When dealing with Hollywood's "Eye," Duke would never let his people take action directly. There were countless people in the world willing to work for money. Besides Anthony Pellicano, he also secretly hired a former FBI agent, Edward Newgate, through his connections with Los Angeles County Sheriff Carter. Using a dual approach, he intended to investigate Christopher Rokenkort's background to see if it matched his concerns.
Of course, Duke's actions weren't just because the other party blatantly sought him out. After some thought, he also saw potential benefits from the situation.
Simply put, he wasn't Hollywood's enforcer. Why go through so much trouble without any benefits?
Such investigations couldn't yield results overnight; they required time and effort. After instructing Nancy Josephson to continue negotiating with Christopher Rokenkort, Duke refocused his energy on the post-production of The Two Towers.
The number of special effects shots in The Two Towers far exceeded those in The Fellowship of the Ring. After Weta Workshop's CGI team completed the rendering of Treebeard, they split into three main groups: a small group worked on effects for The Return of the King, like the Battle of Minas Tirith; another worked on scattered effects shots for The Two Towers, and the rest concentrated on creating large-scale effects scenes like the Battle of Helm's Deep and the Battle of Isengard.
Duke collaborated with Mike Dawson on the initial cut. Though he didn't shoot as much footage as Peter Jackson once did, the trilogy still used over 2 million feet of film. Creating a five-hour initial cut was a tedious task.
He adhered to the same editing philosophy he used for The Fellowship of the Ring: unless absolutely necessary, scenic shots inserted purely for display were excluded. Adjustments would also be made to Frodo and Sam's storyline to avoid the excessive dragging seen before.
The final film would undoubtedly exceed two and a half hours, approaching three. With such a long runtime, maintaining a brisk pace to avoid audience fatigue was a challenge Duke had been contemplating since The Fellowship of the Ring.
Meanwhile, The Fellowship of the Ring was still running in North American theaters. However, after four consecutive weeks as box office champion, its hottest period had clearly passed, and its decline was inevitable amidst a fiercely competitive summer season with one familiar movie after another hitting the screens.
The following weekend, Jurassic Park III, the most commercially successful monster movie in film history, stormed into theaters. Despite abysmal audience reviews, its momentum from the previous two installments earned it a $50.77 million opening weekend, knocking The Fellowship of the Ring from the top spot.
That weekend, The Fellowship of the Ring grossed only $14.21 million over three days. Combined with the $13.56 million from the previous four weekdays, its North American box office crossed the $350 million mark, reaching $358.37 million.
Overseas, the film's earnings also surpassed $400 million, bringing its global box office closer to $800 million, making it certain to surpass Duke's highest-grossing film, Independence Day.
Moreover, the film's exceptional reputation remained unchanged, with audience approval ratings hovering around 90%. Although its IMDb rating had slightly declined, it was still as high as 9.3.
The original trilogy had been the most successful fantasy series in film history. Subsequent series like The Hobbit and Pirates of the Caribbean couldn't compare in status or acclaim. Though Pirates of the Caribbean achieved box office heights similar to The Lord of the Rings trilogy in later installments, no one would foolishly compare a pirate-themed popcorn series to The Lord of the Rings.
The two were simply not on the same level.
The original The Lord of the Rings trilogy's biggest issues were its length and occasionally slow pacing. Some scenes revealed Peter Jackson's hesitancy in adaptation choices, stemming from his devotion as a die-hard fan of the books.
But Duke wouldn't hesitate. To him, professional critiques, Oscar considerations, and the like were mere fluff.
That said, the film would still aim for the Oscars. After Sofia Coppola's warning deepened his suspicions, Duke not only continued his dealings with Christopher Rokenkort but also had Nancy Josephson string him along, partly as groundwork for future Oscar campaigns.
The Oscars were still far off. For now, The Fellowship of the Ring needed to maximize its market earnings.
On a bright July night under the clear Chicago suburbs' moonlight, Roger Ebert sat under a vine-covered porch, facing his agent.
The agent pulled a document from his briefcase, intending to hand it over, but Ebert waved it away.
