This happened to be one of the hotter seasons in New Mexico. Duke had stayed here for a few days, without interfering in the crew’s filming. Like most producers, he maintained the director’s authority on set.
Besides, whatever needed interfering, Duke had already done so during the early preparation phase.
"Chris Hemsworth is really strong..."
Standing in the shade of the small town, Scarlett said to Duke while watching Thor swing his hammer in front of the camera, "He doesn’t need any acting at all."
"Mm..." Duke nodded, fully agreeing with Scarlett’s statement. "His role doesn’t really require much acting anyway."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted away from the set and scanned the small town. For the film, the crew had built this entire small town.
Scarlett looked over at the set and continued, "I held that hammer yesterday. It’s really heavy." This update ıs available on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩
The crew’s Mjölnir was made of bronze, with resin-made diamonds and gems covering its surface. Even though the hammer was hollow, it still weighed 30 pounds.
Duke turned his head and asked Scarlett, "Interested in picking up that hammer?"
"Pick up the hammer?" Scarlett shook her head. "Not interested. It’s too heavy."
"I meant in the movie." Duke reminded her, "Your character, Natasha Romanoff."
Scarlett shrugged nonchalantly and said, "That depends on you and Marvel."
She vaguely remembered that in some version of the comics, after Thor fell, Black Widow became the new generation Thor.
At this moment, the crew changed scenes and began filming an action sequence. Unlike Scarlett’s Black Widow, Thor’s fighting style was still the punch-for-punch brawling style drawn in the comics.
"Hello, Director Rosenberg."
An actor who seemed quite likable walked over. "Thanks for recommending me for this role."
Duke nodded to Tom Hiddleston and said, "Don’t mention it."
Originally, the actor selected by the crew and Marvel Studios was Jim Carrey. Ever since The Mask, Jim Carrey had been a huge fan of the original comics and Loki’s character. But Duke vetoed that idea. First, the old impression of Loki stuck with him too strongly; second, Jim Carrey’s pay was too high.
Tom Hiddleston was just passing by. After the greeting, he walked onto the set.
In fact, the scenes between Loki and Thor were quite interesting and had become one of the highlights of the entire series. It was exactly that "I torment my brother a thousand times, and he loves me like a first crush" vibe.
Besides vetoing Jim Carrey and choosing Tom Hiddleston, Duke also intervened in the casting of the female lead, Jane Foster.
In the original comic story, the character was a nurse. But Duke wanted her to align more with modern female traits, so he suggested turning her into an astrophysicist. And a beautiful research scholar at that.
Director Kenneth Branagh wanted a beautiful, intelligent actress with superb acting skills. Natalie Portman, a mix of intellect and emotion, fit his standards very well.
But Duke rejected her. Natalie Portman could handle many complex roles, but such a simple vase-like role was not suitable for her.
Now that he thought about it, Natalie Portman’s behavior at the Cannes Film Festival might have had something to do with it.
Of course, it was also possible he was overthinking it. After all, she hadn’t yet won the Best Actress Oscar and might not be eager to jump into commercial blockbusters just to make money.
According to the accurate information he had received, Natalie Portman was preparing for Black Swan. But if she wanted to win the Best Actress Oscar with that film, things definitely wouldn’t go as smoothly as before.
Thinking of this, Duke turned to Scarlett and said, "Let’s go."
He was traveling around the world, and Fury Road was being released globally. The film had now expanded its release to 97 countries, close to the limit. Quite a few countries and regions, such as the Arab world, were not planning to introduce Fury Road.
During these ten-odd days of Duke’s roaming, Fury Road brought in another $62.11 million in North America. The North American box office had reached $223.02 million. Breaking the $250 million mark in the end was no longer a pipe dream.
Overseas, it also brought in more than $50 million. The global cumulative box office had already surpassed $500 million.
In addition, although the film’s merchandise couldn’t compare to Transformers, sales were still decent especially the various models and figurines of the Rock Warrior, which were extremely popular. There were even many people looking to buy the flame-throwing electric guitar.
By mid-June, DC Comics also released a Fury Road comic series. Within a week of hitting the shelves, nearly 3 million copies had sold, further solidifying Warner Bros.’ ambition for a series.
Duke had no objections. Only a series of films could squeeze out all of a project’s value.
The importance of a film series to a company went without saying. Duke understood this, and so did David Ellison, who had been fighting his way through Hollywood for years.
