Chapter 351: Angels in Confrontation

This inexplicable noise sounded like a horse with a severe lung condition, only dozens of times worse than the ugliest neigh Duke had ever heard. Its frequency seemed to push the very limits of human endurance, bringing on an uncontrollable wave of nausea—as if some bizarre monster had suddenly appeared on Earth and was howling its lungs out.

Duke fared a bit better, only knitting his brows in a tight frown, but beside him, Ivanka Trump simply couldn't tolerate it. Her hands were clamped tightly over her ears.

"God," she complained, "what is that sound? It's enough to drive someone mad!"

Ivanka Trump looked at Duke, hoping to get away from the farm as soon as possible.

Yet unlike Ivanka, Duke was intrigued by the sound despite his deep frown.

The sound was incredibly grating—Duke couldn't even think of the right words to describe it. It didn't sound like anything that belonged in the human world. It seemed to come straight from hell...

However, once anything becomes rare enough, it acquires a certain value.

As the noise rang out once more, Duke had already considered its worth—specifically, its value to The Lord of the Rings production!

"Evie, call our sound designer, David Farmer," Duke decided immediately. "Tell him to get over here as soon as possible."

With that said, he turned away from Ivanka, who was already pulling out her mobile phone, and looked toward the farm with great interest.

This sound was absolutely the perfect choice!

Duke's urgency in summoning the sound designer was entirely because this noise perfectly matched the shrieks of the flying beasts ridden by the Ringwraiths.

Middle-earth was full of bizarre creatures, all producing vastly different sounds. This was why Duke had initially sent Anna Printz and David Farmer to the North Island Zoo to record animal noises. After post-production processing, many creatures of Middle-earth had already found their fitting voices.

For example, the cries of the Moria Orcs were actually the sounds of kangaroos at night. The deep, repetitive echoes within the mines were created using the calls of walruses, tigers, and horses, played and recorded simultaneously in an underground sewer to capture the reverberation.

Then there was the sound of Pippin accidentally knocking over a skeleton, causing its skull to fall—that was made by David Farmer banging a broken iron bucket around in an underpass...

As for the flying beasts ridden by the Ringwraiths, they still hadn't found a suitable sound source. Hearing this noise now, Duke felt it was a very viable option.

He and Ivanka stood there, enduring the torment of the noise that erupted from time to time. About ten minutes later, David Farmer and a production assistant hurried over in a car.

David Farmer had just hopped out of the SUV and hadn't even had the chance to greet Duke when the grating sound rang out once again. In contrast to Duke and Ivanka's deep frowns, the professional sound designer took on an expression of careful listening, the joy on his face growing increasingly evident.

"Duke, this is it!" David Farmer dashed over in a few strides. "This is exactly the sound we need!"

"That's why I called you here." Duke nodded at him. "Find the source of the sound and get it sorted out as soon as possible."

The rest was naturally left to David Farmer and the production assistant to handle. Duke turned and walked back the way they had come, moving at a leisurely pace.

The moon climbed into the sky. At the crew's trailer campsite, quiet gradually returned, save for a few burning campfires. Duke sat inside his own trailer, listening to Ivanka Trump recount what had happened in the evening.

"David has already reached an agreement with the farm owner," Ivanka said, cradling a glass of water. "He agreed to lease the sound source to the crew for a week."

Yet another Christmas was fast approaching. Duke flipped through the shooting schedule, making appropriate adjustments, and looked up at Ivanka.

Deliberately adopting the tone of a young girl, she asked, "Do you know what kind of animal made that sound?"

"What animal?" Duke wasn't overly curious.

Ivanka didn't give him the answer immediately. "You can guess."

"It couldn't be a three-headed hellhound, could it?" Duke threw out a random guess.

"If it was..." Ivanka looked at Duke. "Would you still use it?"

"As long as it benefits us." Duke didn't even lift his head, continuing with his work. "Let alone a hellhound, even if Hades himself showed up, I'd discuss a collaboration with him."

Taking a sip of water, Ivanka put on a playful expression. "It's a donkey."

"A donkey?" Duke raised his head.

Ivanka shrugged. "Yeah, a very ordinary donkey. The farm owner said it's the worst-sounding donkey he's ever heard."

Tapping his finger lightly against the desk, Duke thought for a moment before saying, "Evie, inform John. Have him send a cameraman to follow David Farmer and film the process. This is great behind-the-scenes material."

DVD sales for many films were gradually surpassing those of Videotapes. Over the next decade, optical discs would become another massive source of revenue for Hollywood movies. Deluxe box sets in particular would be an absolute goldmine, and a film's director's cut, extended edition, and behind-the-scenes features were major factors in attracting fans to buy the discs.

