Made In Hollywood

Night gradually deepened. Tonight, Chicago seemed somewhat quiet. Beckelman pushed open the bar door, let out a loud belch, shook his dizzy head muddled from drinking, and staggered forward. Not far ahead was Wacker Drive, a major artery in the Chicago area, where cars typically came and went. It was usually easy to flag down a cab without having to call for one.

But tonight was different. He drunkenly pulled apart two barricade tapes and stood by the side of Wacker Drive, looking strangely to the left and then to the right. Not only were there no moving vehicles in sight, but the entire street apart from a few cars parked on the roadside felt extraordinarily empty.

What happened?

Beckelman scratched his head, his brain dulled by alcohol and slow to react. Why were there no people in this bustling neighborhood?

A plague? War? Zombie siege? Or maybe an alien invasion?

He had always been a sci-fi fan, and with the alcohol's influence, a bunch of bizarre ideas leapt into his mind.

Suddenly, Beckelman saw someone. On the other side of the wide street, a person was waving at him and shouting loudly, seemingly urging him to get away from this place as if there was danger here.

Had something serious really happened?

Though Beckelman was groggy from the booze, he still cautiously took a few steps back. It was at that moment a loud roar suddenly erupted from the intersection a few hundred feet to his left. The sound was so deafening that even from such a distance it felt ear-splitting.

Then, a beam of light fell from the sky and illuminated that area, and the sound of helicopter rotors followed.

Sirens, car engines—all sounds suddenly erupted.

Were the police chasing a fugitive?

Given Chicago's long history with gangs, such situations weren't all that rare.

Just as Beckelman thought this, a bright light suddenly lit up from the direction of the intersection and then turned around. The light was so intense it almost illuminated half of Wacker Drive.

"Uh…"

Seeing the monster in that light, Beckelman's mouth dropped open uncontrollably. "What the hell is that thing?"

It looked somewhat like a car, but its design was odd it didn't resemble any ordinary vehicle, especially with the black material covering its exterior like armor…

But were there any armored vehicles, tanks, or cars like that in the world?

Beckelman immediately shook his head. Just then, the monster raced past on the road ahead of him at nearly 100 miles per hour. The ground-shaking tremor and gust of wind it stirred up almost knocked him over. The dozen or so police cars following it seemed like weaklings compared to this beast.

Were the police chasing that monster?

At this point, Beckelman understood, but he couldn't figure out what exactly that monster was. What kind of thing would require so many police officers and the evacuation of the entire Wacker Drive…

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he began to tremble with excitement. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed the number for the Chicago TV station.

"Hello, is this the TV station?"

Upon receiving confirmation, Beckelman, speaking in drunken slurs, shouted, "I saw an alien! This isn't a joke—I saw a spaceship on Wacker Drive! The police are chasing it…"

Up in the sky, the helicopter was still circling. Duke sat inside, examining the images constantly transmitted to the monitors. Occasionally, he would glance out the window at the frenzied chase scene below, overseeing everything from above.

To shoot this car chase, the crew had made extensive preparations. After his scouting trip to Chicago with Hannah Serena and John Schwartzman, eighteen stunt drivers came to the Chicago area to train in car handling and familiarize themselves with the local roads. They'd been preparing for months.

Duke's fame also played a key role. Not only did the Chicago city government fully cooperate with the crew, but they also provided unprecedented support. Several city blocks had been temporarily closed to traffic to facilitate the intense car chase shoot.

Such scenarios had become increasingly common in recent years. Governments across the U.S. were competing to attract large Hollywood crews, offering various conveniences and tax incentives. Hollywood productions had been increasingly shooting outside of Los Angeles.

A successful film can significantly impact a city.

Even the staunchest Duke critics had to admit that he turned New Zealand into a global tourist destination with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Moreover, Chicago's financial situation was worse than Los Angeles's. Though not as dramatic as Detroit, this heavy industry city had also faced repeated bankruptcy rumors.

The helicopter continued to follow the Batmobile as it raced down the meticulously designed route like a rocket. It occasionally stopped to make adjustments, then crashed into police cars in its path. Even though it was only a film shoot, the power of this super-monster was still unmatched.

In a city, facing ordinary criminals and lightly equipped police, Batman was simply unstoppable.

