Chapter 558: The Shadow Over the Downey Family

This had originally been a mid-sized soundstage, but since Duke had been shooting action films for the past few years, Jimmy Carter needed a dedicated training hall. At Duke's suggestion, Warner Brothers funded its renovation, turning the space into a professional facility that combined fitness, combat, and endurance training.

Standing in the rest area, Duke watched Jimmy Carter's assistants help Scarlett with her stunt training and asked the man beside him, "How is she doing?"

Having worked together for years, Jimmy Carter didn't sugarcoat it. "Scar is working hard, but she's constrained by her build. Her natural talent for this kind of thing is pretty average."

Duke gave a slight nod, unsurprised by Carter's assessment. If someone with her figure could seamlessly become a master of close-quarters combat, it would practically defy the laws of physics.

But this was just a movie. A smoking-hot Agent Natasha Romanoff would be far more popular with audiences than a flat-chested Black Widow.

Besides, aside from a handful of basic moves, Scarlett's role was mostly to show off her face and figure. The difficult stunts would naturally be handled by a double.

Duke knew that if Scarlett Johansson got hurt, his mother certainly wouldn't be happy.

As he had noted before, any relationship took time to cultivate and deepen. Having spent over a decade together, his mother cared deeply for her goddaughter.

Looking away from Scarlett, Duke turned his gaze to the other side of the hall. A man with long dark brown hair was working out under the guidance of a professional trainer. Perhaps because of his grown-out beard, he looked somewhat haggard—a perfect reflection of his current circumstances.

This was Robert Downey Jr.

"He's working hard, too," Jimmy Carter added. "He wasn't originally part of our training plan, but after he was officially cast as Tony Stark, he asked to join the fitness program."

"It seems he finally understands the importance of hard work." Duke looked at Robert Downey Jr. "Keep a close eye on him. Our collaboration won't just be this one time."

In his past life, Robert Downey Jr. had been held up as the model of a prodigal son turning his life around. But Duke had spent years in Hollywood and knew exactly how muddy its waters could be. Whether Downey had truly kicked his drug addiction then was something perhaps only his manager and personal assistant knew for sure.

The Downey Family was deeply overshadowed by drugs. His father, Robert Downey Sr., was a famous Hollywood producer, screenwriter, and textbook addict. Robert Downey Jr. himself had enjoyed massive popularity in the early nineties before falling into a drug addiction he couldn't pull himself out of, eventually leading to a stint in prison. And not long after that, Downey's son had also been exposed by the media for drug use...

They were, in every sense, a typical Hollywood family.

The only silver lining was that while Robert Downey Jr. had once been a complete screw-up, he had eventually had a wake-up call, and it hadn't come too late.

Regardless, Jimmy Carter's observations proved that Robert Downey Jr. was displaying enough dedication and professionalism. That put Duke's mind at ease over his casting choice.

After all, this was an actor he had pushed hard to cast. If a scandal really broke out, it wouldn't reflect well on him.

Pulling his gaze back from the training area, Duke discussed the production schedule for a moment longer before suddenly changing the subject.

"Jimmy, have you ever considered opening a martial arts school and taking on students?" he asked jokingly.

"Like Bruce Lee?" Jimmy Carter asked.

Duke gave a slight nod. "Something like that."

"My true passion is still film," Jimmy Carter said after a moment of thought. "You know me. I'm not really interested in that. Besides, combat in movies and practical martial arts are two entirely different things."

Seeing that he had no interest, Duke dropped the subject. The two shifted their discussion to the combat sequences they needed to design for the film.

This didn't just include live-action hand-to-hand combat, but also the movements required while wearing the Iron Battle Suit.

Jimmy Carter suddenly asked, "Duke, have you ever read Japanese mecha manga?"

"No..." Duke shook his head slowly. "I've barely dabbled in that."

"For Iron Man's close-quarters combat," Jimmy Carter said, having clearly done his research, "I think we can draw inspiration from mecha melee attack styles."

Duke thought it over and replied, "Draft a complete proposal for me."

When it came to action choreography, Jimmy Carter was the true expert. While Duke could conceptualize the scenes, his strengths lay in cinematography and action editing. His own fight designs couldn't compare to Jimmy Carter's.

Naturally, professional matters were best left to professionals.

"Hi, Duke."

Having paused her training, Scarlett Johansson walked over. She was dressed in a white workout suit, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a towel as she greeted him. "Did you come all the way over here just to see me?"

Guessing the situation, Jimmy Carter didn't say a word and tactfully left the rest area.

