Chapter 683: Final Say

A crisp suit, an upright posture, chiseled features, a resolute expression, and intelligent eyes... That was Chai Jing's first impression of Duke. Although he cooperatively allowed the cameraman to take promotional photos, she knew perfectly well he would not be an easy interviewee. Digging exclusive scoops out of him was going to be difficult.

Most importantly, she lacked confidence in herself.

True, she was one of the network's top reporters, but the man she was about to face was one of the most brilliant directors in the global film industry. Judged by commercial success alone, he was the best.

Furthermore, from numerous reports, Chai Jing knew he not only spoke fluent Chinese but was also the only true China hand among Hollywood's star directors.

This naturally inclined her to view him favorably, but it wouldn't be much help during the interview.

Sitting in one of two facing armchairs, Chai Jing withdrew her gaze to focus on the upcoming interview. The network attached immense importance to this. Securing an exclusive interview with Duke Rosenberg was a massive coup for their program, Face to Face. Every single question had been meticulously selected by her and the network.

The questions were mainly divided into three categories: first, Transformers, which he had specifically requested they highlight; second, a few personal questions; and third, Hollywood and Chinese cinema.

After the photos were taken, Duke adjusted his suit slightly and strode over. As always, he politely offered his hand.

"Hello, Miss Chai," he said.

"Hello, Director Rosenberg." Chai Jing quickly stood up and shook his hand.

"Please, have a seat," he said.

Duke gestured to the armchair opposite him. He waited for her to sit down before taking his own seat.

"Let's begin," he said directly.

This wasn't a live broadcast. After the recording finished, the program would air over the weekend, exactly when the hype for Transformers would begin to cool down.

Agreeing to this exclusive interview was part of Duke's strategy to account for that.

Having made it this far, Chai Jing was somewhat familiar with Duke's working habits. Without further small talk, she opened her notebook, took out a gel pen, and began her questions.

Glancing down at her notebook after the director signaled her to start, Chai Jing asked her first question.

"Mr. Rosenberg, as the film's director, how do you balance the perspectives of yourself, Hasbro, and the fans regarding Transformers?"

"I make my own movies. No one gets to dictate what I do," he said.

It was the truth; nowadays, not even Warner Brothers would interfere with Duke's productions.

"During the prep phase," Duke continued, "I kept thinking that if we made the Transformers look incredibly realistic, the result would be completely different from similar films in the past. From that moment on, I morphed into perhaps the biggest Transformers fan in the world, and I dedicated myself to ensuring that non-fans would love this movie just as much."

Chai Jing chimed in at the right moment. "You wanted the film to reach a wider audience?"

Duke tilted his head. "Exactly. I wanted to give the film a bit more maturity. I know people will inevitably ask: Why make a toy movie so complicated? Will kids even understand it?"

"The problem is that it isn't just kids watching this movie. Some Transformers fans are already over forty..."

At this point, Duke waved his hand. "Never mind, never mind. I'm getting off track..."

"That's all right," Chai Jing said.

She smiled, but her pen moved rapidly across her notebook next to Duke's name: "Supremely confident, quick-witted, articulate, easily inspires a sense of intimacy."

Mindful of the limited time, she hurried to her next question.

"We keep hearing the cast of Transformers praise you as a 'very, very great director who understands what acting is.' We've rarely heard that kind of sentiment before. Did you do something differently this time?"

Duke shook his head. "No. Listen, those are just rumors. Media reports can be pretty bizarre sometimes."

The studio lights were a bit blinding. He frowned slightly and raised his voice.

"I'm no different from other directors. I visited the set when James Cameron was shooting Titanic, and our directing methods are very similar. We almost never leave the set, we like throwing ourselves into the filming process alongside the cast, we like giving the actors freedom to perform, and we thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of improving and growing with them."

"However, a lot of producers don't like seeing actors do that," Duke said with a slight shrug. "They're always saying, 'That's not in the script! What on earth is he doing? He's going to ruin the movie!'"

The lighting technician made a slight adjustment to the lights, but it didn't distract Chai Jing. She chimed in, "Do you compromise? If not, how do you handle it?"

"I don't compromise, but I also don't scream and shout at the producers like some directors do," he said.

Duke thought for a moment before answering.

"My style is more like this: I'll tell them, 'Trust me, doing it this way might bring a nice surprise.' Because the film already has a set overarching tone, an occasional deviation won't veer too far off track. However, when it comes to action sequences, I'm a demon coach. Every single detail has to be perfectly executed without the slightest error; if you're off by even a little bit, the effect you want could vanish completely."

