Chapter 249: Attacks

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?" Duke repeated without thinking.

The girl across from him nodded earnestly. "Yeah, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!"

'Is it published already?'

He thought about it for a moment but couldn't dredge up a clear memory. Smiling at his somewhat curious mother beside him, he turned back to the girl. "Can I take a look at it, Scar?"

"Of course."

The girl didn't hesitate, shoving the book straight over to him. Taking it, Duke first glanced at the cover. The author's name, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, stood out immediately.

Duke opened it and flipped through a few pages. Although he had only seen the movies and never read the original novel, the information was enough to confirm that this Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was indeed that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Closing the book, Duke handed it back to Scarlett Johansson, his brow furrowing involuntarily. This was an exceptionally delicious piece of meat. It had once generated a hundred billion dollars in value worldwide, and its merchandise sales had easily crushed George Lucas's Star Wars Series. To say he wasn't tempted—extremely tempted, even—would definitely be a lie.

However, turning this raw meat into an edible meal would be incredibly difficult for him.

Why was Harry Potter so popular?

If asked this question, Duke believed many people's first reaction would be that the books and movies were simply excellent; their quality was guaranteed, and they suited market tastes, so naturally they became a hit.

Those were indeed the most basic conditions. He remembered that the Los Angeles Times and the American elite writer class had once engaged in a debate over this that rippled across the global book market. Just like professional film critics, the elite writers blamed the Harry Potter craze on the public's terrible taste.

In the eyes of the elite writers, literature belonged exclusively to a certain innate social class. The idiotic masses needed elites to guide them; elites were suited to produce better works to influence the public, and even to dictate their appreciation and tastes.

To sum it up in one sentence, the elite literary circle had a stubborn culture of refusing to put the reader first.

In truth, this mirrored certain principles in the film industry. These people forgot that the flourishing of popular movies and literature was the result of public enthusiasm, not the cause.

Why read or watch at all? If what you read and watch cannot enrich and elevate your heart and spirit, what is the point or necessity of it? This was arguably the most high-sounding excuse those elites found for the masses.

However, they forgot—or rather, deliberately ignored—one point: when the public chose these works, they were simply looking for entertainment and a way to pass the time. They sought a very simple joy, not the meaning of life or existence. It could even be said that the masses chose these things specifically to experience daydreams they could never realize in their own lifetimes!

Among the literary and artistic elites, there were also some unbearably baseless assertions. It was as if people who read popular fiction and watched commercial movies were just idle, lazy individuals who didn't care about the social, intellectual, or political life around them.

Yet, while they degraded the popular culture represented by Harry Potter, they were destined to need to find tools for success from the Harry Potter Series; otherwise, they would only head toward decline.

Harry Potter catered to public tastes and provided readers with an excellent daydream. This could be considered the foundation of the series' success.

However, were there really no comparable popular works on the market? Not necessarily. Then why was it Harry Potter that succeeded, and not something else?

The reason was simple. The work that Time Warner acquired the rights to and deemed to have enough potential was Harry Potter, not something else!

As a former film graduate, the Harry Potter phenomenon had naturally been part of his analytical coursework. In fact, if one paid close attention, it wasn't hard to discover the truth. Once Time Warner conducted extensive observation and research and decided this series had blockbuster potential, they poured the entire conglomerate's resources into promoting it. It was only after years of hype and marketing that Harry Potter achieved the explosive momentum it possessed when the films entered production preparation.

It was safe to say that having Time Warner—a media platform ranking in the top five, or even top three, worldwide—was the key to Harry Potter's success!

Just like with movies, if a product had guaranteed quality but lacked sufficient promotion, it might still succeed, but the probability was infinitesimally small.

Harry Potter didn't just naturally become a hit. Without the backing of a massive conglomerate, it was truly hard to say how things would have developed.

As for the notion that gold will always shine, and that good movies or good works will automatically conquer the world, only a fool in this day and age would believe that.

This was also why Duke was frowning. If the Harry Potter Series was placed in the hands of Fox, Paramount, or even Disney, it would very likely walk the same path to success as it once did. But if it was in his hands, what would the future hold?

He was a successful director. Without any false modesty, he was one of the most successful directors in Hollywood today. But how could a single director compare to a massive media conglomerate? Even if Duke were a hundred times more arrogant, conceited, and muddled than Tom Cruise, he wouldn't entertain such an utterly foolish thought.

In the distant East, the public only learned of the books because of the movies. But in the Western world, the readers were the key to the first film's success; the very first installment was practically a fan-oriented movie!

A tempting delicacy was placed right at his lips. Taking a bite would leave him bloated, but not taking a bite would leave him wholly unsatisfied. This perfectly described Duke's current mindset.

