Chapter 444: Not Just a Movie - A New Project About Father and Daughter

How hard was it for a woman to take home the Oscar Best Director Statuette? Anyone with a solid understanding of the Oscars knew that in this era, it was virtually impossible. Winning an Oscar wasn't just about having an outstanding piece of work. Even with the feminist movement gradually gaining traction, it was nowhere near the level it would reach in the future. Without the right alignment of social factors, Sofia Coppola's absolute ceiling was a nomination.

Even with the Coppola family standing behind her, the ability to pull in support from several major studios, and hiring the Weinstein Brothers to run her PR campaign, her chances were practically zero.

These resources simply couldn't combat the broader social climate. Even the Weinstein Brothers missed the mark sometimes; while the School had its biases, it never belonged to any single person.

Following its founding reception, Marvel Pictures settled back into quiet obscurity. It was just one of countless newly established production companies in Hollywood. Much like Duke Studio in its early days, even with the backing of someone with Duke's unique experience, growing into a powerhouse would take a considerable amount of time.

Moreover, after weathering their bankruptcy protection crisis, Marvel's executives had learned their lessons and understood the importance of patience.

A week after the reception, Doug Walter delivered some good news: Warner Brothers had canceled the Catwoman and Superman Returns projects. They were negotiating with DC Comics to establish a dedicated department to explore the possibilities of serializing DC superhero films and how to execute that vision.

At the same time, neither Warner Brothers nor DC Comics had any objections to handing the Batman Series over to Duke.

Meanwhile, post-production editing for Return of the King had entered its final stages. Duke discarded several of his initial rough-cut plans, deciding to completely re-edit the Battle of Minas Tirith and the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

"Mike, strip every single shot of Frodo Baggins out of the battlefield sequences. I don't want a fragmented battle."

Inside the editing room, Duke watched the cut Mike Dawson had put together and immediately shook his head. "Condense the screen time for Frodo's storyline."

"If we dedicate the majority of the runtime to the war scenes..."

Mike Dawson stopped himself after just one sentence. Having worked together for ten years, he naturally understood Duke's philosophy. As long as it didn't impact the core narrative, the massive spectacle scenes always took priority. As for the deep dives into psychological conflict that professional critics praised so highly? In his boss's eyes, a significant chunk of that could easily be scrapped.

Scenes reflecting the characters' emotions were certainly necessary, but they had to be metered. Duke knew exactly where his strengths lay. Furthermore, Return of the King was inherently longer than the previous two installments; if the pacing dragged, the entire film would feel incredibly sluggish, inevitably testing the audience's patience.

Starting with The Two Towers, Duke had been purposefully paring down the Frodo Baggins storyline to accelerate the film's pace. For Frodo and Sam's arc, simply conveying the progression of the story was enough. He wasn't shooting an arthouse flick or a niche fan-service movie; his first priority had to be the massive spectacles that would draw the audience's eyes.

Of course, he wouldn't let the spectacle run wild without restraint. Just like Frodo's storyline, the massive scenes would be kept within appropriate limits.

"Isolate the scenes with Frodo, Sam, and the Spider Shelob into their own narrative block," Duke continued, detailing the necessary changes for the next edit. "I need a complete, comprehensive, and largely uninterrupted battlefield sequence. Make the Battle of Minas Tirith and the Battle of Pelennor Fields one cohesive, continuous event."

Seeing that Duke had made up his mind, Mike Dawson didn't offer any further opinions and simply nodded.

Duke added, "Simplify Denethor's death. Compress the duration to under three minutes."

His rationale was simple: in the climactic battle of the trilogy, he wanted to dedicate more runtime to showcasing the sheer, sweeping grandeur of the battlefield.

Just as always, Duke's foremost consideration was the market and the reaction of the mainstream audience, not professional critiques.

As for those professional reviews, to an unapologetically commercial director like him, they were entirely dispensable.

After a grueling day, Duke returned to his home in Malibu only to find that Ivanka was even busier than he was. She called to say she'd be back late and told him not to wait up for dinner.

Instant Share Company had just relocated to Burbank, and it was the most hectic period of the transition. Ivanka had been running in circles lately. Although Duke could offer a few insights based on his memories of website and software development, he was a total amateur when it came to corporate operations. Knowing his own limits—and fully aware that he'd be effectively useless if he tried to interfere—he refrained from offering unsolicited advice.

It was the same principle that governed how Ivanka interacted with him. Couples inevitably experienced conflicts and friction, but those issues should be resolved in private, not aired in public. Duke could see that whenever Ivanka accompanied him to events or banquets, she completely yielded the spotlight to him. Naturally, when he was in front of Ivanka's employees, he made a point to demonstrate the utmost respect for her.

