Chapter 70: Eve of the Showdown

"You are one of the most talented young directors I have ever seen."

Sitting at a table, Roger Ebert looked across at Duke, like an experienced, knowledgeable teacher instructing a student with raw talent but no skill. "You have a unique touch when it comes to capturing images, logical editing, and applying camera techniques..."

He spoke with earnest gravity. "You shouldn't waste these gifts on vulgar commercial films. Go to the independent film circuit. That is the only place you can hone extraordinary cinematic artistry."

"Art?" Duke wore a puzzled expression.

"Only there can you earn artistic validation," Roger Ebert said, "and become a top-tier director."

"Mr. Ebert, you are an authority in film criticism. I'm young and inexperienced, so I trust you wouldn't lie to me."

Duke paused for a moment before continuing. "Are you saying a director who only shoots commercial or popular films can never reach the pinnacle of the cinematic world?"

"Popular?" Roger Ebert shook his head outright. "Mass appeal means vulgarity. Art has always rested in the hands of the few! Duke, your destructive desires currently overshadow your artistic pursuits entirely. You are heading down the wrong path..."

He then adopted a pained expression. "I appreciate you immensely, as do Kenneth and several other critics. We all admire your talent. You are young, gifted, and driven. If you could just correct this early misstep..."

Besides, was it really impossible for a commercial filmmaker to become the world's top director? James Cameron had seemingly never shot an arthouse film, yet his status in the industry was unshakable.

Armed with his own mature perspectives, Duke absolutely wasn't going to change his plans just because of a critic's lengthy lecture—even if that critic was Roger Ebert.

"Well... Mr. Ebert."

This was a fundamental clash of ideals. In the end, Duke couldn't hold back. "As far as I know, George Lucas..."

Before he could finish, Roger Ebert cut him off. "Lucas? Has he ever won Oscar Best Director?"

The famous critic's expression soured. Duke's unintentional remark had struck a nerve. Over a decade ago, Ebert had been among those who fiercely condemned Star Wars as a doomed film. The slap in the face he received back then still stung whenever he thought about it.

"I imagine the Oscar doesn't represent everything, does it?" Duke tried his best to soften his tone.

The Rock was nearing its release, and falling out with these top-tier critics wouldn't do him any good. Although he didn't care about their opinions, the men still wielded some influence.

Their cinematic philosophies were worlds apart. Roger Ebert spoke a few more words, but seeing that Duke was merely brushing him off, he simply walked away.

"The Oscar doesn't represent everything..."

A voice with a flat, nasal tone suddenly sounded from behind him. Sofia walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat directly beside Duke. "Director Rosenberg's self-confidence is absolutely bursting at the seams," she teased.

"Everyone wants an Oscar Golden Statuette." Duke shrugged, nonchalant. "But there's no need to take it too seriously."

No matter what other directors did, Duke wasn't going to go out of his way to shoot a film specifically to bait awards just because he wanted to win Best Director.

"Why aren't you upstairs doing interviews?"

Debating a topic like that wouldn't yield a result even if they argued all day, so Sofia simply changed the subject. "The media reporters have had a pretty good reaction to the film."

"The current focus of the promotion is Lee," Duke said, spreading his hands. "Besides, I'm a director, not a star who needs exposure."

The Sean Connery scandal was still brewing. As his ex-wife joined the ranks of his accusers, the media dug up more and more of his dark past. Under Warner's PR orchestration, the press continually compared Christopher Lee to him. In the process, the character John Mason and The Rock were repeatedly brought up, achieving the exact promotional effect they had anticipated.

Aside from routine campaigns, the initial promotion for The Rock primarily revolved around Christopher Lee's legendary experiences. Once the film premiered, they would shift to new marketing angles.

This was the most fundamental promotional strategy for any film; the marketing team would never play all their cards at once.

Warner handled the bulk of the party's public relations, leaving Duke to act purely as a companion. He just needed to smile when appropriate and chime in with a few cooperative words when necessary. He wasn't a rigid or aloof person; he understood that this was simply the most normal kind of social networking in Hollywood.

Of course, forming ties and faking friendship with these critics—leeches feeding off the film industry—was all a sham. The most crucial factors were the checks and expensive gifts handed out by Warner Brothers.

According to Robin Grande, Warner had allocated a budget of 250,000 dollars for Roger Ebert alone.

Even though Ebert had his own newspaper column and film review show, it was still a tempting sum.

