Chapter 555: The Nostalgia Effect

Even though its global premiere was held at Cannes, Star Wars Prequel 3: Revenge of the Sith still organized a massive North American premiere. Many celebrities and elites, Duke included, accepted their invitations and arrived at the event.

Walking quickly down the red carpet, Duke spotted numerous renowned industry figures in the waiting area by the theater doors. The four great directors, including Martin Scorsese, Francis Coppola, and Steven Spielberg, had all arrived. Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Tom Hanks, and Tom Cruise added to the premiere's star-studded brilliance.

Standing in front of the theater and looking down the red carpet, he saw a massive crowd of guests still streaming in. Duke knew full well that this was the power of the Star Wars Series.

Once all the guests had cleared the red carpet, two squads of Imperial Stormtroopers marched out and occupied both sides, drawing waves of cheers from the surrounding fans. Then, heavy breathing echoed through the loudspeakers—the classic sound of Darth Vader. Both sides of the red carpet quickly fell silent. Everyone seemed to be listening intently. Their beloved Darth Vader was back!

Duke could even see a few fans rubbing their eyes, as if wiping away tears.

He used to love this franchise too, mostly because of the bald girl standing next to George Lucas. Only after coming to this country did he deeply feel the unique charm that belonged solely to Star Wars. Some might ask what this series had to offer besides special effects, but as long as it was called Star Wars, that was enough.

As long as a film belonged to the Star Wars Series and wasn't shot terribly, it was practically a guaranteed box office hit!

Then again, no matter how bad a Star Wars film was, could it be any worse than Attack of the Clones?

Without a doubt, playing Darth Vader's breathing at the premiere was a deliberate emotional play meant to stir up the audience's Star Wars nostalgia. Cinematic nostalgia was invisible and intangible, yet it could be converted into real, solid profits.

Take Duke's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, for example.

After this year's Oscar Awards Ceremony, Warner Brothers released another DVD edition of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It was simply a complete boxed set. This wasn't the extended director's cut Duke had edited; it merely repackaged the original DVDs into a unified box and added a total of one hour of extra footage and behind-the-scenes features.

Even so, countless people still paid for it. Within a week of its release, the DVD generated over 130 million dollars in global sales, and to date, its total sales had surpassed 200 million dollars.

The fact that these people were willing to open their wallets proved that Lord of the Rings nostalgia played a massive role.

Even without running a survey, Duke could guess that at least seventy percent of the people buying this DVD had already purchased the previous standalone discs, and at least ninety percent of them had watched the series more than once through various channels.

Yet they still paid for The Lord of the Rings. More accurately, they were paying for their own Lord of the Rings nostalgia.

"What are you thinking about?"

A question with a flat, nasal tone suddenly rang out beside him. Duke didn't need to look to know who had walked over. Without even turning his head, he replied, "I'm thinking about how long it's been since we last saw each other."

"Not long. Just a few months."

Stepping forward in sharp, slender heels, Sofia Coppola came to stand beside Duke, deliberately putting on a curious tone. "Why did you come alone?"

Duke gave a slight shrug. "Aren't I single right now?"

"That's not right. I heard..." Sofia leaned in slightly, speaking in a teasing tone. "I heard Scar has been getting pretty close to you lately."

"It's almost time." Ignoring her, Duke checked his watch and led the way into the theater. "Let's head inside."

"Don't tell me you still haven't moved on from your last relationship?"

Sofia muttered behind him. Among Duke's few friends, only Sofia would speak so casually without any reservations.

"That doesn't make sense. How could a guy who changes women as often as he changes clothes ever get his heart broken?"

Acting as if he hadn't heard a word, Duke didn't bother responding to Sofia and walked straight into the VIP lounge.

Upon entering the VIP lounge, Sofia Coppola immediately stopped her joking monologue. After all, it was crowded inside, and a few people had already come over to greet them.

"It's been a while, Duke."

The man who walked over was Steven Spielberg. Duke took a step forward to meet him and shook his hand. "It really has been a while, Steven."

"Hello, Uncle Steven."

Sofia was smart. Seeing that Spielberg had come over specifically to talk to Duke, she simply greeted him and then stood silently by Duke's side.

Spielberg didn't beat around the bush. "Duke, do you hold the film rights to Hasbro's Transformers toy line?"

"That's right." Duke didn't deny it, nodding. "I acquired them a few years ago."

Hearing this, a trace of regret appeared on Spielberg's face, but he still probed, "Any chance of a collaboration with DreamWorks?"

"Sorry, Steven." Duke declined tactfully. "I have no plans to produce this franchise in the short term."

He had no personal grievances with Spielberg, but striking down DreamWorks was a fundamental matter of stance. Even if Duke wanted to shoot a live-action Transformers movie right now, he still wouldn't accept an investment from DreamWorks.

