Made In Hollywood

"A smartphone?"

Flipping through the Apple concept phone in his hand, Duke leaned back in his chair and looked at Steve Jobs across from him. "This is Apple's next flagship product?"

Steve Jobs nodded. Perhaps because there were now more interests entangled between him and Duke, the businessman in him was acting up. His attitude seemed much better than before, and he rarely showed a smile as he said, "How does it feel?"

"Pretty good." Duke placed it on the table between them. "I believe it will definitely become popular all over the world in the future."

"Definitely." Steve Jobs was always full of confidence.

Although he hadn't used it before, Duke was sure this was basically the first-generation iPhone. Judging from what Jobs said, the phone was still in the experimental improvement stage and far from being ready for market release.

Of course, even if the phone hit the market, Duke would rather continue using his custom-made Nokia. Despite the fact that this smartphone combined all the most advanced technologies available, it still couldn't compare to any knock-off smartphones he had seen in the past.

According to Steve Jobs' introduction, the first-generation iPhone only supported AT&T's 2G network. Not only was it prone to packet loss and disconnection, but the key issue was that the speed was turtle-slow—comparable to the torment of dial-up internet in the old days.

"Duke, you're good at science fiction films and always full of imaginative ideas," Jobs suddenly asked. "What do you think could be improved on this phone?"

Seeing that Jobs rarely asked such a question, Duke couldn't help but furrow his brow. He recalled for a long time before saying, "Steve, I think the App Store could definitely be placed on this smartphone."

The App Store is a part of the Apple ecosystem. It's a service software available on many Apple devices. It allows users to browse and download applications developed specifically for Apple devices. Users can purchase both paid and free content and have the apps directly downloaded to their Apple terminals. It includes games, calendars, translation tools, photo galleries, and many other practical software.

Jobs' eyes immediately lit up, but he wasn't overly excited. He continued to ask, "Anything else?"

"This concept phone can't change many backgrounds—only the system's default black," Duke, rare to have a chance to show off in front of Jobs—and being a major Apple shareholder, the better the iPhone sells, the more he profits—continued, "The system also doesn't have copy-paste functionality, and it can't connect to a computer wirelessly. No navigation, the camera resolution is too low, and it can't record video directly…"

As Duke spoke, Jobs kept nodding. "I really didn't expect it, Duke. You actually know so much about phones. What you've pointed out are indeed shortcomings of the concept phone, and they're also technologies that need improvement in the future."

"The future?" Duke was slightly surprised.

"Of course the future," Steve Jobs said as if it were a matter of course. "My plan is to release a new model every once in a while, changing some corresponding functions each time. For example, we can add the App Store in the second generation, enhance entertainment functions in the third, and completely update the camera in the fourth…"

He spread his hands and said, "Only by constantly improving features will users continue to buy Apple products. Releasing everything at once does not align with Apple's interests."

Upon hearing this, Duke couldn't help but nod heavily. Steve Jobs truly deserved to be called a businessman an ideal model for Duke to learn from.

When leaving, Duke originally wanted to take a concept phone with him. He wouldn't use it himself, but giving it to Scarlett Johansson as a toy wouldn't be a bad idea. However, Steve Jobs sternly refused.

Duke didn't mind. After all, this was a product still in development, and confidentiality was a must.

With a renewed appreciation for Steve Jobs' business instincts, Duke returned to Los Angeles from San Francisco and threw himself back into the intense filming schedule. During the days he was away, the crew didn't stop working they continued operating normally. Anna Prinz had temporarily taken over Duke's position and managed the filming progress.

Even after Duke returned, she still led a small team for filming. The dual-line shooting ensured the crew stayed on schedule, leaving ample time for complex post-production.

In the studio, Robert Downey Jr. wore motion capture equipment and jumped down from a three-foot platform, landing heavily on a black mat. Duke watched all of it through the monitor, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Robert…" he called out in front of the camera, "Do it again."

Robert Downey Jr. nodded and went back onto the platform. After the clapper board signaled the start, he jumped again, landing with both feet on the mat.

This time, Duke didn't look at the monitor. His eyes were fixed on Robert Downey Jr.'s side. Watching his feet land, he finally saw the problem.

"Jimmy, Robert," Duke raised his hand and called over the lead actor and the stunt coordinator. "Let's have a quick meeting."

Jimmy Carter had been in charge of action design. He realized Duke was dissatisfied with the scene he designed and asked, "Something wrong?"

