Chapter 399: He Is a Hero

"Congratulations, Vin." Walking over to Vin Diesel's table in the restaurant with Jessica Alba on his arm, Christophe Rocancourt bumped fists with him. "Fast & Furious came within a hair of beating Duke Rosenberg's The Fellowship of the Ring on its opening day."

"Just by that much!"

The burly, bald man rumbled in his deep voice, "It's really frustrating!"

"That's already impressive. Don't forget, your budget was only $38 million. What about The Fellowship of the Ring?"

Christophe Rocancourt chose his words artfully, deliberately glossing over the fact that The Fellowship of the Ring was in its third weekend while Fast & Furious was in its opening weekend.

Thinking of the $15.21 million Fast & Furious had pulled in on Friday alone—less than $500,000 behind the $15.65 million earned by The Fellowship of the Ring—Vin Diesel let a smug smile creep onto his lips.

"Excuse me..."

Jessica Alba had barely sat down when she stood right back up. "I need to use the restroom."

With that, she hurried toward the restroom, looking as though she couldn't wait another second.

Christophe Rocancourt glanced at Jessica Alba's retreating figure. She had been visiting the restroom rather frequently over the past couple of days, but his head was so full of schemes that he paid it little mind.

His target today was Vin Diesel.

Once Jessica Alba returned, the three of them ordered their food and chatted as they ate. Subtly yet steadily, Christophe Rocancourt steered the conversation toward movies and investments.

"Vin, interested in teaming up for something big?"

Setting down his knife and fork at just the right moment, Christophe Rocancourt said, "A massive investment and a major production!"

"What do you mean..." Vin Diesel didn't quite follow.

Christophe Rocancourt picked up his napkin, wiped his mouth, and gave a nod toward Jessica Alba. Jessica immediately reached for his briefcase, pulled out a project proposal, and handed it to Vin Diesel.

Seeing Vin Diesel open it, Christophe Rocancourt continued, "This is a script and project proposal I've carefully put together, with a projected budget of $160 million! It's going to be an epic war masterpiece. Vin, Jessie told me you really know your films, so you must realize that after Gladiator and The Fellowship of the Ring, the golden age of epics has arrived."

Vin Diesel nodded. That was the consensus across the industry; plenty of studios were gearing up to produce epic blockbusters set in modern and ancient wars.

"Which makes this an opportunity!" Christophe Rocancourt kept his voice low, yet every word rang with conviction. "A prime opportunity for investment. I believe an epic film centered on the Battle of Waterloo, portraying the final glory of Napoleon the Great, will be a huge draw."

After skimming the proposal, Vin Diesel read carefully through the attached script. Only after a long while did he look up and say, "Chris, are you saying..."

"Let's invest in it together!"

Christophe Rocancourt looked utterly sincere, speaking with apparent candor. "We've known each other a long time. As you both know, although I hold the title of count and inherited a fortune, I've spent the past few years investing in smaller productions. I've made good money, sure, but my net worth is only in the tens of millions of dollars. An investment of this scale isn't something I can shoulder alone."

These frank, heartfelt words warmed Vin Diesel to him even further.

According to insider rumors around Hollywood, the man did have money, just not the sort of massive fortune Duke Rosenberg commanded.

"Actually, Chris has already lined up quite a bit of funding."

Looking sweetly at her boyfriend, Jessica Alba chimed in cheerfully, "I plan to invest $1.5 million, Mickey Rourke is investing $3 million, Demi Moore is investing $5 million, Joaquin Phoenix is investing $2 million, and Kate Beckinsale and Ben Affleck plan to put in their paychecks from Pearl Harbor..."

In less than a minute, Jessica Alba rattled off a string of names whose combined investments came to nearly $20 million.

A confident smile never left Christophe Rocancourt's face. Since he had let Jessica Alba name those names aloud, he clearly wasn't afraid of Vin Diesel checking up on them.

Hearing those names and figures moved Vin Diesel. Plenty of people in the industry talked about how well-connected Christophe Rocancourt was and how he constantly mingled with stars and celebrities. Looking at it now, the man clearly had some serious pull.

Still, investing called for caution. Epic films carried massive budgets, and while they were well-received by the market, there were also catastrophic flops like Enemy at the Gates. Given the pacing and scale an epic demanded, without the right director, you were better off not even thinking about investing.

He asked tentatively, "Chris, who are you planning to bring on to direct?"

"Duke Rosenberg!" Christophe Rocancourt said without a moment's hesitation. "He's the best man for the job."

Vin Diesel frowned slightly.

Reading his mind, Christophe Rocancourt said, "True, Michael Ovitz and Duke don't get along, but you wouldn't be acting in his movie—just investing."

