Chapter 302: Box Office and Merchandise

"Give it to me, Emma."

Taking the silver pot from the housekeeper, Tina Fey walked through the garden toward the ocean. She stopped beneath a thick palm tree, sat down on one side of the oak table, took Duke's teacup from across the table, filled it, and pushed it back to him.

"Thank you."

Looking up briefly from his laptop screen, Duke nodded to his assistant.

"When did you get here?" he asked.

"Just now."

The sea breeze was a bit strong, so Tina Fey gathered her long hair and tied it back.

"After the first week, Sony Columbia clearly reduced the resources they were investing in Godzilla," she said. "The Matrix is taking a lot less heat now, so the studio can finally relax a bit."

She looked at Duke, hesitating for a moment before she finally spoke up.

"You just recovered, and you're already back to work."

"Anything in the world can be squandered, because there's always a chance to start over."

Duke looked up and saved the script he had just been typing. He picked up his teacup.

"Only time," he said before taking a sip. "Once wasted, you can never get it back."

"Following a boss like you," Tina Fey joked, "I really don't know if it's a stroke of luck or a tragedy."

Seeing Duke smile and shake his head, Tina Fey changed the subject. She pointed at the laptop curiously.

"A new script?"

"Yeah, a new script," Duke said, nodding.

"I remember you registered several scripts with the Writers Guild," she said.

After Duke turned the laptop toward her, Tina Fey didn't hesitate, opening the document and scanning it as she spoke.

"Those aren't even finished yet, and you already have new ideas?"

Duke grabbed a fresh teacup and poured her some black tea.

"This is an experimental piece," he said. "It's adapted from an incident you experienced firsthand."

"Thank you." Tina Fey scratched her cheek. "I can tell. No wonder you asked me so many questions about the shootout and had me gather information from the Los Angeles Police. So you were preparing for this."

Duke looked a bit regretful.

"It would be better if we could get the footage shot by ABC Television."

"They refused?" Tina Fey looked up. "Did you try asking Robert Iger?"

Duke shook his head dismissively.

"Unless we accept their investment," he said. "Walt Disney won't hand it over otherwise, so I gave up on it."

He turned to look out at the ocean.

"This is just a small-budget adaptation, and the story won't completely align with the North Hollywood shootout anyway. I just want to use a small production with a multi-linear narrative as practice."

"Practice?" Tina Fey asked, as if it were obvious. "With your current abilities, do you still need practice?"

Duke's mind had always been very clear on this point.

"My dear, don't overestimate my abilities," he said. "Who knows when I might fail? But I don't want that failure to happen on a massive-budget production like The Lord of the Rings trilogy. According to my plans, the latter two films of the series will feature heavy multi-linear storytelling. Narrative structure has always been my weak point, and I'm very aware of that. That's why I need adequate preparation..."

Pausing for a moment, Duke suddenly asked, "Tina, any interest in playing yourself in this movie?"

"Me?" Tina Fey froze for a brief second before shaking her head. "I don't want to be an actress. I prefer working on the business side of things."

When she first entered Hollywood, she had also harbored dreams of fame. However, after getting a clearer look at the reality of the industry and its white-hot competition, that desire had faded. She knew perfectly well that her own talent was only average. With Duke's support, it probably wouldn't be too difficult for her to become a second-rate actress in the future. But between being a B-list star and a top executive at Duke Studio, she knew exactly which one held more weight.

She had won Duke's trust and respect through her performance. Anyone well-informed in Hollywood knew how much weight her words carried with Duke. Even actresses who were currently insanely popular, like Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron, had to show her an adequate amount of respect when they met.

Go back to being a minor star living at the mercy of others? She wasn't that stupid.

Duke naturally didn't want to let his capable assistant leave. The topic had simply come up, so he had asked casually before quickly tossing the idea to the back of his mind.

After discussing the unfinished script a bit more, their conversation gradually shifted to the next phase of work.

"Tina, notify the team members in advance," Duke told his assistant. "We'll regroup in New Zealand in mid-August."

People weren't machines, after all. Shortly after The Matrix hit theaters, apart from a few skeleton crews on rotation, Duke had given the staff—who had been grinding away in New Zealand for nearly a year—a long vacation. The break would last almost three months.

Closing the laptop, Duke thought for a moment.

"Contact a real estate agent and look for suitable housing in Wellington," he added. "We'll be stationed there for the next few years."

"What about this project?" Tina Fey pointed at the laptop. "Are you prepping that in New Zealand too?"

"Bank of America isn't going to let us shoot a gunfight right in front of their doors."

Duke picked up his laptop and walked toward the villa. He waited until Tina Fey caught up with the silver pot and cups.

