Made in Hollywood

When he left the training ground and walked out of the entrance of the studio, Duke stopped and a middle-aged man followed from behind. This was the action director Jimmy Carter who had cooperated since "Break into Death Island".

"Anything, Jimmy?" Duke asked.

"The training has just started, and I have no idea yet." Jimmy Carter shook his head, "This is a completely different way of action from Hollywood, and it is also different from the movies of Bruce Lee and Jack Chen. Their movements are very fancy and seem to be fundamentally different. Does not meet the requirements of actual combat."

"But it's beautiful, isn't it?" Duke patted him on the shoulder. "We shoot movies, not fight fight competitions. Every movie that can thrive has its merits. Don't you think Is Hollywood's way of action too rigid and rigid? So, Jimmy, work hard, I am waiting for you to surprise me in the future."

"My people have taken photos of the entire training process." Jimmy Carter vowed to say, "There will be more images later, and I will analyze it carefully. Duke, when will I let You were disappointed."

"You can get in touch with that tiger? Chen." Duke thought for a while and said, "He has many years of living in the United States, and it is easier to integrate into Hollywood. When the filming is over, you can try to stay. he."

"I know what to do." Jimmy Carter said.

Nodding his head, Duke walked into another large studio next to him. Scenes are being set up here. The subway station, the majestic martial arts gym, the cyberpunk-style hovercraft cabin, etc. can already be seen. The director of photography, John Schwarzman, was talking to the set designer to set aside a suitable position for photography.

Seeing Duke, John Schwarzman walked over immediately, "Are you done over there? Let's go to the side to talk, Collins of Industrial Light and Magic is waiting."

The two bypassed the cloth area. Walking into a separate area in the studio, several special effects artists from Industrial Light and Magic are making some special effects props according to Duke's requirements, and others are doing other experiments.

"Hi, Duke. Hi. John."

Collins took the two of them to the rest area, and the three of them sat together, straight to the topic.

"I have discussed with John several times." Collins first said, "Although it is a little difficult to achieve, it is not impossible. In the "Stendhal Syndrome" released last year, you have used cgi and a bullet to show what you have. The effect of bullet time explained can be better with our ability."

After hearing that movie Duke listened to John Schwarzman. I have also seen, "What I need is not just a bullet, but a coherent and smooth movement in a 360-degree scene."

"Collins and I have a preliminary plan." John Schwarzman took over, "We will first simulate the design with a computer, and then do a series of actual shooting to find out the most suitable shooting method."

"Then I will wait for your test results."

Although some ideas and opinions were put forward in the early stage, it was like giving Yuan Heping the design of spear fighting technique, a professional thing. Duke will leave it to professionals to complete, in terms of photography and special effects. John Schwarzman and Industrial Light and Magic are more professional than him.

And those methods that have been circulated can really be used if you don't test them in advance?

In the busy preparations, June passed quickly. Except for work in Sydney, Duke would go to New Zealand almost every weekend. The overall progress of the work on the other side is also considered smooth. The design work of weapons and armors, set art, and prop production has already started. After reviewing the completed design drawings, Duke also communicated with relevant personnel in a timely manner to modify many details.

Charles Rowan also contacted two horse training farms. Domesticated war horses for shooting; rented a hilly land in the suburbs of Wellington, and after the design pattern was approved, the Hobbiton would be built here.

In addition, the pre-special effects of Weta Studio are also gradually expanding, such as designing half-orcs and strong orcs, as well as improving and applying motion capture technology in accordance with Duke's requirements.

While the two crews were preparing, a large amount of money was spent like running water. "The Matrix" is okay. After all, there is investment from Warner Bros., but the "Lord of the Ring" trilogy has only the Duke's studio investment for the time being. His funds Inevitably a little nervous.

Fortunately, good news in North America keeps coming. Duke and Warner Bros. are now the closest partners, and the other party has no intention of delaying payment to disrupt the relationship between the two.

By mid-July, "Chicago" ended its screening in Moldova, the last region, and officially dropped from the global market. The film's global box office finally stopped at the figure of 357.51 million U.S. dollars.

Subsequently, Duke Studios and Warner Bros. started negotiations with overseas marketers on various overseas copyrights of the film. By the end of July, major overseas market negotiations were basically completed. The video tapes and vcds of "Chicago" in 77 overseas countries and regions 10 years of copyrights, such as TV broadcasting, sold a total of 38.2 million U.S. dollars, and enjoyed a sales share ranging from 4% to 7% in different regions.

