Made In Hollywood

After returning to Los Angeles, Duke gave the crew a five-day break. He himself rested for only two days before gathering with John Schwartzman's cinematography team and Josh Williams' pyrotechnics group inside the massive hangar at Hughes Aircraft Factory, preparing to shoot explosion scenes without using any actors.

There were quite a few explosion scenes in the film involving actors in the thick of it—for example, Bruce Wayne blowing up the League of Shadows' monastery.

But few directors would actually let actors enter the explosion site to shoot. Some directors, in pursuit of authentic effects, might use misaligned shooting methods, but technical directors like Duke would rather use compositing than put actors at unnecessary risk.

The reason was simple. If an actor got injured, beyond the financial issues, even the delay in shooting was something he couldn't afford.

With today's computer technology, filming the explosion background and the actors' performances separately and then compositing them together was a very simple task.

"Josh, how's the preparation going?"

Walking into the hangar that had been transformed into a temporary studio, Duke greeted Josh Williams and walked toward the model in the depths of the hangar while saying, "I've only prepared one model. If there's any mistake, the entire filming schedule will be affected."

"Don't worry, Duke." Josh Williams said with extreme confidence, "I guarantee we'll achieve the effect you want in one take."

Explosions could be said to be Duke's earliest means of making a name for himself and attracting audiences. But ever since The Matrix, due to the nature of the films he directed, he hadn't recklessly used large-scale explosions in his movies.

Compared to the films he made in his early years, the explosions in the Batman trilogy were definitely much more restrained.

Upon arriving at the blast-protected area of the hangar, over a dozen crew members were busy working around the model that had already been set up. This was a model twenty feet tall, featuring the League of Shadows' monastery built halfway up a mountainside. Aside from being used to shoot wide-angle shots, its most important purpose was for an explosion scene.

Bruce Wayne blew up the monastery, also severing the mentor-student and father-son bond between him and Henri Ducard.

"John…"

Standing in front of the model, Duke called out. When John Schwartzman walked over briskly, Duke said, "Are the cameras set up?"

"The miniature cameras inside are ready." John Schwartzman pointed to the crane arm above the model. "Once we finish calibrating Camera One for aerial top shots, we're good to go."

Duke reminded him, "Be sure to stay safe."

Just like before, when shooting explosion scenes, Duke would use miniature cameras to simultaneously shoot the internal explosion of the structure. In the early '90s, this was considered an innovative filming method, but with the success and popularity of several of his films, almost every explosion scene in Hollywood now used this technique.

Like bullet time and explosion delay shots, this was a filmmaking style branded with an unmistakable "Duke signature" in Hollywood and the broader North American market.

Only compared to his initial obsession with explosions, after years of filmmaking experience, Duke had become much more calm and objective when shooting. He was no longer the madman director who fanatically worshipped explosions.

However, when it came time to use explosions to shock the audience's visual and auditory nerves, he would still use them without hesitation.

Half an hour later, Duke retreated to a safe distance. He picked up the microphone and shouted, "Clear the area, clear the area now!"

Except for Josh Williams' explosion team who were doing final checks, the other staff all withdrew to beyond the safety line. Another ten minutes passed, and after Duke received confirmation from Josh Williams, he called out to start filming!

"10, 9, 8, 7…" The countdown echoed through the hangar, "3, 2, 1, detonate!"

With a thunderous bang, a fireball shot upward. The explosion was visually striking but had limited force the flames lost all momentum long before reaching the hangar ceiling and slowly dispersed. Wisps of smoke curled upward, only to be sucked away by exhaust fans overhead and expelled into the atmosphere outside.

Josh Williams had long been one of the best pyrotechnicians in Hollywood. The explosion had been meticulously calculated and tested beforehand, and the effect basically matched Duke's expectations.

Standing behind the monitor, Duke reviewed the footage just captured. He nodded in satisfaction and said to an assistant, "Tell Josh and John to switch locations."

He had come today specifically to cause destruction, to blow up all the models the crew had painstakingly built.

The crew relocated to the opposite corner of the hangar. Models of the high-speed rail and underground building basement had already been constructed. John Schwartzman's team quickly set up the cameras, while Josh Williams' team stood aside, waiting until the film crew finished their work before placing the explosives.

