In recent years, George Lucas hasn’t released any major directorial works. In fact, after he used modern technology to alter the visuals of Star Wars, some die-hard fans of the original trilogy began to criticize him as if he were a "Sith Lord."
However, within the industry, it is a consensus that George Lucas and his Lucasfilm laid the foundation for today’s Hollywood blockbuster model.
Even someone like James Cameron speaks highly of him.
At a promotional event for Avatar that Duke attended alongside James Cameron, the "King of the World" expressed his infinite gratitude and respect for Lucas.
"He developed digital special effects, digital editing, digital sound, and digital cinematography with the resources available to him. He opened a door for me, allowing me to turn what was in my mind into reality."
Although Lucas’s storytelling ability wasn’t mentioned, James Cameron gave high praise to his innovations in film technology—"I think what he contributed to the film industry far exceeds the returns he received. He’s the Thomas Edison of cinema."
As a director, George Lucas’s level isn’t considered top-tier; as a screenwriter, some of his works are borderline unqualified especially when it comes to handling emotional dialogue, where he’s at kindergarten level. But as a filmmaker, George Lucas is absolutely a genius, a peerless, god-level figure.
His influence on film is no less than that of Coppola, Cameron, Hitchcock, or anyone else.
More importantly, George Lucas not only revolutionized the entire film industry with special effects technology, but also promoted the development of movie merchandise.
James Cameron can be considered another pioneer of Hollywood film technology after George Lucas.
On December 16, the area in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood was packed. The scale and excitement of the premiere were in no way inferior to the Oscars. Hundreds of Hollywood celebrities had already entered the theater, and like regular viewers, even Hollywood stars seemed eager to watch this "greatest film in history."
"Can one person really change the whole world? At least from James Cameron, we get a definite yes."
In the interview area, facing a sea of microphones from countless reporters, Duke didn’t hesitate to praise James Cameron. "Because of Avatar, the entire industry will be elevated to an unprecedented level!"
He was energetically promoting the film and wasn’t worried about becoming a joke later. The film’s quality was his source of confidence.
In the days leading up to Avatar’s release, plenty of strange voices circulated online or in the media. For example, just the scale of its promotional budget was viciously criticized by the few remaining veteran film critics. But their current influence could best be described as minimal, barely capable of affecting the film’s market response.
There were also others who expressed their views about the film in the media. Some independent directors claimed that Hollywood studios were outright crazy to invest so much money into one film. If that money were funneled into the independent film scene, how many art films or low-budget indie films could it fund?
But anyone with a clear head knew that if Hollywood studios really funneled that kind of money into art films, that would truly be insane.
There were also many people and media outlets expressing skepticism about the film, believing that investors were throwing their money down the drain.
Duke, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and other investors couldn’t be bothered to respond to such comments.
Looking back at James Cameron’s film history, from Terminator 2 to True Lies, to Titanic, he consistently shattered investment records for blockbusters, and every time, so-called "professionals" predicted box office disasters.
The most typical case was Titanic. At the time, film critics called James Cameron the biggest fool in the world and predicted that Titanic would be the biggest box office disaster of the century... But after the film was released, they collectively shut up. The box office numbers ruthlessly crushed their last shred of dignity and made people realize once and for all that professional critics really didn’t know anything.
Everyone knows James Cameron is a money-burning machine, but the man has the ability to make multiples of that money back. He’s even willing to forgo his own paycheck to achieve the most perfect effect in his mind.
When taking a photo in front of the poster, Duke saw an interesting scene: Suzy Amis and Kathryn Bigelow were standing on either side of Cameron, taking a photo together with the "King of the World," showing no signs of awkwardness.
For ex-couples or former lovers in Hollywood, this was nothing unusual. The circle is just that small—especially at the top tier—it’s always the same people coming and going, frequently running into each other at public events.
Duke wasn’t familiar with Kathryn Bigelow, who mingled in the indie film world, so they merely nodded to each other before he entered the theater with the crew.
The main hall of the TCL Chinese Theatre had long been converted into an IMAX auditorium by IMAX Corporation. The company had placed great expectations on Avatar
Just as he sat down, someone next to him greeted him. Duke replied with a smile, "You’re early, Doug."