"Don't you think Robert's landing from flight looks too plain?" Duke pointed at Robert Downey Jr. "Jimmy, Iron Man just jumps straight to the ground it's way too bland."

Robert Downey Jr. scratched his head and deliberately said in a cocky tone, "I think Duke's absolutely right. This kind of entrance can't showcase my stylish and cool side at all."

"Robert…" Jimmy Carter pointed at him. Perhaps he had been annoyed by this clown before and simply ignored him this time. He turned to Duke and asked, "Give me a hint. I'm good at designing based on your requests, but I struggle with abstract ideas."

"Every superhero has their own distinctive way of showing up." Duke thought for a moment and said, "In Iron Man, after Tony Stark becomes Iron Man, he always appears flying. Jimmy, what you need to do is make Iron Man's flying style stand out from other superheroes you can't let the audience's first thought be That's Superman or Spider man.'"

These conceptual matters had always been Duke's responsibility. He explained, "Iron Man doesn't have superpowers; he's merely wrapped in a heavy but bulletproof high-tech suit. Superman takes off quickly but prefers to land slowly, while Iron Man takes off slowly because of the heavy outer suit. But he lands quickly and with a dull thud."

Over the years, Jimmy Carter had accumulated enough experience. After hearing Duke's words, he immediately thought of a solution. "In normal landings, Iron Man can also take a slow decelerated landing approach. But when he appears on the battlefield, he can descend like thunder from the sky. This will create a huge impact force, and Tony Stark will need to land on one knee to absorb the shock and this pose is cool enough."

Robert Downey Jr. immediately agreed. "Good idea."

After speaking, he and Jimmy Carter both looked at Duke. They both knew clearly that the person who truly had the final say was Duke.

"This is indeed unique compared to other traditional superhero characters already established. It's also great for us."

With this issue resolved, Duke temporarily changed the shooting plan and moved on to shoot other scenes, giving Jimmy Carter and Robert Downey Jr. enough time to practice. Don't underestimate this seemingly trivial motion to achieve the desired filming effect also requires a great deal of repetitive practice.

Of course, this only solved part of the problem. Other issues still existed.

For instance, Iron Man is grounded in realism; he requires natural movement. This isn't just about filming post-production special effects must also help solve it.

Industrial Light & Magic and Weta Workshop worked closely together. According to Duke's requirements, they embraced a fearless attitude toward producing massive amounts of CG. While filming, they intensely created numerous keyframe animations for the film, along with a few straight-line motion capture animations.

Just like Duke said those superheroes who succeeded on screen all have iconic traits, signature moves that leave a lasting impression on audiences. For example, Superman stands upright with chest out and fists on hips, cape fluttering in the wind.

But Duke designed Iron Man's style to be more organic. Although he wanted Iron Man to have amazing mobility, he didn't want audiences to be distracted by fake comic book constructs. Instead, he tried to insert poses into various movements to enhance memorability.

One scene had already completed its initial special effects Iron Monger flying back to attack Iron Man, Iron Man grabbing both of his arms and using rocket propulsion to leap into the air.

This set of actions was far stronger than simply striking a pose in place. Another key moment was when Iron Man, mid-air, quickly raised his fist to counter Iron Monger's attack. At that frame, Iron Man was right in the center of the shot.

With some of the action scenes' problems resolved, the filming schedule gradually sped up. Before Christmas, Duke had finished all the action scenes. The remaining ones were just some fragmented shots. After spending Christmas vacation in New York with his mother and Scarlett Johansson, he returned to work.

The sooner filming wrapped, the more time there would be for post-production. According to the plan, this film had to be released during next year's summer box office season.

The remaining scenes were mostly of Tony Stark being snarky and relatively humorous moments.

Just like actors, directors also have areas they're not good at. Duke had never been good at filming comedy scenes, but Robert Downey Jr. himself was an expert in this. With his lead, the actors started improvising, and Duke was happy to select suitable material from that.

For example, in a scene between Robert Downey Jr. and Rachel McAdams.

Rachel played Pepper Potts, complaining about flying all over America to buy mansions for Tony Stark.

"After you buy the next estate, I can put your name on the front gate call it Potts Manor."

Upon hearing this, Rachel McAdams had a sudden flash of inspiration and said, "Better to put it on the deed."

During the final days of shooting, the crew was rarely filled with such a cheerful atmosphere. After the New Year, when 2006 arrived, filming for Iron Man was officially completed

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