Chapter 741: Lucas's Status

"Cameron's Twelve Years to Sharpen a Sword: New Film 'Avatar Day' Launches!"

Just after returning to Los Angeles, Duke participated in a promotional campaign. Together with James Cameron, he released news of their upcoming super blockbuster's impending launch. Boasting a massive total investment of 550 million dollars, the new film Avatar, which took James Cameron five years to create, would screen a fifteen-minute segment for free in digital theaters across multiple countries and regions worldwide on December 11.

Just like James Cameron, Duke, as one of the film's three major investors, became a target of the media siege.

"We are doing something unprecedented," he said in an interview. "This will be a social marketing experiment. On December 11, we will hold screenings in many IMAX 3D theaters and select 3D cinemas worldwide. We want fans around the globe to watch this fifteen-minute clip of Avatar for free. This day will become 'Avatar Day'!"

Avatar's marketing broke from traditional trailer releases and promotional campaigns. Although 3D and IMAX technologies were becoming increasingly popular in North America, on a global scale, the latest wave of 3D cinema had not truly taken off until after Transformers. A significant portion of moviegoers still had not had the chance to step into a 3D theater, and some were still deterred by exorbitant ticket prices.

This new promotional method would allow more people to walk into theaters and experience a 3D film for free. It was undoubtedly a forward-looking, groundbreaking initiative.

On December 11, "Avatar Day," audiences could enjoy footage of Avatar in select 3D and IMAX theaters. Furthermore, an Avatar-themed video game and movie action figures would be released concurrently.

During "Avatar Day," 248 IMAX theaters across the United States and approximately 700 3D screens in 438 theaters across 77 other countries and regions simultaneously screened this Avatar clip, which required 3D glasses to watch. Twentieth Century Fox officially announced that the online trailer for Avatar had previously racked up a staggering 7.8 million views on its release day on Instant Sharing, shattering the previous single-day record of 4.2 million views held by the Transformers 2 trailer.

"The last time Duke Rosenberg and James Cameron teamed up, they brought us Titanic."

Some comments clearly reflected why the trailer was so incredibly popular.

"We have every reason to believe that two directors at the very pinnacle of Hollywood will once again deliver an era-defining super blockbuster."

The sixteen-minute footage shown on "Avatar Day" contained five segments from Avatar, along with a fast-paced preview montage. Director James Cameron personally appeared on the 3D screen to lead audiences into the world of Avatar.

If Transformers had gradually endeared 3D and IMAX to the public, this sixteen-minute Avatar footage practically ushered in a new era of cinema.

"After watching these fifteen minutes, I finally understand why Duke Rosenberg, Warner Brothers, and Twentieth Century Fox invested 550 million dollars, and why James Cameron waited over a decade to start filming, spending so many years to complete this masterpiece. Whether in character design, art direction, or computer special effects, this work is arguably a top-tier finished product."

"The color and reflective precision of the aliens' skin simply couldn't be achieved from the nineties up to the early two thousands, let alone in 3D. Duke Rosenberg and James Cameron were the earliest pioneers to advocate for 3D cinema. I also realize why those directors and theater owners who saw the short clip gave it such high ratings and had such high expectations."

"If the full movie can maintain the level of these fifteen minutes, I'd happily pay 100 dollars to see the IMAX 3D version and consider it well worth the ticket price. Not to mention there might be even more bizarre things toward the end, along with those aircraft aerial battles. But it's absolutely impossible to watch the regular 35-millimeter version of this movie; 3D is the entire point. It's hard to imagine what all those things I just saw would look like reverting to normal 2D."

Veteran movie buffs who watched the footage spared no hyperbole. Even though the ten-plus minutes James Cameron had cut were far from the film's true essence, they were fully deserving of such praise.

"Avatar's 3D stereoscopic effects surpass every other 3D movie from recent years. It can be called an entirely new realm of 3D. Furthermore, the lifelike realism of the CG characters is a new milestone in the history of the film industry. You can see Director Cameron's dedication and incredible directorial prowess in every segment. However, fifteen minutes is just too short. It ended right when everyone was left wanting more. I really want to just watch the full version of Avatar..."

—This came from a British fan.

"Visually, nothing comes close to what Cameron has achieved now. Although I wasn't too thrilled with the character designs, they were brought to life on screen in a genuine and exciting way; for a moment, I even felt like I was on Planet Pandora. When I first saw the Na'vi, it really felt terrible, but once you watch for five minutes, it feels perfectly natural. All in all, Planet Pandora defies human imagination."

—An Australian fan.