The person beside him was none other than Warner Bros. CEO Doug Walter. He sighed, "It’s a pity this kind of blockbuster isn’t fully owned by Warner."
Duke just smiled and said nothing.
Doug Walter then said to Duke, "By the way, the first-week DVD sales stats for Fury Road are out. They didn’t break $100 million."
"It’ll only go lower in the future." Duke wasn’t surprised. "The entire DVD industry is going downhill."
Although the Fury Road craze had long since faded in North America, in some local theaters that specialized in showing CUT-type films, the movie didn’t go off-screen until early December. Its final North American box office totaled a whopping $272.88 million, making it a top-tier R-rated film.
In addition, the film had basically wrapped up its overseas screenings. The international box office surpassed $350 million, and the global total successfully crossed the $600 million mark, closing at $642.1 million!
For an R-rated film, that was already quite impressive. This box office figure was enough to place it in the top five on the all-time R-rated box office rankings.
After chatting with Doug Walter for a bit, Duke didn’t have to wait long before Avatar began screening. Aside from minor differences, the film was essentially the same as the test screening version he had seen in Wellington. The film was undoubtedly a massive breakthrough in movie technology. The story and plot were still thin, which made someone like Duke who prefers human-centric themes feel a bit helpless.
No matter what meaning James Cameron gave to the Na’vi, for someone like Duke, being human was far better than being some bizarre creature.
As for the film’s visuals and technology, those were completely beyond what words could describe. Even stacking thick piles of gorgeous phrases wouldn’t be enough to describe what the film presented on the planet Pandora.
That being said, when watching a movie, very few people hope the protagonist dies after all, that’s where their sense of substitution lies. But even though Duke had already seen the rough cut, sitting here and watching that male lead again, he still desperately hoped he’d get taken out by the humans’ mechs.
Time gradually shifted to the early hours of the morning, and a villa in Beverly Hills was still brightly lit. Vin Diesel sat on the sofa in the lounge, quietly waiting for the relevant information to come in. What he cared about was Avatar!
From what he understood, Duke Rosenberg had invested a whopping $200 million into this project. If the film failed, such a loss—even with his net worth would surely hurt like hell.
People are always influenced by their environment. The media and movie fans had gone crazy comparing Fast & Furious 4 to Fury Road, constantly using words like "sissy" and such descriptors, which had seriously impacted Vin Diesel’s perception of Duke. A box office disaster for Avatar was something he really wanted and was very happy to see happen.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but sleepiness gradually washed over Vin Diesel. His eyelids kept falling, and just as he was drifting off, there was a sudden knock at the door thump thump. He immediately stood up and shook his head to wake himself up.
The door was pushed open from the outside, and Vin Diesel’s personal assistant walked in.
Seeing the assistant holding a fax, Vin Diesel stepped forward and snatched it directly. After seeing the number on it, even someone as calm as he couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy could his hunch really have come true? Could the two people who had never failed in commercial blockbusters finally be facing their own Waterloo?
In that moment of mental relaxation, Vin Diesel’s hands even trembled slightly from excitement Avatar’s midnight box office was just a total disaster.
That was the total midnight box office Avatar made in 3,652 theaters across North America. For a sci-fi film without a prequel, without source material, without a major star, and with a story lacking in public familiarity, that result was already not bad.
Compared to the film’s massive investment, and the audience’s expectations for this "most expensive movie in history," that figure was very unsatisfactory.
A faint, relaxed smile appeared at the corner of Vin Diesel’s lips.
At the same time, in a luxurious apartment far away in New York, Natalie Portman broke free from the limbs entangled with her opposite man. Ignoring the surprised look of the awakened ballet dancer, she walked out of the bedroom like a queen in control of everything, put on her robe, and dialed her agent Martin Miller. After a few simple inquiries, she got the same number Vin Diesel did.
Hanging up the phone, a beautifully curved smile appeared on Natalie Portman’s lips. Reality seemed to be proving that no one could succeed forever not even Duke Rosenberg.
True, he wasn’t the director of Avatar, but the fact that he had poured a huge amount of money into it was common knowledge in Hollywood.
A catastrophic financial loss for Duke Rosenberg? That was something Natalie Portman was very happy to see.
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