Chapter 386: Is It a Bit Short?

In an inconspicuous corner of the theater, a long-faced man in a hat sat quietly in his seat. The surrounding crowd was entirely captivated by the movie, and since he was just a director, no one realized this was the famous Michael Bay.

He had slipped into the Hollywood Chinese Theater solely to watch this film and figure something out. They were both directors with exceptionally distinct commercial styles—so why was he considered inferior to Duke Rosenberg?

Showcasing beautiful scenery with wide-angle lenses—he was good at that too!

Using rapid cuts to inject fierce intensity into action scenes—he was a master of that as well!

Building tension through heart-pounding chase sequences, like the Ringwraiths pursuing the hobbits—that was his specialty too!

Throwing in beautiful women as eye candy to grab the audience's attention—he did that just as much, if not more!

Utilizing cutting-edge special effects to enhance a shot's beauty and realism—he was also a tech-savvy director at the forefront of the industry!

They were both quintessential commercial film directors with strikingly similar styles. Why was there such a massive gap in how audiences received their films?

Duke Rosenberg's action and sci-fi films had steadily entered the ranks of the top ten classics of the nineties. In polls run by authoritative outlets like the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, The Matrix had even seized the number one spot among sci-fi classics.

As the film's plot entered the breathtaking, dreamlike Rivendell, Michael Bay slowly began to understand.

Yes, they both excelled at those exact elements, and their raw skills in those areas were nearly identical. But when those pieces were put together, the gap instantly became glaringly obvious!

In other words, even when making heavily commercial films, Duke Rosenberg's grasp of the overarching plot, control over pacing, and structural adjustments to the narrative were leagues ahead of his own!

It was something Michael Bay had to admit. After all, The Fellowship of the Ring was playing right in front of him.

He had never read the original novels, nor did he really know what the specific story was about. He only knew that the source material for The Lord of the Rings was incredibly massive and notoriously difficult to adapt. Furthermore, by this point in the film, Duke Rosenberg had certainly trimmed down or altered a vast amount of the plot. Yet even as a non-reader, Bay could effortlessly understand exactly what was happening.

It was obvious that the director hadn't favored the book fans at the expense of general audiences.

As for whether the book fans were satisfied, Michael Bay was certain there had to be some sitting around him in the theater. But instead of protesting the changes, everyone was completely engrossed in the film.

Was this the true skill of a director? Was this the gap between them?

A successful director could be proud, but never arrogant. Slowly, Michael Bay was beginning to learn something.

Rivendell was secluded among treacherous valleys, dense forests, swamps, and rushing streams, completely hidden from the outside world. A single moss-covered path of white gravel led into the valley. Upon entering, the air was immediately filled with the fresh scent of trees, and warm lights glowed from within...

Recalling the original novel's description of Rivendell while taking in the incredible on-screen scenery, a wry smile tugged at the corner of Brad Miller's mouth. The film really had made major adaptations to the source material. Still, he had to admit that these changes hadn't ruined the original flavor at all. Instead, they made the story far more tightly paced, especially in its visual execution of the various locations Tolkien had penned...

The Shire, Hobbiton, Weathertop, Rivendell, and all the rest—the cinematic portrayal completely surpassed the books. The director had used unimaginable visuals to forge a—no, The Fellowship of the Ring had only just assembled and prepared to set out; he had forged half of a magnificent, sweeping epic!

It felt as if all the beautiful scenery in the real world combined couldn't compare to a single shred of the Middle-earth shown in this film!

"I've made up my mind!"

Just then, Brad Miller heard Hiller unconsciously mutter beside him.

"From now on, I'm not just going to be a fan of The Matrix, I'm going to be a fan of The Lord of the Rings too!"

On screen, The Fellowship of the Ring was on the march. A sweeping aerial shot of their journey drew another wave of gasps and sighs of admiration from the surrounding audience.

"How could a Middle-earth Continent like this really exist!"

"Where was this movie filmed? The scenery there is too beautiful, I have to go see it with my own eyes!"

"It was in New Zealand. I absolutely have to go!"

Hiller seemed utterly bewitched as he said, "God, with a place this beautiful out there, how am I ever supposed to keep living in Los Angeles?"

"I'm going to move to Middle-earth!" he declared, his voice a bit too loud.

It drew angry glares from the people around him, and he hurriedly clamped a hand over his mouth.

The overarching goal of the film was extremely straightforward—destroy the Ring. This quest sparked a myriad of conflicts, but the narrative structure of this first installment remained entirely uncomplicated. It focused entirely on The Fellowship of the Ring; factions and locations like Isengard, Minas Morgul, and Mordor were only given a handful of scenes.

For a massive commercial production, scoring decent box office numbers wasn't always particularly difficult. However, achieving massive box office returns while simultaneously becoming a universally recognized classic was far from easy.

This was especially true for special-effects-driven films.

Duke, however, hadn't reduced his reliance on visual effects because of this. On the contrary, he had heavily increased their presence. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was simply different from other blockbuster films; how could anyone perfectly recreate the world Tolkien had penned without relying on massive amounts of CGI?

