Chapter 585: Patriot

The premiere of Iron Man was held at the Hollywood Chinese Theater. Even though the theater's portico had been destroyed in the film, that didn't stop them from hosting the event there. Besides, could any North American landmark truly be called a landmark if it hadn't been destroyed a few times in a Hollywood movie?

Then again, compared to the Hollywood Chinese Theater, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, and the Washington Monument had been destroyed far more often.

The sun had already shifted to the west, yet it remained brilliant. A long red carpet stretched out to welcome the premiere's cast, crew, and guests. Not only did Duke, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, and others directly involved in the film's production all show up, but Marvel Comics executives like Stan Lee and Avi Arad had even flown in from New York.

This was the inaugural masterpiece of the Marvel Series. With the string of incidents leading up to its release, getting this premiere to run smoothly had been full of twists and turns.

Only the veterans of Marvel Comics knew just how hard it had been for Marvel to make it to this day.

Although the director in the interview area was single-handedly stealing almost all of Marvel's thunder, the Marvel executives didn't mind. The dazzling advance ticket sales figures told them that, under his leadership, Marvel was about to kick off a new era on the big screen.

An era belonging to Marvel superheroes.

Standing in the interview area, Duke spoke briefly to the reporters.

"When making a movie, sometimes it's fun to bring in a bit of a legendary figure's mystique," he said. "It's no coincidence that we chose two of Howard Hughes's old aircraft hangars for our soundstages. When Mr. Stan Lee originally created our protagonist, Tony Stark, he based the character on Howard Hughes. So, the character in the film embodies a blend of immense wealth, genius, and fame."

As always, unless it was absolutely necessary, Duke didn't say much to the media. He quickly yielded the interview spot to the actors who needed the exposure more and walked over to the sponsor backdrop for routine photos with the organizers and sponsors.

Even though the film was set in a parallel universe, it was still a modern society, meaning all sorts of real products could easily make an appearance—like Tony Stark's Audi sports car.

The film had pulled in a hefty sum from advertising sponsorships. As its director and producer, Duke was well aware of his obligations, so he cooperatively posed for pictures with the sponsors.

The exact details of Hollywood premieres might vary, but they generally followed the same formula. After the customary interviews and photo ops, Duke led the cast and crew into the Hollywood Chinese Theater. Since they still had a little time before the screening, they headed to the VIP lounge first.

A middle-aged man with a somewhat unfamiliar face suddenly stepped up to greet him. Duke shook his outstretched hand.

"Hello, Director Rosenberg," the man said.

"Hello," Duke replied politely.

Following close behind, Tina Fey quickly whispered a reminder.

"That's Claude Lance, the FBI agent in charge of the Iron Man leak case," she said.

Though they weren't familiar with each other, Duke still chatted with him for a moment.

Just before the film's release, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had announced their preliminary findings, naming the heads of several piracy rings as the prime suspects. It was a way to provide some closure for their high-profile operations over the recent period.

To a certain extent, this outcome also aligned with Warner Brothers' interests.

Naturally, all the constituent members under the MPAA were beneficiaries of this sting.

On North American soil, piracy wasn't exactly rampant, but it was still a long way from being eradicated entirely. Hollywood battled various piracy syndicates year after year, and the list of individuals and organizations sued for infringement by the MPAA was massive.

You could say this was exactly the result the MPAA wanted to see most.

On another front, Warner Brothers had fired several people. Even without concrete evidence, FBI agents had already locked onto a few targets.

Duke didn't particularly care who ultimately got caught. If things played out as he suspected, there was no way this would trace back to the real mastermind. Even if the FBI found genuine clues and evidence, the ones they'd ultimately drag out into the light would just be a few insignificant nobodies from Walt Disney.

Besides, Walt Disney wouldn't just sit on the sidelines and watch. Duke had ties to Warner, and Disney surely had connections of their own.

However, Duke wasn't going to just let this go. He had never been the magnanimous sort.

Across the Pacific Ocean, Time Warner and News Group had ramped up their PR efforts; Walt Disney was essentially out of the game.

Just last weekend, several newspapers exposed that a massive batch of Walt Disney action figures and dolls, manufactured in India, had severe quality issues with their stuffing. The excessive bacteria levels could even threaten the development of minors. This batch of merchandise had already been seized by America Customs and Border Protection, and with an ongoing investigation, it was all but guaranteed that formal charges would be filed.

This led to a direct plunge in Disney merchandise sales. According to the news Duke received, Disney products at the Downtown Disney district outside California Disneyland had barely seen a customer over the past few days.

