Chapter 224: Innate Advantage

Recently, the tabloid media had been rife with rumors about Duke and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Both of them, however, tacitly followed the master plan laid out by Penny Kalis. They would occasionally appear in public together without engaging in any overly intimate behavior. When reporters asked about it at certain events, they would evade the question, neither admitting nor denying anything.

Of course, the crew's early promotional focus remained firmly on this being the first collaboration between Duke and Tom Cruise. The effect was comparable to the attention drawn when promoting his collaboration with Hanks for Saving Private Ryan. Just like the pairing of Spielberg and Harrison Ford, teaming a top-tier director with a top-tier superstar easily attracted a massive amount of attention.

During this time, Duke also visited Lucasfilm. Chicago required a small amount of visual effects, which were handed over to his long-time partners at Industrial Light and Magic. While chatting with George Lucas, Duke also heard him mention the new Star Wars plan.

Star Wars was set to be re-released. The film would soon re-enter mainstream theaters across Europe and North America, making it perhaps the movie with the most wide releases in cinematic history.

"I've been writing a new story for the Skywalker family since 1994."

The speaker was George Lucas. Across from him, Duke was flipping through the scripts for the first two installments of the Star Wars Prequel. "George, so the protagonists of the films are Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker?"

Lucas nodded slightly and added, "And Obi-Wan."

Seeing that Duke was earnestly reading the scripts, he thought for a moment before saying, "I'm good at world-building, but progressing the story details is a weakness of mine. Duke, give me some advice."

If it were anyone else, Duke would have absolutely kept his mouth shut. George Lucas, however, was an exception; after all, the relationship between their two families was different.

After flipping through them for nearly an hour, Duke finally closed the scripts and smiled at Lucas. "Shall I be blunt?"

"Just say it." Lucas had his assistant bring two fresh cups of coffee.

Picking up his coffee, Duke took a sip before speaking. "Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker have an older woman-younger man romance, but in the second script, this relationship happens too suddenly. It catches people entirely off guard. I think the first movie should have more interaction between the two of them to establish their emotional conflict, especially Padme's."

"And the death of Anakin's mother—if I'm not mistaken, this is laying the groundwork for his transition into Darth Vader?"

Seeing Lucas nod, Duke thought for a long while before saying, "The script has too few scenes exploring Anakin's psychology. I'm worried..."

Duke hesitated and didn't continue, but Lucas spoke up, "Worried that his later shift happens just for the sake of shifting?"

Tapping the armrest of the sofa, Lucas laughed. "Do you know why the third script still isn't finished? I've been constantly thinking about the process of Anakin turning to the dark side. Duke, you've given me quite a few pointers."

"Just some very personal opinions," Duke said modestly.

George Lucas suddenly turned his head and looked at him seriously. "Duke, are you really not going to reconsider directing Star Wars?"

"I'm sorry, George," Duke said, shaking his head slowly but firmly. "My work schedule is already booked through 2003. I really don't have the time."

"What a pity! I think you've already surpassed me in the realm of pure commercial films." George Lucas clearly wasn't joking. "In all of Hollywood, myself included, there is no one more suited than you to be the new director for the Star Wars Series!"

He continued, "Whether we admit it or not, Steven and I have fallen behind the times. Duke, you are going to be Hollywood's most successful director!"

'The most successful director?'

As he left Lucasfilm, Duke couldn't help but recall those words. If there was one person who could crush Hollywood and the global film industry through box office numbers alone, it was none other than James Cameron.

The filming of Chicago continued to encounter a few problems, and the pace remained slower than expected. Fortunately, encouraging news kept rolling in from other areas, especially regarding film revenue shares, which always managed to lift his spirits.

Duke could now also rightfully approach Twentieth Century Fox to collect his debts.

Saving Private Ryan earned $325.79 million at the North American box office and $649.27 million globally, automatically triggering the 20 percent share clause in his tiered profit-sharing agreement. Because the film had undergone an extremely long theatrical run in North America for awards season, it wasn't until the end of June, the final deadline in the contract, that Fox prepared to pay Duke his share. Moreover, there were numerous difficulties involved. After continuous urging from Duke's accountant, Thomas Rothman specifically invited Duke to Fox's headquarters in Century City.

"Thomas, our collaboration has always been very pleasant."

Sitting in the CEO's reception room, Duke's face was full of dissatisfaction. "There are only three days left before June ends, and none of the North American profit shares for Saving Private Ryan, nor the shares for the first month's North American VCD, Videotape, and television rights, have hit my account!"