Chai Jing laughed, but she didn't forget her duty. "Do you feel that Transformers is very different from your previous works?"

"During interviews in North America, people are always asking me, 'After directing The Dark Knight, do you really want to go back to making films with bland subject matter?'"

Duke adopted a thoughtful expression.

"I've seriously considered that question," he said. "I feel that if the approach is cool and backed by a good concept, I can direct a fantastic blockbuster action film—an excellent summer entertainment flick. I like attempting things no one has done before. Grinding it out with my team for months on end just to nail down visual effects that conjure living beings out of thin air is incredibly challenging. It's like when the audience sees Bumblebee; they immediately realize there's a vibrant soul hidden inside that machine."

"There's a saying in Hollywood that you and your films have driven the globalization of the Hollywood film industry."

Without realizing it, she had steered the topic to Duke himself. "Do you agree with that statement?"

Duke gave only a single sentence in response. "The film industry has never had a savior."

Chai Jing fired off her next question like a Gatling gun. "Then which do you think is more important to a film: special-effects action sequences, or the plot?"

Her questions were getting a bit sharper, but Duke had no trouble handling them.

"There's no comparison. Both are important; neither is dispensable," he said.

"Are you aware that some fans are dissatisfied with the special effects in Transformers?" Chai Jing's pace was quickening. "There are a lot of people online accusing you of messing around, shocked that you actually gave Optimus Prime lips."

"Yes. That was indeed my idea," Duke replied smoothly and unhurriedly. "We did a lot of facial expression research. Without corresponding movements, it's genuinely hard to see a character's emotions. We tried having lipless robots express feelings, but it just felt off."

Chai Jing suddenly changed the subject. "Have you ever thought about making a low-budget movie in the future, the kind driven primarily by the actors?"

"No." Duke didn't deny it in the slightest. "I have zero interest in those kinds of films. My team and I have never even considered flying to the south of France to shoot a movie."

"As both producer and director, you have the final say over your films, but that comes with side effects." Chai Jing began to steer her focus toward the inner workings of the Hollywood industry. "How do you balance that relationship?"

"It's basically like hiding a club behind your back for self-defense. You hope you never actually have to use it," Duke replied.

Hollywood was gradually shedding its veil of mystery these days, and Duke was merely discussing a common occurrence.

"A lot of people fly into a rage the second they hear a director has the final say. They consider it a personal insult," Duke continued. "Others feel that the whole thing just leaves everyone exhausted. But I never intend to hand over the final say. Doing that would be absolutely absurd."

Chai Jing watched Duke closely and asked, "Can you give a few examples?"

"I was once advised, 'It's best if the first Transformers movie doesn't talk too much about the robots.'" Duke looked distinctly disapproving. "So you really need to put something out there. You see what the audience and the producers think, and then you know what to do next, but ultimately, I'm the one who needs to make the decision. However, I also respect the studio. For example, I felt that if they gave me two more weeks, the Transformers movie would be a little bit better, but the studio wouldn't agree. There's nothing you can do about it; there is never enough time."

"A lot of people ask what a perfect movie is," Duke said earnestly. "For a director, a perfect movie means you keep every shot you love at all costs. And if you want to achieve that, you must have the final say."

Participating in an interview like this, the topic would inevitably drift to the Chinese market and Chinese cinema. In his prior communications, Duke had stated in advance that he didn't want to discuss this too much, but he understood that avoiding the subject entirely was impossible.

However, they had already communicated about these questions beforehand, keeping them to very broad, generalized themes.

Chai Jing brought up one of the few questions on the matter. "China's position in the international market is becoming increasingly important. Does this make you dedicate more time to the Chinese market?"

"It does, because the Chinese market is growing; it's very important. Of course, the North American and European markets are also important, and the Latin American market is growing too," Duke replied.

Duke was reciting the answers prepared in advance by Warner's PR staff.

"But the changes in the Chinese market over the past few years have been astonishing and very encouraging," he continued. "A few years ago, the annual revenue of the Chinese market was around tens of millions of dollars, but in the last two years, it has surged into the hundreds of millions. This scale of market growth will turn China into one of the largest film markets in the world."

"How do you view Chinese cinema today?" Chai Jing asked next.

"China is boosting its film production and pitching its movies to a global audience." Duke, of course, maintained a complimentary attitude. "This is an exciting era. Chinese cinema has a great market, not only because people are willing to go to the movies, but also because they are a brilliant audience. They have great ideas, and their tastes are incredibly diverse. Therefore, for filmmakers, this is a fantastic audience. The fact that the movies we make can find an audience in China is deeply exciting."