Chapter 424: The Final Meeting

Listening to Roger Ebert talk incessantly, trying to lure him down the so-called path of cinematic art, Duke found it somewhat amusing. He had once tried to use this exact trick to trap Tom Cruise, but Cruise was obviously no fool. Since the two of them later began collaborating anyway, the matter had eventually faded away...

'In Roger Ebert's eyes, is my brain even worse than Tom Cruise's?'

For some reason, this thought suddenly popped into Duke's head, but he soon figured it out. Roger Ebert placed far too much weight on the Academy Award for Best Director. Did the critic really think Duke would turn into an award-chasing maniac just for a Golden Statuette?

The Academy Award for Best Director certainly carried a lot of weight. It was an honor a considerable number of directors dreamed of. Duke also wanted to win a Best Director Golden Statuette, but he would never become an award-chasing maniac over it and abandon his foundation in Hollywood.

Frantically amassing wealth in the name of art—in truth, Hollywood and every industry related to the film business operated exactly like this.

Hollywood stars and directors racked their brains to elevate their prestige. What was it all for? Don't say it was for the sake of acting and cinematic art.

Moviegoers who considered themselves to have refined tastes could despise commercial films, but the people participating in this game of fame and fortune had no right to look down on them. Without commercial films, would Hollywood be the Hollywood of today? Would those actors, directors, and producers who casually earned millions or even tens of millions of dollars have their current status?

Besides, were film critics truly representatives of art and refined taste?

"As long as the films you produce contain enough artistic value..." Seeing Duke deep in thought, Roger Ebert assumed his words had taken effect and continued. "I have considerable experience in how to make a film more artistic..."

"Art?" Duke suddenly interrupted. "Can art guarantee an Oscar? Then, Mr. Ebert, I would like to ask: if having enough art guarantees an Oscar, why did Gwyneth Paltrow and Shakespeare in Love defeat so many opponents to win Best Actress and Best Picture?"

"Uh..."

Roger Ebert was just about to say something when Duke interrupted him again. "Art? Mr. Ebert, you are the most famous film critic in North America, surrounded by countless halos. Have you forgotten one thing? You yourself are a commercial product!"

Instantly, Roger Ebert's face darkened.

But now that Duke had started, he had no intention of stopping. Since the other man had come over to show off and dig a hole for him to jump into, why should he be polite?

Yes, he was indeed someone who paid great attention to etiquette in public, but he was not inflexible. Otherwise, he wouldn't have trapped Mel Gibson at the Golden Globe Awards party.

Duke liked being the one digging the hole, not the one being buried in it.

One could only imagine that if he had an obsession with the Oscars, being provoked by this man might lead him to make choices he would deeply regret.

When dealing with enemies, Duke was never polite, even if the opponent was the rather old-looking Roger Ebert!

"Art is a very elegant word, one of humanity's greatest creations..." Duke's voice was not loud, but he spoke extremely fast. "I am just a commercial director. The works I produce don't deserve to be called art, but neither do you! Do you really think that just because you write some harsh words, you have artistic refinement? That you can become an artist? That you can dictate how the film industry operates?"

Duke smiled brilliantly. "That is truly a touching joke."

Roger Ebert took a few quick breaths and looked straight at Duke, saying as if to remind him, "I am a Pulitzer Prize winner!"

"That is a journalism award, not a film or art award." Duke spread his hands and wagged a finger. "We are discussing art, not journalism. Admit it, Mr. Ebert. Both your television program and your film review column engage in commercial activities, not artistic ones!"

"Don't argue!" He didn't give the critic a chance to speak at all. "You are nothing more than a successful example of the commercialization of film critics! Guide the film industry? Guide a Hollywood director? Please don't package yourself as so noble and great."

Duke leaned forward. Taking advantage of his height, he formed an oppressive aura. "Fundamentally, we are the same kind of people. We are both highly commercialized! Why do you find me so unpleasant to look at and constantly attack my work? Don't tell me it's for the sake of art. That's only because I touched your piece of the pie!"

Duke stood up and took the jacket Nancy handed him, putting it on. "Don't go around swindling people under the banner of art. You can go ask the people in this banquet hall. Ask them whether they think the great Roger Ebert has more to do with commerce or with art."

Before leaving, Duke left one more sentence. "Oh, right. I heard you're preparing to publish another book? Planning to write down your views on some films from the 1930s to the 1990s and publish them? Ah, old wine in new bottles. As expected, a great way to rake in money."

Hearing these words, Roger Ebert felt furious, but then suddenly felt very sad, because everything the other man said was the truth.

