Chapter 341: The Production Crew's Greatest Enemy

The massive hype surrounding the super show had one major consequence: the number of reporters and paparazzi outside Wellington Studio skyrocketed. It wasn't just the Victoria's Secret supermodels; all the main crew members became the center of media attention. The moment they appeared on the streets of Wellington, they were swarmed by reporters.

Duke in particular became the prime target for the paparazzi. They hounded him so relentlessly that it disrupted his daily commute, forcing him to temporarily hire two bodyguards from New Zealand to treat the reporters like a fire or flood hazard.

Before resuming the shoot, Duke first needed to finalize the casting choice for Arwen from among the Victoria's Secret angels.

Every officially signed angel with Victoria's Secret had participated in the auditions, and their final costume photos and videotapes had all been delivered to Duke.

"Heidi Klum is too old."

Inside the screening room, after watching the audition videotapes, Zack Snyder shuffled through the costume photos and offered his assessment.

"She's aging too quickly," he said. "Makeup can hide it, but the finer details would be a hassle to manage. I don't think she's a good fit."

"Anna, what do you think?" Duke asked his other assistant.

Anna Printz picked up Heidi Klum's costume photo and pointed to the makeup test.

"The role of Arwen doesn't require acting skills, but her personal aura needs to match the character design," she said. "I agree with Zack. Heidi Klum can be crossed off the list."

Both of them had worked with Duke for several years and knew his working style inside out, so their suggestions were always straightforward.

In truth, only three candidates remained after the auditions. Duke did not want to use a certain long-faced actress who had previously played the role, and he also worried that his personal aesthetic preferences might cloud his rational judgment. To prevent that, he had specifically called Zack Snyder and Anna Printz over to get a consensus.

Duke accepted their advice.

"That rules out Heidi Klum," he said. "Let's move on."

"Next is Gisele Bundchen," Anna Printz said directly. "There's no issue with her height, figure, or aura, but her facial features are far too sharp. That might work on a runway, but it won't look appealing on camera."

"I agree with Anna," Zack Snyder said simply.

Duke flipped through the costume photos and pulled out the final candidate, which was Alessandra Ambrosio's photo.

"Then she's our only option," he said.

"I think she's the best fit," Anna spoke up first.

Zack Snyder nodded in agreement.

Tapping his fingers on the table twice, Duke turned to his female assistant.

"Tina, have someone notify Victoria's Secret and Alessandra Ambrosio."

With the casting for Arwen Evenstar finalized, the crew resumed shooting. Duke once again divided the production into three units. Zack Snyder and Ben Watts headed out to shoot exterior scenes for the Kingdom of Rohan, while Anna Printz led the remaining Victoria's Secret models—excluding Ambrosio—to film scenes involving the elves.

Meanwhile, Duke stayed inside the studio to continue shooting the film's main storyline.

Since Ian McKellen had left for the X-Men set to play Magneto, Duke temporarily suspended the full ensemble shoots for The Fellowship of the Ring, shifting his focus to individual character scenes between the fellowship members.

Before that, however, Duke needed to wrap up Donald Trump's cameo. After all, he couldn't stay in Wellington for long.

Inside the studio, the set had just been built. As John Schwartzman directed the assistants in setting up the cameras, Duke called Donald Trump over to the main camera position.

"Donald, in the final cut, I'll give you a huge close-up lasting about three seconds."

It was a very simple cameo. Duke hadn't even given him a character script because the scene was so straightforward that a verbal explanation was enough.

"What you need to do isn't hard..."

"Is it a frontal close-up?" Donald Trump asked, automatically ignoring the rest of Duke's sentence.

"Yes, Donald. You should know my reputation in the film industry." Duke walked toward the prop house, took down an oil lamp hanging in front of the door, and handed it to Trump, who had followed him over. "I promise, it will be a frontal close-up from the chest up."

Hearing Duke's assurance, Donald Trump chuckled. Putting on a show was not just putting on a show; it required the capital to do it and a gimmick to drive the hype. If the movie became a massive hit and featured his frontal close-up, the media would come knocking on his door without him having to flaunt a thing.

He wasn't some ordinary actor, after all. He was a billionaire!

There were plenty of billionaires wealthier than him, but very few knew how to put on a show quite like he did.

"Over here," Duke said.

Walking back to the main camera, Duke stood against the green screen and gave a brief rundown of Trump's scene.

"Donald, you'll stand right here. You'll faintly spot a figure approaching from the darkness ahead. Then, you'll raise the oil lamp to get a better look and ask who goes there."

