"Director, can you share your thoughts on the Razzie Awards?"
Clearly prepared, a swarm of media reporters surrounded Duke as he stepped out of Warner Bros. Studios. They shouted one question after another at him.
"Independence Day only won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects but swept seven Razzies. What do you think of that?"
"Is this a blow to your career?"
"Will this affect your future work?"
A CBS reporter suddenly squeezed to the front and asked loudly, "Director, do you consider Independence Day a major failure..."
Duke interrupted before the reporter could finish, staring at the one from CBS. "You think Independence Day failed? A global box office hit of $957 million is a failure? A movie watched by over 400 million people worldwide is a failure?"
Casting a cold glance at the troublemaking reporters, Duke, with the help of Warner Bros. security, escaped their pursuit and entered the studio.
Not long ago, when Independence Day crossed $900 million worldwide, these same reporters couldn’t praise him enough, hailing him as one of Hollywood’s greatest commercial directors. But after the Razzies came out, the same people turned on him, painting Independence Day as his Waterloo and the downfall of his career.
Even with Duke’s typically calm mindset, he couldn’t help but marvel at the media’s lack of integrity. Describing them as "shattered to pieces" would be too kind.
Of course, Warner Bros., Fox, and Disney-backed media outlets stood firmly behind him due to shared interests.
But Duke wasn’t overly concerned. He wasn’t some naive young director anymore. He understood well that media worldwide, from Europe to the Middle East to the Far East, always serve the interests of power groups. They will never stand on neutral ground, not even relatively neutral.
Upon entering the D-Day studio, Duke headed straight to the meeting room, where actors like Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, and crew leaders Robin and Charles were already gathered.
The reporters outside Warner Bros. weren’t just for him; they were mainly after Tom Hanks.
Soon, the heads of marketing from Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Disney arrived one after the other.
The post-production of Saving Private Ryan was in its final stages, so the focus of this meeting was on its promotion and release.
As usual, Duke mostly listened, occasionally offering a suggestion or two. Marketing wasn’t his field, and leaving professional matters to the professionals was the best approach.
Fox’s representatives repeatedly mentioned the competition: Paramount’s Braveheart, packaged by CAA.
Though Fox and Paramount collaborated on other projects, such as James Cameron’s films, they weren’t foolish enough to extend this cooperation to two directly competing films. Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan were rivals, plain and simple.
Fox had crafted a targeted marketing strategy. Not only would they promote Saving Private Ryan, but they would also actively suppress Braveheart, attacking it through media, theaters, and promotional efforts. Warner Bros. and Disney, sharing common interests, would also join the campaign.
Although Duke couldn’t recall Braveheart’s box office figures, he wasn’t too concerned about the competition.
The reason was simple: no matter how loudly William Wallace shouted "freedom," the film was still about Scotland, touching on the sensitive nerves of Anglo-Saxon descendants regarding Scottish independence. Saving Private Ryan, on the other hand, was an authentic story about American history, perfectly aligned with mainstream American values.
Don’t underestimate the difference between foreign stories and homegrown ones. This often determines a film’s success or failure.
North America is a unique land where isolationism still thrives. Most Americans don’t care about things unrelated to the U.S.
America’s media market is also the world’s biggest insulator. Even twenty years later, no foreign shows would have aired during American primetime. Americans watch far fewer foreign films than you might think, and the foreign films that do succeed are usually classic literary adaptations or based on Western fairy tales and myths.
As for William Wallace, the real-life Scottish traitor, how many Americans even know who he is?
Trying to succeed with a random story from France, Germany, or even distant Asia has about a one-percent chance of success.
"Leo..." Charles Rowan’s words interrupted Duke’s thoughts. The production manager was reminding Leonardo DiCaprio to cooperate with the promotional efforts. "In the lead-up to the film’s release, increase your public appearances with Claudia Schiffer. We’ll arrange media coverage for both of you."
Using actors’ relationships to promote films was a common tactic.
