Chapter 78: Tricky Questions

Sitting in their chairs, Duke and the others stared at the television in the lounge. It was an entertainment program on NBC's local Los Angeles station, broadcasting a video clip of an interview recorded just this morning.

On the TV screen, that handsome and suave face wore its iconic smile, but the words coming out were far less appealing than his looks.

"Let me point out a few logical and plot errors."

Watching Tom Cruise on the television, Duke knew the actor was about to spout nonsense. Past memory told him that without a publicist or an agent to guide him, Tom's behavior and words could sometimes shock everyone to the core.

"In the opening scene where they steal the missiles, the Marines' grapple guns actually spark in the dark? Furthermore, based on the sway of the grapple hook after it nails into the wall, it couldn't possibly support a person's weight. How did they slide across the ropes?"

"Sliding across the ropes, smashing the glass, and kicking down the tower guard—wouldn't that be loud? No one noticed? And where exactly did the grapple need to anchor to ensure it punched right through the glass? How did the guards fail to notice it being fired?"

"A tall soldier hides behind a pillar, holding his gun with both hands, before spinning around to take down two men. The footage clearly shows both his arms completely exposed. The enemy really couldn't see that?"

"The hand-to-hand combat between the Marines and Mason is totally amateur. General Hummel makes constant command errors. How does that look like the most outstanding commander of the Vietnam War? They don't act like who they are supposed to be!"

"Mason and Goodspeed are imprisoned, yet there are no guards? That allows Mason to easily break out after making a huge noise. This is the most amateur mistake possible, right?"

"Mason and Goodspeed are fighting in the sewers one moment and on the surface the next. Finally, Goodspeed is blown into the sea and rescued onto the shore. How did their clothes dry so fast?"

Obviously, even though Tom Cruise had only seen The Rock once, he was highly observant!

"When Goodspeed lights the flares, how are they spotted through binoculars at the exact last second? Where were those binoculars even located? According to the footage, the bomber jet is right overhead. How did the pilot fail to spot it visually?"

"When Goodspeed gets blown away by the explosion, how does he manage to trace a perfect arc into the ocean and land completely uninjured in a patch of water devoid of rocks?"

"Where and when did Mason manage to find a clean piece of paper and a pencil to write that note?"

"And then there's the highly praised bomb-perspective shot. The F-18 fighter jet drops its payload and immediately pulls up at a ninety-degree angle into the sky. What kind of tactical maneuver and mechanical performance is that? I know fighter jets, and currently, there is no fighter or pilot in the world that can accomplish that!"

In just a few short minutes, Tom Cruise had picked out ten mistakes in The Rock!

Sitting there, Duke remained calm, showing no visible reaction. Tom Cruise wasn't a fool; everything he pointed out was an objective flaw in the film. While this was standard fare for action movies—if one wanted to nitpick, any sci-fi action blockbuster, including Terminator 2, would yield a mountain of logical and detailed errors that few people actually cared about—no one could underestimate Tom Cruise's influence. His remarks were bound to have some impact on the film.

Competitors dragging each other through the mud was standard practice in Hollywood. Let alone Duke, even Nicholas Cage and Ed Harris sitting beside him in the lounge showed no change in expression. If rivals actually got along amicably without resorting to underhanded tactics, that would be the real anomaly.

In fact, since this morning, a massive wave of positive and negative reviews regarding The Rock and Interview with the Vampire had flooded the media. Neither Warner Brothers nor Twentieth Century Fox had slacked off on their behind-the-scenes maneuvers; Tom Cruise was merely a microcosm of it all.

In this arena of fame and fortune, the battle for public opinion was a literal war zone. The warring sides wouldn't just toss out a few harmless remarks about a movie being bad or doomed to fail. Once they seized an opportunity or caught an opponent's mistake, they would ruthlessly hammer away until they secured total victory.

Of course, Duke had never been the kind of saint to suffer in silence. Before arriving at the NBC studios today, he had already coordinated with Nancy, Warner Brothers, and NBC. Since they were playing dirty, how could he sit out on the fun?

Besides, reputation was exceptionally vital to an idol star like Tom Cruise, but to a director who operated mostly behind the scenes, it was just better than nothing. Past, present, and future, directors never let their reputations do the talking. There were countless directors who suffered from foot-in-mouth disease. Take the future Explosion Bay, for example, who spent all day arguing with the media and critics, spewing an endless stream of curses, yet his films still sold like hotcakes.

Not to mention those scandal-ridden directors...

Perhaps actors like Nicholas Cage needed to be cautious, but Duke couldn't care less. Since Tom Cruise had stuck his neck out, he was definitely going to hit back. Mudslinging? They could all play that game.

Duke exchanged a few more words with Nancy before heading into the makeup room.

