Chapter 525: Explosion Scenes

Upon returning to Los Angeles, Duke gave the cast and crew a five-day break. He rested for only two days himself before gathering John Schwartzman's cinematography team and Josh William's pyrotechnics crew in the massive hangar at the Hughes Aircraft Plant to prepare for shooting the explosion sequences without actors.

The film featured several explosions where the characters were right in the thick of the action, such as Bruce Wayne blowing up the Shadow Warrior Alliance monastery.

Few directors, however, would actually put their actors in the middle of a live explosion. Some who pursued practical on-location effects might use forced perspective, but a technical director like Duke preferred compositing over putting his cast at unnecessary risk.

The reason was simple: if an actor got hurt, even aside from the financial fallout, he couldn't afford the resulting delays.

With current computer technology, shooting the explosion plates and the actors' performances separately before compositing them was a very straightforward process.

"Josh, how are the preparations coming along?"

Walking into the hangar that had been converted into a temporary soundstage, Duke greeted Josh William and headed toward the models deep inside.

"I only prepared one model," Duke added as he walked. "If there's a mistake, the entire shooting schedule will be affected."

"Rest assured, Duke," Josh William said with supreme confidence. "I guarantee we'll achieve the effect you want on the first try."

Explosions were arguably the earliest tool Duke had used to build his reputation and draw crowds. However, due to the nature of the projects he took on after The Matrix, he hadn't engaged in such unbridled on-screen destruction since.

Compared to his earlier works, the explosions in the Batman Trilogy would certainly be much more restrained.

As he approached the hangar's blast zone, over a dozen crew members were bustling around a fully constructed model. It stood a full twenty feet tall, featuring the Shadow Warrior Alliance monastery built onto a mountainside. Aside from serving as the subject for wide exterior shots, this model's most crucial function was a single explosion scene.

Bruce Wayne's destruction of the monastery also shattered his bond with Henri Ducard, a man who had been both a mentor and a father figure to him.

"John..."

Duke called out as he stood before the model. He waited for John Schwartzman to stride over before asking, "Are the cameras set up?"

"The interior micro-cameras are good to go," John Schwartzman said, pointing to the crane arm above the model. "Once we calibrate Camera One for the overhead aerial shot, we're ready to roll."

"Stay safe," Duke reminded him.

As always when shooting explosions, Duke used micro-cameras to simultaneously capture the blast from inside the structure. In the early 1990s, this was a highly innovative technique, but following the massive success of his films, almost every explosion scene in Hollywood now utilized it.

Much like Bullet Time and Explosion Time, this cinematic technique carried an indelible, Duke-style trademark throughout Hollywood and the entire North American film market.

However, compared to his initial fanaticism for blowing things up, the experience of producing several films had made Duke far more calm and objective on set. He was no longer the madman director who worshipped explosions.

Still, whenever an explosion was needed to assault the audience's visual and auditory senses, he would utilize it without hesitation.

Half an hour later, Duke retreated beyond the safe distance.

Picking up a megaphone, he shouted, "Clear the set! Clear the set right now!"

Aside from Josh William's pyrotechnics team performing their final checks, the rest of the crew retreated behind the safety line. Another ten minutes passed before Duke received the all-clear from Josh William and announced the start of the shoot.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..." The countdown echoed through the hangar. "Three, two, one, detonate!"

A thunderous boom rang out as a fireball shot upward. The sheer noise and visual impact were astonishing, yet its actual destructive power was severely limited. Long before the rising flames could reach the hangar ceiling, they lost all momentum and gently dissipated. Only plumes of smoke curled upward, swiftly sucked away by the exhaust fans overhead and vented into the atmosphere outside.

Josh William had long since become one of Hollywood's premier pyrotechnicians. He had run meticulous calculations and tests prior to the blast, and the resulting effect perfectly matched Duke's requirements.

Duke stood behind the monitors, reviewing the footage they had just captured. Nodding in satisfaction, he turned to an assistant and said, "Tell Josh and John to transition to the next setup."

His sole purpose for coming here today was destruction—blowing up all the meticulously constructed models the crew had built.

The crew moved to the opposite diagonal corner of the hangar, where models of the elevated monorail train and the building's basement had already been erected. John Schwartzman's men quickly positioned their cameras while Josh William's pyrotechnics team stood by, waiting for the camera crew to finish before moving in to plant the explosives.

Because he had thoroughly communicated with Josh William and John Schwartzman beforehand, Duke simply stood on the periphery. Professional tasks were best left to professionals; for the most part, a director was a coordinator, not an executor.

He hadn't been watching for long when an assistant walked over and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Doug Walter is here."