Donald Trump walked over with the oil lamp. A prop master helped him light it. Standing beside Duke, he looked at the rigged cameras opposite them.

"It's that simple?" he asked.

"It's that simple," Duke confirmed.

Seeing that the crew was nearly ready, Duke turned to leave, then paused to give one last reminder.

"Try to hold the lamp a little higher to light up your face."

"Got it!"

When it came to showing his face, Donald Trump was particularly enthusiastic.

"Don't worry, Duke. I'm no rookie in front of the camera."

Returning behind the camera, Duke checked in with Ivanka Trump. After getting the answer that the crew was ready, he signaled the clapper loader to begin.

"Scene fifty-six, take one, action!"

As a public figure who frequently appeared on various television programs, Donald Trump had a decent sense of the camera. Combined with the demonstration Duke had provided, all he had to do was adapt Duke's stiff run-through into his own performance.

In front of the camera lens, Donald Trump took a step forward holding the old-fashioned oil lamp. He raised it as high as he could, as if trying to illuminate more of the area.

"Who goes there!" he asked loudly.

"Cut!" Duke called out. He looked at John Schwartzman, waited for his nod, and then said, "Print it! Donald, you can head to makeup and get cleaned up."

"Hey, Duke!" Donald Trump called out loudly, seemingly unsatisfied. "I flew halfway across the Earth to get to New Zealand, waited around here for two days, and sat in makeup for two hours, all just to film for a few seconds?"

Duke ignored Trump's complaints and turned to Ivanka Trump.

"Go handle him," he instructed.

Ivanka rolled her eyes helplessly and walked over to her father, dragging him out of the studio with a mix of coaxing and pulling.

Although their interactions from the super show to the cameo were built on mutual exploitation, Duke fully intended to keep his promise and give Donald Trump a crystal-clear close-up. He just hadn't told him that the shot would ultimately be spliced into a scene with a Ringwraith, and that his character would meet his end by the wraith's swinging broadsword.

Afterward, Duke notified the crew to transition to the next setup.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy would use a massive number of composite shots. Filming small sets built with props against green or blue screens was practically the norm. This was especially true for the studio shoots, where any scene constructed from props was invariably surrounded by a seamless green screen with no blind spots.

Several towering black warhorses were led into the studio. Three stuntmen were draped entirely in black robes, their faces hidden deep beneath heavy hoods. Following them and the horses into the studio were the crusaders who had never once left the set: two representatives from the Animal Protection Organization.

Whenever a scene involved animals, they were more proactive than anyone else on the crew, ensuring they arrived exactly on time without fail.

The moment the two representatives stepped into the studio, Ivanka Trump walked over with a few security guards and subtly boxed them in. She guarded against these clingy individuals with ten times the vigilance she used against reporters.

Setting aside the fact that the crew had absolutely no intention of overworking or harming the animal actors, every single one of these horses was incredibly expensive. Even from a purely budgetary standpoint, Duke would never allow any accidents to befall them!

Filming quickly resumed. The sequence required no dialogue and no frontal close-up acting. The three stuntmen playing the Ringwraiths swung onto their saddles and galloped forward in a triangular formation against the green screen. When they reached the spot where Trump had just filmed, the leading Witch-king of Angmar drew the longsword from his waist and slashed out heavily at the height previously set for Donald Trump.

In accordance with Donald Trump's strong demand to be remembered, Duke had specifically chosen this role for him. Having the tycoon from New York decapitated on screen was absolutely guaranteed to grab the audience's attention.

The shoot went incredibly smoothly. After repeating these galloping shots just twice, Duke called them a print.

Donald Trump had already left the studio, but his daughter remained. Ivanka Trump had been with the crew for two months, which was enough for her to understand how some of the shots would be pieced together.

She stood behind Duke and lowered her voice.

"If my dad comes looking for trouble later," she said in a low voice, "I won't help you deal with him."

Duke smiled and shook his head.

"That's fine. I believe Donald isn't that petty."

He turned around and asked, "Aren't your classes starting soon? Are you heading back to New York with your dad?"

"Mhm..." Ivanka nodded slightly. "I'm handing my work over to Tina. I'll be leaving with my father the day after tomorrow."

"You've done an excellent job," Duke told her, genuinely satisfied with her overall work.

Ivanka Trump was incredibly smart, and more importantly, she was very hardworking. Hardworking people easily won others over.

"According to the shooting schedule, you'll be staying in New Zealand for a long time," Ivanka said after a moment's thought. "Can I come back here during my next break?"

"You're welcome anytime."