"This is my job." Watching Scarlett hand her towel off to an assistant, Duke grabbed a sports drink, handed it to her, and asked, "How's it going? Must be exhausting, right?"

"Yeah. It's way more exhausting than acting in an indie drama."

In front of Duke, Scarlett didn't bother hiding her feelings, complaining mildly, "I thought playing the eye candy would be easy, but it turns out the eye candy has to work just as hard."

In the popular consciousness, compared to actresses in indie dramas who were praised for their acting chops, the eye candy in commercial blockbusters always seemed to have it easy. People assumed they could breeze through their roles and find fame without putting in much effort. But in many cases, that couldn't be further from the truth.

How long had Charlize Theron trained for her eye-candy role in The Matrix?

Orlando Bloom had spent months undergoing archery and fitness training to play Legolas, even straining a tendon in his hand at one point.

Never mind Duke's own films; take a past example like Megan Fox. How much effort had she put into Transformers? Only she knew what it truly felt like to sprint thousands of feet in sky-high stilettos.

Everyone who managed to make a name for themselves in this industry was incredibly lucky, but behind that luck was an immense amount of unseen effort.

The same logic applied here. Even with two stunt doubles, Scarlett had to put in just as much effort—if not more—to play Agent Natasha Romanoff as she did for any indie drama.

"You look like you've slimmed down a bit," Duke said, reaching out to take back the empty bottle. "It seems you really are working hard."

"Am I still just a nagging, mischievous brat in your eyes? I've grown up, you know." Scarlett's gaze suddenly dropped toward her chest. "They're a bit too big. They're practically a burden when I'm training."

Duke didn't take the bait. Checking his watch, he said, "Carry on with your training. I've got things to take care of."

"Alright." Scarlett leaned in close. "I'll come see you in Malibu tomorrow."

Before he could even step out of the training hall, Duke heard hurried footsteps behind him. He glanced back to see Robert Downey Jr. rushing to catch up, clearly looking for him.

"Director Rosenberg..."

Meeting Duke's gaze, Robert Downey Jr. hurried over. "Could I bother you for a few minutes?"

"Not at all." Duke nodded at him. "There's no need to be so formal."

Robert Downey Jr. stopped about four feet away, his expression shifting into one of profound sincerity and gratitude. "I... Director Rosenberg, I just wanted to say thank you."

Duke looked at him, knowing the actor wasn't finished speaking, and stayed silent.

"After I got out of prison, everyone treated me like poison. No one wanted to associate with me, and I was weeded out of most of the auditions I attended before they even started."

The experience seemed to weigh heavily on him. Robert Downey Jr. let out a long sigh and continued, "People who have never hit rock bottom can't truly grasp how important success is. I finally figured that out, only to realize I didn't have any chances left..."

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity," Robert Downey Jr. said solemnly. "If you ever need me for anything..."

Duke smiled faintly. "I'll be sure to give you a call."

Robert Downey Jr. laughed as well. Perhaps his past experiences had made him significantly wiser; intentionally giving Duke an opening to call in a favor was, in its own way, leaving an opening for himself.

Giving Robert Downey Jr. a light pat on the arm, Duke walked out of the training hall. Although they hadn't interacted for long, he could vaguely sense that Downey was a man who wore his heart on his sleeve. But thinking about the changes his own arrival in Hollywood had caused, it was nice to see some things finally snapping back onto their proper tracks.

In his past life, Mel Gibson had played a crucial role in Robert Downey Jr.'s resurgence after his release from prison. It went so deep that during his later negotiations with Marvel Pictures, Downey had outright demanded that Mel Gibson direct Iron Man 4 as a condition for his return, hoping to lend a helping hand to a man the Hollywood mainstream had cast aside.

But now? Mel Gibson had long since been driven back to Australia by Duke and Tom Cruise. As a direct consequence, Robert Downey Jr. had faced a much harsher reality upon his release than he had in the original timeline.

However, the early production of Iron Man, combined with Duke's massive reputation and box-office draw, might actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the actor.

The world could be delightfully strange like that sometimes, couldn't it?

The pre-production for Iron Man was also an incredibly complex undertaking. As a relatively new company, Marvel Pictures severely lacked practical operational experience. If Duke hadn't brought his own seasoned team—and if the distributor, Warner Brothers, hadn't thrown their full weight behind it—the film would have been stuck in prep for a very long time. Releasing it during next year's Summer Season as planned would have been entirely impossible.

Even so, the workload was relentless. After his brief period of relaxation following Batman Begins, Duke threw himself right back into the grind.