There was no such thing as going truly bare-faced on camera. Even someone with flawless skin would look horrific in a close-up without makeup. Duke let the makeup artist dab away at his face, casually chatting with Christopher Lee beside him. When the host, Leno, walked in, he briefly went over the script with her.

The program was called The Tonight Show with Leno, one of NBC's flagship talk shows. As usual, the spotlight wasn't on the director; the three lead actors were the true stars.

Thus, once the show started, Duke sat off to the side and rarely spoke.

"Director Rosenberg, word is that General Hummel is your favorite character?"

After a string of questions, host Leno finally turned to Duke, whose presence had been almost non-existent. "What are your thoughts on Ed and his portrayal of General Hummel?"

"I wouldn't call him my favorite. The characters in this film are all like my children. Regardless of whether the movie receives good or bad reviews, I had a specific reason for choosing each character. There's no playing favorites."

The female host kept her eyes on him. "Could you be more specific about General Hummel and Ed's performance? Media polls suggest he's the most moving character in the film. I'm sure the audience here would love to hear the director's perspective!"

A round of applause erupted from the studio audience.

"If everyone has seen the movie, they should realize that General Hummel isn't some evil villain. He could even be considered a hero."

This hadn't been a pre-arranged question, but it posed no challenge to Duke. Gathering his thoughts for a moment, he said, "He didn't take hostages for personal gain, but to defend the honor of his fallen brothers in arms—unfortunately, a single lapse in judgment nearly turned him into a terrorist slaughtering civilians."

Duke then shifted his gaze to Ed Harris. "Ed possesses a profound military aura. Even in an action-packed film like The Rock, he masterfully portrays every subtle shift in the character's mindset. He was the only person we ever wanted for General Hummel. I never once considered anyone else for the role."

Given the setting, Duke didn't hold back his praise. "In my opinion, Ed is the most underrated actor in Hollywood. He can play absolutely any role. He perfectly captured that sense of resentment military leaders often hold toward the government. He brought out the very soul of General Hummel. He is exactly how I envisioned the character."

Enthusiastic applause echoed through the studio. In truth, anyone who had seen the movie knew that Ed Harris fully deserved such high praise.

"How do you view your own performance and character?" the host asked the actor at the perfect moment.

"Playing General Hummel was much more difficult and complex than many of the roles I've played in the past. I think I did pretty well."

Ed Harris smiled, adding modestly, "I received a lot of help from Lieutenant Colonel Lenho. He's a former Navy SEAL and the military consultant for this film. We went over the dialogue together many times, tweaking it to better match how a soldier actually speaks, giving it more... making it read more naturally. But some of the lines were real tongue-twisters. All that stuff about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, the revolution—it was genuinely hard to recite."

The audience erupted into warm laughter and applause.

The bulk of the segment had focused on the three actors, but the host had clearly saved the final moments for Duke. She continued, "I heard that you personally handpicked Lee to play John Mason. Do you feel his performance met your expectations?"

"Absolutely!" Duke pointedly flashed a thumbs-up in Christopher Lee's direction. "Lee's first scene during filming was when Mason walked out of his prison cell. I was completely blown away. He exuded such a complex aura—neither a purely good guy nor a bad guy, just someone radiating an incredibly dangerous sense of menace! I honestly believe no one could have played John Mason better than Lee!"

"Also, there was a scene during filming where a Marine gets killed by Mason with a dagger."

"I remember that. It was in the morgue," the host chimed in smoothly.

Duke adopted a conspiratorial tone. "I actually tried instructing the actor on what kind of sound to make when getting stabbed by a dagger, but Lee interrupted me!"

"Oh?"

The host was deeply intrigued, and the audience leaned in with equal curiosity.

"Lee looked straight at me and said," Duke continued, not keeping them in suspense any longer, "that a person getting stabbed wouldn't be able to scream, 'Ah! Ah!' Instead, it would be a short, breathy grunt, something more like, 'Urgh, urgh'."

"As for how Lee happens to know that kind of detail..." Duke deliberately turned to look at Christopher Lee before smoothly changing the subject. "Let's just say, I can confidently promise that the scene you see on screen is one of the most realistic knife kills in cinematic history!"

The studio immediately fell silent. The media had relentlessly hyped up the history of Christopher Lee and Sean Connery a while ago, so the audience naturally understood exactly why Lee knew so much about killing.

Then, a thunderous round of applause erupted once more. This ovation was dedicated entirely to Christopher Lee. After hearing Duke's anecdote, the crowd clearly respected the veteran actor even more.

Though it made for slightly exaggerated promotional flair, Duke had told the absolute truth. During filming, Lee genuinely had broken down the exact sounds a person makes when dying in various ways.

The show gradually wound down to its final segment—the time reserved for the truly tricky questions.

Host Leno had no intention of making things difficult for the three actors. She targeted Duke directly, asking without an ounce of politeness, "Could you comment on The Rock's current rival in theaters, Interview with the Vampire?"