Without highly commercialized operations, would he have become the most famous film critic in the United States? Without constantly showing off his sharp and sarcastic reviews in a format of old wine in new bottles, and continually publishing books, would he have that luxurious manor in Chicago? If he were allowed to guide Duke Rosenberg in producing a film, he couldn't even imagine what kind of mess he would end up creating...

Why was he sitting here confronting Duke Rosenberg? It wasn't rooted in a difference of cinematic ideals at all. There was only one reason—profit!

A highly commercialized person, yet he was attacking commerce. Even he found it somewhat ridiculous.

However, none of this could stop the angry light flashing in his eyes as he looked at Duke. "You will not get Best Director, I swear!"

"Suit yourself."

Duke ignored his words and left the banquet hall directly with Nancy Josephson.

The anger in Roger Ebert's eyes grew even stronger. If Duke had solemnly said some words of counterattack, he would actually have felt a bit better. But this direct dismissal showed that the young director had never taken him seriously, neither in the past nor now.

Outside the Regent Hotel, Duke and Nancy got into a car. Tina Fey, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at the two of them and asked in confusion, "Did something happen?"

Duke shook his head. "It's nothing."

Nancy revealed a wry smile. "Got into a little dispute with Roger Ebert."

Tina Fey looked at Duke. "You argued? That doesn't seem like your style."

"He dug a hole for me and wanted me to jump into it." Duke gave her a reassuring look. "He is obviously someone who vehemently pursues commercial profit just like me, yet he insists on packaging himself as an artist. He considers himself the God standing at the pinnacle of the entire film industry, playing a guiding role..."

Exhaling a breath, Duke added, "I feel disgusted just looking at him!"

These film critics still couldn't understand their current reality of rapid decline. Did they really think their film reviews were the bible for the development of the film industry?

Swearing to snipe him at the Oscars?

Duke suddenly realized that he had never wanted to win the Best Director Golden Statuette as much as he did right now. Since someone had made a vow, he was going to let the other man see that his vow was worth absolutely nothing in the face of powerful commercial public relations!

When The Lord of the Rings came to an end, he would fight for the Oscars with all his might. Then, he would place the Best Director Golden Statuette right in front of Roger Ebert just to see what kind of expression the other man would have.

Hopefully, this narrow-minded, famous film critic wouldn't be so furious that he coughed up blood on the spot...

After the Oscar nominees luncheon, The Fellowship of the Ring became the center of attention with thirteen nominations. Warner's media outlets once again began to build momentum for the film, but they did not expand the screening scale. The promotional push was mainly focused on the film's upcoming DVD release.

Before the nominees luncheon, Duke had already completed all the post-production work for The Two Towers. While beginning the post-production for The Return of the King, he also made minor adjustments to the DVD version of The Fellowship of the Ring. The DVD released this time was divided into a standard edition priced at $19.90 and a deluxe edition priced at $39.90. In addition to the same extended cut, the deluxe box set also included an extra half hour of behind-the-scenes footage.

Most importantly, a three-minute trailer for The Two Towers was added to the disc, which featured the Battle of Helm's Deep, specifically edited by Duke!

The discs were not just for raking in money; they were also meant to build anticipation for the upcoming release of The Two Towers!

However, this was only the beginning of the DVD wealth-gathering for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Duke had also prepared a super-extended cut that was over 200 minutes long. In the future, when all three films had finished their theatrical runs and the hype had gradually dissipated, he would release it along with super-extended behind-the-scenes footage, continuing his endless path of raking in money.

There would also be online versions, Blu-ray versions, and more. There were so many tricks one could play with DVDs.

A massively popular film brought massively popular disc and Videotape sales. This was a rule that had been proven by the market countless times in the past, and The Fellowship of the Ring was no exception.

In just one week, the standard edition DVD of The Fellowship of the Ring sold over 5.1 million copies, and the deluxe edition DVD sold over 800,000 copies, bringing in a staggering $132.5 million in sales!

Inevitably, The Fellowship of the Ring broke another record. This was the highest single-week sales volume for a home video product in North America since the invention of the Videotape!

By the time the 74th Academy Awards rolled around, The Fellowship of the Ring had sold over 12.5 million DVDs worldwide, reaching $257.3 million in sales, with The Lord of the Rings Studio actually taking in over $120 million!

In just over a month, the DVD alone had generated over $100 million in profit for the film!

At the same time, the NBC Television Network secured the first-run television broadcasting rights in North America for The Fellowship of the Ring for $20 million.

Through its DVD release and television broadcasts, The Fellowship of the Ring entered the broader family entertainment platform, reigniting the film's momentum just as it had started to dip. Combined with Warner Brothers' promotional hype and the impact of the Oscars, it laid the perfect groundwork for the release of The Two Towers.

However, just as Duke had expected, The Fellowship of the Ring ended up a disappointment at the 74th Academy Awards.