Chapter 809: Blowing One's Own Trumpet

The film's final climactic battle was undoubtedly its primary selling point. While its scale and setting were massive, the actual filming was a different story. The aerial sequences relied heavily on CGI, and Duke had confined the ground battles to a single street. This effectively reduced the workload and capital investment required for set construction and CG production.

The film required very few location shots. The vast majority of the acting took place in front of a green screen, with nearly all backgrounds and explosions synthesized via CGI.

"Send people into these buildings."

Standing on a car positioned in front of the green screen, Chris Evans—dressed in his standard Captain America suit—spoke rapidly to two police officers. "The people in these buildings are going to panic, and they might run right into the line of fire. Take them down through the subway, and keep them off the streets!"

Time was tight, and he delivered his lines at a rapid clip. "Block off everything from here all the way to Thirty-Ninth Street."

"Why should we take orders from you?" the police officer replied, waving him off in dissatisfaction.

Duke signaled the cue. Two stuntmen covered in Motion Capture markers leapt onto the car, and Chris Evans easily knocked them to the ground following the pre-choreographed routine.

After Chris Evans swung his Shield and knocked the last "enemy" flying, the police officer immediately shouted into his radio, "Send people into these buildings! Take them down through the subway and keep them off the streets! Block off everything all the way to Thirty-Ninth Street!"

After wrapping up the morning shoot, Duke headed to his office suite to change clothes. Together with Scarlett and Sofia Coppola, who had dropped by specifically to visit the set, he made a trip to a Mexican restaurant near Warner Studios to enjoy some rarely eaten Latin cuisine.

Mexican beef stew, tortillas, and empanadas stuffed with vegetables, meat, and cheese were the restaurant's signature dishes.

However, after just a few bites, both Sofia and Scarlett set down their cutlery. Instead, they opted for a few extra glasses of pure fruit juice.

"The calorie count in these dishes is way too high," Sofia said, setting down her glass. "We've long passed our growth stages. This kind of food is practically a woman's natural enemy."

"Unless you're going for a character role," Scarlett chimed in, "we're better off staying far away from this kind of food."

Duke shrugged. He was long used to this. Once they stopped growing, most actresses developed a habit of dieting, with many essentially living in a constant state of starvation. Sofia Coppola and Scarlett Johansson were actually among the healthier cases, as they still ate regular meals. Some practically substituted their daily meals with meal replacement powders entirely.

In fact, an industry rumor had long circulated that Madonna maintained her current physique by living entirely on water and yoga.

"That rumor's been around forever," Scarlett said with a shrug. "If it were me, I'd rather quit acting than mistreat my stomach like that."

"You've already lost a lot of weight."

Sitting diagonally across from Duke, Sofia reached out and pinched Scarlett's arm. "I really can't believe this is the chubby Scar I used to know."

"That's because someone doesn't like curvy girls." Scarlett glared at Duke before changing the subject. "Tell us about your new movie. Sofia, I remember you were going to shoot on location in France. How come you're back in Los Angeles?"

"The production ran into a bit of a problem," Sofia Coppola said helplessly. "The investor for my new film is Weinstein Pictures, but they had some issues with their cash flow, and the backend funding didn't come through. The crew had no choice but to suspend production."

Funding issues were the one kind of trouble no production crew ever wanted to face. Fortunately, Weinstein Pictures had deep enough pockets that this was likely just a temporary cash flow hiccup. Duke estimated that Sofia's production would be back up and running very soon.

After lunch, Sofia Coppola said her goodbyes and departed. Duke and Scarlett returned to Warner Studios. All the principal cast members had gathered in the main soundstage, as the crew was shooting a crucial scene that afternoon.

After an intense period of setup and lighting adjustments, the six Avengers stood on a prop bridge designed to look as though it had survived the smoke of war.

"Scene two hundred thirty-five, take forty-seven!"

Standing behind the director's monitor, Duke raised his megaphone and shouted the cue himself. "Action!"

In the shot, the six Avengers formed a circle, jointly facing enemies that didn't actually exist on set. The live sound recording equipment was suspended just above their heads by a boom arm.

"Captain..."

Covered in Motion Capture markers, Robert Downey Jr. was the first to speak. "Call it!"

"Alright, listen up." Chris Evans, playing Captain America—Steve Rogers—took charge without hesitation. "Since we can't close the portal, we need to contain the situation."

