Chapter 475: Moviegoing Craze

"Congratulations, Duke."

Inside CAA's Century City office, Eno Martin had dialed Duke's number the moment he arrived for work on Saturday. "Besides congratulations, I really don't know what else to say. Return of the King... well, let's play golf together when you have time. Goodbye."

Setting down the phone, Eno Martin looked across the desk at one of his top clients—Leonardo DiCaprio.

"Duke himself is probably numb to it by now." Leonardo was noticeably heavier than before. "The funny thing is that some idiots can't read the situation and actually tried to snipe Return of the King!"

Though his words were subtle, Leonardo's tone carried a hint of warning. He knew a little of what had happened; while his agent hadn't directly intervened recently, whether he had fanned the flames behind the scenes was hard to say.

Eno Martin chuckled. Against a Super A-lister like Leonardo DiCaprio, even Michael Ovitz at his absolute peak wouldn't have had much capital to push back, let alone Eno right now.

True, he could choose not to care about Leonardo, but if the actor wanted to, he could fire him on the spot. As for the breach of contract fee, countless talent agencies in Hollywood would happily pay it on his behalf. Moreover, even if Eno wanted to retaliate, without the cooperation of a major media conglomerate, he couldn't do much damage to Leonardo.

CAA was indeed still the largest entertainment agency in North America, but Eno Martin wasn't foolish enough to become arrogant. Even if CAA tried to stir up trouble, would Hollywood studios really refuse to work with a Super A-list superstar like this?

Besides, the actor was CAA's poster boy, a sharp weapon they used to push their package deals.

With Leonardo involved, it was only natural for CAA to insert their own personnel into a project.

As for whether Leonardo's earlier words had bruised his ego, Eno Martin didn't give it a second thought. From the day he became a talent agent, he had thrown his sense of shame straight into the Pacific Ocean.

Besides, he knew Michael Ovitz was also in contact with Leonardo, trying to pull him into Martin Scorsese's new project.

"Alright, Eno, that's enough for today." Leonardo stood up. "I promised to play a round of golf with Duke."

Watching Leonardo DiCaprio leave, Eno Martin sighed. He had only given things a secret nudge a while back, but he never expected Leonardo to react so strongly. Was his relationship with Duke Rosenberg genuinely that good?

Ever since Martin Bob stepped down, his relationship with Duke had rapidly cooled. The two had only aligned because of a common enemy, and now that the enemy was gone, their so-called united front had naturally ceased to exist. Furthermore, the director was now much closer to Eno's current rival, Pat Kingsley.

Although the Hollywood film market was steadily growing, its pace wasn't particularly fast. The overall pie was only so big, and there was no chance Duke Rosenberg would ever work with CAA. The two sides were destined to have some level of competition. At the right moment, Eno Martin wouldn't mind giving things a push from behind to strike at an invisible rival.

But seeing the previous day's box office statistics that he just received today, Eno Martin couldn't help but offer a bitter smile. Duke Rosenberg's sheer dominance truly couldn't be shaken by such petty tricks.

Taking in 40.35 million dollars in just one day on Friday—such a result would put anyone who had schemed against him to shame.

Looking over the numbers once more, Eno Martin gradually made up his mind. He must never become an open enemy to Duke Rosenberg like those two idiots, Martin Bob and Michael Ovitz.

"Leo, are you really planning to change your image?"

Putting away his golf club, Duke headed back and sat under the parasol. Beside him, Leonardo was turning a glass in his hands. He looked up and replied, "I'm not like you, able to force the School into a corner. If I want to win an award, I have to take more practical action."

He suddenly brought up someone else. "I saw Sally a while ago, and she looked almost like a completely different person."

"Oh? How so?" Duke asked curiously.

Leonardo made a few gestures. "She shaved off her eyebrows, and she's gotten so fat..."

Ever since arriving at the golf club, Duke had noticed from Leonardo's words a growing obsession with winning awards. He had offered a few words of advice, but Leonardo had long reached his absolute peak in terms of commercial success, making it nearly impossible to surpass himself there. Winning an Oscar had naturally become his greatest pursuit, rendering Duke's advice completely useless.

This concerned another person's career and future, so Duke couldn't do much more. Besides, Leonardo's status in Hollywood was no lower than his own. Though they were friends, it wasn't as if the other man would take orders from him.

Duke knew very well that he didn't possess some magical aura that made others blindly follow his every word. After advising him briefly and seeing Leonardo stick to his guns, he dropped the subject.

Leonardo also intentionally changed the subject, choosing instead to talk about Duke's Return of the King.