The Mines of Moria was undoubtedly one of the most effects-heavy sequences in the entire film. When the breathtakingly majestic King's Hall finally appeared on screen, every audience member unconsciously dropped their jaw. Such astonishing architecture could only ever exist in the movies...

"You look a bit terrifying..." Ivanka murmured.

Her reaction undoubtedly meant that Duke's cameo character had finally made his entrance.

During the pre-release promotional campaign, this had been one of the major talking points hyped up by Warner Brothers, generating plenty of buzz. The resident explosion maniac playing a cave troll—just the thought of it was highly amusing.

However, another character completely stole Duke's thunder.

Initially, Legolas drawing his bow and loosing an arrow had only drawn shrieks from a few female audience members. But he received a significant amount of frontal close-ups. With every pull of his bowstring and every fluid movement, the resulting screams in the theater grew louder and louder!

Attractive female eye candy could significantly boost a movie's appeal, and the exact same applied to male eye candy!

Regardless of whether the film ultimately succeeded or failed, it wasn't hard to draw a concrete conclusion from the deafening feminine shrieks in the theater: Legolas and Orlando Bloom had amplified the concept of male eye candy to its absolute peak!

It wasn't until Gandalf faced off against the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dum that the audience's eyes finally tore themselves away from Legolas.

"From now on, archers are definitely going to be incredibly popular characters in movies!" someone murmured.

If a movie wanted to become a classic, it needed at least a few unforgettable scenes—moments that audiences would endlessly discuss afterward, recall from time to time, and never tire of rewatching.

The Fellowship of the Ring had plenty of scenes just like that, and Gandalf confronting the Balrog was undoubtedly one of the most spectacular.

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Arnor..." Gandalf declared. He possessed the Ring of Fire, and he drew upon its power to oppose the Balrog. "The dark fire cannot defeat me..."

Following his long incantation, a pure white halo resembling a magical shield erupted around his body, blocking the blazing sword the Balrog had formed from its foul flames.

"You. Shall. Not. Pass!"

Gandalf shattered the Bridge of Khazad-dum, and the Balrog plummeted into the abyss.

Brad Miller gently closed his eyes. As a hardcore fan of the novels, he naturally knew Gandalf was about to die. But remembering just how spectacular the film had been so far, and knowing that Iluvatar would eventually send the wizard back to Middle-earth to finish his mission, his eyes snapped wide open again!

"Run, you fools!"

The Balrog ensnared Gandalf with its long whip, and the two plunged into the depths of the world together.

The Fellowship of the Ring had lost its spiritual leader!

A sorrowful, haunting vocal chant swelled through the theater. The characters on screen were entirely overcome with grief, and their agonizing heartbreak seemed to bleed right through the silver screen, infecting every single person in the audience.

Duke noticed Ivanka quietly wiping her eyes.

Pitt noticed a crystal tear slip down Brad Miller's cheek, only to suddenly realize his own face was hot and wet with tears as well.

Hiller fiercely sniffled. Gandalf's sacrifice could only be described as truly heroic!

Michael Bay watched as the audience members all around him wiped away their tears, falling into deep thought.

It was a textbook emotional beat. First, Gandalf's entire battle against the Balrog cemented him as the hero sacrificing himself to save his team. Then, he tragically perished alongside his enemy. It was such a simple, classic method to pull at the heartstrings, yet it was unbelievably moving!

As a commercial director, evoking emotion was a fundamental skill. He was also quite adept at wringing emotion out of action sequences. But compared to the scene that had just unfolded, Michael Bay suddenly felt like his own methods were strictly amateur. Next to Duke Rosenberg's execution, his own work felt like it was merely manipulating emotions just for the sake of it.

And Duke Rosenberg?

He had woven that emotional resonance flawlessly into the film's entire narrative framework!

Watching up to this point, with Michael Bay's professional eye, he could naturally see that the film was playing with the audience's emotions at almost every turn. It used a massive, epic battle to hook the audience's desire to keep watching, beautiful scenery to elevate their spirits, the Ringwraiths' hunt for the hobbits to build unbearable tension, and gorgeous elven beauties to spike their adrenaline...

These were all incredibly simple emotional triggers, standard tools in any director's arsenal. He himself loved relying on wide-angle shots of sunrises and sunsets to stir up a crowd.

However, seamlessly weaving so many different emotional triggers into one cohesive whole—executing it so well that even a seasoned professional like him was still deeply moved despite knowing exactly what the movie was doing—that was pure brilliance!

"I really do still lag behind him, after all!" Michael Bay sighed softly.

Judging by the runtime, at least two-thirds of The Fellowship of the Ring had already passed. The pacing, camerawork, narrative, action sequences, visual effects, and even the background landscapes were all absolutely outstanding. As long as the finale didn't completely fall apart, it was guaranteed to be an exceptional film.

Although Michael Bay didn't like Duke, he knew very well that in a Duke-style blockbuster, the climax was always the most spectacular part. Fall apart? How could that possibly happen?

Watching the grieving Fellowship of the Ring trudge into Lothlorien, Michael Bay silently admitted the truth to himself. The gap in quality between Pearl Harbor and this film was painfully obvious.