He pointed diagonally upward at a building, speaking to Jeremy Renner. "Barton, get on that roof. Keep your eyes on everything, and call out the enemy's movements."

Chris Evans then looked at Robert Downey Jr. "Stark, hold the perimeter. Anything that gets more than three blocks out, either drive it back or destroy it."

After enduring countless trials, these bickering freaks had finally united as one.

"Thor," Chris Evans continued, issuing orders to Chris Hemsworth. "You figure out a way to bottleneck that portal. You can summon lightning, right? Use it on these bastards."

"Nat," he said, walking over to Scarlett Johansson. "We'll hold the ground and keep their forces tied down here."

"And Hulk..." Chris Evans pointed a finger at Mark Ruffalo, who was also covered in Motion Capture markers. "Smash!"

"Cut!" Duke called out, stopping the take. "Good job, everyone. Keep that energy, and let's go one more time!"

This shot marked the first time the Avengers truly assembled together on screen. It was a crucial moment, so Duke naturally had to film it several times. The shoot lasted the entire afternoon before he finally approved the take.

Today's work didn't end there, however. Getting all the principal cast members together at once was no easy feat, so Marvel Pictures had specially arranged a press conference for the evening. This allowed the actors to make a collective appearance in front of the media, maintaining the film's buzz among the press and public.

The press conference was held in a banquet format at a hotel near Warner Studios. The main cast and crew sat in the same banquet hall as the journalists—an effective method for boosting media goodwill.

On such an occasion, interviews were, of course, inevitable.

When necessary, Duke never minded standing in front of the media to promote his own film.

"I think comic fans have their own expectations of what a movie about The Avengers will be like, but that really isn't enough."

Facing the multitude of reporters, Duke appeared full of confidence. "I guarantee that audiences will experience something completely unique. Even for people who don't know who the Avengers are, or those who know of them but aren't entirely familiar with them, this movie is worth looking forward to. It's going to give everyone a total surprise."

This was inevitably a bit of blowing his own trumpet, but given Duke's current status and his achievements in the film industry, it carried considerable persuasive power.

After sharing a few brief remarks, Duke largely stepped back and stayed quiet. The true stars of this press conference were the Avengers.

To generate buzz, the probing journalists gradually coaxed out various filming anecdotes—some true, some exaggerated—from the actors.

"When Duke started writing the script, I told him, 'I have to be in the opening scene. I don't care how you write it, but Tony has to fire the first shot.'"

Much like Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jr. spouted off half-jokingly. "But in the end, we tried it and found it wasn't ideal. After all, whether in terms of plot or tone, The Avengers is a completely different kind of movie, and every one of us is just one part of it."

Compared to Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans was much more serious. "Audiences are going to see a darker and more indignant 'Captain America' in The Avengers. After all, suddenly waking up after sleeping for nearly seventy years since World War II, most of the people he once knew have passed away. Living entirely alone in a world that has been turned upside down, that kind of loneliness is naturally very hard for him to bear. He's like a 'fish out of water.' Adapting is going to take time."

Chris Hemsworth focused on his character's relationship with Loki. "To the other members of The Avengers, Loki is just a typical villain who commits all sorts of evil. But for my character, there's a much deeper layer of personal emotion involved. That's Thor's brother, after all. So while filming, I always kept one thing in mind: the battle between Thor and Loki isn't just a clash of good and evil; it's a struggle within a family."

Mark Ruffalo's words revealed that the dynamic between the Hulk and Iron Man would undergo a major shift in the next phase. "In The Avengers, aside from Iron Man who always loves to poke the bear, the other members all try to keep their distance from the Hulk, seeing him as a 'time bomb' ready to go off at any moment. But actually, Tony and Banner have a lot of similarities. Both are mad scientists, and both have a strong rebellious streak. And it's exactly these similar experiences and backgrounds that make the bond between the Hulk and Iron Man so ironclad."

The film's promotion continuously maintained a high level of heat. Because they had already recouped their production costs through product placement, both Marvel Pictures and Warner Brothers increased their marketing budget for The Avengers. The initial budget for this aspect reached a staggering 180 million dollars, with the potential for further additions depending on the situation.

In addition, Marvel Pictures appropriately accepted investment from the China Film Group. The Avengers would undoubtedly be imported into China. Despite various policy restrictions, the Warner Greater China Region still carried out a certain degree of promotional hype in the Chinese market, triggering a strong response from Chinese movie fans.