Chapter 906: Funding Chinese-American Students

Duke and George Lucas certainly had no conflict. This was all just for promotional purposes. In Hollywood's marketing strategies, a pair of sworn enemies presented to the media and public could actually be close friends, and close friends could just as easily be sworn enemies.

Of course, neither Lucasfilm nor Warner Brothers actually wanted George Lucas to interfere with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The media was bound to ask George Lucas such questions, and "creative differences" was the most fitting excuse.

"Creative differences" could also simply be called "discord." Hollywood companies did not like unruly employees, and directors who overly pursued their individuality would undermine a producer's authority. In this circle, whoever put up the money was the boss. How could directors or actors be allowed to do whatever they pleased?

Replacing the director for a Hollywood blockbuster's sequel was common. "Creative differences" served as the best excuse for a replaced director. In truth, most stepped down voluntarily, failed to meet expectations, or simply asked for too much money.

Many had undoubtedly heard of actors being turned away by studios for demanding too high a salary; the same applied to directors.

Skyrocketing to fame after a massive hit would cause their asking price to soar. With "cost control" being a primary way to turn a profit, the studio might simply be unwilling to shoulder such an exorbitant salary.

Following the massive success of Alien in 1979, Twentieth Century Fox did not bring back director Ridley Scott. Instead, they extended an olive branch to James Cameron, who was highly favored thanks to The Terminator. Years later, when recalling the incident, Ridley Scott still expressed surprise, unable to believe the studio had not approached him. However, he also admitted that if he had taken the helm for the sequel, his asking price would have been very high.

A studio's direct goal in financing a movie was to make money. No one was willing to risk taking a loss by blindly throwing money at the budget.

Having entered retirement, George Lucas seemed to have lost his reservations. Aside from cooperating with the promotion for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he frequently fired shots at Hollywood's traditional production model.

While appearing as a guest on a CBS Television Network news program to discuss the dramatic changes currently taking place in the industry, he blasted the film companies. "Hollywood today is increasingly lacking in creativity and imagination."

"If a movie isn't good enough, the fault mostly lies with those movie titans. The early Big Eight studios possessed both artistic and commercial value. They continuously discovered interesting novels and stories, then adapted them into films. But now, Hollywood has been completely taken over by financial capital. They don't understand the movie business at all, and talented directors simply cannot utilize their abilities under the current Hollywood system."

George Lucas believed he had been very fortunate during the era when he created the Star Wars series. At that time, a producer at Twentieth Century Fox gave him a great deal of creative freedom.

"He liked my American Graffiti, so he completely trusted my vision. Whatever request I made, he would do his utmost to help me realize it. He considered certain things to be my area of expertise, so he wouldn't interfere with how a shot of a dog flying around a spaceship was handled! But today, it's truly difficult to meet a producer like that!"

George Lucas's words held deep meaning, but he alone could not change the situation in Hollywood. Moreover, only after retiring would he say something like this.

At the end of the day, he was still a beneficiary of the Hollywood system.

The media inevitably linked this matter to Duke. Many outlets believed George Lucas's target was precisely Duke. After all, Duke could be called the representative of Hollywood's industrial assembly-line model.

"Will Duke Rosenberg's Star Wars: The Force Awakens recreate the glory, or will it tarnish a classic?"

News commentary like this circulated everywhere in the media and on the internet, serving as excellent promotion for the film. Controversy bred discussion.

On the set in Iceland, the American reporters who had followed him there specifically interviewed Duke regarding George Lucas. Duke appeared quite humble. Doing this to grab attention for promotion was one aspect, but George Lucas's friendship with the Rosenberg Family was another.

Duke expressed that his gratitude and respect for George Lucas were boundless. "He used the available resources to develop digital special effects, digital editing, digital sound effects, and digital cinematography technology. He opened a door for me, allowing me to translate the thoughts in my head into a finished work on film."

Although he didn't mention George Lucas's storytelling abilities, Duke gave high praise for his creation and innovation in Hollywood film technology. "I feel that everything he has contributed to the entire film industry far exceeds the returns he received. He is the Thomas Edison of the film world. Without George Lucas's innovations back then, perhaps there wouldn't be the current The Lord of the Rings Trilogy or even superhero movies today."

This was all part of Duke cooperating with Lucasfilm and Warner Brothers' marketing and promotional work in his free time between filming.

