Chapter 451: The Undisputed Leader

"The first film in history to break a hundred million at the weekend box office, and the first director in history to do it!"

"Duke Rosenberg has, without a doubt, become the first person in North American history to shatter the hundred-million mark at the weekend box office!"

Also on Monday, the media went into an absolute frenzy, plastering the news of The Two Towers crossing the hundred-million mark in its opening weekend across their front pages. This was a monumental event in North American film history, easily drawing more attention than some foreign royal like Prince William.

The Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and countless other major newspapers placed Duke's portrait and the poster for The Two Towers in their most prominent spots. Lavish praise filled their front pages.

"A Ten-Year Directorial Journey: Duke Rosenberg's Path to Godhood..."

"Incomparable! Today, no one can compare to Duke Rosenberg. A great work, a great director!"

"$103.03 million! Duke Rosenberg is crowned king of the market once again!"

The public reaction was just as intense. After all, this was the first film in North American history to surpass a hundred million dollars in its opening weekend!

"Congratulations, Evie."

"Ivanka, your boyfriend is really amazing."

Ever since she sat down in the library's computer lab, Ivanka hadn't had a moment of peace. People kept walking over to whisper their greetings and offer congratulations. She knew exactly how much influence Duke's films held among younger audiences, but her current feelings were quite complicated.

The overriding emotion was joy, of course. Even though Duke was the target of all these congratulations, she felt immensely proud.

Yet, that joy was mixed with a hint of bitterness. For someone as ambitious as Ivanka, it was an unavoidable psychological reaction—and one that spurred her to work even harder.

Ivanka logged onto Duke's website and clicked the section for The Two Towers. The message board beneath it was practically overflowing.

"The first film to break a hundred million in its opening weekend! As expected, only our great Lord of the Rings and the Explosion Maniac could pull this off!"

"Looking back at the last ten years of Hollywood, it's easy to see that Duke achieving this result was practically inevitable!"

"Anyone in the Chicago area want to go see The Two Towers? Let's get a group together for a third viewing..."

Next, Ivanka visited IMDB and took a quick look. The rating had stabilized at 9.2, and negative reviews in the comments section were extremely scarce.

After reading these, she used her administrator privileges to log onto Instant Sharing, immediately noticing something unusual.

Right on the website's homepage, a short message containing pictures had been pinned to the very top by countless replies. The view count displayed beneath it was a staggering 170,000!

Ivanka couldn't help but frown. As of yesterday, the total number of registered users on the entire website was just over a hundred thousand. How could the traffic for this single post be so massive?

Her first thought was paid online shills, but Instant Sharing was just a small website. There was no value in astroturfing here at all.

After taking a closer look at the images and the original poster, however, Ivanka's expression cleared in understanding. A sweet smile tugged at the corners of her lips; the post had been made from Duke's account, and the content featured the highly anticipated Return of the King!

Clicking it open, Ivanka understood that her boyfriend was helping her out. Although there were only two or three pictures featuring the battles at the Black Gate and Minas Tirith, and his caption was a simple "Two massive battles in Return of the King," the timing was impeccable. With The Two Towers exploding at the box office and countless fans eagerly awaiting the third installment, a post like this could easily draw massive attention.

"True to his usual style," Ivanka muttered as she looked at the pictures.

The pictures were panoramic shots of the battlefield, densely packed with both warring armies. This was especially true for the Mordor forces. Not only were Ringwraiths riding flying beasts circling overhead, but one could also faintly make out countless massive cave trolls. Even further back, the silhouettes of giant mammoths were just coming into view.

It was only then that Ivanka noticed the top right corner of her administrator dashboard. The website's registered user count had soared from just over a hundred thousand yesterday to a whopping 250,000!

Even the most oblivious person could see the massive contribution Duke and The Lord of the Rings were making to the website. The effect was practically like what 9/11 had been for blogs.

Duke's intention was to leverage his current surge in popularity to push Instant Sharing into the spotlight, accelerating its growth. Just as he refused to constantly retread paths laid out by others and wanted to take on Christophe Rocancourt's script, he genuinely wanted to see exactly how far this website could go.

Would it become just another website drowned in obscurity, or would it skyrocket to success like those before it?

Throughout Monday, it wasn't just the major studios in Hollywood reacting strongly to the first film in history to break a hundred million in its opening weekend. Countless actors, directors, and producers shared the sentiment, and some even accepted media interviews.

"I've gone head-to-head with Duke's work before, and I know firsthand what kind of terrifying pressure that brings."

Walking out of DreamWorks headquarters, Tom Cruise was intercepted by reporters. When speaking about his widely recognized good friend, he remarked, "No one wants to face Duke's work during the Summer Season. I'm not surprised in the slightest that he achieved these results. Don't you all think this is perfectly normal for him by now?"

