Chapter 727: Duke and Spielberg

In North America, as Fury Road rolled out show after show, its stellar word-of-mouth swept the movie market like a gale scattering autumn leaves.

During CNN's live interviews, moviegoers exiting the theaters were full of praise, showering the film with comments like, "Great movie, totally blood-pumping!" "Fury Road—it absolutely lives up to its name!" and "An unforgettable style with boundless imagination!"

Of course, as an R-Rated Film, its audience couldn't be as broad as Duke's previous PG-13 films, and inevitably, there would be some who didn't care for it.

"It felt pretty weird from start to finish..."

"I've discovered a movie genre I absolutely never want to watch..."

"The visuals are a bit too intense. Maybe I just don't like this genre, but I couldn't get into the story at all..."

Comments like those weren't completely absent.

However, whether they were ordinary moviegoers or industry professionals, over ninety-five percent of the people who walked into the theaters were full of praise.

Over on Rotten Tomatoes, nearly twenty-four hours into its North American release, the freshness rating for Fury Road sat at a rare one hundred percent.

This was practically a miracle for a Duke film. In the past, whenever one of his movies hit theaters, its Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating would plummet below seventy percent with lightning speed.

It had to be said that as the older generation of critics like Roger Ebert gradually faded from the public eye—or perhaps more accurately, were automatically ignored by the public—a new guard had stepped in. This younger generation understood that their profession no longer wielded such massive influence. They had never lived through the era when critics could supposedly summon the wind and rain, so their conflicts of interest with Duke were nowhere near as sharp as those of their predecessors.

Still, very few commercial directors or film studios actually cared about Rotten Tomatoes. It didn't have half a cent's worth of impact on the summer season box office.

Today, the internet had become an indispensable, crucial pillar of society, and online public opinion wielded an increasingly deep influence on a film's market performance.

From IMDB reviews to posts on Instant Sharing, public opinion across North America was completely one-sided.

"Director Duke Rosenberg, cinematographer John Schwartzman, action choreographer Jimmy Carter, and production designer Hannah Serena—you guys are all freaking epic!"

"It's an absolute adrenaline rush! The first thirty minutes alone left my jaw on the floor multiple times. And the movie basically refuses to hit the brakes. If you had to break it into five or six acts, the dramatic downtime between each act is only about thirty seconds before it ramps right back up into high gear... Tom Cruise barely has any lines for the first two-thirds of the film, but he looks so badass it makes you want to cry. And Goddess Theron, firmly proving that women are not objects, is completely irresistible!"

"Beyond cool, mind-blowingly badass! Duke has elevated the set pieces of Hollywood action blockbusters to a whole new level. The car chases are endlessly inventive. It's climax after climax with zero bathroom breaks. The colors and visual effects during the sandstorm sequence are the absolute best, and the emotional drama hits just the right notes without overstaying its welcome. Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron are both so cool you can hardly handle it. You absolutely MUST see this in IMAX! Explosive, pure insanity until the very end!"

"My internal monologue for the entire runtime was basically: I didn't know movies could be done like this. I didn't know they could be this crazy!"

Compared to the explosive acclaim for Fury Road, the reception for The Adventures of Tintin, which opened during the same window, was thoroughly mediocre.

"Even though it's a Spielberg film, I have to say it's a bad movie. The technical aspects are commendable, sure, but the plot is a dragging, suspense-free mess. It's completely unbelievable and entirely lacks imagination."

"Just watched it. Never mind the cliché plot, it's also stuffed with cheap gags that have nothing to do with the narrative. Tintin's characterization is an utter failure. He always wears this smug, know-it-all expression, and Snowy—who should be the most adorable part of the movie—isn't cute in the slightest!"

"The story relies way too much on coincidence. It's just a sloppy string of events. Honestly, I thought it was incredibly average."

The online discourse directly impacted the box office. Because of its R-Rated Film status, Fury Road couldn't boast the astonishing theater attendance rates of The Dark Knight or Transformers, but it was still easily the highest-grossing film of the weekend. Meanwhile, The Adventures of Tintin trailed far behind Fury Road in both attendance and theater count—falling well below even the industry's lowest projections.

For a massive commercial tentpole with a production budget over a hundred million dollars, a matching promotional budget, and Spielberg in the director's chair, the opening day box office should have easily surpassed $10 million...

However, The Adventures of Tintin completely shattered everyone's expectations.

On its opening Friday, The Adventures of Tintin averaged a mere $1,145 per theater. Across over 3,500 theaters, it scraped together a paltry $4.05 million.

This abysmal result not only sent shockwaves through the industry but also immediately prompted major theater chains to begin slashing the film's showtimes.

Duke had absolutely no interest in David Ellison's reaction. His focus remained locked entirely on his own film.

"For Friday alone, including the midnight screenings..."

