How difficult is it for a woman to win the Oscar for Best Director? Actually, those who know the Oscars understand that in this era, it's basically impossible. The Oscars are not just about having an excellent work. Even though the feminist movement has gradually gained momentum, it's far from the level it would reach later on. Without the proper social factors, Sofia Coppola would at best only receive a nomination.
Even with the Coppola family backing her, and the support of major film studios, as well as hiring Harvey Weinstein's brothers for publicity, her chances were almost zero.
These factors could not possibly oppose the grand societal trends. Even the Weinstein brothers would fail in such a case. While the Academy has its biases, it never belongs to any one person.
After the launch party, Marvel Studios returned to its usual quietness. It was just one of many newly formed production companies in Hollywood, like Duke's studio back in the day. Even with a special figure like Duke supporting it, the company needed a considerable amount of time to develop.
Moreover, after Marvel's upper management experienced a bankruptcy protection crisis, they learned many valuable lessons and realized the importance of patience.
A week after the party, Doug Walter brought good news: Warner Bros. had canceled the Catwoman and Superman Returns projects and was negotiating with DC Comics to form a dedicated division to explore the possibility of creating a series of DC superhero films, including how to approach serialization.
At the same time, Warner Bros. and DC Comics had no objections to giving Duke control of the Batman series.
Meanwhile, the post-production editing of The Return of the King was also nearing its final stages. Duke rejected some of his initial edits and decided to re-edit the Battle of Minas Tirith and the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
"Mike, remove all of Frodo Baggins' scenes from the battlefield scenes. I don't want fragmented battlefield shots."
In the editing room, after Duke watched the footage edited by Mike Dawson, he shook his head, "Cut down the length of Frodo's scenes."
"If we give most of the time to the battle scenes…"
Mike Dawson stopped mid-sentence. Having worked with Duke for ten years, he certainly understood Duke's philosophy. Without affecting the narrative, large battle scenes should always be prioritized, and any introspective emotional scenes that professionals might praise were, in Duke's eyes, expendable.
Scenes reflecting the character's emotions are necessary but should be balanced. Duke knew his strengths and, since The Return of the King was longer than the first two films, slowing down the pacing would make the entire movie feel dragged out, which would make the audience impatient.
Since The Two Towers, Duke had gradually reduced Frodo Baggins' scenes to quicken the pace of the film. As long as the story's progress is conveyed, that's enough. He wasn't making an art film or a fan-targeted movie. His primary focus was on the large, eye-catching scenes.
Of course, large scenes wouldn't be overused either. Just like Frodo's scenes, they would be done in moderation.
"Let's isolate Frodo and Sam's scenes with Shelob and tell that part of the story separately," Duke continued to instruct the changes to the editing. "I need a complete, uninterrupted battle sequence. The Battle of Minas Tirith and the Battle of Pelennor Fields should flow together as one."
Mike Dawson, seeing that Duke had made up his mind, didn't offer any further opinions, just nodding in agreement.
Duke then added, "Simplify Denethor's death. Compress the time to under three minutes."
His reasoning was simple. For this climactic battle, he wanted to spend more time showcasing the grand spectacle of the battlefield.
As in the past, Duke's priority was always how the market and mainstream audiences would react, not professional reviews.
As for professional reviews, to a director like him who leaned entirely toward commercial filmmaking, they were irrelevant.
After a busy day, Duke returned to his Malibu home to find Ivanka even busier than he was. She had called to say she would be late and that he didn't need to wait for her for dinner.
The Instant Share company had just moved to Burbank and was in the midst of its busiest time. Recently, Ivanka was running around non-stop. Although Duke could offer some thoughts on website and software development from his memories, he was an outsider to company operations. He was self-aware, knowing his past experience was limited and he never spoke without understanding.
This was also how Ivanka operated. In their relationship, conflicts and friction were inevitable, but they should always be resolved privately, not in public. Duke could see that when Ivanka accompanied him to events or banquets, she always focused on him. In front of her employees, Duke naturally showed her the respect she deserved.