"The 3D effects are absolutely stunning, a full hundred times better than those cash-grab films converted to 3D in post-production! Even Transformers, which is currently recognized as having the best 3D effects, can't compare to Avatar. The powerful 3D actually distracted me a bit at first; it took a while to adapt. Even when there are intense action close-ups, you get an immersive feeling, and when the camera is still, you discover the sheer depth of the image. It's truly breathtaking!"

—A Chinese fan.

"The IMAX 3D stereoscopic footage of Avatar was simply amazing! It was super exciting, incredibly magical, and incomparably shocking! The entire theater was filled with endless gasps of amazement; everyone was utterly dumbfounded. This truly is a revolutionary cinematic masterpiece!"

—A Japanese fan.

Behind every massive box office hit lay outstanding marketing. Accompanying a film's production costs were often massive promotional budgets equal to or even far exceeding the production budget itself—such as with those widely known low-cost blockbusters.

Take The Blair Witch Project, for instance, leaving aside the distribution costs for prints. For a film that cost merely a few tens of thousands of dollars to make, a staggering 25 million dollars was thrown solely into its promotion and distribution!

Or take this year's Paranormal Activity. Paramount Pictures spent over 6.5 million dollars on prints alone, and more than 40 million dollars on promotion...

On top of the production costs, the three major investors allotted over 300 million dollars in promotional and marketing expenses for Avatar. Duke and the others were willing to throw down this money because the copyrights to Avatar would be owned entirely by their three investment parties.

Similarly, the copyrights for The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity belonged to their respective companies. Otherwise, studios like Paramount Pictures would absolutely never invest such massive sums of money into these projects. If people with vastly unequal status joined in and demanded half or even a majority of the profits, these profit-driven Hollywood companies would not hesitate to axe the projects.

After all, from concept to content to shooting techniques, those two films could only be described as "super terrible." For a trend-chasing powerhouse like Hollywood, replicating similar films without stepping on copyright landmines was not difficult at all.

Avatar, however, possessed an unreplicable nature. While no one in Hollywood was irreplaceable, there was only one James Cameron in the world.

In the center of the spacious dining room sat a long oak dining table. Across from it were transparent floor-to-ceiling windows made of tempered glass, which took in the entire enchanting view of Malibu Beach. If the small windows were opened, the slightly salty, cool sea breeze would gently brush across every inch of the dining room like a lover's hand.

Several people sat on both sides of the table, chatting and laughing continuously. One did not need to look closely to know that the atmosphere of the banquet was extremely harmonious, clearly not held purely for the sake of socializing.

Sitting across from Duke and Scarlett Johansson were none other than George Lucas and his girlfriend, Mellody Hobson. The former needed no introduction, while the latter was also an illustrious figure in the industry—she was the president of the animation department at DreamWorks Animation Studio.

George Lucas and Mellody Hobson had started dating a few years ago, stunning quite a few people at the time. The reason was simple: Mellody Hobson was a pure black woman. Even though slogans against racial discrimination were shouted at the top of their lungs, Hollywood was arguably one of the circles with the most severe racial discrimination.

Fortunately, Mellody Hobson was not someone from a traditional black community background. She came from a good background, had received a higher education, and her family belonged to the mainstream middle class. Perhaps it would be more fitting to describe her as a coconut—black on the outside, white on the inside. Otherwise, George Lucas and his children would not have accepted her.

Of course, just like Will Smith or O-Coal, the black people who could truly cross into the mainstream were basically all coconuts.

"The French food is quite good," George Lucas said to Duke, glancing at Mellody Hobson as she chatted with Scarlett. "Very authentic."

"This is a chef Scar specifically hired from Paris."

Setting down his knife and fork, Duke raised his glass to George Lucas. "I don't have any particular hobbies when it comes to gourmet food."

"Yeah," George Lucas agreed. "Everyone in Hollywood knows that the current Duke Rosenberg only likes movies."

"Mainstream commercial movies."

Duke deliberately added that line, making them both laugh.

After the laughter died down, George Lucas spoke again. "It's exactly commercial operations that made movies the most important form of cultural entertainment in the world, and it's commerce that allowed Hollywood films to conquer the globe."

"I strongly agree with that," Duke said, setting down his knife and fork.

"So..." George Lucas gestured with his hand. "You've invested in James Cameron once again, hoping to recreate another cinematic miracle?"

"I wouldn't call it a miracle..." Duke thought for a moment before speaking solemnly to George Lucas. "Actually, for Hollywood to reach this current landscape, George, everyone ought to thank you."

He was speaking from the heart, and it was also an industry consensus. George Lucas might rank last among Hollywood's four major directors, but when it came to his status within the entire Hollywood film industry, he absolutely surpassed Martin Scorsese and Francis Coppola.