"We'll find a suitable street in Wellington, or just build the sets on a soundstage and shoot it there," he said.

Laurel Canyon Boulevard was one of the financial centers of the Greater Los Angeles area. It had only been a few years since the bank robbery at the Bank of America Los Angeles Branch; if they filmed a gunfight right on their doorstep, Bank of America would probably lose their minds.

The script for this multi-linear narrative project wasn't even finished yet, and Duke planned to start prep work only after arriving in New Zealand. Furthermore, it wouldn't take much time to shoot and produce. It was just going to be a low-budget experimental film with an investment under ten million dollars.

Returning to the Eye-Shaped Villa, Duke sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring at the distant sea as he continued mulling over the script. The Matrix was currently performing steadily, and with Warner Brothers pushing it from behind, he didn't need to waste too much thought on it. As for how the new project should proceed, he needed to weigh that carefully.

Unlike in the past, aside from some reference material, there wasn't much he could draw from his memories for this project. It was entirely fair to call it an original work. According to his plans, the investment would top out at 8 to 10 million dollars, and the genre would be a realistic gunfight film.

But after sitting there thinking for a while, Duke realized there were issues with the script he was drafting. Classical gunfights were now in decline, and since the film was adapted from true events, it meant the climax couldn't be a shootout like the one in The Matrix, nor could it be coated in romanticism. Realism was a mandatory choice.

But realism also meant falling behind the times, which would affect the film's future returns...

At that thought, Duke suddenly slapped his forehead. As the owner of a film studio, it was instinctual to consider profitability. However, for an experimental film like this, he could afford to let go of the pressure to make a profit and shoot it entirely according to his own vision. Even if the film ended up losing money, it would mean nothing to him.

Besides, he had enough market appeal that an 8-to-10-million-dollar investment wouldn't necessarily lose much anyway.

Taking the coffee Emma brought over, Duke breathed in its aroma while recalling the files of several people he wanted to establish as main characters—especially the two culprits, Larry Eugene Phillips and Emil Decebal Matasareanu.

Like the majority of criminals, these two weren't born offenders. Committing such heinous crimes was the result of a multitude of factors, and an unhappy family was a crucial piece of that puzzle.

Family... a complete and happy family had a profound impact on a person's growth.

Family was also the most recognized mainstream value in North America. Why did Saving Private Ryan resonate so deeply with the media? Why did it create such a massive impact? Beyond its humanistic care, preserving the integrity of a family was an incredibly important theme.

Every movie had to explore a theme, and even the most commercialized blockbusters were no exception.

Family was undoubtedly a highly suitable theme.

Gradually, Duke's train of thought became clear. A broken family led to tragedy; a happy family...

With that thought, he downed the rest of his coffee, grabbed the laptop off the living room coffee table, and headed upstairs to the study. He prepared to use the gathered information to heavily overhaul the already finished portion of the script.

While Duke was preparing the script for his new project, The Matrix continued to rake in massive revenues in the market.

Just like the previous weekend, the biggest rival for The Matrix remained Sony Columbia Pictures' Godzilla. However, rapidly declining audience word-of-mouth was exposing Godzilla's lack of staying power. As soon as the second week's weekdays began, its daily box office took a massive dive.

Compared to last Sunday's 8.25 million dollars, Godzilla's Monday box office plummeted by a staggering thirty-seven percent, bringing in just 5.2 million dollars for the day.

The Matrix, on the other hand, maintained its steady trajectory. Its Monday drop was contained within twenty percent, hauling in 8.21 million dollars.

Over the next three weekdays, Godzilla's daily box office showed a continuous downward trend: 5.12 million on Tuesday, 4.95 million on Wednesday, and 4.66 million on Thursday.

The Matrix's box office also slipped over those three days, but it firmly held its lead over Godzilla, pulling in 8.01 million, 7.85 million, and 7.52 million dollars respectively.

Before the Memorial Day weekend arrived, The Matrix had accumulated a North American box office of 182.45 million dollars, while Godzilla, which had premiered a week later, stood at 46.72 million dollars.

Deep Impact, which had premiered a week before The Matrix, had already seen its daily box office slide below 2 million dollars. It was merely struggling to maintain screenings in around 1,000 theaters, with its total North American box office sitting at 65.12 million dollars.

Both the per-theater average and the screen count for that film were shrinking rapidly. Its remaining runtime in the North American market wouldn't be much longer.

Amidst the stranglehold of three major blockbusters released in close proximity, The Matrix had already emerged victorious. Heading into this new weekend, its next challenger was Michael Bay's Armageddon.