Chapter 58: You Have a Kind of Magic

"Why hold the party in a soundstage?"

Sitting on the electric cart, Sofia shot a puzzled look at Duke in the driver's seat. "Wouldn't a hotel banquet hall or renting out a nightclub be better?"

"I don't know why either."

Duke waved a hand behind him. "Robin and Charles, the two production managers, made the decision after asking around the crew. It seems they really miss life on the soundstage."

"Maybe."

The electric cart rolled through the front lot of Warner Studios, slowly approaching the main soundstage used for filming The Rock. Sofia pointed at the warehouse across from the soundstage and told Duke, "The rented equipment has been sorted and temporarily sealed in the warehouse, and the film stock was—"

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by the honking of an electric cart from a side intersection. Nicolas Cage was driving a six-seater cart loaded with five young women of various hair colors. He shot past them and came to a halt in front of the soundstage.

"Hey, Duke!"

Cage hopped out of his cart and shouted, "You guys are too slow!"

"That's because I have a VIP on board." Duke turned and shot Sofia a look. Long accustomed to her cousin's absurd antics, she just said, "Who are you talking about? It has nothing to do with me."

Parking his cart, Duke walked over to Cage and briefly sized up the five women surrounding him. Long legs, slim waists, and tall figures—they were probably models.

"Ed and Lee said they wouldn't make it." Cage threw his arms around two of the women and gestured for Duke and Sofia to head into the soundstage with them. "I heard a lot of guys on the crew couldn't find dates, so I purposely brought a few extra."

A chorus of giggles rang out around him.

Seeing the rather helpless look in Sofia's eyes, Duke slowed his pace slightly, keeping a comfortable distance behind Cage as they walked into the soundstage.

The massive soundstage was brightly lit. The sets that had been built there were long gone. Several long dining tables had been set up in the space, loaded with all kinds of food and drinks. Tables and chairs were arranged on the right side to serve as a dining and lounge area, while the left side had been transformed into a dance floor. Perhaps having endured enough noise over the past two months, someone had actually put on soothing music that did not fit the occasion at all.

"You have a kind of magic."

Sofia teased as she accompanied Duke toward the lounge area. "Duke, you managed to change the tastes of heavy metal fans."

"Thanks!" Duke accepted the "compliment" graciously.

"Your blonde is over there. Aren't you going to head over?"

Sofia pulled out a chair and sat down, pointing to a dining table across from her. Naomi Watts was chatting with a blonde woman there.

"I feel much more relaxed sitting with you." Duke decided to strike back, gesturing with his chin at Sofia's top. "That shirt really doesn't suit you. The tight design exposes all your figure's flaws."

"Is that the only thing men's eyes focus on?" Sofia seemed entirely unbothered by Duke's veiled jab at her flat chest. "Just like you said, as long as I like it, that's all that matters. Why should I care how others look at me?"

With that, she even raised an eyebrow at him.

Duke tilted his head, not bothering to argue. If she really didn't care about others' opinions and comments, would she have angrily quit acting over the critics' abuse?

"Want something to drink?" Duke asked, standing up.

"Whiskey or brandy." Sofia didn't hold back at all. "And bring back some fruit."

Walking over to the table with the fruit, Duke found a tray, picked out some fruit Sofia usually ate, grabbed two glasses and a bottle of whiskey, and returned to their table, pouring a little for both of them.

"Hey..." a pleasant female voice chimed in from the side. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Go ahead..."

Sofia made a welcoming gesture. Naomi Watts sat down next to Duke, and the blonde woman with her smiled at them before pulling out the chair next to Sofia.

"This is Miss Jennifer Aniston," Naomi introduced her simply to Duke and Sofia. "She's Nancy's newly signed client..."

"You guys can call me Jen..."

While Jennifer Aniston was greeting Sofia, Naomi Watts leaned in close to Duke and lowered her voice. "She's going to be in the show Nancy is doing with Warner, Six of One... well, it's been renamed Friends now. She's going to be the female lead."

Actually, this wasn't surprising. Since Nancy was the packaging agent for Friends, she certainly wouldn't pass up the main actors who were likely to become famous.

As for Jennifer Aniston, she clearly hadn't succeeded in losing weight yet. Judging from her appearance, she had to be at least 150 pounds. For an actress striving to look good on camera, she was a standard chubby girl.

"I've been dieting lately per Nancy's demands." She didn't shy away from discussing her weight, politely declining the alcohol and food. "She warned me that if I don't hit the target, she'll kick me out."

Zack Snyder walked by holding a clear plastic bag and shook it toward them. "Hey, Duke, want some?"

"Enjoy it yourself." Duke waved him off casually.