"Just tell me," he said, his face grim.
Even without looking at the statistics for The Fellowship of the Ring, Roger Ebert already knew they'd be humiliating numbers.
The agent hesitated, seeing Ebert's dark expression, but decided to proceed. He had been delivering these numbers regularly; surely Ebert was mentally prepared by now.
"Yesterday, The Fellowship of the Ring officially crossed the $400 million mark domestically, reaching $400.1 million..."
Roger Ebert took a deep breath, seemingly restraining himself, and interrupted, "And the global box office?"
"$978.52 million," the agent said directly. "It's officially Duke Rosenberg's best-performing film to date."
"Merchandising!" Ebert's words came through gritted teeth.
"According to Warner Bros., global merchandise sales have reached approximately $380 million, with character licensing revenue around $200 million."
Suddenly, the agent heard rapid breathing from across the table. Looking up, he saw Ebert taking deep breaths and gulping down half a cup of long-cold coffee. The gloom on his face gradually dissipated.
"Roger…"
The agent was about to console him but was cut off by Ebert raising a hand. "I'm fine. I won't fall until I see Duke Rosenberg fail!"
The agent closed his mouth, and silence fell over the porch as Ebert sank into thought.
"I have reliable information, Roger," the agent eventually said.
As someone familiar with the film critic industry, he knew where its influence lay. "Warner Bros. is already preparing an Oscar campaign for The Fellowship of the Ring."
If it were just a typical popcorn blockbuster like Independence Day, it wouldn't stand a chance at the Oscars. But The Fellowship of the Ring was no ordinary summer film. Its widely beloved source material had influenced countless Hollywood films and directors over the years.
Roger Ebert understood his agent's implication. Slowly shaking his head, he said, "This is only the first of the trilogy. No matter how much work Warner Bros. puts in, it'll only win minor awards. At most, Duke Rosenberg might get a nomination, but the Academy won't hand him the Best Director Oscar."
Hearing this, the agent nodded. It was a simple truth: the trilogy was filmed as a single project. The Academy wouldn't award major honors for the first installment unless it lost its senses.
"So…" Roger Ebert's voice turned cold and harsh, "We don't need to exert much effort against The Fellowship of the Ring or The Two Towers. We save all our strength for The Return of the King!"
He let out a chilling laugh. "As long as I'm alive, he'll never win Best Director!"
By now, Roger Ebert had a clear understanding: Duke Rosenberg was unlikely to switch from blockbusters to art films. While it was possible for him to win Best Director with a commercial film, a concerted effort from the critics would significantly reduce his chances.
After sending his agent off, Roger Ebert called David Denby, a leading figure in the New York Film Critics Circle, and Todd McCarthy, a veteran member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Though they had competitive relationships, they shared common interests regarding matters affecting their profession.
Thus began a sniping operation, planned well before The Return of the King even left the production stage.
By late July, as The Fellowship of the Ring reached a domestic box office of $426.11 million, its global earnings surpassed $1 billion. Warner Bros. celebrated with a grand party and launched another wave of media hype. Even though the film's popularity had waned globally, there were still profits to be reaped, and the groundwork for next year's award season was already being laid.
"The Fellowship of the Ring crosses $1 billion globally. Duke Rosenberg joins the exclusive billion-dollar club as one of only two directors worldwide…"
"A film that changed cinematic history and a director who transformed the world. Duke Rosenberg has made The Lord of the Rings a global sensation, even reaching distant, isolated corners of the East."
"$1 billion is not the end. The Fellowship of the Ring continues to climb to greater heights…"
"There's a cultural wave sparked by cinema, and it's called The Lord of the Rings!"
Such reports flooded the media. Whether online, on TV, in newspapers, or magazines, voices praising Duke and The Lord of the Rings were ubiquitous.
Riding this wave, Duke had Warner Bros. release the first set of concept posters for The Two Towers, sparking strong reactions and anticipation among fans.
However, Duke's focus shifted to Christopher Rokenkort.
After over a month of investigation and verification, the former FBI agent and the Hollywood Eye had obtained some information that would have been impossible to acquire through conventional means.
...
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