Filming continued until the early hours before Duke finally called it a wrap. The cleaning company hired by the production moved into these blocks, beginning to clear away all the debris left behind by the staged car crashes.

Once Duke disembarked and joined the ground crew, swarms of media reporters who had rushed over surrounded the area, even blocking the exit route. They clearly weren't going to let him leave without saying something.

Duke had no choice but to give an interview. However, he only gave formulaic, perfunctory responses. When a reporter mentioned that someone had called the TV station claiming the Batmobile was an alien spaceship, he was momentarily stunned.

"This just proves that the Batmobile our crew built is truly unique and spectacular."

Leaving this remark, Duke got into his car with the help of security personnel and left Wacker Drive, heading straight back to the hotel.

All filming in the Chicago area was scheduled at night. Even with the city government's support, Chicago's heavy daytime traffic made normal shooting impossible. The fast-paced scenes of the Batmobile bursting forward were all completed in one night, but the crash scenes required far more complex and time-consuming shooting.

These crash sequences were Duke's forte. In fact, the actual filming didn't take long; most of the time was consumed in the preparations. A crash scene lasting only a few seconds often took several hours to set up.

It's undeniable that there are many tricks in filmmaking, but preparations for on-location shoots couldn't be faked. Otherwise, the consequence might be injuries to the actors or other troubles.

Duke never fought a battle unprepared. Every shoot was the result of meticulous pre-production planning.

However, this time, he ran into a bit of trouble. The exterior location for Wayne Manor still hadn't been settled. Unlike the modern villas scattered all over America, the Wayne family was a typical example of an old and noble lineage, and the manor needed to exude a sense of ancient solemnity. Otherwise, Duke could have easily borrowed or rented a villa estate in Malibu.

Originally, the crew had secured an old manor on the outskirts of Paris, reportedly owned by a duke. But after the crew arrived in Chicago, the owner suddenly backed out. He preferred to pay the penalty rather than let the crew use his property. Faced with such a situation, Duke could only shrug.

The owner wasn't short on money and had no ties to the film industry, so he simply didn't care what Duke thought. More importantly, he was willing to pay the breach-of-contract fee.

Duke had no choice but to give up on the location and sent the crew's lawyers to Paris to handle the settlement and penalty matters.

If it had been a hot-tempered director, there would've definitely been a big scene. Fortunately, Duke had always been calm and rational. He also understood he wasn't the center of the universe. While changing the filming plan, he asked Charles Roven to find a suitable location as soon as possible.

"Your dark circles are showing."

In the hotel's Italian restaurant, Irene Lauder, who had come to visit the set, looked at Duke, who had been working nights recently, and said, "Are you worrying about that matter?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Duke couldn't help rubbing his eyes. Living with reversed day and night wasn't pleasant. "It'll be fine soon. The Chicago shoot is almost over."

Irene picked up the glass of water beside her, took a slow sip, and continued, "Maybe I can help you solve this problem."

"Then I won't say thank you."

Seeing that Irene Lauder wasn't joking, Duke didn't hold back. "Darling, the sooner the better."

In fact, he didn't need to shoot inside the villa. The interior could be recreated on a soundstage. What he needed most was exterior wide shots.

"My cousin owns a manor in the northern suburbs of London," Irene pulled out a pen and wrote an address on a napkin, sliding it over to him. "The manor was built by the Rothschild family in the 1850s, and it's only an hour and a half drive from London."

Duke glanced at the napkin and then heard Irene say, "I'll give my cousin a heads-up. There should be no problem."

"I'm just filming some exterior scenes." Duke didn't reject the offer. "We won't be going inside the villa."

The meal lasted just over half an hour. Irene Lauder had other work to attend to in Chicago and left shortly after, agreeing with Duke to visit the night shoot later. Duke returned to his room and went back to sleep. After more than a week of continuous shooting, his biological clock was a mess.

Fortunately, the Chicago shoot went smoothly without any major issues. This was Duke's specialty. After twelve days of intense work, all Chicago scenes were wrapped. Irene Lauder also got in touch with her cousin. Duke led the crew straight to London, filmed a few exterior scenes, and returned to Los Angeles.

The only actress with a relatively large part, Anne Hathaway, also joined the crew.

...

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