Chapter 684: This Is the Right Path

"Director Rosenberg, if possible..."

As the recording wrapped up, Chai Jing extended a tentative invitation. "Could I treat you to lunch?"

"It would be my honor."

Duke was polite, but tactfully declined. "I already have a lunch appointment with Mr. Han from the China Film Group."

As someone who greatly admired America, Chai Jing couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. She was leaving Shanghai that afternoon, and failing to build a closer relationship with America's most famous director and billionaire meant missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

She wanted to say more, but Duke gave her no opening. He called an assistant over to look after the program crew, picked up his phone, and dialed Tina Fey. After a brief check-in on the situation in North America, he left the small recording room and returned to his suite. It was getting late; he needed to change for Mountain Eagle's banquet.

This wasn't a formal, official banquet. Mountain Eagle had only invited him and the head of the Warner Greater China Region. The venue was a time-honored Chinese restaurant not far from the Hilton Hotel.

Due to his interview, Duke arrived a little late.

"I'm very sorry."

Regardless of the circumstances, he was still late. Taking a seat next to Phil, the head of the Warner Greater China Region, Duke addressed Mountain Eagle at the head of the table. "An interview took a bit longer than expected."

"It's no problem." Mountain Eagle knew exactly which media outlet had interviewed Duke. He smiled and said, "There aren't many people in this world who get to wait for Director Rosenberg."

Phil shifted in his seat. "Sometimes I'd love to wait for Duke, but I don't even have the standing."

"Phil, when have I ever made you wait?" Duke joked back.

He and Phil had known each other well since the nineties. The man had even helped him hire Yuen Woo-ping back in Hong Kong.

Once the servers brought out the food and wine, Mountain Eagle was the first to raise his glass. "Congratulations on the massive success of Transformers."

Following local custom, Duke replied, "Congratulations to us both."

"Yes, to us both." Mountain Eagle chuckled.

Transformers included an investment from the China Film Group.

The baijiu was still a bit too strong for Duke, so he took only token sips, and he hardly touched the authentic Chinese dishes the restaurant had prepared. For one thing, banquets of this nature were meant more for conversation; for another, after decades of eating Western cuisine, he was unaccustomed to the flavors of Chinese food.

Some things simply didn't change through sheer willpower, such as the vast difference between Eastern and Western dietary habits.

Never mind the West—even within this vast country, people from one province often couldn't stomach the cuisine of another.

Perhaps to accommodate him and Phil, the banquet served the meal Western-style, in individual portions. Duke and the Warner Greater China executive tasted each dish just once before putting down their knives and forks.

Phil had worked in this country for years and seemed accustomed to Chinese food. Duke was different. He found one particular Sichuan dish quite delicious, for example, but his stomach, unaccustomed to such heavy spice, couldn't handle it. After just two bites, it felt ready to rebel.

"Phil, Duke."

Such settings naturally brought people closer. After discussing Chinese cuisine over the meal, Mountain Eagle gradually steered the conversation to the main topic. "Transformers becoming a massive hit in the global market is a certainty now, especially considering its performance in the Chinese market."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Frankly speaking, we knew Duke's movies would sell extremely well in China, but the China Film Group truly didn't expect it to be this explosive. It reminds me of Titanic back in the day."

"We have the China Film Group's distribution and promotion to thank for that," Duke replied politely.

He wasn't ignorant of the ways of the world, nor was he arrogant enough to think he could conquer the globe on his own merits alone. Transformers had raked in over 300 million yuan in the Chinese market in just seven days. While the film's quality and the audience's nostalgia played a part, the China Film Group's full support in promotion and distribution was the other factor—an absolutely crucial one.

"Transformers is a shining example of our successful cooperation." Mountain Eagle looked over, his eyes seemingly brimming with sincerity. "I've been wondering lately whether this collaborative model could be expanded between Chinese film companies and Hollywood studios, allowing similar co-productions to appear more frequently in markets around the world?"

International cooperation was arguably Hollywood's mainstream production model. As long as there was enough funding and no core interests were compromised, Hollywood companies didn't care whether the investment capital came from Russia or China.

"I also hope to increase collaboration with your country," Duke said, naturally deflecting the topic toward Phil. "I'm just a director. The China Film Group should be communicating more with Warner on this front."

Phil looked at Duke and couldn't help but smile.