Since he had chosen The Lord of the Rings, Duke naturally wanted to maximize his profits.

The film's promotion was being handled by Warner Brothers; Duke's most important task was to ensure its production.

Days passed, and filming steadily followed the schedule. Because their pre-production preparations had been so thorough, even if the shoot wasn't progressing much faster than planned, everything went quite smoothly overall. Whenever occasional difficulties arose, they were resolved through collective brainstorming during the meetings Duke convened.

"Cut!"

Calling a stop, Duke stood up and looked toward the carriage being towed by machinery. "Ian, Elijah, you can take a break now. We'll swap in the stunt doubles."

Although Gandalf wasn't driving the carriage through The Shire at a fast pace, handling a horse-drawn carriage was still a skill requiring technique, which Ian McKellen simply couldn't manage. The crew used a method similar to filming horseback riding scenes. In all the close-up shots, only the topmost part of the carriage would be visible, while the wide panoramic shots of the moving carriage utilized a professional coachman.

Using a double for a scene like this was incredibly simple. As long as Gandalf's Wizard Hat was pulled down, the substitution wouldn't be exposed even if the camera zoomed in.

The crew transitioned to the next setup, returning to the location where the carriage had first appeared. Elijah Wood's scale double also stepped up again, taking a seat next to Ian McKellen's stunt double and riding forward together in the carriage. Since they had just finished filming the visual effects and dialogue portions, the camera now only needed to capture the wide establishing shots.

Even so, Duke demanded that this short sequence be shot back-and-forth twice.

"That's a wrap for the morning."

With the scene completed, Duke announced a temporary halt to work. "We'll resume filming after lunch."

He stepped away from the director's monitors. He had just picked up his water cup for a sip when Ian McKellen suddenly walked over to him.

"Duke, I'd like to ask when the Christmas holiday starts." He was holding his pointed wizard hat, looking exactly like Gandalf as he asked the question. "It's been a long time since I've been home."

Elijah Wood also wandered over. "I wanted to ask about that too. Is the crew organizing any Christmas activities? If not, I'm going to find a place to go on vacation."

"There's a five-day break for Christmas."

They had been filming through the recent weekends, so Duke and Charles Roven had already decided to give the crew a long holiday.

"Before we wrap up The Shire scenes, there will be a celebration," Duke said.

Before the Christmas holiday arrived, the crew would be able to finish all the scenes set in The Shire.

In truth, there was only one major sequence left: a massive, jubilant feast—Bilbo Baggins' birthday banquet.

Chatting idly with Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen, Duke headed in the direction of the catering trucks. As he passed the meadow not far from Bag End, he made a point to walk in and take a look around. The construction and set dressing here were nearing completion; they were merely waiting for the various hobbit delicacies and the actors to be in place before filming could begin.

After a quick inspection, Duke strolled unhurriedly over to the catering trucks, where countless sun umbrellas had been set up. He found his seat. Ivanka Trump, who had arrived earlier, had already fetched his lunch, consisting of some of his favorite foods.

Sitting across from Ivanka, Duke first picked up his juice and took a sip. Then, pulling his tray and silverware closer, he slowly enjoyed his meal.

As usual, Ivanka's lunch consisted only of fruit pudding and some vegetable salad. She took just a few bites before putting down her knife and fork. Catering to Duke's habits, she began listing the various phone calls they had received that morning.

"Tina called. Your total box office cut as the director for Daylight—all 16.5 million dollars of it—has arrived in your account." She pulled out her work log, speaking as she read through it. "The Matrix will officially be greenlit after the New Year. Warner Brothers wants you to find some time to go over and take a look..."

"They still don't have enough confidence in Zack," Duke muttered.

In truth, this was completely normal. Zack Snyder did have his recommendation, but he lacked any experience with an independent success. Naturally, Warner Brothers wanted Duke, despite being a producer in name only, to genuinely supervise the latter two films of the trilogy.

Suddenly, Duke thought of another question. "Has Daylight finished its global theatrical run?"

"Yes, after finishing its run on Saipan Island, the film's screenings have completely concluded."

Having worked together for so long, Ivanka knew exactly what Duke cared about. She immediately added, "The final global box office figure is 221.13 million dollars."

"Not bad." Duke nodded.

Although he had fantasized about the film being a super blockbuster like Independence Day or The Matrix, Duke kept a clear enough head. It was simply too difficult to achieve that with this kind of low-budget, realistic subject matter.

"There was another important call," Ivanka continued. "Mrs. Leah called to say she'll be bringing Miss Jensen over for a set visit before Christmas. If the crew is taking a break for the holiday, they'll stay here to spend Christmas together."