Chapter 259: The Risk is Too Great

Leaving the training grounds and stepping out of the soundstage, Duke paused. A middle-aged man caught up to him from behind. It was Jimmy Carter, the action choreographer he had been working with since The Rock.

"Any takeaways, Jimmy?" Duke asked.

"Training just started, so I don't have a clue yet," Jimmy Carter said, shaking his head. "This is a completely different style of action from Hollywood, and it's also different from Bruce Lee and Jack Chen's movies. Their moves are flashy, and they don't seem to meet the requirements of actual combat at all."

"But they look beautiful, don't they?" Duke patted his shoulder. "We're making a movie, not hosting a fighting tournament. Every kind of movie that thrives has its merits. Don't you think Hollywood's action style is too rigid and stiff? So, work hard, Jimmy. I'm waiting for you to surprise me."

"My guys have filmed the entire training process," Jimmy Carter promised. "We'll be getting even more footage later, and I'll analyze it carefully. Duke, when have I ever let you down?"

"You can get in touch with Tiger Chen," Duke said after some thought. "He's lived in America for years, so it'll be easier for him to blend into Hollywood. When the film nears the end of production, you can try to keep him around."

"I know what to do," Jimmy Carter said.

Duke nodded and walked into another large soundstage next door. Scene construction was bustling inside. The prototypes for the subway station, the majestic martial arts dojo, and the cyberpunk-style hovercraft cabin were already visible. He was looking for John Schwartzman, the director of photography, who was currently talking with the set decorator to ensure suitable camera angles were reserved during the build.

John Schwartzman walked over immediately upon seeing Duke. "Done with things over there? Let's go talk on the side. Collins from Industrial Light & Magic is waiting."

The two bypassed the set area and entered a separate section partitioned off within the soundstage. Several visual effects artists from Industrial Light & Magic were creating special effects props according to Duke's requests, while others were running various tests.

"Hi, Duke. Hi, John."

Collins led the two of them to the lounge area, where the three sat together and cut straight to the point.

"John and I have discussed this a few times," Collins said first. "Although it's a bit difficult to achieve, it's not impossible. In The Stendhal Syndrome, which was released last year, they used CGI and a single bullet to demonstrate the Bullet Time effect you described. With our capabilities, we can do it even better."

Duke had watched that movie after John Schwartzman mentioned it to him.

"I need more than just a single bullet," Duke said. "I need coherent, smooth action in a 360-degree scene."

"Collins and I already have a preliminary plan," John Schwartzman took over the conversation. "We'll start with a computer simulation and then conduct a series of actual test shoots to find the most suitable method."

"Then I'll wait for your test results."

Although he had provided some concepts and suggestions early on, Duke preferred to leave professional matters to the professionals, just like handing over the design of Gun Kata to Yuen Woo-ping. When it came to cinematography and visual effects, John Schwartzman and Industrial Light & Magic were far more knowledgeable than he was.

Besides, could those rumored methods really be put to use without testing them first?

Amid the intense, busy prep work, June passed quickly. Aside from his work in Sydney, Duke traveled to New Zealand almost every weekend. The overall progress on that front was fairly smooth. Design work for weapons, armor, set decoration, and prop production had already begun. After reviewing the finished design drafts, Duke regularly communicated with the relevant personnel to modify various details.

Charles Roven also contacted two horse farms to train warhorses for the shoot. They leased a hilly area in the suburbs of Wellington; once the design plans were approved, Hobbiton would be built there.

In addition, early special effects at Weta Studio were gradually getting underway, such as designing the looks of the Orcs and Uruk-hai, as well as improving and utilizing Motion Capture technology according to Duke's requests.

As both crews prepped, massive amounts of funds flowed out like water. The Matrix was fine, as it had Warner Brothers' investment, but The Lord of the Rings trilogy was solely funded by Duke Studio for the time being, inevitably straining his finances.

Fortunately, good news kept rolling in from North America. Duke and Warner Brothers were now tightest collaborators, and the studio had no intention of delaying payments and ruining their relationship.

By mid-July, Chicago finished its theatrical run in its final region—Moldova—and officially bowed out of the global market. The film's worldwide box office eventually settled at 357.51 million dollars.

Following that, Duke Studio and Warner Brothers began negotiating various overseas rights with international distributors. By late July, negotiations for major overseas markets were largely complete. The ten-year rights for Videotapes, VCDs, and television broadcasts for Chicago in 77 foreign countries and regions sold for a total of 38.2 million dollars. On top of that, they secured sales cuts ranging from four to seven percent across different territories.

