Chapter 621: Fulfilling a Dream

The black Rolls-Royce drove into the small city of Valencia. Duke looked in the rearview mirror and saw a number of paparazzi tailing them. In this day and age, it was pure wishful thinking for a director like him to expect to hide behind the scenes.

The car pulled up in front of a leukemia rehabilitation center. Duke and Scarlett got out, grabbed a gift box and some flowers, and followed the staff toward the inpatient area.

They had just entered a small white building when Penny Kalis, who had arrived earlier, walked over to meet them.

As they walked toward the ward, Duke asked in a low voice, "How is it?"

"Don't worry," Penny Kalis replied, keeping her voice low. "He and his family were thrilled when they heard you were coming."

Duke nodded and said nothing more. He followed Penny Kalis into a hospital room.

The room wasn't particularly large. It held a single hospital bed where a little boy of about eight sat. He and the middle-aged couple beside him—presumably his parents—all looked visibly emotional when Duke walked in, as if they couldn't quite believe it was happening.

"Duke, this is Alex Bosh. This is his father, Johnny Bosh, and his mother, Dinah Bosh."

Thanks to Penny Kalis's thorough prep work, the meeting avoided any excessive melodrama. Following her introductions, Duke and Scarlett shook hands with the family of three.

"Director Rosenberg, thank you so much..."

Johnny Bosh was still a bit choked up. After all, meeting the director of the Batman films was one of his son's greatest wishes.

"You're welcome." Duke smiled and took the chair beside the bed. "When I heard about Alex's situation, I felt I should do something for him."

With that, he turned toward the bed. "Hello there, Alex."

"Hello, Director Rosenberg." He looked shyly at Scarlett. "Miss Agent, can I... can I give you a hug?"

Scarlett couldn't help but smile. Handling this kind of situation was easy for her. She placed her flowers on the nightstand and gave the little guy a gentle hug.

Once Scarlett sat down, Duke took the gift box and handed it to the boy.

Alex took it and scratched his cheek sheepishly. Hugging the box, he asked, "Can I open it?"

"Of course." Duke gave a slight nod. "It's yours now."

With his mother's help, Alex unwrapped the box. When he saw the black gift inside, he cried out in delight, "Wow, is this the newest edition Batman Action Figure?"

He pulled the toy from the box. It was a Batman Action Figure riding a sleek motorcycle.

"Do you like it?"

At Duke's question, Alex nodded vigorously. "This is the best gift I've gotten all year. Thank you, Rosenberg..."

"Call me Duke," Duke reminded him.

"Okay!" The little boy nodded again. "Thank you, Duke."

"I hear you really like Batman?" Duke asked.

"Yeah. Since I got sick, I haven't been able to do much. I just have to lie in the hospital every day." Alex's mood seemed to dip a little. "Batman comic books, cartoons, and movies are my favorites. Batman is the one keeping me company."

Duke couldn't stay much longer, so he continued, "I heard you've always wanted to be Batman?"

Alex blinked. "I actually already have. In the hospital, I'm Batman, Mom is Selina Kyle, and Dad is the bad guy..."

Everyone in the room laughed.

When the laughter subsided, Scarlett showed her warm, gentle side, speaking up in Duke's place. "We want to hold a Batman parade and invite you to join us. Would you like to go?"

Without a second thought, Alex said, "Of course..."

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he looked over at his parents. Seeing Mr. and Mrs. Bosh nod, he broke into a happy smile.

After asking a bit more about Alex's condition and his recent progress, Duke exchanged a few words with the rehab center staff and took his leave.

This was the candidate Duke Studio had found. Eight-year-old Alex lived in Valencia, a small city in the Los Angeles area. Diagnosed with leukemia at age two, he was currently recovering from treatment.

He had a single wish: to be a hero like Batman.

This wish aligned perfectly with the promotional campaign Duke and Warner Brothers were planning.

His Duke Foundation and the Warner Brothers PR department were responsible for making that wish come true.

Following Duke's visit to the rehab center, the charity initiative to help a seriously ill boy realize his dream kicked into high gear.

First, Warner Brothers put out a call online, looking to recruit volunteers for the event. Their original goal was around a thousand people. To their surprise, in the wake of the Heath Ledger incident, everything related to Batman was drawing immense public attention. In just three days, nearly forty thousand people signed up, many of them from the East Coast.