He remembered very clearly that Time Warner had used a mere $250,000 to acquire the film, merchandise, and other related rights to the first book from Rowling. Even though they paid Rowling a compensatory bonus after the film succeeded, it was still a highly lucrative deal.

Thinking of that $250,000, Duke suddenly smiled. Even if he failed, the loss wouldn't be significant, and... he could always look for partners.

With just his and Duke Studio's strength, it would be impossible to turn Harry Potter into a cash cow.

After getting out of the car, Duke called Tina Fey over. "Scar has a children's book in her hands. Go contact the publisher and the original author. Do your best to acquire the film rights and all related merchandise rights."

Tina Fey nodded, preparing to go find Scarlett.

Duke held her back, instructing, "Handle this personally. The faster, the better!"

"I understand." Tina Fey waved Scarlett over, and as the young girl walked up, she added, "I'll go take care of it right now."

Rejoining his mother, Duke walked into London Hilton Grand Hotel Banquet Hall One. The place was teeming with celebrities and packed with beauties. The guests attending the Victoria's Secret annual show and most of the models had all appeared in the banquet hall.

After accompanying his mother to greet a few Victoria's Secret executives, Duke set off on his own. In a setting like this, flying solo was the smartest choice. However, after making a lap around the room, he discovered that perhaps because their status had elevated after becoming Angels, formally contracted Victoria's Secret models like Heidi Klum hadn't shown up.

Although there were a few others who looked pretty good, having Sophie Marceau's example as a precedent, plus the fact that they were in London, Duke planned to keep his distance from anyone under eighteen.

Even though Martin Bob had been put in a somewhat embarrassing position after being suppressed by the combined efforts of Eno Martin and Pat Kingsley following the Gibson incident, he was still the de facto controller of CAA. Duke wouldn't underestimate anyone.

There were acquaintances at the party as well, such as the Cruise couple, who had been specially invited by Victoria's Secret.

"Duke, I haven't had the chance to thank you in person." Tom Cruise took the initiative to come over, smiling as he said, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to push for Best Actor."

"You're too polite, Tom." Duke returned the smile. As his gaze drifted past Cruise, he caught sight of Pat Kingsley. He exchanged a silent greeting with her before looking back. "This is the result of your own hard work."

"No, no, no, Duke." Suddenly, Tom Cruise extended his right hand, sincerely offering it to Duke. "In this circle, competition is sometimes unavoidable. We've had some misunderstandings in the past, but we've also had successful collaborations like Chicago. I think it's time to say goodbye to those past misunderstandings."

Hesitating for only a moment, Duke made his decision. After all, there were no deep, irreconcilable conflicts between the two of them. He firmly grasped Cruise's hand and didn't mince words, speaking directly. "Chicago showed me a different Tom, an actor who works hard and strives for progress."

With this handshake, the grievances between him and Tom Cruise could be considered settled.

"What are your plans next?" Duke asked casually as they chatted. "If you're still willing to take a five-million-dollar paycheck, you can continue to be the lead in my new movie."

"You're too greedy, Duke," Tom Cruise said, shaking his head. "There's a series adapted from a TV show—the one I invited you to direct—that's been delayed for far too long. I'm preparing to reboot it, and I'm currently discussing a collaboration with Paramount Pictures."

Hearing Tom Cruise mention Mission: Impossible, Duke knew that Cruise and the team behind him had made the most suitable choice.

It wasn't surprising. The conflict between the two sides had already faded, and Duke had long since dispelled some of his original thoughts. Moreover, he was neither God nor the center of the universe; the world couldn't possibly revolve solely around his ideas.

However, he still caught a useful piece of information from Cruise's words.

"Tom, I remember you originally planned to work with Disney," Duke asked in confusion. "How did it change to Paramount?"

"You didn't know?" Tom Cruise leaned in slightly and lowered his voice. "The conflict between Michael Eisner and Michael Ovitz has intensified. Disney isn't a suitable partner at the moment."

Duke frowned slightly, probing, "I recall that Paramount Pictures has been tight on funds lately."

"Yeah, so I'll be investing the majority of it myself." Tom Cruise was brimming with confidence. "Even though the rest of the funding hasn't been secured yet, there will always be a way to solve it."

"And for that, I have to thank you for your help," Cruise said, seemingly speaking the truth. "The fact that I achieved success even starring in a movie like Chicago has made Paramount even more optimistic about my box office appeal. That's why the negotiations and approval for this project have gone so smoothly."

"You're too polite, Tom!"

Although he was paying lip service to Cruise on the surface, Duke's mind had already turned to Mission: Impossible. A lack of funds?