Chapter 426: Is Hollywood Desperate for Talent?

"What are you thinking about, Evie?"

Several blonde girls were drinking and chatting in a suite at the Waldorf Grand Hotel. Jane Lauder walked over to Ivanka Trump, who was sitting alone on the sofa, and asked, "Has your heart already flown off to Los Angeles?"

"I'm guessing Evie is worried!"

Nicky Hilton walked over from the bar, hugging a bottle of sweet sherry.

"Her boyfriend just made the Forbes rich list, and Hollywood has so many beautiful actresses..."

She shifted to an odd tone. "Sorry, Evie, I don't mean anything by it. But if it were me, I'd be worried too. Just think about it—a thirty-year-old billionaire who also happens to be the most handsome and talented director in Hollywood... Oh God, just thinking about it drives people crazy!"

Ivanka ignored the comment. She only felt that tagging along with Jane Lauder to this so-called childhood friends' gathering had been a complete mistake.

Paris Hilton also wandered over from the bar, holding a copy of Forbes magazine. She seemed to have had a bit too much to drink. Her steps were unsteady as she wobbled over and collapsed onto the sofa right next to Ivanka.

"Darling, can I ask you a question?"

Ivanka frowned slightly but still replied, "Of course."

"Evie, when are you planning to break up with Duke..."

"Paris!" Jane Lauder sounded a bit angry, but Ivanka gently tugged her arm.

Paris Hilton quickly added, "I'm just asking."

Nicky Hilton took a swig from her bottle. "Paris, why are you asking that?"

"Don't you think Duke is incredibly attractive?" Paris Hilton flashed the magazine in her hand. "Just looking at this article is enough to make my heart flutter."

Ivanka's expression darkened a little, but for the sake of their childhood friendship, she swallowed her annoyance and said nothing.

"You're acting like a tramp again!" Nicky Hilton tossed her bottle aside and sprawled next to Paris Hilton as she asked curiously, "What exactly did it say to get you so worked up?"

Never mind Nicky Hilton; even Ivanka and Jane Lauder perked up their ears.

"Ahem... then allow me to read it to everyone."

Paris Hilton cleared her throat, opened Forbes, and announced in a dramatic tone, "The article is titled 'Duke Rosenberg—The Wealth Behind a Hollywood Director'!"

"'If you were to ask what the hottest movie of last year was, most people would choose The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. This magical epic directed by Duke Rosenberg conquered countless viewers and brought massive income to the man himself. Right before the Oscar Awards Ceremony in March, The Lord of the Rings Studio—a joint venture between Warner Brothers and Duke Studio—settled the film's profits with Duke Rosenberg. Excluding his $15 million base salary as director and producer, he took home over $220 million from the global box office and all merchandise revenue of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring!'"

"'This successfully surpassed the over $210 million Steven Spielberg earned from Jurassic Park, making it the highest single director's paycheck in Hollywood history!'"

"'Just like with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Duke Rosenberg has amassed considerable wealth over the past few years by investing in his own films and taking a top-tier director's cut of the profits. However, this is not the entirety of his fortune. Away from the film market, he holds an even more terrifying net worth!'"

Reading up to this point, Paris Hilton suddenly stopped and pointed at the bottle. Nicky Hilton immediately handed it over.

Paris Hilton took a huge gulp of sherry, swept her gaze over the others, and continued, "'No different from other Hollywood stars and directors, Duke invested the wages he earned from movies into other industries. But unlike the rest, his investments currently appear extremely successful.'"

"'Although affected by factors like stock market volatility and equity financing dilution, according to our statistics, Duke Rosenberg has steadily held around seven percent of Apple shares, a bit over ten percent of Victoria's Secret, eight percent of Warner Brothers, and thirty percent in both Marvel Comics and the internet company Google, among others...'"

"'By the most conservative estimates, the shares in Duke's hands are worth around $2.5 billion. Combined with his income from film copyrights and other avenues, Forbes estimates his net worth at $2.9 billion! This figure places him at number 97 on the Forbes global billionaire list!'"

"'Duke Rosenberg is also the only person under the age of thirty-five in the top one hundred of the rich list!'"

Paris Hilton closed the magazine. "That's about it. The rest is a bunch of data analysis you guys wouldn't understand anyway, even if I read it out loud."

After saying that, she picked up the bottle and took another big swig.

Sitting next to her, Nicky Hilton's eyes gleamed. "$2.9 billion! I don't even know if I'll ever inherit that much wealth..."

"I am certain of one thing," Paris Hilton said. "You won't earn that kind of fortune in your entire life!"

"Forget about me, neither will you!"

