Chapter 654: He Is Outdated

"I believe Transformers will be just as big of a hit as The Dark Knight."

Warner Brothers CEO Doug Walter walked over and raised his wine glass to Duke. "Cheers, Duke."

Duke raised his champagne, taking a sip. "I think so too."

The two men laughed.

Over a hundred guests had gathered in the spacious, luxurious banquet hall. It wasn't just the cast and crew of The Dark Knight, Warner Brothers executives, and media representatives; quite a few people had used their connections to get in.

Celebration parties like this inevitably turned into either wild raves or networking events.

Given Duke's current status and position, there was no chance the party would head in the former direction. Not long after it began, deal-making and socializing took center stage.

"Hi, Duke."

A shrewd-looking Eno Martin walked over. "I haven't congratulated you yet. Another one of your films crossed the billion-dollar mark at the box office."

"Thank you," Duke replied politely.

Eno Martin was now the head of CAA. Since Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob had left the agency, Duke's relationship with CAA had gradually eased. Although he still refused to accept any talent agency's packaging deals, he would occasionally hire actors or other personnel represented by them.

Eno Martin shared a drink with Duke and asked, "Have you seen Leo recently?"

He meant Leonardo DiCaprio, and Duke knew it well. "We had dinner together two months ago. Don't worry, my vote will definitely go to Leo."

Perhaps it was the ripple effect of his own presence in the industry, but Martin Scorsese hadn't finished The Departed until this year. Leonardo DiCaprio, who had gradually transformed into an award-chasing maniac, was once again setting his sights on Best Actor.

"I'll say thank you on Leo's behalf," Eno Martin said courteously.

Duke gave a slight shake of his head. "There's no need for that between him and me."

If he had any actual friends in the actors' circle, Leonardo was one of the few. Moreover, as a member of the School, Duke always preferred to vote based on personal ties; if an acquaintance was in the running, they would naturally be his first choice.

Though people kept coming up to greet Duke, Eno Martin showed no sign of leaving. Scarlett, whose arm was looped through Duke's, spotted a familiar figure.

"Sofia is here. I'm going to go say hi," she said.

Duke nodded. The moment Scarlett walked away, Eno Martin asked, "Are you really no longer interested in the Oscar?"

Quite a few media outlets were hyping up whether The Dark Knight could score nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. However, industry insiders knew perfectly well that it was completely impossible.

"Let nature take its course," Duke said nonchalantly.

"If you ever get interested in the Oscar again, don't forget Leo."

In this respect, Eno Martin was a highly qualified agent. However, with an actor like Leonardo DiCaprio, even an agency as powerful as CAA had to treat him like royalty.

To think that CAA merely treated Leonardo as a puppet would be incredibly naive.

Just as Eno Martin finished speaking, another man walked over. He seemed to have caught the end of their conversation. After raising a hand to greet Duke and Eno Martin, he brought up a similar topic.

This was Martin Miller from William Morris. He also represented heavyweight acting clients.

"Duke, Nat has always wanted to work with you. Do you have any suitable roles for her in your upcoming projects?" he asked.

"If Miss Portman doesn't mind playing eye candy in a commercial blockbuster," Duke said with a slight shrug, "I'd be willing to work with her, too."

Martin Miller smiled but didn't press the matter further.

"Hi."

A greeting rang out as Nancy Josephson walked over. "I didn't expect to find you all here."

Despite her competitive relationship with Eno Martin's CAA and Martin Miller's William Morris, Nancy wasn't about to bring that rivalry out into the open at a setting like this.

Duke looked at the three of them. Key figures from three of Hollywood's big four talent agencies were now standing right in front of him.

The companies behind these three individuals held nearly eighty-five percent of the Hollywood market share. Even in an era where media conglomerates controlled Hollywood, their weight was something no one could afford to ignore.

However, seeing them sparked a thought in Duke's mind. He had been warring with the faction represented by Michael Ovitz in Hollywood for years. Now that he was powerful enough and his opponent was steadily aging, perhaps it was time to end this conflict and shift his primary focus onto truly formidable enemies.

Duke lightly tapped his wine glass. The crisp clink drew the attention of the other three.

"Martin, Eno..." Duke looked at the two men, not bothering to beat around the bush since there was no need. "You seek to cooperate with me for nothing more than to secure greater profits and market share for yourselves and the companies behind you."

This was North America; there was absolutely no need to hide behind pleasantries when discussing profits.

"Actually, I think tackling this from another angle might yield more obvious results," Duke added.

"Duke, just speak your mind," Eno Martin said.

