie to you, Mary," Duke admitted directly. "You won't pass the second audition."

What he had just said was one reason. It wouldn't take long for the rest of Hollywood to reach the same consensus: casting couples and married actors was a major taboo for commercial films.

The other reason was that North American audiences simply didn't like Nicole Kidman, past or present. It was an underlying issue with no discernible cause. In his previous life, aside from the few years right after her divorce from Tom Cruise—when a general wave of public sympathy helped a few of her films achieve true success—she had been absolute box-office poison at all other times.

Some might blame her eye for picking scripts, and that was certainly part of it. But her agent had always been the renowned Pat Kingsley, a woman widely recognized for her exceptional insight. If Nicole Kidman's films still flopped one after another under Kingsley's guidance, each bombing worse than the last, then it was more than just a matter of poor judgment.

Looking across Hollywood history, Nicole Kidman had arguably the most disproportionate ratio of salary to box-office output of any top actress. Later on, she was reduced to playing villains in certain films and constantly bringing up Tom Cruise during interviews just to maintain her media exposure.

"Is there really no other way?" A flash of reluctance flickered in Nicole Kidman's eyes.

Duke slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, but he is Tom Cruise. And you, Mary..."

"I'm just Mrs. Cruise?" Nicole Kidman interrupted him, her tone full of self-mockery. "Just an accessory who has to rely on Tom Cruise to gain a foothold in Hollywood?"

"I didn't mean it like that."

Seeing that she had completely misunderstood him, Duke clarified, "I mean there's no need for you to appear in the same movie or similar settings as Tom. That will only work against you."

Nicole Kidman looked thoughtful before finally giving a slow nod.

Ten minutes later, Pat Kingsley and Nancy Josephson returned to the restaurant. After shaking hands with Duke and exchanging a few words with Kingsley, Nicole Kidman was the first to excuse herself and leave.

She walked out of the restaurant and drove her red sports car toward Beverly Hills. Her conversation with Duke kept circling in her mind. Coupled with her constantly escalating conflicts with Tom Cruise over recent years, she had long harbored a great deal of resentment. Now, this setback in her career only ignited that dissatisfaction further.

Returning to her Beverly Hills mansion, Nicole Kidman parked the car and walked briskly into the villa. Her naturally pale face was now as cold as the ice and snow of the South Pole, sending a chill through anyone who looked at her.

Soon after, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's voices echoed through the mansion, arguing about Scientology, an Australian hotel, and Mel Gibson. The argument even touched upon messy topics like infidelity. Their voices grew louder and sharper, ultimately devolving into a fierce fight.

"What did you talk about with Nicole Kidman?"

In the car heading toward Malibu, Nancy Josephson looked at Duke with curiosity. "She didn't look very happy when she left."

"I just advised her to drop out of the audition."

Seeing the disbelief on Nancy's face, Duke shrugged and turned the steering wheel, pulling the car onto Coastal Boulevard. "When did you buy property in Malibu?"

"I felt I should live closer to my most important client," Nancy said half-jokingly, "to strengthen the bond between us."

"Rest assured, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't change my agent."

From the time he signed his agency contract until now, Duke had remained very satisfied overall with Nancy Josephson.

"Without you, who would be the first to rush in and shield me from the overt spears and covert arrows fired by CAA?" he said.

Nancy smiled and pointed a finger at Duke before suddenly asking, "With Tom Cruise starring in your movie, didn't Martin Bob's side try to stop it?"

"As far as I know, Pat Kingsley seems to be quite close to Eno Martin."

As the car left downtown Malibu, Duke accelerated slightly, picking up the previous topic. "If they join forces, they should have the power to push back against Martin Bob."

"Cruise's lead agent is Kingsley, and Hanks's is Eno Martin. After Ovitz left the talent agency business, Spielberg didn't choose Martin Bob either," Nancy said, sharing some intelligence on their competitors. "The biggest stars and directors at CAA all keep a certain distance from Martin Bob. He hasn't been having an easy time of it."

Glancing back at her own car following behind them, Nancy added, "Right now, Martin Bob's most heavyweight client is Mel Gibson. Gibson has been brutally suppressed by you, and I hear Bob is planning to poach Will Smith."

"Will Smith?"

Hearing Duke's tone, Nancy explained, "Will Smith carried over his acting style from Independence Day and just collaborated on Bad Boys with Michael Bay—who people jokingly call "Duke the Second". Even though the box office doesn't compare to Independence Day, it was relatively successful. Despite Smith's terrible acting, he's gained industry recognition in black comedy."

Duke thought for a moment. "Are you and ICM not planning to poach him?"

"You guessed it," Nancy said, adjusting her seatbelt. "Will Smith is a hot commodity right now. With CAA's power currently at a low ebb, it's not just me and ICM—William Morris has also joined the fray."

She turned to look at Duke. "Do you have any projects right now that are suitable for him? If he could work with you, I believe he'd join ICM."

As if afraid Duke wouldn't care, Nancy emphasized, "This is a great opportunity to strike a blow against CAA and Martin Bob."

Duke frowned. His filming schedule was already booked all the way to 2003, and there simply weren't any heavyweight roles suitable for Will Smith. He could only shake his head.

"Really, nothing?" Nancy still hadn't given up.

"You've seen the script outlines and character settings I filed," Duke said helplessly. "If Smith doesn't mind playing an Orc or an Uruk-hai, I can find a suitable role for him."

He had absolutely no intention of taking the comedy route, and his upcoming films required fairly outstanding acting skills. Letting someone with Will Smith's hip-hop style star in them would be an absolute disaster.

The car stopped in front of a villa in the coastal district. Nancy unbuckled her seatbelt. Just before getting out, she added, "Duke, the second round of auditions is coming up soon. Please prioritize ICM actors, alright?"

"As long as the talent level isn't too far off, I'll definitely prioritize ICM's actors." Duke understood the hidden meaning behind Nancy's words. "I know you value Naomi Watts highly, and I owe her a favor as well. I hear she's been working very hard, so I'm sure she won't disappoint me."

"Then I can rest easy."

Nancy got out. From behind, Tina Fey, having parked her own car, walked over and slipped into the passenger seat. The black Bentley then drove toward the luxurious villa district not far away.

By now, Tina Fey had fully transitioned into the role of Duke's personal assistant. Because Duke often needed to write scripts and handle other work-related matters late into the night, she spent most workdays living in the seaside estate he had named "Duke", where she had her own suite and office inside the eye-shaped villa.

Right now, the focal point of Duke's work was the upcoming auditions for the two female leads.