Though he had once hesitated over whether to change his ways, now that he had accepted Ivanka, Duke valued their relationship highly and was putting genuine effort into maintaining it.

After eating dinner, he gave Ivanka another call, offering a few gentle reminders before heading upstairs to his study. He booted up his computer, preparing to process a few emails.

Most of the emails were work-related, though there were exceptions. One, for instance, was from Edward Newgate and attorney Al Ryder. The verdict for Christophe Rocancourt's case had just been handed down a few days prior. He was sentenced to ten years in prison and hit with a massive fine, while his girlfriend, Jessica Alba, fared slightly better, receiving only an eighteen-month sentence.

Reading this, Duke gave attorney Al Ryder a quick call. They discussed the situation briefly; Christophe Rocancourt and his girlfriend had already filed an appeal, meaning the case wasn't completely closed. However, the outcome was unlikely to change significantly. With so many A-list celebrities and socialites keeping a vengeful eye on a ruined con artist, there would be no unexpected surprises.

However, another piece of news from attorney Al Ryder caught Duke slightly off guard. The master swindler wasn't staying quiet; rumor had it that he was currently peddling his own life story to Hollywood, along with that incredibly convincing script and project plan.

Yet, having played out that entire charade, Duke had completely lost interest in Napoleon the Great and had no intention of taking it over.

After handling his emails, Duke opened a script document to outline his upcoming projects. The Batman Trilogy wasn't pressing. Warner Brothers owned the rights, and there was no need to stress over the creative direction of the story. A substantial portion of the original trilogy wasn't entirely original anyway, having been adapted from Frank Miller's comics for DC.

The rights to those comics also belonged to Warner Brothers and DC Comics, so that posed no issue. Following their initial meeting, he had called Doug Walter again and managed to secure the rights to one of Frank Miller's illustrated volumes as well.

The latter two installments of The Matrix had already finished filming, and Matrix Reloaded was set for a July release. Unlike Anna Printz, Zack Snyder was an immensely ambitious director. If he was interested, he would absolutely be the first choice to helm the three hundred red speedos. But if he declined, Duke would have to find a new director...

He couldn't guarantee that Zack Snyder, whose life trajectory had drastically shifted, would still have any interest in a bunch of guys in red speedos.

Setting aside his thoughts on comic and illustration adaptation rights, Duke turned his attention to the small-budget production he had planned for after The Lord of the Rings Trilogy wrapped up.

It was a story about a retired agent and his daughter—an enraged father willing to pay any price to rescue his child. Family and familial love might be incredibly cliché, but they were eternal themes in mainstream Hollywood cinema, aligning perfectly with the core values championed across America.

Duke planned to start shooting in the latter half of the following year. Since he was pushing the film's production forward by several years, some aspects would need appropriate adjustments. The most crucial change was the daughter's role; the original child star had clearly grown out of her looks, so he would definitely need to recast the part.

As for Liam Neeson, he was currently just a B-list actor. Both his age and his acting chops perfectly suited the film's requirements.

If Duke extended an invitation, the man surely wouldn't turn it down.

Focusing his energy, Duke began drafting the character profiles and the script outline. He had typed up a few dozen lines when a knock came at the study door. He called out in response, and Ivanka pushed the door open and walked in.

"You're back?"

"Yeah."

Ivanka walked over, leaning down to glance at Duke and then at his laptop. She let out a soft sigh. "You're working again. Honey, try not to put so much pressure on yourself, okay?"

Duke saved the document and immediately shut down the computer. "I was just writing a script outline."

"You're already preparing for the next film?" Ivanka pulled over a chair and sat down next to him. "Isn't post-production on Return of the King still unfinished?"

"I need to draft the outline and character profiles," Duke explained briefly, "and then hand them over to the studio's Editorial Department to flesh out. I have to review it, and if anything isn't satisfactory, it'll need further revisions. All of that takes time."

Pausing, Duke asked, "How are things with your company?"

"Most of the office equipment is in place." Ivanka rubbed her forehead lightly, a hint of exhaustion crossing her face. "We're migrating the server data right now. Things should be on track soon."

That wasn't something Duke could help with. "It's the weekend tomorrow. Do you still need to head into the office?"

"Did you have something in mind?" Ivanka asked.

"We haven't gone out in a while." Duke stood up and stretched. "The Premiere for Matrix Reloaded is right around the corner. Let's hit Rodeo Boulevard tomorrow and get a custom dress made for you."

Ivanka stood up as well. "Sounds great. I've been so busy lately, I could use some time to relax."

Matrix Reloaded was set to release the weekend before Independence Day, and it was currently in its hottest promotional phase. As a major blockbuster jointly financed by Duke Studio and Warner Brothers, Duke naturally wouldn't miss its Premiere.