"Artists Management Company!" Duke shifted his gaze to Martin Miller. "Even though Martin Scorsese jumped ship from Michael Ovitz to William Morris, Artists Management Company still holds a large number of premium clients..."

Martin Miller and Eno Martin understood exactly what Duke meant. Thoughtful expressions immediately appeared on their faces.

"Michael Ovitz is someone no one can ignore, and he has played a crucial role in keeping Artists Management Company afloat this long." Duke spread his hands. "But a lion is bound to grow old one day. He... is already outdated."

Nancy Josephson worked with Duke in perfect sync, chiming in at just the right moment. "If only one company steps up to snatch Artists Management Company's clients and market, Michael Ovitz definitely has the power to fight back. But what if all three of our agencies move together?"

Competition among talent agencies was just as fierce as the rest of Hollywood. The market was only so big; if they could kick one company out of the game, it would be purely beneficial for them all.

Michael Ovitz was an old nemesis of William Morris, and after Eno Martin took over CAA, he too had been aggressively erasing Ovitz's mark on the agency...

Besides, even if they had a good relationship with Ovitz, they wouldn't necessarily stay out of it—just like how the Big Six Companies treated the DreamWorks funded by Spielberg.

Martin Miller and Eno Martin both laughed. Though they didn't make any explicit promises, anyone could guess what they and their respective companies were likely to do.

If the Michael Ovitz of the CAA era had been an insurmountable mountain in Hollywood—standing tall at the absolute peak of the circle, arguably the emperor of the entertainment talent sector—his decision to join Disney had exposed his lack of ability. It had shown all of Hollywood that Michael Ovitz was actually nothing special...

Disney certainly had fierce internal personnel struggles at the time, but was there any company in the corporate world where personnel politics were simple?

Michael Ovitz had plunged from the summit from then on. Even without Duke's existence, he would have gradually sunk into obscurity all the same.

This was an era of rapid, constant change. No matter how unwilling Michael Ovitz was to accept it, facing a full-scale siege from the younger generation, his chances of self-preservation were infinitesimally small.

After Martin Miller and Eno Martin left, Duke said to Nancy, "Retirement is the best option for Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob."

"And if they don't want to?" Nancy asked.

Duke shrugged. "I believe you'll definitely find a way."

Once things reached a certain point, if they still refused to retire, their futures would only end up far more miserable.

Having fought his way through Hollywood for so many years, Duke was never the soft-hearted sort whose sympathy overflowed without limit.

"What were you talking about?"

Scarlett Johansson walked back over, arm-in-arm with Sofia Coppola.

Seeing the tacit understanding on Duke and Nancy Josephson's faces, she asked curiously, "Who are you two scheming against now?"

"We're planning to sell you off to Africa, Scar," Nancy teased.

"I'm going to Africa next month," Scarlett Johansson said, immediately fixing her eyes on Nancy. "You'll go with me, right?"

Just last month, Scarlett had become a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations. Hollywood stars generally used this method to elevate their public image, but taking on such an ambassadorship also meant they had to attend certain routine events.

Nancy agreed. "As long as there's no urgent business, I'll accompany you to Africa."

One of Duke's charitable foundations was also running a campaign to help starving children in Africa. Using charity to polish one's image wasn't just for celebrities; it was extremely prevalent among the world's ultra-rich as well.

However, Duke was busy shooting Transformers and wouldn't be going in person. Having Scarlett act as his representative was more than enough.

"I'm planning to take a vacation next month," Sofia Coppola chimed in. "Perfect timing. We can go see the African savanna together."

Sofia then turned to Duke. "Nicolas asked me to apologize on his behalf. He's very grateful for your help, and he's sorry he couldn't make it back for the party."

"It's fine," Duke said, not caring much either way.

He had only helped Nicolas Cage because Sofia Coppola had personally asked him to.

After appearing in The Dark Knight, the former king of bad movies had indeed seen a turning point in his career. He had recently taken on a new A-list blockbuster with a budget of over a hundred million and was currently shooting on location in Eastern Europe.

But whether The Dark Knight could pull Nicolas Cage completely out of his predicament was something Duke couldn't say for sure. He had no idea exactly how bad Nicolas Cage's financial situation was.

Since he still had to work the next day, Duke didn't stay at the party for too long. When he left, he was inevitably stopped by reporters gathered at the hotel entrance for a few questions, and he took the opportunity to reveal a few details about Transformers.

Starting the next day, the crew raised the curtain on filming once again across two soundstages: Warner Studios and the Hughes Aircraft Hangar.