Chapter 368: Changes Must Be Made

Starting with the already published Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Joanne Rowling's writing had begun shifting slightly toward a more mature tone. That didn't match Chris Columbus's directing style, and the famous family-friendly film director had another well-known trait: his sequels always suffered a massive drop in quality compared to the first installment.

Duke had recommended bringing on Chris Columbus simply to get the franchise off to a strong start. As long as the film succeeded, the man would direct the first two installments at most.

Since he was leaving the next day, Duke saw no need to adjust to London time. That evening, accompanied by Robin Grande and the head of the Warner Bros. UK Branch, he met with the film's sponsors.

Because the story was set in a magical world, the film couldn't feature too many modern commercial products, and they also had to respect Joanne Rowling's wishes. As a result, Coca-Cola and Burger King were currently the only two main sponsors.

Even so, after more than two years of brand building, the Harry Potter Series books had become the most popular works of children's literature across Europe and America, and the film adaptation had been in the spotlight from the start. Coca-Cola had offered an astronomical sponsorship deal, paying 120 million dollars for a five-year beverage license while partnering with Harry Potter Studio to jointly promote the franchise.

After meeting the sponsors, Duke spent another day on set exchanging further ideas with Robin Grande before boarding a plane back to Los Angeles.

Over the past few years, Duke Manor in the Malibu Beach Villa District had practically turned into a temporary hotel. All told, the time Duke spent living there added up to no more than a month; instead, the Villa Below Mount Victoria in Wellington had become his actual home.

For a director in the middle of production, being busy enough to make one's head spin was practically the norm. After so many years in Hollywood, Duke had gradually gotten used to it.

Aside from when his mother stayed there during her visits to Los Angeles, ever since preparations for The Matrix began, the person who had lived at Duke Manor the longest was actually the housekeeper, Emma.

Duke wouldn't be staying in Los Angeles for long this time either. He had originally planned to fly to Wellington right after attending the Mission: Impossible 2 premiere, but news from Nancy Josephson forced him to remain in North America for a few extra days.

The reason was simple: Nancy's important female client, Naomi Watts, had a new film opening the weekend after King Kong.

Duke had always been very satisfied with his agent, and when conditions permitted, he was happy to help her out.

After all, even in a society driven by money, personal favors still mattered. If you wanted people to work hard for you, you had to show them proper respect.

"I have good news for you," Nancy said from the sofa beside Duke. "We've reached an agreement with the rights holders. They've agreed to sell the film adaptation rights to The Hobbit."

"Good..." Duke nodded. "Draw up a written agreement as soon as possible."

He knew well enough that competition from rival studios was the main reason the negotiations had dragged on this long. Without Warner's backing, Duke Studio would have had a hard time securing the rights.

Other studios didn't necessarily have high hopes for a prequel like this, but throwing in a bid just to make things difficult took nothing more than a phone call—hardly any trouble at all.

"And there's Transformers," Nancy continued. "I've gotten in touch with the president's office at Hasbro. They want me to come in for a face-to-face meeting."

Duke thought it over briefly, then turned to the other side of the room and said, "Tina, stay in North America a while longer. Go to Rhode Island with Nancy and handle the negotiations with Hasbro."

"Understood," Tina Fey said, jotting it down in her work log.

Since Duke still needed to recover from his jet lag, Nancy Josephson didn't stay long and soon left Duke Manor.

After Nancy left, Duke headed toward the fitting room, and Tina Fey trailed after him out of habit.

Duke glanced back and said, "Go get some rest first."

Having flown back and forth just as much while handling all sorts of miscellaneous chores, his assistant was clearly in much worse spirits than Duke, exhaustion practically written all over her face.

Tina Fey didn't stand on ceremony. With a quiet word to Duke, she turned and headed up the stairs toward her room on the second floor.

Stepping into the fitting room, Duke tried on one of his old formal suits and found it a bit loose. He took off the jacket and looked at himself in the full-length mirror; he really had lost quite a bit of weight.

Having seen how easily white people could put on weight, Duke was very careful with his diet and almost never ate overly greasy food. Combined with his recent stretch of high-intensity work, he didn't need to go out of his way to lose weight at all.

If he didn't still have the muscle he had built up before, he might well have turned into a tall, skinny beanpole.

Though the suit was a little loose and left over from last year, the Mission: Impossible 2 premiere was tomorrow. Duke wasn't some star looking to show off in every possible way, so he didn't bother having a new one custom-made. He switched on the intercom, called Emma over to press and ready the suit, and went up to the master bedroom on the third floor to sleep off his jet lag in peace.