"Duke agreed to direct?"

Much as he wanted Fast & Furious to go head-to-head with The Fellowship of the Ring, Vin Diesel wasn't so arrogant as to ignore the obvious: Duke Rosenberg was a master of grand spectacle and an ironclad guarantee of success for any big-budget production.

"My proposal and script have already been delivered to Duke through Nancy Josephson," Christophe Rocancourt said with full confidence. "ICM rated the project's market prospects at an A+, and Duke Rosenberg himself spoke very highly of it."

Vin Diesel was tempted. Anyone who wouldn't be tempted by a project Duke Rosenberg might direct would have to be an outright fool.

Chances like this didn't come along often.

Even so, he remained cautious. After all, if he did buy in, he would definitely be putting up seven figures or more.

"Chris, I need to think it over," Vin Diesel said, stopping short of an immediate yes. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Christophe Rocancourt didn't press him, smoothly steering the conversation toward Hollywood gossip and tabloid rumors instead.

"Some tabloids ran photos of Duke Rosenberg and Ivanka Trump sitting together in Central Park. Looks like they might be dating."

"Don't tell me he's had a change of heart and wants to settle down with someone?"

As the hour grew late, Jessica Alba and Christophe Rocancourt left the proposal behind and excused themselves first. Vin Diesel, however, stayed at the table and pulled out his mobile phone.

He called a particularly well-informed friend in the industry. After waiting there for a while, the friend called back with a definitive answer.

"Nancy Josephson really did receive a project about Napoleon, and ICM rated it sky-high. Word is that the moment Duke got back from New York, Nancy took the proposal straight to him. Nobody knows what the two of them talked about, but according to insiders at ICM, Nancy seemed to be in a great mood afterward..."

"Also, those people you mentioned really are planning to invest after hearing Duke might direct. Some of them were so afraid of missing out that they've already wired the funds over."

The friend sounded eager. "Vin, the return on investment for Duke's movies is staggering. This is a rare opportunity—can you bring me in on it too?"

After hanging up, Vin Diesel began leaning toward doing it. A chance to invest in a Duke Rosenberg project was simply too rare to pass up.

Not far from the restaurant, Duke and Tina Fey sat in his office at Duke Studio, mulling over that very same project while waiting for an interviewee to arrive.

At their last meeting, Christophe Rocancourt hadn't left a good impression on Duke. The man's warm, easygoing charm might win over plenty of people, but it only put someone as naturally guarded as Duke on high alert—so much so that he had even warned Naomi Watts to watch out for him.

Yet this proposal left Duke puzzled. Nancy Josephson had told him that Christophe Rocancourt had written it himself. Anyone capable of putting together a project proposal this sharp might not quite match Charles Roven or Robin Grande, but he couldn't be far behind.

And judging by Christophe Rocancourt's finesse and extensive network, he was no newcomer stumbling into Hollywood, nor would he be running into walls everywhere like Duke had in the very beginning...

A light knock at the door interrupted Duke's train of thought.

A secretary pushed the door open. "Mr. Wallace Lee is here."

Tina Fey gave a nod. "Show him in."

This was an interview for an assistant director position. The candidate had solid credentials; though he had never worked on a major commercial blockbuster, he had climbed his way up from production assistant to assistant director in the independent film circuit. Anyone who could make a name for himself in an environment far more chaotic than the commercial mainstream definitely had real ability.

More than that, Duke remembered the guy—back at the California Institute of the Arts, his talent had already stood out.

When Wallace Lee walked in, Duke didn't say much. It was business hours, and the man was smart enough to simply answer the questions Tina Fey put to him without presuming on his old acquaintance with Duke.

From set logistics to film production, from casting to scheduling, Tina Fey questioned him thoroughly on every detail. Then Duke asked a few questions about his filmmaking philosophy. He wouldn't use an assistant director whose vision clashed with his own; the reasons he had originally used Sofia Coppola were complicated, and after all, this man didn't have the Coppola family standing behind him.

Duke vaguely recalled that back in school, Wallace had leaned toward idealism and niche arthouse fare. Perhaps after years of grinding away in Hollywood and soaking in its heavy commercial atmosphere, his outlook had shifted considerably.

"Mr. Lee, we'll notify you as soon as possible."

In the end, Tina Fey gave him only the standard procedural response.

Only after the interview was over did Duke walk over and shake Wallace Lee's hand. "Long time no see, Lee."

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, Duke left the office. He still had a meeting with the people from Warner Brothers. The opening-day box office of Fast & Furious had put immense pressure on The Fellowship of the Ring, and both sides needed to come up with targeted countermeasures. Neither Duke nor Warner wanted to see The Fellowship of the Ring suffer a sharp box office drop from the impact.