Chapter 465: Next Year Is the Key

A long line stretched from the east side of Nokia Square all the way to the west. Countless people crowded the area, forming a bizarre spectacle. Even so, more people continuously joined the queue. They were willing, even happy, to endure the long wait, because the DVD release of The Two Towers was right before their eyes. The film that had once ignited a viewing frenzy across the entire nation could finally be taken home for their collections.

Mixed in the queue, Kunitz stood on his tiptoes to look ahead. He had been lining up at Nokia Square since three in the morning, originally hoping to make the top ten, but he hadn't even cracked the top hundred. Long before his arrival, a massive crowd had already gathered in the square, with many bringing tents to camp out for their spots.

"This is Duke's film..."

Behind him, his companion Jones kept muttering, "We should have lined up yesterday evening. I can't wait anymore."

"It's only a hundred or so people ahead of us." Kunitz remained perfectly calm; after all, he was older. "It will be our turn soon."

He asked Jones, "Are we buying the standard edition or the deluxe box set?"

Without a second thought, Jones replied, "The deluxe box set, of course. Did you forget? The commercials said it includes a special cut of Return of the King. The movie doesn't come out until May, and it's only February now. I can't wait."

"I can't wait either."

Kunitz also desperately wanted to know what kind of final chapter Duke would deliver after such a spectacular two-part saga.

When eight thirty arrived, the audiovisual stores in Nokia Square opened on time. After waiting for about twenty minutes, Jones and Kunitz were let inside with the third batch of customers. Like everyone else entering the store, they ignored all the other merchandise. They charged straight toward The Two Towers DVD section and each grabbed a $39.90 deluxe box set off the shelf.

After paying, they walked out of the store. Kunitz gazed into the distance; even with the doors open, the line had not gotten any shorter. Instead, it had stretched even longer.

This was the first day of The Two Towers DVD sales. It would probably sell an astronomical figure once again, wouldn't it?

Harboring such thoughts, Jones and Kunitz got into their car and rushed home. They couldn't wait to see what Return of the King looked like.

The black Chevrolet left Nokia Square, moving like lightning, and parked on Bruncote Avenue just a dozen minutes later. Kunitz didn't go back to his own place; he followed Jones into his home because it was closer, which meant he could see what he wanted to see sooner!

They turned on the TV and played the DVD. They fast-forwarded all the way, and Return of the King finally revealed its true face.

A majestic white city stood against the mountain. Even though it had flashed across the screen during the first movie, Jones and Kunitz still widened their eyes. Their gazes were filled with disbelief; this was exactly what Minas Tirith should look like.

The next moment, their mouths fell open. It was a panoramic view of the battlefield—cavalry covering the hills and plains, charging in a wedge formation straight into a boundless sea of Orcs...

The cavalry charge at Helm's Deep was already unparalleled in its scale, but compared to the scene right in front of them, it was truly nothing!

The camera swept through the Orc formations—half-orcs, trolls, and even giant mammoths. It was simply a massive gathering of monsters, making the viewer endlessly worry: could humanity actually win? Could the White City hold out? How much courage would mankind need to muster to face such a cataclysm?

Then came footage of yet another battle. The human army gathered before the Black Gate. The Black Gate opened, and the forces of Mordor swarmed out in full strength, tightly surrounding the humans...

"I'm dying, I'm dying..." Jones muttered softly. "I'm going to die! Just thinking about how I have to wait nearly three more months to see this movie makes me feel like I'd be better off dead!"

Saying that, Jones prepared to rewind it, but Kunitz stopped him. "Don't watch it again. If I watch it again, I'll end up just like you. God, I've never wished for time to pass faster than I do right now."

The two of them sat on the sofa, suddenly at a loss for words. Even though the video clip on the DVD was just over three minutes long, it was incredibly brilliant. Faced with such magnificence, words were completely inadequate.

A full five minutes passed before Jones suddenly gritted his teeth. "To think the Oscar only gave such an amazing film seven nominations—it's simply outrageous!"

"What's even more outrageous is that out of those seven nominations, The Two Towers will probably only win one or two consolation prizes." Kunitz also looked indignant. "The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has always discriminated against Duke!"

"Kuni..." Jones seemed to have thought of something. "If Duke still comes home empty-handed from this Oscar, I think we should do something for him. He has dedicated so many amazing movies to us, and every time he makes one, he considers our needs first. I think we..."

"Yes, exactly!" Kunitz's eyes gradually lit up. "We might not be able to make our voices heard in the media, but we can rally more people online to support Duke."

"If the Oscar still refuses to acknowledge Duke after Return of the King, we'll rally people to protest and tear down the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences! They owe Duke!"