Hearing that the CEO of Warner Brothers had arrived, Duke temporarily handed control of the set over to Anna Printz and headed toward the hangar entrance. He didn't have to walk far before he saw Doug Walter approaching.

The two men exchanged familiar greetings and walked further into the hangar.

"Is the shoot going smoothly?" Doug Walter asked as they stood on the outskirts of the temporary set. "I heard you ran into quite a bit of trouble in Iceland."

"Mainly the weather," Duke said, adjusting his jacket slightly. "The winter climate in Iceland is brutal. The freezing temperatures and gale-force winds were worse than in previous years. Fortunately, the crew still managed to wrap up the shooting schedule on time."

"I just came from Marvel Pictures," Doug Walter said directly. "I've essentially reached an agreement with Kevin Feige and Avi Arad. For the next three years, Warner Brothers will act as Marvel's distributor."

Duke's eyes immediately lit up. "That's great news."

Anyone with even a basic understanding of the industry knew just how crucial a robust distribution network was to a film's success.

"Duke..." Doug Walter suddenly sighed. "DC's superhero movies have been sinking for too long. Batman..." He shook his head slightly. "Bruce Wayne cannot endure another failure on the big screen."

"I know," Duke said after a moment's thought. "I want my movie to succeed more than anyone."

What kind of eccentric director would actually want to see their own production bomb?

Duke could guess some of the thoughts running through Doug Walter's—and indeed all of Warner Brothers'—minds. DC's superheroes had been dormant for far too long. Now, watching the likes of Spider-Man and the X-Men rake in massive profits at the box office and in the merchandising market, how could they not be jealous?

Furthermore, if Duke's proposed assembly plan succeeded, it was bound to create an unprecedented era of glory in superhero film history.

As the CEO of Warner Brothers, Doug Walter was undeniably a busy man. After discussing the marketing and distribution plans for Batman Begins with Duke a little longer, he took the initiative to say his goodbyes.

From beginning to end, neither man brought up the long-delayed negotiations regarding Duke Studio and Pixar Studio.

In reality, these two closely intertwined negotiations had already slipped beyond the control of Doug Walter and Warner Brothers management. Because the equity and financial transactions involved were so colossal, the Time Warner Group had stepped in to take over the talks.

It actually wasn't complicated at all. If Pixar Studio and Duke Studio successfully completed their equity swaps with Warner Brothers, the shares that Duke and Steve Jobs received would inevitably affect the Time Warner Group's controlling stake in Warner Brothers. Negotiations involving billions of dollars were never easy. Forget the fact that formal talks had been going on for less than a year; even if they dragged out for several more, it would be entirely normal.

Of course, neither Duke nor Steve Jobs was opposed to becoming a shareholder in a world-class media conglomerate.

In fact, during a recent phone call, both men had subtly expressed that their ideal outcome would be securing seats on the board of directors.

After seeing Doug Walter off, Duke refocused his full attention on the shoot. This was an explosion triggered by a collision, meaning the exact timing of the blast in relation to the models crashing had to be perfectly controlled. Fortunately, with Josh William's years of honed experience, mastering this aspect posed little issue. After just one take, Duke called it a wrap for the scene.

The day's work concluded there. Over the next few days, while the actors remained on break, Duke focused almost entirely on the pyrotechnics. He strove to use this window to finish shooting the vast majority of the film's explosion sequences.

He waited in the hangar's office area for a while before his car arrived, having already picked up Tina Fey. Duke got in, glanced at the silent female assistant sitting next to him, and said directly to the driver, "Back to Malibu."

Once the car started and merged onto the main road, Tina Fey suddenly reached out and pressed a button, raising the privacy partition between the front and rear seats. It seemed she had something very important to tell him.

"Did something happen?" Duke asked.

Tina Fey didn't answer immediately. Instead, she opened her briefcase, pulled out a manila envelope, and handed it over. "Attorney Al Ryder asked me to give this to you."

Duke took it, broke the seal, and began flipping through the pages. The contents weren't exactly classified; they were all files detailing Donald Trump's situation. It contained evidence attorney Al Ryder had gathered showing how the man was exploiting Duke's name for his own profit.

Under North American law, Duke was perfectly within his rights to demand that Donald Trump pay him a portion of the profits generated from these activities. But after thinking it over, he handed the envelope back to Tina Fey.

"Let's shelve these matters for now," he said. He knew full well how much Ivanka valued her father.

It was obvious Tina Fey also didn't want to see Duke and Ivanka pass the point of no return. She quickly tucked the file away and changed the subject. "The global theatrical run for Taken has officially ended. I've just received the latest statistical data."