Chapter 428: Might As Well Go to the San Fernando Valley

"What will the opening of this one be?"

Sitting in the second row, Jane Lauder leaned close to Ivanka Trump and whispered, "It won't be another massive battle, will it?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen it yet." Ivanka gave a playful shrug and pointed to Duke in the front row. "The director is right there. You could just ask him."

Jane Lauder stifled her curiosity. "I think I'll just wait."

Duke's films always opened with a spectacle; audiences had practically come to expect it. Inside the Hollywood Chinese Theater, countless people waited with bated breath for The Two Towers to begin!

The house lights finally dimmed, and the massive screen gradually lit up. The classic opening score began to echo through the theater. From New York to Los Angeles, from Seattle to Miami, audiences focused their attention, their eyes wide, as if terrified of missing a single frame.

"The world is changing, and the era of elves is coming to an end..."

As subtitles appeared on the screen, an ethereal, dreamlike voice drifted over the score.

"Past glories scatter with the wind, and the crucial one has awakened!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Chrissy spoke up instinctively.

"It's Galadriel, Queen Galadriel! She's my absolute favorite!"

"You can recognize her just from the voice?" Peter asked beside him. "Exactly how many times did you watch The Fellowship of the Ring?"

"Not that many..." Chrissy scratched his chin. "Only five times!"

Brad Miller stayed silent and merely sighed. The cinematic version of The Lord of the Rings was far too compelling, especially for book fans like them!

The subtitles flashed by in mere seconds. Within the breathtakingly beautiful Golden Forest, Queen Galadriel stood tall and proud as an angel.

"He must complete his mission. Find him, and bring him to Lothlorien!"

The moment her voice faded, a giant eagle took to the air, soaring toward the distant horizon.

The shot followed the giant eagle, shifting from the forest to a snowy alpine landscape as an aged voice echoed through the mountains.

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Arnor. The dark fire will not avail you..."

The camera passed over the mountain ridges and returned to the Mines of Moria. Gandalf had been dragged into the deepest depths of the world by the Balrog, and the lens followed the old wizard all the way down. Wielding Glamdring, he engaged the Balrog in a fight to the death. The opening battle had officially begun!

The clash between these two former Maiar could only be described as brutal. They crashed through raging fire and plunged into deep water. Morgoth's Balrog spread its wings, flying from the deepest dungeon to the highest peak. Though Gandalf fought with everything he had, he was no match for the Balrog and suffered heavy injuries atop the summit. Yet, right before he fell, he drew upon the power of lightning to slay the creature.

Morgoth's Balrog tumbled down the mountainside, while Gandalf lay motionless in the snow.

The Hollywood Chinese Theater was dead silent. Even those who hadn't read the original books understood that the film hadn't brought Gandalf back just to show them how the old wizard died!

They were all waiting—waiting for the moment Gandalf stood back up!

The camera slowly pushed in on the critically injured Gandalf. Darkness gradually crept in. Just as it was about to swallow the entire screen, the sound of ragged breathing rang out. The picture returned to normal, only the grey-robed, grey-haired Gandalf had transformed into a white-haired old man with bare shoulders.

The so-called pantheon of The Lord of the Rings was quite convoluted. In the original work, it was Iluvatar who sent the fallen Gandalf back to the Middle-earth Continent. However, with the film's limited runtime, Duke hadn't wanted to drag the entire system of gods into the mix, so he simply used a method more akin to leveling up by slaying the Balrog.

This wouldn't hinder the understanding of non-readers, and those who had read the books could easily connect the dots as to how Gandalf returned.

The next scene, of course, was the divine eagle descending from the sky to bear Gandalf back to Lothlorien.

Within the Golden Forest, Queen Galadriel personally draped a white robe over Gandalf and gazed deeply into his eyes.

"Mithrandir..."

"My lady..."

Taking the staff that gleamed like white jade, Gandalf officially became the White Wizard!

The exact moment Gandalf accepted the staff, applause broke out without warning. The Hollywood Chinese Theater thundered with clapping!

Over in the Nokia Theater, Peter, Chrissy, and Brad Miller clapped along with the rest of the crowd. They didn't know why, but watching Gandalf's rebirth from the flames left them unable to contain their excitement!

Inside the AMG Theater in New York, the surrounding applause was deafening. David Denby was as inconspicuous as a tiny raindrop amidst the thunder, his brows furrowed deeply. He stared at the big screen with utter disgust. What was all this messy garbage at the beginning? It was nothing but visual effects. Was there a single practical shot in there? What was the difference between a movie like this and a cheap animated feature?

Without special effects and sensationalized action scenes, what else could he even do?

He turned a deaf ear to the roaring applause in the auditorium. He merely glared at the screen with absolute loathing, calculating what score he should give the film.

'A seven? That would be too high. Does a visual-effects film deserve such a high score?'

