Chapter 946: Infinite Possibilities

The media was a double-edged sword. Duke knew this well, but he didn't deliberately avoid the issue. At this stage in his career, though he wasn't the type to act recklessly, he had no reason to keep quiet either. Besides, over the years, certain media outlets under Walt Disney had never stopped slandering and attacking him.

There were also the self-important professional film outlets. They always mentioned his name with disdain, as if the movies he directed were synonymous with vulgarity.

"No matter how the media judges me, I've never let it get me down. Maybe over an isolated review or something similar, but never before a movie is even released."

Compared to his earlier calm, Duke's tone was now brimming with confidence.

"The people who never stop to consider what we're actually doing just see a campaign to tear us down. My team and I are painted as the stupidest people in cinematic history, churning out movies that are nothing but trash every single time."

He shrugged dismissively. "But why does a studio spend two hundred million dollars on a project? You know that's a massive budget. If we aren't making mainstream movies for the masses, are we supposed to blow two hundred million on a niche film? I won't let them ruin my movies. I'll do everything in my power to make the movies that I and the mainstream audience love."

"Speaking of your movies..." Ellen DeGeneres's questions gradually turned sharper. "Which of your own films is your favorite?"

"All of them." Duke wasn't an idiot. "My colleagues and I poured our blood, sweat, and tears into making them. Every single one is like my own child."

"Word has it you took part in an internal Hollywood panel last month. The attendees included David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, and many other major directors."

Ellen DeGeneres then asked, "You all had a massive disagreement at the meeting. Why was that?"

"It was a very normal internal industry discussion, much like having different production philosophies," Duke replied casually. "We just have different views on the future of the film business."

In truth, the disagreement at that meeting was far more severe than Duke let on. It directly concerned the future of the film industry and threatened to spark a revolutionary change in how the independent film circuit operated.

Since the previous year, major studios led by Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, and Universal Pictures had been searching for new profit avenues for the film industry. They planned to launch a product that would allow audiences to watch newly released movies from the comfort of their homes simultaneously with the theatrical release.

Newly released movies could be pushed directly to users' homes via a set-top box. A single movie would cost fifty dollars, remaining valid for forty-eight hours after payment, but it could only be viewed once.

Additionally, it required a special set-top box to ensure users couldn't record the movies, and viewers would have to pay an extra one hundred and fifty dollars to purchase this equipment.

Without a doubt, if this plan could truly be pushed forward, Hollywood would find a new source of profit following the decline of DVDs.

The panel that top directors like Duke had attended was discussing exactly this plan.

However, this plan met with fierce opposition from Quentin Tarantino, the quintessential representative of independent film. He had even stepped forward publicly to boycott the initiative.

Aside from Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher also opposed the product.

Meanwhile, Duke, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and Peter Jackson were all supporters of the plan.

The divide between the two camps was decided by nothing other than considerations of profit.

For many years to come, ordinary home entertainment setups would never match theater equipment. For films directed by the likes of Duke, watching them in a theater versus watching them at home were two entirely different concepts. The product not only wouldn't threaten their box office numbers, but it could also attract target demographics who rarely went to the cinema, thereby boosting the film industry's overall revenue.

In contrast, for the films of David Fincher and Quentin Tarantino, the difference between a home setup and a theatrical viewing wasn't particularly stark. This alternative would directly impact their box office earnings.

True, the box office for the films they directed had never been especially high, and they relied more heavily on later home video releases to boost their income. But one couldn't forget that the box office was the foundation of a film's overall revenue. If the box office wasn't high enough, how many people could realistically be expected to watch it at home in the vast majority of cases?

Some people loved to point out how certain movies with poor box office performances became massive hits in the Videotape market, pulling in eighty million dollars in home video revenue over a decade. But they always ignored another point: for massive box office hits like The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Spider-Man, just the first-week DVD sales in North America alone could surpass one hundred million dollars, and that wasn't even counting other home video revenue streams.

David Fincher and Quentin Tarantino weren't stupid. They knew perfectly well that this was a godsend for commercial directors and major studios, but an absolute nightmare for independent films.