These dedicated Batman fans were even willing to travel to Los Angeles at their own expense to participate.

Meanwhile, Duke and Warner Brothers both received calls from Chicago City Hall. The city wanted to host the event in Chicago, but considering Alex's health—and the fact that Los Angeles City Hall was equally eager to support the charity initiative—the final location remained Los Angeles.

With the venue and volunteers secured, they still needed the right equipment and characters.

Christian Bale would personally drive a Batmobile alongside Alex Bosh. As for Catwoman—whom Alex also really liked—Selina Kyle wouldn't be absent either; Scarlett Johansson would step in to play the role.

Furthermore, the Los Angeles County Police Department, which had always maintained a good relationship with Duke, planned to participate. Not only would all the police officers and vehicles in the event come from the real force, but the Chief of the Los Angeles County Police Department would personally play the Mayor of Gotham City.

In a country that couldn't always be judged by normal logic, this event—which utilized massive public resources—faced no public backlash. Instead, it won unanimous approval. Even Bush Jr. and his wife, far away in Washington, mentioned the charity event for the seriously ill child during an interview, cheering Alex Bosh on.

In a short video on Instant Sharing, George Walker Bush said, "Go get 'em, Alex! Go save Gotham City."

Unsurprisingly, the charity event became the center of national attention, making Batman the most talked-about topic of the moment.

"The male lead, 'Batboy,' is played by eight-year-old Alex Bosh. The second male lead, 'Batman,' is played by the actual Batman actor, Christian Bale. The female lead, 'Catwoman,' is played by Scarlett Johansson. Batman's 'sidekick' Robin is played by Alex Bosh's father. The Mayor of Gotham City is played by the Chief of the Los Angeles County Police Department. The police officers, prosecutors, and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents are all played by real people..."

In the conference room, David Ellison stared at the list he had just received with a grave expression. He turned to the executives of Sky Film Studio seated around him and demanded, "Look at how Duke Rosenberg runs his marketing campaign. What exactly are all of you doing?"

Everyone remained silent. No one spoke a word.

They all knew very well that, with the two films in direct competition, the diverse and elaborate marketing tactics for The Dark Knight had already secured it an absolute advantage before its release.

They had conducted a survey a while ago. Out of a hundred randomly selected people, practically all of them knew that The Dark Knight was about to hit theaters, and more than half said they would go to the cinema to watch it.

Fewer than half of them even knew that I Am Legend was premiering the following week, and only a quarter planned to see it in theaters.

Finally, one executive spoke up. "Duke Rosenberg just has too many marketing tricks. Word is that this charity event was his idea."

The Heath Ledger publicity stunt fell into the realm of the uncontrollable. After all, they couldn't exactly kill off Will Smith just for marketing, could they?

David Ellison sat back in his chair. "Do we really have no newsworthy angles to hype up?"

An executive thought about it and said seriously, "Will Smith's popularity is something we can use. I suggest talking to his manager and having him go on a few public dates with the movie's female lead, Sally Richardson. We leak the news that his marriage is on the rocks. I believe that would attract a lot of attention."

After considering it for a moment, David Ellison said, "I'll leave that to you."

He then asked, "What about the theaters? How are Disney's talks with the North American Theater Alliance going? Can they guarantee a 4,000-theater opening?"

"Four thousand is going to be tough," another executive said. "The theaters stated that 3,600 is the absolute baseline. The final theater count and the screen share will depend on the market reception of The Dark Knight, which opens the week before."

"Step up the PR efforts." David Ellison stood up. "I want a higher theater count and screen share."

Even with his arrogance and pride, David Ellison felt immense pressure this time. The pre-release momentum for The Dark Knight was far too fierce. It felt as if it was going to drown out every other movie hitting the Summer Season.

He finally understood it. Duke Rosenberg might not be a professional marketing expert, but he always managed to come up with fitting, actionable ideas that easily turned his films into the center of national attention.

It had been like that with Iron Man last year, and The Dark Knight had taken it a step further this year.

The success of a movie didn't just rely on production; the role of marketing and promotion was even more critical.

It wasn't hard for David Ellison to reach this conclusion.

He saw it very clearly. That so-called dream-fulfilling charity event was scheduled for April 25th, and on April 26th, pre-sale tickets for The Dark Knight would go on sale!