"Come on, let's go dance." Naomi tugged at his sleeve. Duke was just about to stand up when he saw production manager Charles Roven walking toward him. He could only shake his head. "It looks like Charles is looking for me."

Sure enough, Charles Roven came over, sat right down in the empty seat on the other side of Sofia, and handed Duke a file folder.

"I'm sorry to bother you at a time like this," he said with a smile. "But you said to notify you immediately once Warner finalized the detailed promotional schedule."

"Thanks!"

Seeing that Duke and Charles Roven had work matters to discuss, Naomi shot Jennifer Aniston a look, whispered a few words to Duke, and left the table.

There was nothing particularly special about Warner Brothers' pre-release promotional plan. It consisted of the standard test screenings, newspapers, posters, trailers, television, and radio campaigns. However, it specifically highlighted Christopher Lee's real-life experiences. If the media released news about Sean Connery, Warner would use it to build hype for Lee; if not, they would save it as a major post-release promotional tool once the film hit theaters.

"Can the post-production schedule be compressed any further?"

Charles was clearly a workaholic too, practically treating this place like an office. Fortunately, no one came over to bother them. Even if someone occasionally passed by, one look from Sofia was enough to make them detour.

"Two months at the bare minimum." Duke shook his head. He picked up his glass and took a sip, but realizing the taste was off, he set the whiskey aside. "Even though there are no overly complicated post-production visual effects, this is already the shortest and tightest schedule I can come up with."

If they wanted to guarantee the film's quality, they couldn't cut corners on post-production time.

"All right, then." Charles hadn't held out much hope anyway. "Duke, the test screening is scheduled for mid-April, which is only a little over half a month away from the official release in May. You absolutely have to finish before then. We can't possibly compress the window between the test screening and the theatrical release any further."

"I understand."

Seeing Duke nod, Charles Roven brought up another matter. "Interview with the Vampire will enter post-production in ten days at most. Barring any surprises, this new co-production between CAA and Twentieth Century Fox will also be released in May."

"It'll definitely be released in May," Duke said with certainty.

He and CAA had experienced successive clashes over both ideals and interests. Coupled with his rejection of CAA's two biggest clients, Tom Cruise and Sean Connery, CAA would certainly not sit idly by and watch The Rock become a massive hit the way they indifferently had with Speed. The most conventional tactic was to use a major blockbuster released at the same time to crush his film, and there would likely be no shortage of underhanded moves behind the scenes either.

Although Duke had initially found it baffling that Lovett signed Rick Solomon, analyzing it now, CAA was clearly aiming for Robert Solomon. They wanted to expand their packaging services into Warner's untapped territory. Warner was willing to work with Duke because they believed in the prospects of The Rock and his potential; they were investing in his future. Otherwise, they wouldn't have signed a 1+2 contract.

If The Rock failed or even just fell short of expectations, his partnership with Warner would inevitably end. The aggressive CAA would then have more opportunities to intervene in Warner's projects. Paired with a push from Warner's internal upper management, they might just conquer Warner in one fell swoop.

No matter how you looked at it, CAA wouldn't just sit back and let The Rock become a blockbuster.

Sighing softly, Duke realized that Hollywood was even more complicated than he had imagined. Right now, he was still clinging to Warner as a massive pillar of support; if he were an independent filmmaker, he could easily be played to death by these industry giants.

And then there was Sean Connery. The man was a textbook old ruffian who had nearly died of anger because of Duke last time. Who knew what he might pull?

Duke wasn't about to let the fondness he once held for certain characters extend to the actors playing them now...

Talking about work, the two of them clearly lost track of time. By the time Sofia spoke up to say her goodbyes, the entire soundstage was a complete mess and hardly anyone was left. The men and women who had been partying hard had long since moved on to more private venues.

"I'm heading out. Someone over there is still waiting for you."

Sofia pointed to a corner of the lounge area where Naomi Watts was sitting. Duke waved goodbye to her and Charles Roven, then walked straight over.

"Drink?"

As Duke sat down in a chair, Naomi slid a glass over and poured champagne for both of them. "Looks like we're the last ones left."

Picking up his glass, Duke raised it to Naomi and took a small sip. "The crew's disbanded. We're the final members."

The two joked around for a while, downing two glasses of champagne in a row. After about ten minutes, they finally headed toward the soundstage entrance. They hadn't gone far when Duke smelled smoke.

"Where's the fire?" He frowned.

As they spoke, the two turned the corner to face the area directly opposite the soundstage doors. Naomi Watts immediately let out a scream. "Duke!"

She pointed at the spot where sparks and smoke were billowing out. It was the warehouse across from the soundstage—the one temporarily storing their equipment and film stock!