Chapter 604: Modification

"Where have you been this past month?"

Inside Duke Studio, Duke looked at Heath Ledger sitting across the desk. "If your agent, Mara Buxbaum, hadn't kept in touch with the crew, I would have thought you'd vanished into thin air."

"I... um, I..." Heath Ledger subconsciously pursed his lips and swallowed hard. "I locked myself in a hotel room to study the Joker's character."

Duke raised an eyebrow. He had always appreciated hard-working people.

Studying the young Australian actor closely, Duke noticed obvious changes in him since their last meeting.

He was much quieter than before. He hadn't been resting well lately and looked rather haggard; a quick glance easily revealed the heavy dark circles under his eyes.

"What exactly have you been doing?" Duke frowned slightly.

Ledger's dedication was admirable, but Duke didn't want to see his hand-picked actor ruin his health before filming even began.

"I... I read all the comics about the Joker, then locked myself in a hotel room for a whole month. I kept a diary, tried out different manic laughs, and finally forced myself into the mindset of a psychopath..."

Heath Ledger flashed a smile that looked twisted from any angle. "Since last week, I've only been able to sleep two hours a night. My mind races constantly, and my body is exhausted."

Seeing Duke's frown deepen, he quickly added, "Don't worry, Duke. My mind is perfectly clear, and I know where my limits lie."

Sighing softly, Duke stood up, walked around the desk, and patted Heath Ledger on the shoulder. "Give yourself a break and relax. If you have a girlfriend, take her to the Caribbean Sea or Hawaii for a vacation and wait for my call."

Heath Ledger looked like he wanted to say more, but Duke raised a hand to stop him. "That's final. There's no need for you to rush into production."

Since this involved personal privacy, Duke couldn't pry further. He could only use this approach to help adjust Heath Ledger's condition.

From a commercial perspective, Heath Ledger dying would only benefit The Dark Knight. Hollywood had proven countless times that a dead lead actor contributed far more to a film than a living one.

But people weren't commercial machines. Even someone as hard-hearted as Duke couldn't help but feel a twinge of compassion at the thought of such a hardworking person fading away just like that.

However, for someone who was already addicted to drugs, his future fate lay entirely in his own hands.

After Heath Ledger left, Duke also departed from Duke Studio. He went to Warner Studios to check on another actor's progress. Christian Bale was currently training in the studio's gym.

Even though this was the second time Christian Bale was donning the "Batman" suit, he still had to undergo specialized training for the role. In this installment of the story, "Batman" possessed many brand-new traits; certain overpowered abilities were weakened, while others were proportionally enhanced.

The special training wasn't just for the newly added elements; some of his original skills also needed to be re-consolidated. Jimmy Carter understood Christian Bale very well by now, and the two worked together seamlessly. Furthermore, the crew was still using the same two stunt doubles from the previous film. They were extremely familiar with Bale, even flawlessly mimicking the exact way his arms swung when he walked...

It was exactly this kind of intimate cooperation that allowed everything to proceed so smoothly.

When the training session ended, Christian Bale took the initiative to approach him.

"I've never felt more certain that my decision to play a superhero was the right one," he said, standing beside Duke, seemingly deeply moved. "If Batman Begins left me amazed, then the script for The Dark Knight absolutely blew me away."

Christian Bale looked at him curiously. "Duke, how on earth did you come up with a setup like this?"

"Just returning to the essence of the comics," Duke replied mildly. "Most of it is based on comic book concepts."

Shaking his head, Christian Bale clearly didn't quite buy Duke's words. He added, "I'm afraid I might be the first superhero to lose to a villain."

Batman won his personal struggle against the Joker, but he lost the battle for Gotham's soul.

Duke prepared to leave the gym and head to the adjacent soundstages for a look.

Before leaving, he said, "I just saw Heath Ledger. His condition is... well, how should I put it? Terrifying. You need to work hard and bring your absolute A-game, or else, given the script and character setups, he's going to steal the show from you."

Christian Bale nodded solemnly. "I will."

Due to the inherent advantages in the script's design, if Heath Ledger brought out a hundred percent of his potential, Christian Bale giving a hundred and twenty percent still might not be enough to balance out the two roles.

This wasn't a gap in acting skills between the two actors; it was simply the disparity between their characters.

Walking into a soundstage that had been partitioned into many smaller workshops, Duke first headed to the pyrotechnics department's office. Joss William was already waiting there.

The shoot would involve a massive number of gunfights and explosions. To match the film's tone, all explosions had to be shot practically, and they couldn't be as exaggerated as Duke's earlier cinematic style.