On the flight to Phoenix, Tina Fey read off the data that Warner Brothers had just reported. "Fury Road pulled in $24.35 million across 4,050 theaters. Looking at the current trends, The Adventures of Tintin won't even make in its first week what we made in a single day."

Duke nodded. The numbers had already exceeded his expectations. Warner Brothers' stellar marketing and distribution network was the guarantee behind such a strong box office showing.

As one of the top film awards in the world, the Cannes Palme d'Or was bound to carry some weight.

He steered the conversation to another pressing matter. "Have those protesters caused much of an impact?"

"According to the feedback from Warner Brothers, their impact hasn't been particularly significant."

Seeing Scarlett Johansson pour her a cup of black tea, Tina Fey offered a grateful nod before turning to Duke. "Moreover, in the areas where they're making the most noise, various feminist organizations have launched targeted counter-campaigns. Based on what we're seeing, the overall effect on the film is minimal."

She thought for a moment before adding, "There must be someone pulling the strings behind them."

"Hmm..." Duke considered this for a moment. "Ignore them for now. Our main focus should be continuing to build momentum for the film's word-of-mouth."

Scarlett Johansson topped off Duke's teacup, sat down, and had just glanced at the script in front of her when she heard this. Looking up, she asked, "Are you really just going to let it go?"

Duke ignored the question and gestured toward the script with his eyes instead. "So, are you interested?"

Over the years, he had registered a number of scripts with the Writers Guild. This gritty, realistic sci-fi script was one of them—and it was the exact project he had once mentioned to Scarlett, a film entirely carried by a single female lead.

Originally, he had planned to sit on the project for a few more years until Scarlett had matured a bit more as an actress.

But after returning from Cannes, Duke had specifically asked Nancy Josephson to look into the matter. Just as he remembered from his past life, Natalie Portman—heavily backed by William Morris and the broader Jewish Influence in Hollywood—was gearing up to make a charge for the pinnacle of her career.

William Morris had packaged a film called Black Swan, aiming straight for the Oscars two years down the line.

Duke had never been a magnanimous saint. A year ago, he might have sat back and let history take its course, but now, he had absolutely no intention of doing so.

The first Best Actress born in the eighties? That title didn't necessarily have to fall to Natalie Portman. Besides, she wasn't the only exceptionally talented actress of Jewish descent in Hollywood.

Scarlett Johansson closed the script. "It's fascinating. I'm in! Though the space scenes might be a bit of a hassle to shoot."

Taking a sip of his tea, Duke instructed, "I'll hire someone to put you through specialized training. We won't even start pre-production on this until next year, so you have plenty of time. I have faith in you."

"Yeah, I'm confident too," Scarlett said, her eyes shifting playfully before she added, "But what if I don't do a good job...?"

"Don't worry..." Duke cut her off, raising an eyebrow. "If that happens, I'll just strap you to a rocket at the Kennedy Space Center and shoot you into orbit so you can experience it for yourself!"

Scarlett shrank back slightly and turned to look at Tina Fey sitting next to her. "You'll help me when the time comes, right?"

Tina Fey just shrugged and said absolutely nothing.

While Duke was buried in promotional work for Fury Road, Spielberg was busy making the press rounds for The Adventures of Tintin. With their two movies clashing head-to-head at the box office, it was only natural that certain individuals and media outlets—always eager to stir the pot—would try to drive a wedge between the two directors to spark a sensational Hollywood feud. This was despite the fact that neither man had ever said a single negative word about the other.

The Jewish Influence within Hollywood and the media industry was undeniably powerful, but anti-Semitic factions certainly existed as well. If two prominent directors of Jewish descent were to publicly tear each other apart, those groups would be absolutely thrilled.

Having just wrapped up a promotional event at the Santa Monica Commercial Square, Spielberg was intercepted by a reporter the moment he stepped out of the venue.

"Steven..." the reporter called out, thrusting a microphone forward. "Was releasing The Adventures of Tintin this weekend meant to directly target Fury Road? Rumor has it that Duke Rosenberg was involved in suppressing DreamWorks back in the day. Are you holding a grudge against him? What are your thoughts on Duke Rosenberg?"

Spielberg gave the reporter a long, deep look. His relationship with Duke was certainly nothing more than average, but the two of them had no serious personal conflicts, let alone any ruthless, bottom-line-breaking business rivalries.

"The way I see it, Duke Rosenberg is a standout among Hollywood directors. He represents both the present and the future of Hollywood..."

At their level, even when competition naturally arose, they wouldn't easily declare open war. Doing so usually carried unpredictable consequences.

Besides, Spielberg was older now; he lacked the fiery impulsiveness of his younger years.

Spielberg wasn't the only one getting hounded with these kinds of questions. Duke was dealing with it, too.

The moment Duke's flight touched down in Houston and he stepped out of the airport, he was instantly swarmed by a mob of reporters who had been waiting for him.