Why do wealthy elites like to hire former government special function department people as security consultants? The performance of Duke's hired former senior FBI agent Edward Newgate speaks volumes.
In the following week, more information about Christopher Rokenkort reached Tina Fey. After Duke reviewed it, he developed a genuine respect for the man, who claimed to be a French count and a producer. It's not hard to imagine that his rise in Hollywood shows his intelligence and capability.
Duke's initial suspicion of him wasn't about uncovering Christopher Rokenkort's true nature but had more to do with his personality.
He was the type who never hesitated to look at North America's highly commercialized and profit-driven society with the harshest lens, always keeping a high degree of vigilance toward strangers. The key moment was when Sofia Coppola mentioned Nicolas Cage, reminding him that the infamous "king of bad films" had a widely circulated reputation in the old world.
And that led to everything that followed.
As in the past, when something happened, Duke's first thought was how to use it for his benefit.
As for Christopher Rokenkort's real situation, it was quite similar to a movie plot.
He wasn't a French count or a descendant of European aristocracy; his background was humble. His mother was a prostitute, and his father an alcoholic. He was abandoned by his parents as a child and was later taken in by his grandmother, who was also an alcoholic. Eventually, he ended up in an orphanage, growing up rather lonely, before moving to Paris to begin a life of fraud.
Like most con artists, Christopher had a rough start to his career, even being arrested by French police. But he was good at summarizing, using forged property documents and his decent appearance to scam over a million francs from a French woman before coming to Hollywood, known for having lots of rich, gullible people.
Just as the information showed, he stayed in top hotels in Hollywood, spending lavishly. He soon made connections with a circle of French people in the industry and began his path to success.
His scam technique was simple, similar to a Ponzi scheme in finance. While his earlier scams didn't raise large sums, there were still some issues with the financial chain, leading to a huge project.
A huge project required a prominent director or star to give it credibility.
In Duke's view, it was normal for Christopher to approach him. Among Hollywood's top directors, he was the youngest, quickest to rise to fame, and had the least experience, making him easier to deceive compared to the seasoned veterans.
Meanwhile, Nancy continued to send news about Christopher, who, with the help of his girlfriend Jessica Alba and friends like Mickey Rourke and Sheryl Winstead, continued to expand his investment. Forty people had already invested in his new project, and there were dozens more potential investors.
Like most things in Hollywood, the hardest part is often the first step. Once more people invest in a project, getting further investments becomes much easier.
Moreover, Christopher had already been in the industry for years and had built a sufficiently clean image for himself. Even if someone used standard methods to investigate, like Duke had at the beginning, it would be hard to find any substantial issues.
Like a Hollywood star, Christopher had carefully crafted a highly appealing persona.
Although Duke had devised a plan to leverage this situation for his own future gain, he didn't only focus on that. He was always clear that directing was his true profession, and a film's success was what truly mattered in Hollywood.
By August, from the beginning of the month, The Fellowship of the Ring's daily box office had dropped to around $2 million, and the overseas market's enthusiasm had passed. While North American and global box offices were slowly approaching $450 million and $1.1 billion, respectively, it could only rely on a long screening period to accumulate more.
Fortunately, the film wasn't a fast-food blockbuster; audience reviews remained strong, and the North American Theater Alliance had set up a long-term screening plan. As long as per-theater revenue didn't fall below the theater's baseline, The Fellowship of the Ring might screen for half a year or even longer.
At the same time, the film team and Warner Brothers were using various ways to squeeze out the last bit of box office potential, while also promoting the sales of related merchandise.
In early August, the film's original soundtrack album was released in North America, Latin America, and Europe. Originally, Warner Brothers had planned a celebration party for the film, but before the party, they held a grand original soundtrack launch event, with many crew members, including Duke, attending.
The Fellowship of the Ring had surpassed $400 million in North America and $1 billion globally, creating the best box office record of Duke's career, making him the media's focus at the launch event.
Duke had never been averse to promoting the film during interviews.
As a reporter with a good working relationship, Sarah from The Los Angeles Times entertainment section, the next day, started praising the film once again in her column.
"The Fellowship of the Ring touches upon humanity's eternal themes. The film's structure is more refined than the original novel, the dialogue is more rhythmic, well thought-out, and deeper, and the characters are more vivid and dynamic. Director Duke Rosenberg uses rich and skillful artistic techniques to raise the banner of freedom across the world…"
This kind of hype was part of Warner Brothers' media strategy, naturally to promote the sales of the original soundtrack album.
Not all films release soundtrack albums, but The Fellowship of the Ring's music had been highly praised, and the album sold 520,000 copies in North America in its first week, with global sales exceeding $17 million in the same period, becoming another major money-maker from the film's peripheral products.
The soundtrack was also being used beyond just album sales. The studio was negotiating with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra to arrange concerts before and after the film's North American run, and the concerts would not be limited to North America but also spread across Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
While the concerts might not bring massive profits, they would help maintain The Lord of the Rings's momentum, allowing audiences to eagerly await The Two Towers.
All in all, with The Fellowship of the Ring's huge success, one of the main tasks for the studio was to keep the series' momentum going, which would save a significant amount of promotional costs for The Two Towers.
Compared to The Fellowship of the Ring's $80 million promotional budget, The Two Towers only had $40 million.
In addition, comics and animated series related to the film had also been scheduled, all to support the film's ongoing hype and supplement the project. Duke and Warner would squeeze out every last drop from this series.
After the original soundtrack launch event, Duke's next main event was the grand celebration party prepared by Warner Brothers for The Fellowship of the Ring.
It wasn't just a celebration; it also served a promotional purpose. Numerous celebrities, industry representatives, and media figures were invited by the studio. The crew and their families would be the center of the party, with not only the Fellowship of the Ring cast but also other staff bringing their families along.
The party was designed not only to boost the momentum for The Lord of the Rings trilogy but also to promote Duke's and Warner's other upcoming films.
For example, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which was scheduled to be released during the Christmas season, would have its cast, including author J.K. Rowling and director Chris Columbus, at the party.
Also, Zach Snyder's The Matrix sequels, starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron, would be attending.
In Hollywood, public parties were never just parties.
"You've reached the age where you should gain weight, but you're thinner than before."
In the villa's changing room, the costume designer who had always served Duke was measuring his latest body data. "The stars will be very envious of you, Duke."
"They won't envy me after seeing my work…"
Just as he said that, Tina Fey walked in, handing Duke her phone. "It's Ivanka's call."
The designer, being quick-witted, jotted down the final number and quickly packed up, leaving with a polite farewell. "I'll call you when your tuxedo is ready."
Duke nodded, answering the phone, "Hi, Ivanka, why are you calling now?"
As fellow shareholders of the company, they had a set weekly phone call time, and Ivanka rarely disturbed his work.
"I heard Warner Brothers is preparing a grand party?" Ivanka's tone carried a hint of subtle grievance. "I was part of the crew too, why wasn't I invited?"
"Darling, there's still time for the party. I'm sure they just haven't notified you yet."
Duke knew exactly that the studio had overlooked her as a temporary worker, so he said directly, "Ivanka, as long as you have time, you can come over anytime."
"Okay!" Ivanka immediately responded, "I'll definitely come to your celebration party! This is your most successful moment so far…"
"Remember to call before you come."
After chatting a bit about the website construction, Duke hung up and reminded Tina Fey to arrange for a car to pick Ivanka Trump up at the airport when the time came.