"I think we should ditch the dynamite."

The two began discussing the film's most critical explosive set piece—the blast that directly led to the birth of Two-Face.

Duke told Joss William, "Just like it says in the script, try to create the explosion using a few bullets and some gasoline."

Joss William crossed one arm over his chest and cupped his chin with his other hand. "If we're shooting with miniatures, a gasoline explosion carries a certain amount of unpredictability."

"We definitely have to shoot with miniatures," Duke said as concisely as possible. "Shoot it on a green screen, and we'll add the explosion in post."

"Give me some time, and have the props department build a few more miniatures." Joss William slowly furrowed his brows, then smoothed them out. "I need to run more tests. I'll definitely solve it."

"Then I'll wait to hear the good news."

Duke had always been very confident in his pyrotechnics team.

Similarly, he had always felt reassured about his cinematography crew, but he still took a trip out to the open-air backlot. Accompanied by several camera assistants and aided by technical engineers from IMAX Company, John Schwartzman was familiarizing himself with the equipment and shooting some test footage.

Two IMAX Cameras were set up on the outdoor set, easily several times larger and heavier than standard Hollywood cameras. This increase in weight and bulk meant they would be far more tedious and cumbersome to operate.

Standing beside one of the IMAX Cameras, Duke tried operating it for a moment.

He straightened up and said to John Schwartzman, "I need to use IMAX Cameras for all the high-impact shots."

Circling the IMAX Camera, Duke added, "Like the chase scene where Batman is riding the Batcycle."

"In the past, we've always just strapped the camera to the hood of a car."

As soon as John Schwartzman finished speaking, Duke patted the IMAX Camera and asked, "John, is it feasible to strap this big guy onto the Batmobile or the Batcycle for filming?"

Staring at the camera, John Schwartzman seriously considered it for a few seconds before replying, "Not with the current Batmobile and Batcycle. They'll need specific modifications."

Duke made his decision on the spot. "Then contact Lamborghini to start the redesign."

"Hold on, John, Duke, hold on."

The IMAX Company representatives had been keeping an eye on them. Duke and John Schwartzman hadn't kept their voices down, and every word reached Richard Gelfond's ears. The IMAX Company executive overseeing the crew hurried over.

"I think your proposal is far too risky. It's highly likely to damage the equipment."

Duke frowned slightly. "Richard, if you want to showcase the advantages of IMAX technology, we have to construct sufficiently outstanding scenes."

The other man seemed to want to argue.

Duke gave him no opening, stating bluntly, "If the equipment gets damaged, the production will compensate you at full price."

Richard Gelfond opened his mouth, but ultimately clamped it shut.

The IMAX Cameras were undeniably expensive, but not so expensive that a 150-million-dollar production couldn't afford to replace them.

Even though IMAX Company was providing the equipment free of charge, Duke wasn't going to hold back on using them. IMAX Company had always adhered to a lease-only policy, but in recent years, their involvement in Hollywood productions mostly involved providing gear at no cost.

Afterward, Duke and John Schwartzman left the outdoor lot to find the Lamborghini representative attached to the crew to discuss the modifications for the Batmobile and other matters.

Pre-production was always rife with these kinds of issues. It was fundamentally a problem-solving phase; the more problems they encountered now, the less trouble they would face during the actual shoot.

From equipment to props, from actors to wardrobe, from shooting schedules to storyboard drafts—Duke participated in and reviewed every single aspect of the pre-production process, keeping the progress of the entire endeavor firmly locked in his mind.

Warner Brothers had also given him their maximum support. Aside from necessary financial oversight, they had essentially delegated all authority to Duke and Charles Roven.

Time slowly slipped into September. Preparations for The Dark Knight pushed forward, with a considerable way to go before cameras rolled. Aside from keeping busy with pre-production work, Duke would also occasionally visit Marvel Pictures. The two new films in Marvel's master plan, The Incredible Hulk and Captain America, had also entered their own preparatory stages.

Unlike Duke, who was still just in prep, over in New York's Washington Square, the new project funded by David Ellison was already entering the tail end of its shoot. Armed with ambition and capital, the young billionaire hadn't easily given up on his Hollywood dreams. Following the failure of Flyboys, he had once again raised a massive amount of funding to kick off a new venture.

He stood in the center of Washington Square, watching the Black actor with the distinctly prominent ears holding a dog on a leash in front of the cameras. He firmly believed that this time, he would definitely succeed.