From the day Sky Flim Media was founded, he had been looking for the right project to turn into a series. But up to now, the only hit from his investments was I Am Legend. That film, based on a novel, wasn’t very suitable for serialization.
So he kept having people scout for the right project until recently, when he heard a piece of news: Fast & Furious 4’s producer and male lead, Vin Diesel, was looking for investors. After some investigation, he got in touch with him.
"Let me put it this way—I want to invest in your film."
In the meeting room, David Ellison looked at Vin Diesel’s proposal and said to the bald man, "I really believe in this project."
Vin Diesel thought for a moment and said, "The Fast & Furious series already has four films and a solid fanbase. As long as we maintain the quality of the fifth one, the box office is sure to jump significantly!"
After running around for days, he finally met someone willing to invest. Vin Diesel was also a little impatient. But reality remained quite complicated. "David, the rights to this series are in Universal Pictures’ hands. Even if we manage to collaborate, we still have to negotiate with Universal. Their financial situation isn’t great right now. Since Ron Meyer stepped down, internal management has been chaotic."
David Ellison understood Vin Diesel’s implication and said, "When it comes to a project I believe in, I have enough patience."
Then he said to Vin Diesel, "Aren’t you looking to bring the original cast back? I can help you with that too."
"Yes..." Vin Diesel frowned, "I still haven’t been able to locate Jessica Alba."
"I’ll hire a professional private investigator to handle it."
Finding someone especially someone who used to be quite well-known wasn’t much of a challenge for David Ellison.
He closed Vin Diesel’s project book. "I think the gang boss villain you’ve created needs to be played by someone really tough. Do you have an ideal actor in mind?"
"The project hasn’t been finalized yet," Vin Diesel spread his hands, "I haven’t given it much thought."
"I have a good candidate."
David Ellison leaned in a little and softly said a name. Vin Diesel frowned even more deeply. "Him? Is he really suitable?"
"My father’s Jewish..." David Ellison shrugged. "But I’m not!"
Vin Diesel fell silent. He thought about Fury Road and terms like "sissy," then gave a slight nod.
In some ways, people like them all shared a mutual dislike for one particular person.
After returning from New Mexico to California, Duke received word that Steve Jobs was gravely ill. Although he had never tried to influence or interfere in Jobs’ life—and the two weren’t exactly friends due to shared interests, Duke still made a special trip to San Francisco to visit the leader and autocrat of Apple.
No matter how the world evaluates him in the future, no one can deny that he is a true super-genius!
Duke has also been called a genius, but he knows very well that while he may possess some cleverness, he’s still a long way from deserving the word "genius." Compared to stunningly brilliant people like Steve Jobs, he’s merely a cheater.
Duke has never shied away from admitting that.
A clear mind and accurate self-awareness have always been key reasons he continues to stride forward.
For example, he clearly understands who Steve Jobs is, and that he himself is an outsider in the electronics industry. He would never be foolish enough to try to influence Jobs. Instead, he utilizes every situation he can to align himself with Jobs in order to maximize benefits.
People like Steve Jobs aren’t the kind that can be easily influenced by others.
So when Duke saw Steve Jobs, he didn’t offer any advice about his condition, even though he knew the man wouldn’t live much longer.
To be precise, aside from a simple greeting, Duke said nothing at all because he ran into someone on Jobs’ side that neither of them liked.
Duke hadn’t expected to see Larry Ellison there; nor had he expected that Larry Ellison actually had some connection with Jobs.
Since it wasn’t a public occasion, neither man hid their feelings.
Larry Ellison simply snorted coldly at him, and Duke just treated him as if he didn’t exist.
After the founder of Oracle left, Duke learned from Steve Jobs the reason for their acquaintance.
On one hand, the two shared a common enemy Bill Gates; on the other hand, they were once neighbors.
According to Jobs, back when he and Larry Ellison were neighbors, he had a peacock at home a gift from his girlfriend. The peacock often roamed around the house and sometimes wandered to Ellison’s place. Its loud calls frequently disturbed Ellison’s sleep.
So Ellison went to Jobs to complain. Jobs replied that he too found the peacock annoying just like Ellison.
Jobs then successfully persuaded Ellison: when he explained to his girlfriend that the neighbor disliked the peacock, Ellison must follow up and "add fuel to the fire."
It was thanks to that peacock that Jobs and Larry Ellison built a bit of rapport.
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