For a deal involving billions of dollars like Lucasfilm, it absolutely cannot be finalized in a short amount of time. The team formed by Duke and Warner Bros. is very patient and is also waiting for the right opportunity. Meanwhile, some voices have emerged from Lucasfilm's side, such as the issue of the director for the new Star Wars series.
Duke has given certain promises in response. The commercial success he has achieved over the years with science fiction films is the best guarantee for those promises.
For example, by mid-September, Inception had surpassed the $1 billion mark globally, with a North American cumulative box office of $342.54 million, making it the second-highest-grossing film of the year in North America so far, only behind Toy Story 3.
The latter's North American box office has already exceeded $350 million. This series has built a massive audience base and excellent reputation over fifteen years.
However, in overseas markets, the box office and reception of Toy Story 3 were not as good as Inception, and even fell short of Alice in Wonderland released earlier in the year. It's an indisputable fact that Pixar's films are relatively weaker overseas compared to North America.
In emerging and rapidly growing markets such as China, Pixar animated films are not particularly popular. The animation market in these regions is mostly targeted at children under the age of ten, and Pixar's films have never been made for that demographic. Moreover, kids in that age group are fundamentally unable to understand them.
Pixar's production style inherently defines its audience, and it will take time to build its viewer base in emerging markets.
Fortunately, even without high box office earnings from new markets, the revenue generated by Pixar's films is still considerable.
Inception is definitely one of the most successful films of the year, whereas Robin Hood, another big-budget production, has become one of the year's biggest failures.
This film was forcibly scheduled by the North American theater alliance very early on and only earned slightly over $40 million at the North American box office. Including all overseas markets, the global box office barely exceeded $100 million.
The production cost of Robin Hood was as high as $200 million. When you add in over $100 million in promotion and marketing, along with the expensive distribution costs, the total investment in the film easily surpassed $350 million. With this level of investment, recouping the cost would require an extremely long time.
"You won't recover that investment even if you die!"
Inside a mansion in San Francisco, a loud voice was blasting at David Ellison like a hairdryer. The usually defiant David Ellison had his head slightly bowed and stood still. "How many times have you screwed up already?"
Hearing his father's words, David Ellison raised his head and said stubbornly, "I've also had successes. I produced blockbusters like I Am Legend!"
Larry Ellison let out two cold laughs, stepped back and sat down on the sofa, and said sternly, "How many profitable films has your company made? And how many like Robin Hood?"
Initially, he had high hopes for this son, believing he was just as outstanding as anyone else, even capable of carving out a place for himself in Hollywood. He didn't expect him to fail so miserably.
David Ellison stayed silent and slowly lowered his head. After a long moment, he looked up again, stared firmly at his father, and said, "My Sky Flim Media still has Tron: Legacy, Battleship, John Carter, and Fast & Furious 5. As long as two of them become big hits like I Am Legend, the past losses can all be recovered…"
"Let's hope so!" Larry Ellison interrupted him directly and said, "If these films fail, I will withdraw my investment from your Skyd Flim Media!"
David Ellison's face changed. Without his father's financial support, how could he possibly keep Skydance Media running?
However, thinking about those four films, David Ellison regained some confidence. It's impossible that all four would fail, right?
Especially Fast & Furious 5, which is about to start filming. The entire series has already accumulated massive popularity. As long as nothing major goes wrong, the film is almost guaranteed to be a hit.
In David Ellison's opinion, it's quite normal for Fast & Furious 5 to earn $500 to $600 million globally. But to surpass $1 billion, the difficulty is very high.
So how could he make this film explode at the box office and reach over $1 billion?
That was the question David Ellison was still thinking about as he left San Francisco. Currently in Hollywood, there are only a few films and directors capable of surpassing the $1 billion mark. Aside from James Cameron and Duke Rosenberg, there's basically no one else who can do it.
Especially Duke Rosenberg how many of his films have already grossed over $1 billion globally? The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Dark Knight…
Thinking of The Dark Knight, a thought crossed David Ellison's mind. If not for the Joker's death, would the film have exploded at the box office the way it did?
A vague idea started to form in his mind, but he couldn't grasp it just yet, so he chose to set it aside for the time being and focus on the reality in front of him.
Just as David Ellison had heard, Duke Rosenberg's new film Gravity was nearing the end of its shoot. Since many of the technical problems were resolved during the pre-production stage, the filming process had been relatively smooth. After forty-five days of intense filming, this planned 90-minute film only had its final shot left.
In the soundstage at Warner Bros. Studios, Duke was directing the crew to set up the final long take. It was the final scene of the entire movie and a pivotal moment where Scarlett's character returns to Earth and gains a new lease on life. Gravity would differ from any of Duke's previous films, using a large number of long takes. The ending sequence was no exception.
On the left side of the soundstage, a large water tank had already been set up. Green screens surrounded it, and the water inside was made to closely resemble a real lake, with realistically grown aquatic plants. As for other elements like plankton, those would be added during post-production.
Previously, the scene where the female lead lands in water aboard the Shenzhou capsule had already been filmed. The remaining long take would show Scarlett removing her spacesuit and swimming back to land.
Two camera assistants were already suited up in diving gear and would capture Scarlett's performance underwater. Duke checked the crew's preparations, then called Scarlett over to the water tank.
This was right in front of the tank. Aside from the camera positions, the surroundings were also covered in green screens. Duke stood on the dry ground near the water and pointed to the damp soil, saying, "Remember, once you're ashore, grab a handful of dirt!"
"I know!" Scarlett nodded seriously.
The two had communicated thoroughly beforehand, so Duke didn't need to say much more about these scenes, but he still reminded her, "Make sure to stay safe. If you can't hold your breath, just swim straight up."
Scarlett gave Duke a reassuring expression. "I've practiced many times already."
After giving Scarlett his instructions, Duke looked around again. Three lifeguards were already in position. If anything happened to the actor or the cameraman underwater, they could jump in and rescue them immediately.
When it came to safety, Duke never took chances especially since Scarlett Johansson was involved.
"All departments, get ready!"
Walking up to the high platform, Duke stood behind the director's monitor. "Final scene, starting now!"
Although Duke gave the call to start, filming didn't begin immediately. They had to wait for Scarlett Johansson to get in position. She jumped into the tank and slowly swam toward the center. Taking a deep breath, she dove to the bottom. The tank wasn't deep, and many effects would be added in post-production. After about ten seconds, Scarlett was in place. She made an "OK" gesture, and the shoot began at once.
As a non-professional, