Chapter 371: The Imitator's Competition

"Universal intends to accept my investment in Fast & Furious."

Standing across from Duke, the French count wore a look of utter confidence and pride. "The investment is five million dollars. As soon as filming begins, my funds will be in place."

"Are you planning to invest in the film industry?" Duke asked, feigning curiosity. "What business does your family do back in France?"

There were certainly hidden billionaires in the world, and it wasn't impossible for someone to inherit a massive fortune despite the decline of European nobility, but the Rosenberg Family itself hailed from Europe. Duke had never heard his mother mention the surname Rocancourt.

"I am the only one left in my family. I inherited my money from my father." Christophe Rocancourt spun a long tale about his family's origins before adding, "I am very optimistic about the returns in the Hollywood film industry. Currencies around the world are depreciating right now, making investment the wisest choice."

Seeing Duke remain unmoved, he continued, "I've been in Hollywood for a few years now. Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mickey Rourke, and a few others are all friends of mine. Last year, the ABC Television Entertainment Channel even did a special interview with me..."

Christophe Rocancourt's stated credentials were truly impressive, backed by a rather broad network of connections. His words carried the faint implication that it was an honor to be favored by him and seen in his company.

Going strictly by his own words, one would think he was a highly capable man with a massive net worth.

Duke was certain that since the man dared to drop names like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Mickey Rourke in front of a Hollywood insider, he definitely wasn't afraid of having them verified.

But what exactly did this elegant French count want with him?

Duke was very self-aware in that regard; to a wealthy man, he definitely wasn't more attractive than Jessica Alba.

Christophe Rocancourt's words were quite persuasive. Combined with his excellent manners and striking appearance, he made it very easy for people to believe him.

However, a person like Duke never minded looking at the world through the most cynical lens. He was naturally guarded around strangers and always maintained his vigilance.

He believed the man hadn't approached him merely to show off his so-called European noble status.

"Interested in collaborating with me, Duke?"

Christophe Rocancourt suddenly asked with great enthusiasm, "In the past, I only invested in relatively obscure indie films and had to rely on the videotape market for a profit. I think it's time to invest in a major production."

Hollywood produced hundreds of films every year, and most of them went straight to the videotape market. Aside from the production companies themselves, outsiders had no way to get their hands on the financial data for these low-tier productions.

A very smart guy, wasn't he?

"You mean..." Duke trailed off, looking puzzled.

"I think we can work together to produce a super blockbuster like King Kong."

Christophe Rocancourt looked at Duke earnestly, his face full of longing and sincerity. "I've always wanted to bring the magnificent French Revolution to the big screen and create a war epic, but I could never find the right director. Not until I met you, Duke..."

Duke met his gaze, seemingly listening very carefully.

"I have the financial resources, and you have the talent. We would make the best partners." He was in high spirits, as if the project had already succeeded. "We can co-invest and create a super blockbuster!"

Nodding gently, Duke suddenly smiled. The man had probably said all of that just for this final sentence.

"Sorry, Chris." Duke thought for just a moment before saying, "I still have an unfinished project on my hands. I don't have time to collaborate with you right now."

"That really is a pity."

Despite the rejection, he still hadn't given up. "Duke, do you have time after the premiere? We could have a more in-depth discussion."

Not wanting to waste any more breath, Duke simply shook his head. "I will be returning to New Zealand soon."

Christophe Rocancourt was a very smart man. He didn't continue to pester him; leaving behind an old-fashioned, simple business card, he quickly said his goodbyes and left.

Watching the man walk back to Jessica Alba's side, Duke couldn't be certain of anything, but he had a faint feeling that Christophe Rocancourt wasn't as simple as he claimed to be.

This guy was either a member of one of those reclusive, legendary aristocratic families from the rumors of his past life, or he was pulling an empty-promises scheme with zero capital.

In Duke's eyes, the man was much closer to the latter. Having lived in North America for thirty years with a solid background, he had interacted with people from the Morgan and Rockefeller families over the years, but he had never seen a family possessing massive wealth that was so low-key that the world knew nothing about them.

This was, after all, a highly developed information society.

Duke had zero interest in the collaboration the man spoke of. Setting aside the fact that it was all just empty talk, even when Eno Martin had offered incredible terms, hadn't Duke rejected them just the same?

Regrouping with Tina Fey and Nancy Josephson, Duke walked with them toward the screening room. Jessica Alba and Christophe Rocancourt were walking just a short distance ahead. This girl who so desperately wanted to be famous had perhaps become very silly and naive.

Then again, considering she had managed to catch a nasty venereal disease in the past, she clearly wasn't that smart to begin with. There were countless actresses in Hollywood who loved to play around, but catching a dirty disease like that definitely made her a rare oddity.

If his guess about Christophe Rocancourt was right, then this pair was truly special... Hmm, and quite a good match, too.

Tossing aside his thoughts about this couple who had nothing to do with him, Duke walked into the theater, sat in the third row with Nancy and Tina Fey, and settled in to watch the blockbuster remake.

King Kong had once caused a sensation in North America. Before Peter Jackson, there had been a few remakes, but none could reach the heights of the original. Now, with more advanced special effects technology, the King Kong created using motion capture had thoroughly whetted audiences' appetites in the trailers. However, they soon discovered that the film was so long and slow-paced that it was almost unbearable!

Strictly speaking, a runtime of around two and a half hours was just the mainstream standard for modern commercial films. The problem was that the movie had far too much buildup. Forty minutes into the screening, the audience still hadn't seen a shadow of King Kong.

Never mind all that talk about buildup or character development; the only reason audiences were willing to walk into the theater and pay for this movie was to see the monster!

However, the monster's late arrival had already made many people impatient. Fortunately, Peter Jackson's second half saved the entire movie. Even though it included some beauty-and-the-beast romance elements that quite a few people couldn't accept, the special effects were exquisitely crafted—absolutely top-tier for Hollywood in this era.

Peter Jackson was a typical technical director. To exaggerate slightly, if he were separated from special effects technology, the quality of his filmmaking would drop drastically.

The biggest selling points of King Kong were its special effects, followed by nostalgia.

However, the main force of today's moviegoing audience were people born in the seventies and eighties. Expecting them to pay for nostalgia was clearly impossible, so there was a noticeable gap between the film's box office and Universal's estimates.

Because it involved the investment for Mission: Impossible 2, Duke was also keeping an eye on the North American box office trends. Over its three-day opening weekend, King Kong unsurprisingly took the crown on the North American box office charts, but its revenue failed to reach the 60 million dollars expected by the production and distribution companies.

King Kong's opening weekend box office was 50.11 million dollars!

A few years ago, this would have been a rather dazzling number. But now, with the North American film market booming, the number of screens and the audience base both increasing, and movie ticket prices slightly rising, there were more and more films grossing over 50 million dollars in their opening weekends.

Compared to its 180-million-dollar production budget, the 50.11-million-dollar opening weekend could only be considered barely a passing grade.

Behind this, the impact of Mission: Impossible 2 definitely played a part. The second-weekend box office drop for Tom Cruise's new film was kept under fifty percent. Although it was just barely below that mark at forty-nine percent, the 32.28-million-dollar haul still secured the film's second-place spot on the box office charts. This also pushed its total North American box office to 141.44 million dollars, practically guaranteeing that it would surpass 200 million domestically.

Of course, as a pure popcorn movie meant for fast consumption, Mission: Impossible 2 began a sharp decline after passing its most explosive first ten days. This was the most normal pattern for films. Furthermore, as the number of movies released on the market increased, the audience's range of choices also broadened.

After receiving the second-weekend box office data for Mission: Impossible 2, Duke took his private jet back to Wellington to begin the final wrap-up shoots for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The remaining shots in the shooting schedule weren't particularly numerous, but they were extremely fragmented and scattered. He still split the crew into two groups with Anna Printz; the plan was to finish their respective filming tasks and then finally regroup at the studio in Wellington to shoot a scene specifically meant for the ending.

North American stocks were still fluctuating. Perhaps the ten-day vacation gave some people a chance to adjust, or perhaps Duke's warning had taken effect. After the crew regrouped, although they didn't fully recover the form they had before March, the mental state of the cast and crew was much better than it had been before the holiday.

Duke led the main unit to shoot on the New Zealand North Island, while Anna Printz led a smaller fraction of the crew to shoot on the South Island. Their filming locations were generally unfixed; being able to stay at one location for three or four days was already considered a relatively long shoot.

For this leg of the shoot, all actors who hadn't finished their scenes were summoned by Duke to New Zealand. Moreover, aside from limited weekends, Duke wouldn't be giving the crew any more long holidays. The busy work would continue non-stop until every last shot was finished.

Many scenes would also undergo appropriate adjustments. For example, after Alessandra Ambrosio, who played Arwen, returned to the crew in July, Duke rejected the river mouth originally intended for filming her ambushing the Ringwraiths. The river was in its winter dry season and was simply too narrow.

He didn't want a repeat of that scene from his past life.