Since he had already had thorough communication with Josh Williams and John Schwartzman beforehand, Duke simply stood on the sidelines. After all, professional tasks should be left to professionals directors are coordinators most of the time, not executors.

After watching for a while, an assistant walked over and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Doug Walter is here."

Upon hearing that the CEO of Warner Bros. had arrived, Duke temporarily handed the set over to Anna Prinz and walked toward the hangar entrance. He hadn't gone far when he saw Doug Walter coming to meet him.

The two greeted each other familiarly and walked deeper into the hangar together.

"Is the shooting going smoothly?"

Standing at the edge of the temporary set, Doug Walter asked, "I heard you ran into quite a few problems in Iceland."

"Mostly the weather," Duke adjusted his coat slightly and said, "The winter climate in Iceland was harsh. The cold and wind were worse than in previous years, but fortunately, the crew completed the shooting schedule on time."

"I just came over from Marvel Studios," Doug Walter said directly. "I've basically reached an agreement with Kevin Feige and Avi Arad Warner Bros. will be Marvel Studios' distributor for the next three years."

Duke's eyes lit up immediately. "That's good news."

Anyone with even a little understanding of this industry knew just how important a solid distribution network was for a film.

"Duke…" Doug Walter suddenly sighed. "DC's superhero films have been in decline for far too long. Batman…"

He shook his head lightly, "Bruce Wayne can't endure another big-screen failure."

"I know." Duke thought for a moment and said, "No one wants this movie to succeed more than I do."

How many directors are weird enough to want their own film to fail?

Doug Walter's thinking, as well as that of Warner Bros., wasn't hard for Duke to guess. DC's superheroes had indeed been in decline for too long, and now, seeing Spider-Man and the X-Men raking in cash at the box office and in the merchandise market, how could they not be envious?

Moreover, if Duke's proposed unification plan succeeded, it would surely create an unprecedented pinnacle in superhero film history.

As the CEO of Warner Bros., Doug Walter was obviously a busy man. After briefly discussing the promotional plans for Time of War with Duke, he took the initiative to leave.

From beginning to end, neither of them mentioned the long-delayed negotiations between Duke's Duke Studio and Pixar Studio.

In reality, these two closely related negotiations had already gone beyond Doug Walter and Warner Bros.' management. Because of the massive stock and capital transactions involved, the Time Warner Group had taken over the negotiations.

In fact, it wasn't that complicated. If the equity swap between Pixar Studio and Duke Studio with Warner Bros. went through, the shares Duke and Steve Jobs would receive could very well affect Time Warner Group's control over Warner Bros. Negotiations involving billions of dollars were never simple matters. Let alone having been in formal talks for less than a year even if it dragged on for several years, it would still be normal.

Of course, neither Duke nor Steve Jobs opposed becoming shareholders in a world-class media conglomerate.

In fact, during a recent phone call, both had even subtly expressed their desire to join the board of directors if possible.

After seeing Doug Walter off, Duke resumed filming with full focus. It was an explosion scene following a collision and required precise control of the timing between the model crash and the detonation. Fortunately, Josh Williams, after years of training, had little problem in that area. Duke called "cut" after just one take.

That wrapped up today's work. Over the next few days, the actors would be on break, and Duke would focus on shooting explosion scenes. He aimed to wrap up most of the explosion sequences during this time.

He waited in the office area of the hangar for a while before his car arrived with Tina Fey. He got into the car, glanced at the silent assistant beside him, and said directly to the driver, "Head to Malibu."

Once the car started and hit the main road, Tina Fey suddenly reached out and pressed a button, raising the partition between the front and back she seemed to have something important to say to Duke.

"Did something happen?" Duke asked.

Tina Fey didn't answer immediately. Instead, she opened her briefcase, took out a document folder, and handed it over. "This is from lawyer. He asked me to give it to you."

Duke took it, opened it, and began reading. The contents weren't exactly a secret. They were some pieces of evidence lawyer Orred had collected on Donald Trump profiting from his (Duke's) name.

According to North American law, Duke could demand that Donald Trump pay him a portion of the profits from those activities. But after thinking for a moment, he handed the folder back to Tina Fey.

"Let's put this on hold for now." He was well aware that Ivanka valued her father deeply.

Tina Fey clearly didn't want to see Duke and Ivanka head down a path of no return either. She quickly put the folder away and changed the subject. "Taken has finished its global release. I've just received the latest box office statistics."

....

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