Although he had once hesitated about whether to change, Duke had decided to invest in the relationship with Ivanka and was sincerely working on it.
After dinner, Duke called Ivanka again to check in. He then went upstairs to his study, opened his computer, and began handling emails.
Most of the emails were work-related, but there was an exception—one from Edward Newgate and Richard law firm regarding the case of Christopher The verdict had been announced a few days ago. Christopher had been sentenced to ten years in prison and fined a large sum, while his girlfriend, Jessica Alba, had it slightly better, receiving an eighteen-month sentence.
Upon seeing this, Duke called Richard for a quick discussion. Christopher and his associates had already appealed, but Duke felt the outcome would likely remain unchanged. With so many stars watching the case, there wouldn't be any surprises.
However, Richard also brought up an unexpected piece of news: the con artist wasn't resting. He was reportedly selling his experiences and his so-called "authentic" scripts and project plans to Hollywood.
Having gone through such a game, Duke had completely lost interest in taking over Napoleon story and had no intention of continuing with the project.
After handling the emails, Duke opened a script document to begin organizing the outline for the next phase. He didn't need to rush with the Batman trilogy. The rights were owned by Warner Bros., and he didn't need to worry about the creative side. Much of the content for the trilogy was originally adapted from Frank Miller's comics for DC.
The copyright for the comics was also owned by Warner Bros. and DC Comics, so those weren't concerns. After their meeting, Duke had called Doug Walter and secured the rights to Frank Miller's illustrated novel as well.
The last two films of The Matrix were already shot, and Reloaded was set for release in July. Zack Snyder, unlike Anna Prinz, was an ambitious director. If he was interested, he would certainly be the first choice for directing 300. If not, a new director would have to be found.
Duke also couldn't guarantee that Zack Snyder's path wouldn't change drastically and that he would still be interested in 300.
Putting aside thoughts on the comics and illustrated novel adaptations, Duke's mind turned to smaller productions after The Lord of the Rings trilogy concluded.
This was a story about a retired agent and his daughter—a father willing to do anything to rescue his daughter, despite the cliché of family and love, it was an evergreen theme in Hollywood mainstream cinema, and a value constantly promoted in the U.S.
Duke planned to start shooting in the second half of next year. The film had been moved up by several years, and some changes would have to be made. Most importantly, the actress for the daughter role, who was once a child star, had clearly grown out of shape. He would definitely be replacing her.
As for Liam Neeson, he was now a second-tier actor, and both his age and acting skills were suitable for the role.
He figured that if he extended the invitation, the actor would likely accept.
Focusing on the task, Duke began drafting character settings and the script outline. He had written several dozen lines when the study door knocked. Duke answered, and Ivanka entered.
"Back already?"
"Yes."
Ivanka walked over, kissed Duke, glanced at his notebook, and sighed lightly. "You're working again. Darling, please don't put so much pressure on yourself."
Duke saved the document and turned off the computer. "I was just writing an outline for a script."
"Are you already preparing for the new film?" Ivanka asked as she took a chair beside Duke. "Isn't post-production for The Return of the King not finished yet?"
"I need to write the outline and character settings first," Duke briefly explained. "Then I'll give it to the studio's editorial department for refinement. I need to review it, and if there's anything I'm not satisfied with, it'll need to be reworked. These things take time."
Then, Duke asked, "How's your company going?"
"Office equipment is mostly set up," Ivanka rubbed her forehead, a trace of fatigue on her face. "We're doing server data migration. It'll be on track soon."
Duke couldn't help with these tasks, so he asked, "Do you have to go to the company tomorrow?"
"Is there something going on?" Ivanka asked.
"We haven't gone out in a while." Duke stood up, stretching. "The premiere of Matrix Reloaded is coming up, so let's go shopping at Rodeo Drive tomorrow, and I'll get you a dress."
Ivanka stood up. "Sounds good. I've been so busy lately, I could use a break."
The Matrix Reloaded was set for release on the weekend before Independence Day, and it was in the hottest phase of its promotional campaign. Duke, as a co-investor in the film with Warner Bros., would, of course, attend the premiere.
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