DreamWorks was currently struggling to survive. Once jokingly dubbed by the media as Hollywood's seventh-largest studio, they had now reached the edge of a cliff and would very likely plunge into the abyss this summer.

As for the reason—although Scarlett wasn't starring in it, The Island was still set to hit theaters this summer. Michael Bay hadn't had much luck in recent years, and it was virtually impossible for him to change the film's fate.

Even if the film's quality turned out better than it originally was, DreamWorks was surrounded by six starving wolves. Achieving success wouldn't be anywhere near that easy.

Spielberg wasn't a fool either. Seeing Duke respond this way, he didn't press the issue and proactively changed the subject.

"I heard Iron Man is about to be officially greenlit. Are you looking for an actress to play Pepper Potts?"

Duke gave a slight nod. "Indeed. I plan to hold a large-scale casting call for the role."

"Duke, I have a goddaughter."

As expected, since Spielberg brought up the role, he definitely had an ulterior motive.

"You should know her. Gwyneth Paltrow."

"I'll have someone send her an audition invitation," Duke said agreeably.

It was just an audition, after all, and he certainly had to give Spielberg this much face. Everyone in the industry knew that the old Jewish director had always treated his godchildren well.

"Thank you."

Spielberg offered a word of thanks and walked away.

Looking at his retreating back, Sofia Coppola suddenly sighed. "You have no intention of using Gwyneth Paltrow, do you?"

"You could tell?" Duke turned to look at her.

Sofia shrugged. "Darling, don't forget. I was your personal assistant for several years."

"I really don't plan to use Gwyneth Paltrow." Duke didn't deny it. "But I couldn't just reject Steven to his face over such a small matter, could I?"

"Why not?" Sofia asked, ignoring his rhetorical question. "I've read a bit of the Iron Man comics. Gwyneth's personal image is actually somewhat similar to Pepper Potts."

"How is her work ethic?" Duke pointed out. "I'm not talking about her romances or private life, but her behavior on set."

Sofia understood what he meant. "Hollywood's most famous case of princess syndrome."

"If she were half as smart as you, she wouldn't have fallen to where she is now."

Duke was stating facts. Gwyneth was notoriously difficult to work with in Hollywood. She often stirred up baffling trouble on set and had ruined her relationships with many directors, including major ones. Ever since winning Oscar Best Actress, her acting career had been going steadily downhill. If her godfather wasn't Spielberg, and if she hadn't elevated her prestige through the fashion industry, she wouldn't have been able to maintain her current status at all.

Furthermore, Duke knew very well that hiring Gwyneth Paltrow wouldn't bring much benefit. Her princess syndrome would only get worse over time.

Just like how Australians hated Nicole Kidman, and the British never liked Hollywood's English roses, it wouldn't be long before the American public grew thoroughly sick of Gwyneth Paltrow. Meanwhile, Pepper Potts would be appearing in multiple Marvel movies. Although it was mostly an eye-candy supporting role, if they could find someone else, why cast such a troublesome actress?

From start to finish, Duke had never once considered casting Gwyneth Paltrow.

Staff members entered the VIP lounge and guided the guests toward the screening room. Duke and Sofia walked into the theater together, swapped seats with a few people to sit next to each other, and settled in to enjoy the movie.

The waiting time was always boring. Looking at the bald woman standing next to George Lucas in the front row, Sofia suddenly asked, "I heard you had a fling with her too?"

"That was a long time ago." Duke didn't shy away from the topic. Glancing at the woman who was now sporting a buzz cut, he noted, "She's a very smart and calculating woman."

"Compared to me?" Sofia asked.

Duke gave her a look and said bluntly, "In terms of scheming, planning, and endurance, two of you combined still couldn't match her."

"Oh..." Sofia didn't mind. She blinked and deliberately teased, "It seems she left a very deep impression on you."

As the large screen lit up, Duke pointed out, "The movie is starting."

This was the darkest Star Wars film, but its fatal flaw was obvious: Anakin Skywalker's transition was too abrupt and lacked persuasiveness. But that didn't matter. After all, this was Star Wars, and according to George Lucas, it was the final Star Wars movie.

There were absolutely no surprises. Once the new week began, Star Wars Prequel 3: Revenge of the Sith not only dethroned Batman Begins to claim the top spot at the box office, but also set a new North American opening weekend record with 150.04 million dollars.

Yet even under the crushing pressure of Star Wars Prequel 3: Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins still raked in 12.15 million dollars. Combined with its earnings from the previous four weekdays, its cumulative North American box office hit 202.79 million dollars.

As the film's hottest theatrical run came to a close, Duke's focus gradually shifted toward preparing for his new project.