However, David Fincher and Quentin Tarantino couldn't change a thing. Hollywood was still deep in the era of the Big Six Companies. Many major directors like Duke, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and Peter Jackson had aligned with the Big Six Companies and even become shareholders.

Of course, Duke would continue to uphold the unshakable status of theatrical viewing. At this current stage, from both creative and economic standpoints, an exclusive Premiere for films in theaters was a fundamental necessity.

Ellen DeGeneres raised a few more sharp questions afterward, but Duke had been in Hollywood for over twenty years and handled them with ease.

As the show gradually reached its final segment, their topic shifted toward the film industry as a whole.

"A lot of directors nowadays have shared their personal top ten films," Ellen DeGeneres said, looking at Duke. "Can you tell us your top ten movie list? Excluding the films you directed yourself, of course."

"My top ten films?"

Repeating the question, Duke's mind raced. He didn't just rattle off a list of movies, but also provided his reasoning.

"Star Wars—it created an unparalleled mythology for all of America and changed the distribution model for movies. Terminator 2: Judgment Day—even now, it remains stunning. Jurassic Park—it marked the beginning of Hollywood movies truly conquering the global market. Forrest Gump—it was the well-deserved Best Picture Oscar winner of the nineties. Titanic—not only did it lead a pop culture craze, but it completely opened up the worldwide market for Hollywood..."

"300 Spartans—Zack pioneered a brand-new cinematic style. Avatar—it pushed the film industry into a new era. Toy Story 3—it didn't just create the most glorious moment for animated films, it pulled a veering Pixar Studio back on track. Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier—it proved you can reach new heights without dragging superheroes off their pedestals..."

Obviously, given Duke's personality and preferences, none of the films he listed were truly old movies or products of the so-called Golden Age cherished by countless School members.

Was the Hollywood of that so-called Golden Age really more glorious than the Hollywood of today? Anyone with clear eyes could easily arrive at the answer.

Ellen DeGeneres's gaze fell on Duke's left hand.

"Is that an engagement ring?" she asked tentatively.

Duke didn't deny it, giving a light nod.

"May I ask," Ellen DeGeneres continued, "Duke, are you engaged to Miss Scarlett Johansson?"

Just as in the past, Duke neither deliberately flaunted nor avoided such matters.

"It only happened a few days ago," he said.

Ellen DeGeneres seemed to want to say something more, but Duke cut her off.

"You'll receive an invitation when the time comes."

"That is a great honor." Ellen DeGeneres showed a look of pleasant surprise.

Finally, she asked, "Do you have new plans for the next few years?"

"Of course. The Star Wars Series and Marvel Series are both at critical stages." Duke wasn't about to halt his forward momentum. "I'll be shooting and producing even more movies in the future!"

The show ended there. Duke politely declined Ellen DeGeneres's party invitation and left the television station directly.

This episode could be considered a summary of Duke's past, present, and future. He had voiced many of his true thoughts, further explaining his film production philosophies to the outside world.

Meanwhile, Star Wars: The Force Awakens continued its run in North America and overseas markets. After surpassing 1.1 billion dollars at the North American box office, both its screening times and attendance rates had entered the inevitable slump that every film eventually reached. Overseas, even though a few new regions had begun screenings, none of them were major markets, and the international hype had already cooled down.

As of today, the cumulative global box office for Star Wars: The Force Awakens had exceeded 3.1 billion dollars, leaving a massive chasm for any pursuers behind it.

Although his wedding was in preparation, Duke had handed that work over to professional companies. His own primary focus remained on the next-stage plans for Marvel Pictures and Lucasfilm.

Marvel had entered its third phase, and the civil war within The Avengers was about to begin. The second installment of the Star Wars Series was also in preparation, with the spin-off series set to launch beforehand...

On another note, Duke had also conceived a sci-fi concept about the future. Despite his busy schedule, he had started to put pen to paper. His schedule for the next two years was simply fully booked, so he could only put it on the agenda a few years down the line. Fortunately, since this was an original concept entirely of his own making, it needed time to perfect the worldbuilding and polish the script anyway.

He still possessed infinite possibilities in the future.