Chapter 310: Super Gold-Making Machine

Contacting the angels of Victoria's Secret was naturally not for the small-budget Daylight, but for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

This fantasy epic featured elves, a handsome, slender, and agile race. Duke not only brought in several linguists from the Kingdom of Great Britain specifically to research and teach Tolkien's Quenya, but he also planned to cast a large number of beautiful men and women to play the film's elves.

The production team also had dedicated casting personnel operating in New Zealand and Australia to find suitable male and female models. But when it came to sheer visual quality, the angel squad of Victoria's Secret was naturally top of the line.

These were just simple cameo appearances. In Duke's view, it was a completely mutually beneficial collaboration. The film would gain an extra gimmick for its promotional hype, and Victoria's Secret could use his name and the film's post-release fame to further expand its own influence.

As a major shareholder of Victoria's Secret, Duke personally placed a call to the company's president, Sharen Jester Turney, after Tina Fey reached out to their upper management. The communication between both sides went incredibly smoothly; it could absolutely be described as hitting it off instantly. At the right time, Victoria's Secret's executives would launch a massive campaign to gather their angels in New Zealand.

However, with the main cast of The Lord of the Rings largely settled, Duke needed to finalize the actors for Daylight first.

After Gerard Butler came in for two auditions, Duke decided to cast him as the complex Emil Decebal Matasareanu.

He had also found the right person for the other robber, Larry Eugene Phillips.

He was an older-looking, British-born American actor whose balding forehead left a strong impression. Though his acting wasn't anything to write home about, his rugged physique and distinct features gave off a fierce, imposing vibe.

As the man walked out of the audition room, Nancy Josephson, who had flown to Wellington specifically for this, held his file.

Introducing him to Duke, she said, "He was originally a diver. He won the World Diving Championship once."

She knew Duke required a strong physique and had clearly done her homework.

"He served on the British Diving Team for twelve years in total and later became a model. Camera presence won't be an issue, and he has a certain amount of acting experience too."

Nancy closed the file and said, "He acted in the British director Guy Ritchie's black comedy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which was released this year, and gave a rather good performance."

"Have you seen that film?"

Seeing Duke shake his head, Nancy Josephson smiled and said, "I specifically tracked down a copy when I came over. You can watch it when you have time. Jason's—"

"No need, Nancy."

Duke raised a hand to cut her off. "Jason Statham generally meets my requirements. You can start negotiating with Dario, just don't get too greedy."

"You know my style." Nancy's smile grew even brighter. "I'm optimistic about his future."

Switching off the camera monitor in front of him, Duke led the way out of the audition room. He left the soundstage and headed toward the set's office area, with Nancy Josephson trailing closely behind.

While he refused to implement any talent agency's packaging strategies, if conditions were roughly equal, Duke would definitely prioritize actors recommended by his own agent. In this incredibly complex circle, shared interests were the strongest connecting bond.

Prioritizing one's own people was a choice every director and producer in Hollywood would make.

"I heard you're looking for a daughter for Liam Neeson's lead character?"

Catching up to Duke's side, Nancy asked, "Got any suitable candidates yet?"

"No," Duke said, frowning as they walked. "The candidate needs to be between fifteen and eighteen years old, and the role requires a certain level of acting skill. There are only a few girls in that age bracket with outstanding acting chops, and none of their current schedules line up."

This wasn't a piece of eye candy. The family of Michael, the police officer played by Liam Neeson, would be one of the film's main plotlines. His emotional issues with his daughter carried a good deal of weight, so it wasn't something a random pretty face could handle.

In fact, looking at all of Hollywood, there were only a handful of truly skilled actresses between the ages of sixteen and eighteen—Christina Ricci, Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Portman...

None of them had room in their schedules right now.

Since last week, Duke had auditioned a few girls, but he'd rejected them without exception.

The best-looking one among them came recommended by Eno Martin. Her name was Jessica Alba, and her appearance was decent enough, but neither her skin tone nor her acting met his requirements.

Her skin tone in particular was an issue. She was obviously of Latin descent. Standing her next to Liam Neeson, even an idiot would know there was no way they were father and daughter. Furthermore, following the conventions of mainstream cinema, an important role in this main plotline had to be played by a traditional white actress, not a Latina.

Don't underestimate race and skin color; even when just playing eye candy, it would make a massive difference in the future.

To put it bluntly, in Hollywood, Latin actors faced even more racial discrimination than Black actors.