Beside him, Steven Spielberg also accepted an interview. The veteran director stated, "Among the younger generation of directors in Hollywood, Duke is the undisputed leader. He has produced one phenomenal work after another. The various techniques he employs in the realms of action, science fiction, and fantasy films are completely groundbreaking. He has profoundly influenced the way films are made in Hollywood."

Meanwhile, Duke and the cast and crew became prime targets for countless television programs sending out invitations.

"This is a formal invitation from The Oprah Winfrey Show."

In the hotel room, Tina Fey placed several invitations in front of Duke. "This is Oprah Winfrey's third time inviting you onto her talk show."

Duke nodded, but he showed no intention of accepting. Instead, he looked across at his PR manager, who was the true professional in this arena.

Penny Kalis took the stack of invitations, flipped through them briefly, and tossed them back down. "Reject all of them," she suggested directly.

"All of them?" Duke asked.

"Yes, Duke. Aside from The Oprah Winfrey Show, none of these programs match your current status and position. Appearing on shows like these would only cheapen your image."

Hearing this, Duke thought it over for a moment before slowly nodding in agreement.

Penny Kalis continued, "Although The Two Towers broke a hundred million in its opening weekend, we don't need to rush out to put on high-profile PR stunts. Box office appeal has never been a problem for your films, and the movie is excellent enough on its own. Warner's marketing department certainly doesn't need us throwing in unnecessary gimmicks."

"The only show with enough prestige is The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Speaking of the program, Penny Kalis simply shook her head. "Nearly ninety percent of that show's audience consists of housewives over the age of thirty-five. Maybe other people need the support of housewives, but your films, Duke..."

Duke couldn't help but laugh. His films were never going to be the preferred cup of tea for housewives. As far back as the early nineties, Nancy Josephson had reminded him of this fact. Relying on older housewives to support his explosive, action-driven blockbusters was completely unrealistic.

No matter how brilliant a film was, it couldn't conquer the entire world. His works were destined never to shine among the housewife demographic.

And the fame The Oprah Winfrey Show could offer him was completely dispensable. Every program had its targeted demographic, and for where Duke currently stood, an appearance on Oprah was practically chicken ribs—it offered negligible prestige relative to the effort.

As for what Oprah Winfrey might think? Given Duke's current status and position, he had no need to worry about it.

"I also received another piece of information." Penny Kalis's expression suddenly turned serious. "Oprah Winfrey's people have gone to the Middle East and Northern Europe."

Duke frowned slightly. "What is she trying to do?"

"It's most likely a tactic aimed at your appearance on the show," Penny Kalis replied. "Even if you refuse to participate, if she manages to bring the target onto her stage, she can still manufacture a highly sensational episode."

Anyone who watched The Oprah Winfrey Show constantly saw Oprah Winfrey portraying an image of deep understanding and warmth. After digging up her guests' so-called pasts and exposing their scars, she would shed tears right alongside them when the moment called for it. The comforting embraces she offered with her full, warm figure were especially renowned.

But how was it that she could always dig out the hidden side of celebrities? Did her words truly hold some kind of magic?

Of course not!

As everyone knew, every episode was meticulously scripted and designed. Long before the cameras rolled, Oprah Winfrey's company and team conducted massive, highly targeted investigations. If a celebrity had suffered childhood abuse at the hands of their father, for instance, that father would very likely make an appearance on the show. The program would mercilessly rip open the guest's scars, allowing her to jump out and play the sympathizer or savior...

The Oprah Winfrey Show appeared to be a highly conscientious program. Yet, just like any other media, its production and preparation processes were as far removed from the word "conscience" as the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean combined.

Hearing Penny Kalis's words, Duke immediately guessed what Oprah Winfrey was attempting to do.

Even though his mother never brought him up and Duke had never investigated him, he vaguely knew that his father spent his time bouncing between Northern Europe and the Middle East.

But just how difficult would it be for a talk show to invite a man who utterly despised showing his face in public and wasn't lacking for money?

Duke instructed Tina Fey to reject all the invitations, including Oprah Winfrey's, and promptly tossed the matter to the back of his mind. Even if Oprah Winfrey actually managed to invite his estranged father, he didn't care. The man had been missing for nearly thirty years, after all.

If Oprah Winfrey could actually find him, all the better. Duke wouldn't mind seeing what the man looked like after thirty years unseen.

Ending the discussion regarding television appearances, Duke and the cast embarked on their cross-country promotional tour to continue drumming up hype for The Two Towers. In every city they visited, the team whipped up a tornado-like frenzy among fans, driving both the box office numbers and merchandise sales ever higher.