In the first month after a film left theaters, VCDs and Videotapes would generate a sales peak, sometimes accounting for more than a third of the entire year's total revenue. According to the contract, Fox, as the North American copyright holder, had to pay Duke his share before the first half of the year ended. This was no small sum.

Having secured nine awards, including Best Picture, out of its eleven Oscar nominations, the film had become a massive winner in the Videotape and television broadcast markets.

For the entire month of April, Saving Private Ryan raked in an astounding $23.5 million in Videotape sales and $15.25 million in Videotape rental revenue. Even VCD discs, which usually saw little interest in North America, sold $570,000 worth. Meanwhile, the first-run television broadcast rights for North America were sold for $4.5 million.

In just one month, the North American ancillary markets for Saving Private Ryan had brought in a total revenue of $43.82 million. Six percent of that belonged to Duke, which amounted to $2.62 million. Combined with his $65.15 million share from the North American box office, Twentieth Century Fox was about to owe him a very large sum of money.

If this had been three years ago, Twentieth Century Fox could have delayed the payment to their hearts' content, but now they had to consider the consequences.

Having collaborated continuously for several years, they could clearly see Duke's intentions, knowing that he would soon return to the ranks of mainstream commercial films. What film studio wouldn't want to continue working with a director who was so commercially successful?

However, this was indeed a massive sum, and Fox was genuinely facing some difficulties.

"Duke, we will definitely pay your share."

Ever since sitting down, Thomas Rothman's brows had been furrowed. "We're old friends, and we both trust each other's credibility. Fox has always supported you as well."

"Yes, I'm very grateful for your support," Duke said, and it wasn't entirely just empty pleasantries.

During the Mel Gibson incident, Fox's media outlets had firmly stood on his side the entire time. Even if it was just a display of political correctness, they had indeed put in the effort.

"But you should know, Thomas," Duke brought the conversation back around. "In our collaboration, friendship has always been friendship, and business has always been business."

"I won't hide it from you, Duke."

As long as someone cared enough to investigate, they could obtain the relevant information regarding what he was about to say next, so Thomas Rothman simply stated it directly. "Fox's cash flow is very tight. After the North American box office shares for Saving Private Ryan hit our accounts, the portion belonging to Fox was already invested into the sequel for Speed and other projects. We haven't touched your share, but..."

He sighed. "Besides you, there is someone else hounding Fox for money."

Hearing this, Duke gradually recalled a few things, though his expression remained unmoved. He now possessed all the necessary leverage to bargain with Twentieth Century Fox.

"Fox hopes to delay the payment of your share," Thomas Rothman said slowly. "The board of directors has agreed to pay interest according to bank rates."

"Why not seek help from the News Group?" Duke probed.

Tom Rothman shook his head. "Duke, that's an entirely layman's question. Fox and News Group operate with completely independent financial accounting. Although there is a subsidiary relationship between the two, there are very few direct financial exchanges."

Lifting his coffee cup, Duke slowly drank about half of it before asking, "Is there a problem with the project you're collaborating on with Paramount?"

"You must have heard; it's not a secret." Though Thomas Rothman maintained his composure, his eyes carried a hint of anger. "Fox has invested a hundred million dollars from start to finish! James Cameron is still chasing after us demanding increased investment. We even threw in a portion of the cash flow meant to maintain Fox's daily operations, yet his response was that the film won't be released this year!"

Over the past two years, Fox had invested in more than just this one project. The hundred million dollars poured into the big ship might not seem like much, but it utilized a significant portion of their liquid capital. In the lingering memories in Duke's mind, certain high-level Fox executives had once said that if Cameron's project failed, Fox would very likely go bankrupt.

A plan gradually formed in Duke's mind. "So you're saying Fox wants to temporarily withhold my share to continue injecting additional funds into James Cameron's project?"

"We will invest a bit more capital to revitalize the project."

Since things had reached this point, there was nothing to hide, especially since Twentieth Century Fox had other plans. "James Cameron has delayed it for too long. Both Fox and Paramount intend to replace him as director!"

Duke wasn't surprised at all by Thomas Rothman's words. Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures had indeed once planned to replace James Cameron midway through.

However, Thomas Rothman's next words left him completely stunned.

"Yes, we want to replace James Cameron. He's dragged a project out for too long. We need to swap in a director who can produce at a fast enough pace while guaranteeing both quality and quantity!"

Having said so much today, Thomas Rothman was actually just laying the groundwork for his final sentence. "Duke, we would like to ask you to take over for James Cameron and serve as the director for Titanic!"