"Do you have anyone suitable to recommend?" Duke asked Nancy.

Nancy shook her head helplessly. "If we hold a wide-scale casting call, we might uncover a few newcomers. But if we're looking among the established names, it's just as you said—there are only a few standouts in Hollywood in this age group."

"If we really can't find anyone suitable," Duke said, sounding rather helpless himself, "then we'll just have to hold a massive open casting call."

"Once I'm back in Los Angeles..."

Following Duke into an office, Nancy sat down at Tina Fey's desk and said, "I'll do my best to find someone for you."

Duke nodded, then suddenly remembered something. "What about the female lead? Didn't you say you had a suitable candidate to recommend to me?"

"She won't arrive in Wellington until this afternoon." Nancy flipped through the documents in her hands. "I originally wanted you to meet her first."

Handing a resume to Duke, she said, "This is a British actress. She attended Oxford University and has been acting in films since '93. What's more, she's willing to play the role of a mother."

Duke skimmed through the file and said, "She's a bit young. The role is for a mother. Is she really okay with that?"

"I've already explained it to her, and she has no objections." Nancy looked at him and said earnestly, "You vastly underestimate the appeal the name Duke Rosenberg has to actors dreaming of stardom."

Closing the file, Duke didn't say anything more. In truth, roles like a mother were incredibly easy to shine in for Hollywood films, yet they were precisely the type of roles young actresses avoided like the plague.

This industry primarily catered to the demands of mainstream audiences, which had given birth to all sorts of taboos. For example, while racial discrimination was severe in society, casting a Black actor as the primary villain in a movie was absolute suicide. Similarly, children couldn't directly fire a gun on screen, otherwise the film would be slapped with an NC-17 rating...

By the same token, an actress who played the mother of a relatively older child would generally lose her appeal for "America's sweetheart" type roles. That could also be considered a kind of taboo.

For actresses, sweetheart roles were often the highest-paying ones.

Of course, he had already found the perfect fit for this mother's daughter through auditions. It was another recommendation from an acquaintance—a Canadian agent from ICM had recommended a girl from Canada. Although she was eleven years old, perhaps due to some developmental issue, she still looked to be around seven or eight.

By the afternoon, Duke met the actress Nancy Josephson had recommended in the audition room. Her acting wasn't anything stellar, but her scenes wouldn't be particularly extensive. Combined with her foundational acting skills, experience, and an affordable enough salary, Duke decided to cast her as the mother.

Over the following days, Duke spent almost all his time on auditions—not just for Daylight, but also for various roles in The Lord of the Rings. He constantly shifted between fantasy and reality. Prepping two films simultaneously was maddening. Fortunately, one of them was an exceptionally small production; otherwise, it would have driven him schizophrenic.

A person's time and energy were limited, and a director couldn't step away from pre-production. Even though Charles Roven and Zack Snyder were managing the big picture over on The Lord of the Rings, Duke still felt utterly exhausted.

The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings, then Daylight and The Lord of the Rings—prepping films simultaneously twice in a row had pushed him to the absolute limit of his capabilities.

He was just an ordinary person with a few extra memories and experiences. He wasn't a super genius, nor was he a computer that could run purely on electricity.

Duke decided that this would be the last time he ever prepped two films at once. Unless absolutely necessary, he was never going to repeat this inhuman workload for a third time.

His sole comfort and relief came from the fact that, after several films and over five years of collaboration, he and Warner Brothers were tightly bound together by shared interests. This traditional Hollywood powerhouse also had immense faith in him; they had provided full support for both The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Daylight.

His team's total cooperation was another factor. This highly synced team was a crucial condition for Duke's success. Anyone with the slightest understanding of cinema knew that a successful film couldn't be made with just a director and a script.

Over the next week, after numerous auditions, Duke finalized the last of his six main actors: the girl playing Liam Neeson's daughter. She was recommended by one of Nancy Josephson's friends and had acted in I Know What You Did Last Summer the previous year...

Frankly speaking, this actress's skills only barely met Duke's requirements, and she was slightly on the older side. However, the physical difference between a sixteen-year-old and a nineteen-year-old white woman wasn't particularly drastic. With the help of makeup and camera tricks, it wouldn't be a major issue.

With that, all six of the main actors for Daylight were in place. Looking at it from a future perspective, Duke realized the cast was incredibly stacked.