"Not even Cameron back in the day managed to do what you've done." Leonardo looked at Duke, a teasing smile spreading across his face as if he'd stumbled upon something incredibly amusing. "Duke, you've forced the School into making a choice."

Duke shrugged. "I haven't forced them into anything."

"But they have to make a choice," Leonardo said, full of enthusiasm. "If they want to uphold their usual traditions and continue ignoring you and Return of the King, refusing to award major prizes to non-realistic films, they won't just be criticized by the press and boycotted by countless protesting fans, it'll also impact the fairness they so proudly flaunt..."

Duke just smiled, not saying a word.

"And if they give the heavyweight Golden Statuette to you and Return of the King, that'll be even more interesting," Leonardo continued. "It's a non-realistic film. The Oscars have never seen anything like it."

"You seem very happy to see them put in a tough spot?" Duke tilted his head, looking at him.

"Of course," Leonardo said matter-of-factly. "I want an Oscar because I have no other goals left commercially, but that doesn't mean I like those people. I really want to see them squirm."

"A suggestion, Leo." Duke stood up. "Once you win your Best Actor Golden Statuette, throw it straight into your trash can at home. The looks on those old men's faces will be priceless."

Leonardo's eyes immediately lit up. "That's a great idea."

Although Duke had taken a moment to relax and play a round of golf with Leonardo, the promotion for The Two Towers hadn't relaxed in the slightest. While the internet was rapidly rising during this era, the power of traditional media still couldn't be ignored. Outlets followed by movie enthusiasts, in particular, remained a crucial battleground for film promotion.

Film critics were badmouthing Return of the King, but in the face of massive promotional budgets and overwhelming media hype, their voices were pitifully small.

Especially for professional print media like Hollywood Reporter, the crucial front-page headlines were almost entirely dedicated to content related to Return of the King.

"The original The Lord of the Rings is truly a seamless, ultra-long fantasy epic. After watching the premiere of Return of the King, the heavy weight in my heart has finally been lifted—Duke Rosenberg did not let anyone down. He blessed the third installment with even more thrilling scenes, all while maintaining a highly consistent overall style with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. This finally elevates the film trilogy into a miraculous, cohesive masterpiece. No one can deny that it is a flawless recreation of the original book!"

"The success of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is inseparable from the profound depth of the source material. The crystallization of Tolkien's lifelong wisdom guarantees the brilliance of every film, but the success of these movies relies even more on director Duke Rosenberg's unique talent."

"This young director may not possess Quentin Tarantino's quirky genius for bending genres, nor does he have Steven Spielberg's capacity for humanistic reflection, but he possesses astonishing creativity and integration skills. His comprehensive abilities are even more outstanding!"

"In truth, the more famous the original work, the harder it is to adapt. For a masterpiece as profound as The Lord of the Rings in particular, adaptation is a nearly impossible task. Yet Duke Rosenberg achieved it near flawlessly. I do not believe anyone else could have done a better job, and I am confident no other director would dare guarantee they could outdo him.

"Based on this alone, if he fails to win the Oscar Best Director Award this time, it will be the Oscars' loss. There are plenty of directors in this world who can shoot an 'art film' that wins acclaim; you could grab a handful of them anywhere. But when it comes to turning The Lord of the Rings Trilogy into a breathtakingly stunning fantasy classic, even if Duke isn't completely one of a kind, he is certainly one of a very select few."

"In that sense, Duke Rosenberg—whose character is as resolute and unyielding as Aragorn—deserves to be acknowledged and saluted by everyone, just like King Elessar in the films."

"Lastly, I want to say that three years of anticipation were not in vain. The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King is as magnificent and majestic as its name suggests, handing in a perfect answer sheet. To witness Duke and his The Lord of the Rings Trilogy create a miracle, we sincerely feel lucky and happy!"

The media guided public opinion, public opinion mobilized audiences, and the audiences watched the film. The film ignited soaring emotions, and those emotions spread through the crowds, ultimately transforming into explosive word of mouth. That word of mouth spread everywhere, driving even more people into theaters, thus forming a virtuous cycle.

On this Saturday, major theaters across North America welcomed their most frantic moviegoing craze since the start of 2003. Across North America, nearly eight million viewers flooded into cinemas, and they all shared a single target—the final chapter of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Return of the King!

It wasn't just in North America. Because The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers had triggered such massive global reactions, Return of the King was simultaneously released in over seventy overseas countries and regions. Almost without exception, it ignited a moviegoing frenzy.