Regardless of anything else, Duke had once been a part of this country's film industry. He thought for a moment before speaking up again. "Any ambitious film enterprise wants to push its movies globally. Your country, like ours, is very interested in the worldwide market. The globalization of the film industry is a worldwide issue; it isn't limited to any single nation. It's a major topic in America, just as it is in any other country. Therefore, we must cooperate fully in this regard. Things are vastly different now compared to a few years ago. We live in a digital age, so to achieve success, we have to cooperate globally."

Hollywood was arguably the paragon of cinematic globalization. Ang Lee had once said: what is national is not necessarily global.

In some ways, Duke strongly agreed with this statement. More often than not, culturally specific films were niche films, and Hollywood was no exception.

It was a very simple truth. While cultures shared commonalities, they also possessed deep regional and ethnic limitations, which would not shift according to human will.

Applying this to movies, the two versions of Infernal Affairs were a classic example.

When the Hong Kong version of Infernal Affairs premiered in North America, it grossed only $160,000 at the box office, entirely disproportionate to its high ratings on IMDB. North American audiences simply didn't buy into it. The most heavily criticized aspect was that the film was too romantic—so romantic it hardly felt like a police thriller. The rooftop showdown, hailed as a classic in the East, was one of the most fiercely panned scenes. For two repressed men facing a life-and-death struggle to speak such romantic dialogue in that moment seemed utterly incomprehensible to North American viewers.

By the same token, The Departed only found a market in North America and the West, suffering fierce backlash in the Western Pacific region. The constant profanity from the characters was completely intolerable to audiences there. During the rooftop scene in particular, Leonardo and Matt Damon incessantly swearing "fuck" entirely ruined the artistic vision of the original...

The differences brought about by culture were vividly illustrated in these two films.

In today's world, Western culture undoubtedly held absolute dominance. This would not change based on personal desires. If Chinese cinema truly wanted to enter the global market, it had to align with globalization trends while maintaining its own unique characteristics.

Then again, no matter how rapidly the film industry developed, Chinese cinema could never sweep across the globe quite like Hollywood movies.

The reason was simple: if any country's film industry wanted to replace Hollywood, that wasn't a problem that could be solved by movies alone.

"Mr. Han, I still don't fully understand the functions of the China Film Group, but I imagine the company you manage and the government departments overseeing the industry must be somewhat similar to the MPAA."

Since he had started speaking, Duke intended to say a bit more. Although he adhered to the principle of profit above all, a part of him had, after all, once lived on this land and strived within this industry.

"The MPAA's job is actually very simple. Basically, it assists Hollywood film companies, protects their work, and improves market access. This is an industry, a business, and expanding the market is extremely important."

Mountain Eagle adopted an expression of earnest listening—or at least, he did on the surface.

Duke knew very well that he couldn't view this leading figure of the Chinese film industry with a narrow perspective. The man had been immersed in the industry for decades; to say he didn't want to see Chinese cinema develop would definitely be a lie.

"And obviously, film production costs are very high," Duke continued. "A writer only needs a pen, and a painter only needs a brush, but a filmmaker requires an army—a highly skilled team working in perfect coordination. Today's film production is expensive. Whether in China or anywhere else, shooting a good movie costs a lot of money. Ensuring you produce a good film that audiences want to see, one that audiences around the world will find interesting, is absolutely crucial."

In any country in the world, even France, cinema was a business.

Duke's words seemed to have had some effect. Mountain Eagle asked quite seriously, "What does Chinese cinema urgently need in order to break into the international market?"

"I'm not sure about Chinese cinema's current positioning, and no one can tell me what sort of global standing it possesses."

At this point, Duke paused and looked at Phil. Phil smiled, not declining the invitation to speak, and picked up where Duke left off. "The number of screens in China is increasing, the number of cinemas is increasing, the number of movies is increasing... All of this tells me that Chinese cinema is walking down a very bright path."

He shifted his tone. "The point I want to make is that your country should be looking at sustained growth. The Chinese market is the foundation. Only by laying a solid foundation is it possible to expand overseas."

Mountain Eagle sighed softly. "It's just that time waits for no man."

He would be retiring in just a few years.

"Mr. Han, this is a universal dilemma in the global film industry." Duke thought for a moment before saying, "If Hollywood only made movies for the American market, we would never have succeeded. The reason we've been successful for so many years—Warner has been growing for nearly a century—is because we create excellent global films. I think you understand this principle. This is the right path, and that is good news for everyone."