According to the agreement, the issuer Warner Bros. took 10% from it, and the copyright sales did not arrive immediately, and it took time to return. However, the $10 million received in advance was enough to support the "Lord of the Rings" crew for a long time.

So far, excluding the commission from Warner Bros. as the distributor, Duke Studios has received nearly $47 million in pre-tax box office profits from "Chicago", from discs, video tapes, TV broadcasts, original soundtracks, and protagonist dolls. In the surrounding area, more than 34 million US dollars were harvested, and the total pre-tax profit of the film reached 81 million US dollars!

This is not the end. Although the various peripheral income of the film has slowed down, it is still slowly increasing. As long as the film has a market, the income of the Duke's studio will continue to generate.

The income and impact of successful movies are huge, even terrifying. It is not only the investors who benefit, but also the various cast members who participated in the movie, especially the leading actors.

No one can deny that Naomi Watts soared to the sky with the high box office of "Chicago" and the Oscar nomination for Best Actress, and steadily rushed to the position of Hollywood's first-line actress.

"Is it weird to see me?"

In the lounge of the studio, Naomi Watts looked at Duke, "Don't forget that this is Australia, this is my hometown."

"I just didn't expect you to come to visit the class."

Taking a cup and placing it on the table in front of her, Duke poured a cup of coffee, "According to my calculation, you should be a busy person now."

"Yeah, I have a new movie. If there is no accident, I will join the crew in the second half of the year." Naomi drank coffee and looked at Duke like an old friend. "This time is more idle. So when I came back to Australia, I saw that your crew was on Fox set in the newspaper, so I came to see you."

"New movie?" Duke asked curiously, "Can you know what movie it is?"

In Duke's view, Naomi Watts is one of the Hollywood stars most influenced by him, and even like Sean Connery, who retired early, embarked on a completely different path from before, especially " After "Chicago", her status is even higher than the most glorious moment ever.

With nearly 200 million in North America and more than 300 million at the global box office, as well as the Oscar nomination for best actress, it is more important than after the new century.

He was very curious, wondering if Naomi Watts picked up "Mulholland Road."

"A major production, the investment may be around 150 million US dollars."

Naomi Watts completely rejected Duke’s conjecture, "a remake of Universal Pictures."

She winked at Duke playfully, "You can guess."

Then he laughed again, "If you guess it right, there will be a reward."

"It seems a bit difficult." Duke sat across from Naomi. "Always give some hints, right?"

"I was not born in the United States, and later went to the United States and died in the United States."

Hearing the prompt from Naomi Watts, Duke thought for a while and asked, "Is it accidental to go to the United States? Did he go by himself?"

"No." Naomi shook her head slowly.

"Does that come from something mysterious and strange."

"Yes."

"Did you go there by boat?"

"Yes."

"With chains?"

"Yes."

"Have you shown it with a chain?"

"Yes."

Looking at Naomi Watts with a bright and charming smile, Duke had the answer in his heart. Although the time was wrong, it was not impossible. He twisted his knuckles and tapped the table lightly and said, "King Kong?"

"My dear..." Naomi Watts smiled brighter, "I really can't trouble you."

Duke frowned slightly and asked, "Can you know the name of the director?"

"A New Zealander." Naomi Watts put on a look of disapproval, "It's called Peter Jackson, let alone compare with you, not even a second-line director."

She added, "It is said that he took the initiative to find Universal and asked to remake the movie, and for a very low salary. He has no particularly successful works, and I am not satisfied with him."

Sure enough, Peter Fatty, Universal Pictures was really moved by him!

With a light sigh, Duke can hear from Naomi's words that the director will definitely be tricky when dealing with the big-name heroine in the future. The reason is simple. The status of the two parties is completely unequal.

Later, Duke confirmed this from Naomi Watts’ words. Peter Jackson didn’t want to use such a big-name female star, but Naomi Watts was the candidate for Universal Pictures, even though he just became a Class, but like all a or super a, such an actor has a huge reputation and appeal, coupled with the possible high investment in the film, of course the film company wants to have a blockbuster movie star.

Once Peter Jackson was squeezed by New Line Film, but now he has changed the series, it seems that he will encounter many problems. (To be continued...)

ps: I’m not here today, don’t look for anything if I have something to do~~~We will send it to the third shift, and bring the ticket~~