......

"The School owes me?" Duke laughed. "They don't owe anyone."

He stood up, took a lap around the balcony, and looked into the pitch-black night sky as he said, "At the very least, the old men at the School believe they don't owe anyone."

"This Oscar..." Ivanka asked.

Duke shrugged at her. "We'll still just be along for the ride."

Even though The Two Towers had snagged seven nominations—including Best Picture, Best Sound, Best Director, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects—at the 2003 Oscar Nominees Luncheon held last week, it was still destined to just be a spectator.

"Then we can only wait until next year?"

The ocean breeze blowing in was a bit strong. Ivanka stood up, fetched Duke's jacket, and draped it over his shoulders.

"Next year is the best opportunity." Duke pulled his clothes a bit tighter. "After next year, it'll be very difficult to get the Best Director Golden Statuette again."

His filmmaking style had already determined that he wouldn't be the kind of director the School liked; he would even be the type they discriminated against.

Footsteps came from outside the balcony. Tina Fey walked in holding a document and handed it directly to Duke. "Warner Brothers just faxed this over. The first-week DVD sales statistics are out."

Ivanka revealed an interested expression. "How much?"

"It broke records again!" Tina Fey said with a smile.

Duke flipped it open and took a look. During the first week of The Two Towers DVD release, in North America alone, the $19.90 standard edition sold 6.1 million copies, and the $39.90 deluxe box set sold over 1.1 million copies. Cumulative sales in North America reached $147.22 million, easily surpassing the $132.5 million first-week sales of The Fellowship of the Ring.

"The movie is about to leave theaters, isn't it?"

Even as a layman, Ivanka knew that since the DVD was already released, The Two Towers was definitely at the very tail end of its theatrical run.

In truth, the movie's hype had basically dissipated. It maintained a total of around 400 theaters across major cities in North America, which, to a certain extent, was purely for the Oscar nominations.

Now that the nomination list was announced, there was no longer any need for the film to continue screening.

Duke just hadn't expected the final theater run to last all the way until the eve of the Oscar Awards Ceremony. The reason was simple: after the DVD stirred up many fans' emotions, they realized that the special effects and grand scenes felt completely different on the big screen compared to a TV set. Quite a few people chose to step back into theaters to experience the impact of the massive epic all over again.

Furthermore, even the most prejudiced people had to admit that neither The Fellowship of the Ring nor The Two Towers were fast-food popcorn movies.

By the week before the Oscar Awards Ceremony, The Two Towers vanished completely from North American theaters. The North American box office ultimately stalled at $521.32 million, making it the second film in North American cinematic history to surpass the 500 million mark.

As for the overseas market, apart from a few small countries that had bought out the film's theatrical rights, The Two Towers had basically concluded its run. The cumulative global box office reached a staggering $1.31288 billion, successfully surpassing The Fellowship of the Ring to take the throne as the second highest-grossing film globally.

The Two Towers achieved immense commercial success, yet at the subsequent Oscar Awards Ceremony, it once again became one of the disappointed losers. Even without its strong rival Chicago, the film merely snagged two consolatory technical awards: Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects.

However, Duke didn't mind too much; after all, it was only the second installment.

"I told you that you wouldn't win an award."

As he walked out of the Kodak Theater, Duke bumped into Roger Ebert. More accurately, the man seemed to have been intentionally waiting for him at the exit. The most famous film critic in the country kept his voice low, yet he made no effort to conceal his hostile attitude.

"Not this year, and still not the next," he said.

Duke merely offered a faint smile. "Then we'll have to wait until next year's results are out."

Watching Duke walk away without a care in the world, Roger Ebert completely ignored the glances others cast his way. He walked out of the Kodak Theater, pulled out his Mobile Phone to dial a few numbers, and then headed toward a café in the Highland Center.

The café wasn't far. After walking for just over a dozen minutes, Roger Ebert pushed the door open and entered. Scanning the room briefly, he spotted several other famous film critics sitting together and quickly went over to join them.

"We won again."

As a full-time film critic for the Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy was in a very good mood. Ever since a certain someone touched their piece of the pie, he had been waiting for this day.

"We cannot relax." David Denby was still rather cautious. "Don't forget, next year is the key. If he gets his way next year, everything we've done over the past two years will turn into a joke."

"He won't get his way!" Roger Ebert said with absolute certainty. "Our influence over commercial movies is indeed getting smaller and smaller, but this is the awards season, our final stronghold!"

The group vaguely treated him as their leader.

Roger Ebert confidently took charge and said, "This Oscar has ended, but our work is not over yet. We can remind the School ahead of time what kind of choice they should make next year!"