His main job at this stage was still to finish shooting the film as quickly as possible.

The forest park in Iceland had been cleared out. All media reporters and unrelated personnel who might cause the upcoming scenes to leak early were escorted out of the park by the crew's security staff and local management.

Next, under Duke's strong insistence, not only did the forest park management withdraw from the shooting location, but even the majority of the crew had to leave, with no exceptions made even for lead actors like Oscar Isaac.

Those who remained on-site to participate in the shooting had all signed rigorous non-disclosure agreements.

This scene only required three actors: Lee Pace playing the major villain Kylo Ren, Daniel Wu playing the male lead Finn, and Daisy Ridley playing the female lead Rey.

"Crew is ready!"

"Actors are ready!"

"Lighting is ready!"

"Props are ready!"

All departments had finished their preparations. Daniel Wu and Lee Pace walked in front of the camera as "snowflakes" fell. At Duke's command, they each swung the Lightsabers in their hands and began a Lightsaber battle.

The shooting was constantly interrupted. Action choreographer Jimmy Carter frequently corrected Daniel Wu and Lee Pace's movements. Furthermore, during the shoot, although Daniel Wu raised his Lightsaber, his actual combat power wasn't very high. He was absolutely no match for a member of the Skywalker Family who possessed a powerful connection to The Force.

Star Wars pioneered Lightsaber combat, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens naturally had to face this unique challenge. The previous prop Lightsabers were coated with front-projection material that was easily damaged. Moreover, when the material moved off-axis, the light effect weakened, requiring optical compositing.

This time, Duke used in-camera processing methods, achieving far more significant and impressive results.

These interactive practical lighting effects created by the Lightsabers were enough to thrill Star Wars fans. Constructing them and making them emit sufficient light for combat wasn't difficult for Duke and the professionals. They could program the light intensity and balance the on-set color temperature, establishing behavioral patterns for the lighting. Thus, when the two Lightsabers clashed, they would erupt with an intense flash—which became the primary light source in the dark environment.

When replacing the Lightsaber with digital special effects, unlike in previous films, Duke could easily increase the brightness without needing to fake or change the direction of the light.

At the end of an afternoon of shooting, after countless fragmented takes, this crucial fight scene reached its final stage. Daniel Wu was knocked to the ground, the Skywalker Lightsaber in his grasp flying from his hands, and Rey, lying on the ground, reached out her hand...

"Cut!" Duke shouted. "We'll call it a day here."

The crew members began to pack up the set and equipment, and Duke stood up from his director's chair. The weather in Iceland could absolutely not be considered warm. It was already very close to the Arctic, and with the somewhat gloomy sky and the cold winds occasionally blowing through the forest, he shivered involuntarily, having just arrived from the Abu Dhabi desert.

Tina Fey came over from behind right on time with a cup of hot tea. "Take a sip and warm up."

"Thanks." Duke nodded slightly to her. Without standing on ceremony, he took it and had a sip. The tea's temperature was just right. As it rolled down his throat into his stomach, his entire body warmed up. "Tina, you should have some too. You've been standing out in this cold wind for a long time."

Tina Fey screwed the lid back on the thermos holding the tea and smiled. "I already drank some while you were shooting."

An assistant director walked over to tidy up Duke's director workstation.

Duke shook his head, pulling himself out of his filming mindset, and asked, "Has there been any notable news in North America recently?"

"You'd better return Scar's call tonight," Tina Fey reminded him solemnly. "She was complaining a bit that you didn't attend the premiere of Captain America 2."

"Yeah." Duke pulled his overcoat tighter. "Remember to remind me tonight."

"One more thing," Tina Fey continued. "Our donation to the USC Film School in the name of Star Wars has received a response from USC. The media outlets under Warner are already preparing to report on it."

Duke thought for a moment and said, "You take charge of following up on this matter."

After that press conference, Duke had established a film foundation in the name of Star Wars and donated 10 million dollars to the USC Film School. This was exclusively designated to fund Chinese-American and Latino students at the USC Film School. It was also the largest single donation aimed at student financial aid that USC had ever received in its history.

Having Tina Fey keeping an eye on the work in this area was more than enough.

After chatting with Tina Fey, Duke specifically went over to check on the staff sealing the film stock. Although the shooting of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was proceeding smoothly, he couldn't afford to be careless about anything.