Although they had often played together as children, Ivanka found that now that they were grown up—especially lately—she was completely out of step with the Hilton sisters. Sitting together, they had almost nothing in common to talk about.

"Evie, can I ask you something?" Jane Lauder blinked her curious eyes, leaning in to whisper. "Is that number Duke's real net worth?"

"I'm not too sure about the specifics."

Since the one asking was her best friend, Ivanka kept her voice low and added, "In my opinion, the Forbes estimate is quite conservative."

Saying this out loud made Ivanka realize just how far she still had to go to catch up with Duke. In an instant, it strengthened her resolve to work hard. She didn't want him to leave her too far behind.

The Hilton sisters were still fooling around, spouting crazy nonsense. Ivanka had lost the mood to stay any longer. She exchanged a few words with Jane Lauder, and the two of them said their goodbyes and left together.

Just as they stepped out of the Waldorf Grand Hotel, Ivanka spotted a massive billboard on the high-rise opposite them. Gandalf, clad in white upon a white horse with a white staff, was leading a sweeping charge of cavalry across the hills toward an Orc phalanx ahead...

They got into their car, and along the way, they saw quite a few ads for the film. When they drove past Times Square, the giant screens above were also playing the movie's trailers. It seemed as if the film had saturated every corner of New York.

"Are you going to Los Angeles for the premiere?"

Hearing Jane Lauder's question, Ivanka pulled her gaze back from the ads outside the window and nodded. "I'll be going."

"Could you bring me along?" Jane Lauder's eyes filled with longing.

Ivanka didn't make the decision on her own. "They should be arranging the seating for the premiere around this time. Let me make a phone call first..."

She took out her phone and dialed a number. Unsurprisingly, the person who answered wasn't Duke.

"Hi, Tina. I have a friend who wants to attend the premiere, Aerin's sister. Ah, okay, thank you."

Turning her head, Ivanka mouthed to Jane Lauder that it was taken care of, then spoke into the phone again. "Where's Duke? Still busy with work?"

On the other end of the line, Tina Fey peered through the glass door at Duke inside and said, "He's doing an exclusive interview with Fortune magazine. It'll probably be another half hour..."

Hanging up the phone, Tina Fey looked into the room, where Duke was speaking eloquently to a reporter.

This was a highly targeted interview. As soon as Warner received the news about the Forbes rich list, they had specifically arranged this session. The goal was to further promote his directed films by heavily publicizing Duke himself.

"Director Rosenberg, it only took you ten years to go from starting with nothing to building your current net worth. How did you do it?"

Sitting opposite him was a female reporter. After a few sharper clashes at the beginning of the interview, the questions she was now asking were all beneficial for promotion. After all, Fortune was owned by Time Warner.

Even though these questions hadn't been fully discussed in advance, Duke didn't even have to think before giving his answer. "Focus, hard work, persistence, and a bit of good luck."

"Why did you invest in Apple?"

"I believe in Steve Jobs. I'm a Jobs admirer. I've always thought he could lead Apple out of its predicament, and right now, Apple is indeed developing in a positive direction."

"What is the most important factor behind your current success?"

"Movies!" Duke said very seriously. "Movies are the foundation of my career. If it weren't for the income from the film industry, I wouldn't have been able to invest in other businesses. Film is both my work and my passion."

"So, you consider film to be your most successful career?"

"Exactly. I believe my greatest success lies in having produced several films, and that the majority of audiences happen to like them."

The female reporter had a very sharp sense of intuition, and she continued firing off questions. "Is public appeal your core philosophy when making a movie?"

"Yes. That's something I verify before a project even begins. If I feel the audience won't like it, I wouldn't be interested no matter how good the script is. I have always believed that a film with widespread audience support is a truly successful film."

"Will the final two installments of The Lord of the Rings trilogy also adhere to this philosophy?"

"Like I said, this is the foundational premise for greenlighting all my film projects. The Two Towers will continue the style of The Fellowship of the Ring, and there will be even more surprises when it comes to the epic set pieces..."

The Forbes rich list was merely a pretext for the interview; the actual goal remained movie promotion. Toward the end, Duke brought out all his tricks, shamelessly bragging about The Two Towers without even blushing!

As May approached, they were drawing closer and closer to the release of The Two Towers. Just as usual, Duke and Warner deployed every promotional tool available to them. There were a few differences, however—for instance, The Lord of the Rings Studio didn't plan to hold test screenings for the movie. After all, the explosive word-of-mouth from the first film had already made this installment highly anticipated.

On the other hand, because there were basically no other blockbusters premiering in the same release window, the number of opening theaters for The Two Towers in North America broke records yet again, reaching 3,876 locations!

In short, everything was ready. All that was left was for the film to hit the big screen.