Going to sleep without having to think about today's shoot or plan tomorrow's schedule was a rare luxury for Duke. He cleared his mind as best he could, letting go of every thought and task as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

A relaxing sleep might not shed all his stress, but it was still the best way to rest. When Duke woke up, it was already the next morning. He stretched, pulled on loose sportswear, jogged two laps around the garden, and then walked into the gym.

"Morning, Duke."

Tina Fey was lifting dumbbells and gave him a casual wave when she spotted him.

Duke nodded to her. "Up early, Tina."

"Keeping a good figure takes more than just dieting," Tina Fey said without pausing her reps. "It also takes the right amount of exercise."

"Keep at it."

With that, Duke walked over to the exercise bike and started his own routine workout.

It was a rare, relaxing day. Right up until it was time to leave, Duke didn't give a single thought to work. Around three in the afternoon, he changed into his black formal suit and got into the Bentley with Tina Fey, who was wearing a short cocktail dress, and their driver drove them toward the Hollywood District.

The Mission: Impossible 2 premiere was held at the Hollywood Chinese Theater. The first installment of the franchise had been a massive hit, and combined with Tom Cruise's superstar drawing power, the event attracted swarms of media and movie fans.

Before the Bentley pulled up to the red carpet, Tina Fey got out. She almost never appeared in front of the press and could slip into the theater through a side door to avoid the cameras.

Duke was only walking the red carpet to support a film he had invested in. As always, he moved down the carpet at a brisk pace, largely ignoring the reporters and fans. After the customary waves and smiles, he walked straight into the press area in front of the theater.

Facing the reporters' microphones, Duke had nothing but praise. "Tom is one of the hardest-working actors I've ever met. I visited the set to watch the shoot, and he did the action scenes himself, including the rock climbing. He has incredible charisma, and I'm confident Mission: Impossible 2 will be a successful summer season blockbuster!"

When reporters asked about his own new project, however, Duke kept his mouth shut. Talk about his own upcoming work at someone else's premiere? He wasn't that foolish.

Leaving the press area, Duke met up with Tina Fey, who was waiting at the entrance of the Chinese Grand Theater, and followed a staff member into the adjacent VIP lounge. The moment he stepped inside, quite a few people came over to greet him.

"Hi, Duke."

"Long time no see, Pat."

After exchanging pleasantries with several people, Duke spotted Pat Kingsley. Moments later, Eno Martin walked over as well and shook Duke's hand.

"I hear the Harry Potter Series is in preparation?" Eno Martin said straight out. "You must need child actors, right? Want me to introduce a few?"

"No need, thanks," Duke said with a polite smile. "Joanne Rowling insists on using actors from Britain, so Warner and I had no choice but to agree."

Eno Martin suddenly changed the subject. "Duke, any interest in working with CAA?"

Now that he was in charge of CAA, he naturally had to look out for the interests of the entire agency.

"Nancy and I secured the Star Trek business from Paramount Pictures..."

"You know how it is, Eno," Duke said, turning him down again. "I'm making The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I won't have any free time for the next three years."

"We can wait," Eno Martin said, seeming quite persistent. "If we can't make it work for this installment, we can collaborate on the next one."

"No packaging," he added. "You can use whoever you want."

Duke put it even more tactfully. "Let's talk after I finish The Lord of the Rings trilogy."

Eno Martin was no longer the man he used to be. After exchanging a few more words, he prepared to leave, making a point of saying before he went, "Duke, even though Martin Bob has left CAA, I still want to stand on the same side as you."

"I feel the same way," Duke said, giving him a brief smile.

Words like that couldn't be taken seriously, of course—the biggest foundation for their partnership was already gone!

Eno Martin walked away, but Pat Kingsley showed no sign of leaving. She chatted with Duke a while longer before finally moving to the other side of the lounge when someone else came over to greet him.

Duke could tell that not only had the foundation for his own partnership with Eno Martin vanished, the foundation between Pat Kingsley and Eno Martin was gone as well. Relations between the two super-agent heavyweights were clearly no longer as harmonious as before.

The only reason their group had banded together in the first place was that they shared a common enemy in Martin Bob.

Not long after Pat Kingsley walked off, she returned with a big-nosed actor in tow and made a point of introducing him to Duke. This guy named Jack Chen was currently the hottest Chinese actor in Hollywood.

Kingsley seemed to be trying to poach him, which explained her unusual enthusiasm. Duke, however, treated him the same as any other star, merely shaking his hand politely and exchanging a few pleasantries. When Kingsley subtly hinted at a collaboration, Duke turned the idea down without hesitation—after all, their filmmaking styles were simply worlds apart.

Finally, Tom Cruise led the cast and crew into the lounge. After greeting the Cruises, Duke joined the others in walking into the screening hall.