Soon after, Duke ran into a true heavyweight: James Cameron had also come to attend the premiere of Iron Man.

The reason he accepted the invitation was simple: Duke was already confirmed as an investor in Avatar.

Official preparations for the project were about to begin. The major backers consisted of three parties: Duke, Warner Brothers, and Twentieth Century Fox. Aside from Twentieth Century Fox securing forty percent of the investment quota, Duke and Warner Brothers each took up thirty percent.

Reaching this kind of investment agreement was tied to the recent series of collaborations among the three parties.

Thanks to the Warner Fox World project, Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox were growing increasingly close, and their respective parent companies—Time Warner and News Group—were also rolling out a series of partnerships.

Naturally, the higher-ups at Time Warner were well aware that Rupert Murdoch intended to acquire them.

This plan provoked mixed reactions within Time Warner; some opposed it, while others threw in their support.

After all, if the two media conglomerates actually succeeded in a merger, it would create an unprecedented behemoth in media history. Moreover, Rupert Murdoch's only path to acquiring Time Warner was through a stock swap, meaning it was entirely uncertain whose hands the power of the new group would fall into.

However, anyone with an ounce of sense knew that a successful merger would be exceedingly difficult. Even if they managed to clear the hurdles of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission, the process would take a very long time.

A familiar voice rang out beside him. Duke turned to see Aerin Lauder walking over.

"You look like you're in a great mood," she said with a smile. "It seems the advance ticket sales figures you told me about were true."

Duke looked at her.

"Of course they are," he said. "Actually, I didn't expect the results to be this good myself."

Aerin Lauder leaned in a little closer.

"Then tell me..." she asked curiously, lowering her voice. "Is all of this a marketing campaign you guys orchestrated?"

Duke rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Am I really that bored?" he replied. "To go out and look for that kind of trouble?"

The risks involved in something like that were simply too high. Iron Man wasn't Wolverine; its early word-of-mouth wasn't poor, so there was absolutely no need to take such a gamble.

After a few more words, Duke checked the time and, seeing that it was about right, invited Aerin Lauder to head toward the auditorium with him.

At the same time, advance screenings of Iron Man were about to kick off in numerous theaters across North America, with massive crowds of moviegoers swarming in.

In the suburbs of San Francisco, a black Ford pulled up in front of a cinema with a screech of brakes. Seeing the crowd trickling inside, Drake hurriedly parked his car on the curb and rushed into the theater.

He had hit a traffic jam in San Francisco when getting off work, but after speeding the rest of the way, he had managed to avoid being late.

Stepping into the auditorium showing Iron Man, Drake checked his watch. There were less than three minutes left before the movie officially started.

'I finally get to see this movie!'

Drake breathed a sigh of relief. Over the last few days, the urge to see the full version of Iron Man had tormented him nearly every hour, making him deeply regret giving in to his curiosity and clicking on the leaked link in the first place.

Finding his seat, he glanced around. It wasn't a large cinema, and this was one of the smaller auditoriums, but the attendance was astonishing. As the film was about to begin, Drake estimated the theater was at least eighty percent full.

For a theater in a less-than-ideal location, an attendance rate like that was genuinely staggering.

On New York Long Island, the Jefferson family was already seated, quietly waiting for the movie to start.

Anthony Jefferson was still talking about what he'd seen on the news.

"This movie has caused such a massive stir," he said. "The FBI arrested so many people a few days ago, and even the White House is paying attention to the incident. No movie has ever sparked such an intense reaction before."

Little Jefferson took a sip of his cola.

"That's totally normal!" he said. "Because the director is Duke Rosenberg! His influence is just too huge."

He suddenly changed the subject.

"If he ran for president, I bet he'd actually have a decent chance of winning."

Clearly, this was a hardcore Duke fan.

"Alright, enough talking," Mrs. Jefferson reminded them. "The movie is starting."

The title cards for Warner Brothers, Marvel Comics, and Duke Studio flashed by one after another. Following the title card for Iron Man, a black man appeared on the screen.

Little Jefferson recognized him; it was Don Cheadle, who had worked with Duke before.

"Tony Stark: visionary, genius, patriot. Even from his youth, as the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark, he quickly drew people's attention with his brilliant mind..."

The film opened from Rhodes's perspective, providing an indirect introduction to the kind of man Tony Stark was.

"As the military liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the privilege of working with a true patriot. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to present this year's Annual Apogee Award to Tony Stark."

"Please welcome, Tony Stark!"

Rhodes's voice echoed through the award ceremony hall, but no one came up to accept the prize. Just where was Tony Stark?