The PR party dragged on late into the night before finally concluding. By the time Duke walked out of the hotel, his face felt like it had frozen into a permanent smile.

The night deepened, but the top-floor conference room of the Century City Fox building remained brightly lit. Several Fox executives, including Thomas Rothman, sat alongside the CAA agency team led by Martin Bob. They were joined by key cast and crew members, including Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, all gathered around the long conference table.

"I just received the audience survey statistics from the test screening of The Rock," Martin Bob said slowly, hanging up the phone.

For the titans of Hollywood, there weren't many secrets in this circle, especially since test screening results generally didn't fall under the studios' confidentiality protocols.

Martin Bob didn't bother keeping them in suspense and said directly, "Warner collected a total of 456 questionnaires. Out of those, 415 gave it an A or A+ rating. Only 17 were rated below a C!"

Everyone's expressions darkened, and Thomas Rothman's brows knitted together. This word-of-mouth reception completely blew Speed's test screenings out of the water. If they applied the same audience-to-box-office conversion rate as Speed, The Rock was likely going to generate staggering North America box office numbers.

For a brief moment, Thomas Rothman toyed with the idea of delaying the release date for Interview with the Vampire, but he quickly dismissed it. Ever since principal photography began, they had been promoting it for a release on the first weekend of May. Coupled with the intensive marketing during post-production, Twentieth Century Fox had poured nearly five million dollars into promotional expenses alone. If they rashly changed the release date, a significant portion of that money would go down the drain. Not only would their preliminary marketing efforts be rendered useless, but their contracts with the theater chains would also be voided, meaning they would have to pay a hefty penalty fee.

Besides, Interview with the Vampire had also held a test screening recently, and its word-of-mouth wasn't any worse than that of The Rock. Its only real disadvantage lay in its genre.

"Thomas, the other side lacks an A-list star in their marketing," Martin Bob said. On the surface, he looked brimming with confidence, as if Interview with the Vampire would sweep away all opposition just like CAA's past package deals. He glanced at Cruise, who was sitting next to him. "Don't forget, we have Tom."

Tom Cruise habitually tilted his chin up. He certainly had the right to be proud. As an A-list superstar of this era, he possessed a box office draw that would be unmatched in the internet information age. Ever since Top Gun, he had been virtually guaranteed box office success.

No matter how one looked at it, Interview with the Vampire wasn't just on par with The Rock—it had a clear edge. According to past Hollywood experience, even a slight gap between concurrently released films often translated into a massive difference in box office numbers.

The Fox executives discussed it for a bit before finalizing their plan. Interview with the Vampire would keep its original release date, and they would ramp up their promotional efforts simultaneously. Whether Tom Cruise sparked some recent rumors or tabloid gossip, the goal was to grab the public's attention and draw the media's focus.

How to better promote a movie wasn't a problem exclusive to Twentieth Century Fox; Duke and Warner Brothers were facing the exact same issue. Just like Interview with the Vampire, delaying The Rock would result in massive losses. Furthermore, every weekend of the Summer Season saw the release of commercial blockbusters, and none of them were easy pushovers. If the film dropped out of the Summer Season, all their preliminary marketing work would be completely wasted.

Fortunately, the commercial for The Rock had debuted during the Super Bowl, leaving a profound impression on the North America public. To a certain extent, it made up for their lack of A-list star power.

Before May arrived, The Rock and Interview with the Vampire appeared intensively across major media outlets. The press and film critics who had attended the test screenings for both films began rallying the crowds, launching the final and most crucial marketing bombardment.

Although The Rock was clearly a better fit for the popcorn atmosphere of the Summer Season, Duke didn't let his guard down. This was the era where Tom Cruise's career was soaring ever higher, Brad Pitt was steadily gathering popularity, and Kirsten Dunst was a highly renowned child star. Combined with the reader base of the original novel, Interview with the Vampire was an incredibly formidable opponent.

But he wasn't afraid. If he retreated just because he feared the competition, he might as well quit this cutthroat industry right now. What top-tier director hadn't fought their way through the encirclement of rival films time and time again?

As the first weekend of May drew closer, Warner's preparations for the film's premiere gradually fell into place. The premiere was ultimately scheduled to take place on the entertainment plaza of Alcatraz Island. If judged solely by the appeal of the premiere venue, The Rock utterly trounced Interview with the Vampire.

However, a film ultimately had to rely on its own quality and commercial performance to do the talking. They would have to wait until after the premiere for any concrete feedback.