Unlike Duke’s casual fling with Heidi Klum, Leonardo DiCaprio and Claudia Schiffer had actually developed into a couple. The model-and-movie-star pairing would definitely attract a lot of attention.
However, given Leo’s personality, this relationship probably wouldn’t last long.
Perhaps, after the film’s hype dies down a bit, Duke could encourage Leo to dump Claudia. Then, a public breakup and media drama could generate some extra box office revenue.
Though the idea crossed his mind, Duke wouldn’t handle it directly. Instead, he planned to have Nancy communicate with the crew later.
"Charles, I have a few suggestions."
After the production manager finished speaking, Duke finally voiced his thoughts. "Invite World War II veterans and historians specializing in WWII and the Normandy landings to the preview screenings. If we can secure their endorsement, Saving Private Ryan will appeal even more to audiences as a war epic."
"Promote their potential praise for the film to attract war film fans?" Fox’s representative quickly nodded in agreement. "That’s a great idea!"
Duke’s job was to offer suggestions. The professionals would handle the details.
"Charlie." Duke was more concerned with another aspect. "How many theaters do you expect we can secure for the opening weekend?"
"The exact number depends on the preview results."
Charlie, one of Fox’s distribution managers, didn’t sugarcoat it. "Duke, you should be prepared. Saving Private Ryan won’t have as wide an opening as Independence Day."
Duke nodded to show he understood.
It made sense. Compared to Independence Day’s sci-fi action genre, Saving Private Ryan was at a disadvantage in terms of subject matter. Moreover, when Independence Day was released last year, it faced no strong competition, easily securing 2,800 theaters. In contrast, Saving Private Ryan would be going head-to-head with the equally big-budget Braveheart. Paramount’s power couldn’t be underestimated, and the number of screens for both films would be impacted.
If the previews went well and the feedback from audiences and theater representatives was positive, Duke estimated that Saving Private Ryan could open in around 2,500 theaters. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥
While the distribution and marketing were the responsibility of others, Duke’s immediate priority was to complete the post-production of Saving Private Ryan with quality.
Over the next few weeks, they finished adding special effects, adjusting the score, refining sound editing, and fine-tuning the color grading. Duke also gathered the lead actors to record some additional dialogue. By the end of April, the film was almost finished, except for adding the opening and closing credits.
Meanwhile, the promotional campaign was steadily advancing. Every so often, a major update would be released. One week, they’d drop a poster featuring Tom Hanks and the other main actors. The next, tabloids and entertainment magazines would be abuzz with stories about Leonardo DiCaprio and Claudia Schiffer’s romance.
By May, the crew released the first trailer, personally edited by Duke, which hit theaters and prime-time slots on ABC, NBC, and Fox networks.
Much like the Super Bowl halftime ads he had worked on, the trailer Duke cut featured explosive, realistic, and brutal war scenes. After years of experience, Duke knew exactly what summer audiences wanted. Anti-war sentiments and humanist messages weren’t off-limits, but they couldn’t be the focus of the marketing. The goal was to make potential viewers eager to see the film.
The promotional efforts didn’t just push Saving Private Ryan; they also targeted Braveheart.
Partnering with media outlets owned by the production companies, they began a sudden surge of interest in Scottish history, educating the American public on the basics. They particularly focused on William Wallace, a controversial figure, and in Warner Bros., Fox, and Disney’s narratives, Wallace was far from a hero. He was cast as a traitor—the most despised type in American culture.
Paramount and CAA weren’t idle either, launching their counterattacks. They criticized Saving Private Ryan for being overly violent, calling on parent-teacher associations to boycott the film, and urging all American teenagers to avoid such a blood-soaked, brutal movie.
This was just a glimpse into Hollywood’s fierce competition. Both sides weren’t just trading barbs in the media. They also sent representatives to each other’s preview screenings to gather firsthand intelligence and develop more targeted marketing strategies.
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