As per the agreement, the distributor, Warner Brothers, took a ten percent cut. The revenue from the rights sales wouldn't hit their accounts immediately; it needed time to process. However, the initial 10 million dollars that came in was enough to sustain The Lord of the Rings crew for quite a long time.

At this point, excluding Warner Brothers' distribution cut, Duke Studio had secured nearly 47 million dollars in pre-tax box office profits from Chicago. From discs, Videotapes, TV broadcasts, soundtracks, lead character dolls, and other merchandise, they reaped over 34 million dollars, pushing the film's total pre-tax profit up to a staggering 81 million dollars!

This wasn't the end. Although the revenue from various tie-in merchandise had slowed down, it was still steadily increasing. As long as there was a market for the film, income would continue to roll in for Duke Studio.

The income and influence generated by a successful film were massive, even terrifying. The beneficiaries weren't just the investors, but also the cast and crew involved, especially the lead actors.

No one could deny that Naomi Watts had skyrocketed to fame thanks to the massive box office success of Chicago and her Oscar Best Actress nomination, firmly landing her a spot as an A-list Hollywood actress.

"Is it strange to see me?"

Inside the soundstage's lounge room, Naomi Watts looked at Duke.

"Don't forget, this is Australia," she said. "This is my homeland."

"I just didn't expect you to drop by the set."

Taking a cup and placing it on the table in front of her, Duke poured some coffee.

"By my reckoning, you should be incredibly busy right now," he said.

"I am. I just took on a new movie. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll join the crew in the second half of the year." Naomi sipped her coffee, looking at Duke like an old friend. "I'm a bit free right now, so I came back to Australia to look around. I saw in the papers that your crew was at the Fox Lot, so I came to see you."

"A new movie?" Duke asked curiously. "Can you tell me what movie it is?"

In Duke's eyes, Naomi Watts was one of the Hollywood stars most heavily influenced by him. Much like Sean Connery, who had retired early, she had embarked on a completely different path from the past. After Chicago, her status was even higher than at her most glorious moment in his previous life.

With nearly 200 million dollars in North America, over 300 million globally, and an Oscar Best Actress nomination, her current clout carried much more weight than it would have after the new century.

He was very curious and wondered if the film Naomi Watts had accepted was Mulholland Drive.

"It's a huge production. The investment will probably be around 150 million dollars."

Naomi Watts's words completely shot down Duke's guess.

"It's a remake by Universal Pictures," she said.

She blinked playfully at Duke.

"You can take a guess."

Then she laughed.

"There'll be a reward if you guess right."

"That sounds a bit difficult," Duke said, sitting down opposite Naomi. "You have to give me a hint, right?"

"Not born in America, later went to America, and died in America."

Hearing Naomi Watts's hint, Duke thought for a moment.

"Was his going to America accidental? Did he go on his own?" he asked.

"No," Naomi said, slowly shaking her head.

"Then is he from some mysterious, weird place?"

"Yes."

"Did he take a boat there?"

"Yes."

"While wearing chains?"

"Yes."

"And he was put on display in those chains?"

"Yes."

Looking at Naomi Watts's bright, charming smile, Duke had his answer. Although the timing was off, it wasn't an impossibility. Curling his knuckles, he lightly tapped the table.

"King Kong?" he asked.

"Darling..." Naomi Watts's smile grew even more radiant. "I knew that couldn't stump you."

Duke frowned slightly and asked, "Can I know the director's name?"

"A New Zealander." Naomi Watts put on an unimpressed expression. "His name is Peter Jackson. Forget comparing him to you; he doesn't even count as a B-list director."

She continued, "Rumor has it that he approached Universal Pictures himself, asking to remake this movie, and he only requested a very low salary. He doesn't have any particularly successful works, so I'm not too happy about him."

'It really is Fatty Peter. Universal Pictures was actually swayed by him!'

Sighing softly, Duke could hear from Naomi's words that this director was going to have a very tough time handling his relationship with his big-name lead actress in the future. The reason was simple: their statuses were completely unequal.

Later, Duke confirmed this from what Naomi Watts said. Peter Jackson didn't want to use such a massive female star either, but Naomi Watts was Universal Pictures' final choice. Even though she had just become an A-lister, like all A-list or super A-list actors, she had immense fame and box office appeal. Coupled with the potentially massive investment in the film, the studio naturally wanted a bankable movie star to anchor the production.

In the past, Peter Jackson had been squeezed dry by New Line Pictures. Now that he had switched to a different franchise, it seemed he would face just as many difficulties.