However, the scenes that followed made David Denby think a seven might be acceptable after all. Frodo and Sam made their appearance. The heavy burden of the Ring seemed to weigh the hobbit down so much he couldn't even lift his head. The introduction of the complex Gollum made Denby's eyes light up even more; the film was actually delving into the inner worlds of these characters.

The pacing slowed, allowing the characters' inner emotions to gradually brew. David Denby nodded. If the movie stopped chasing massive spectacles and stuck with Frodo Baggins, using a slow narrative structure to explore the complex emotional landscapes of Frodo, Sam, and Gollum, he would absolutely give it a seven!

Just as he was thinking this, however, the camera cut to Aragorn and his two companions. Another huge battle broke out. The audience's previous silence was instantly replaced by soaring excitement. Although this skirmish involving the Rohan Cavalry encircling the Orcs wasn't very long, it took the audience's nerves—which had relaxed slightly during Frodo's scenes—and cranked them right back to a fever pitch.

David Denby watched the war scenes in disgust, while the rest of the audience watched them with eager enthusiasm.

"Duke really lives up to his reputation!" Chrissy marveled. "His movies never have a dull moment. He's taken all those war scenes the books just glossed over and filmed them in such a spectacular way!"

Peter nodded in agreement. "When it comes to filming cold-weapon warfare, Duke is definitely top-tier in Hollywood!"

For a film, just having fantastical landscapes and an exploration of character psychology was absolutely not enough—at least, it certainly wasn't enough for a commercial blockbuster.

When it came down to it, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was a massive commercial production. No major commercial blockbuster needed to spend excessive time exploring characters' inner thoughts. Doing so would only drag the pacing down and push the film toward a niche audience.

There was one fact even the most artsy directors couldn't deny: ninety-five percent of the world's audience went to the cinema simply to unwind and seek out the simplest form of joy!

Just as he had stated in interviews, one of the primary factors Duke considered when producing a film was mainstream taste.

Even his two films with the narrowest demographics, Chicago and Daylight, were ultimately still quintessential crowd-pleasers.

For the sake of pacing, Duke had appropriately trimmed down Frodo's storyline. As long as it conveyed the progression of events, that was enough. The film's runtime was only 175 minutes, and there were still the scenes with Merry, Pippin, and Treebeard to cover. He had simplified all of those long-winded dialogues as much as possible to keep the theatrical cut from dragging on.

Ultimately, he was different from Peter Jackson. He was a fan of the cinematic version of The Lord of the Rings, but not a hardcore fan of the original novels. He wouldn't be like the chubby Peter, who dragged the films out into slow, bloated affairs just to recreate the book's plot as faithfully as possible.

As a result, a little over an hour into the film, Theoden had already made the decision to retreat to Helm's Deep and use the Hornburg fortress to fend off Isengard's massive army.

Gandalf rode off to seek reinforcements. On their way to Helm's Deep, King Theoden, Aragorn, and their group were intercepted by Isengard's wolf-riders, sparking yet another fierce battle.

"Oh, he is so handsome!"

Watching the shot of Legolas drawing his bow, a chorus of awe rippled through the theater.

"This elf is just too charming."

"Even as a guy, I'm falling for him."

"He's my favorite character in the movie."

Right next to David Denby, a Black girl practically shrieked.

"God! I'm going to marry Legolas! I have to marry Legolas!"

Everything his eyes saw and his ears heard only deepened David Denby's revulsion toward the film.

What was this? It was bad enough that he hadn't put any heart into crafting the movie, but he even had to throw in a piece of male eye candy to bait the audience. Aside from these low-class tricks, did Duke Rosenberg know how to do anything else?

Filled with disdain, David Denby let out a cold scoff.

"Disgusting character!"

His voice was a bit too loud and was immediately caught by the girl next to him. She shot him a wide-eyed glare, as if David Denby had just hurled an insult at the most sacred, inviolable existence in her heart.

"What did you say? Are you insulting Legolas and Duke's Lord of the Rings?"

Years ago, David Denby had experienced firsthand the insanity of rabid moviegoers. Having been set up by the Lauder girl back then, he was well aware of just how obsessed and unhinged these people could be. Furthermore, several others nearby were already turning to look, looking as if they would tear him apart with their bare teeth the second he nodded.

"I absolutely didn't mean that."

It was obvious that the twenty-something fans surrounding him had no idea who he was. Left with no choice, David Denby lowered his posture slightly.

"I promise, you misheard me!"

"How could I have misheard?" the Black girl asked, still somewhat suspicious.

David Denby was forced to say, "Actually, I'm a fan of Duke's too..."

An idea struck him, and he pointed at the screen.

"Look quickly, this scene is so massive!"

The gazes of the others immediately snapped back to the giant screen, and from then on, they couldn't pull their eyes away. In a wide panning shot, Isengard was packed densely with a swarming horde of Uruk-hai. They were about to launch their assault on Rohan.

The Battle of Helm's Deep was on the verge of breaking out!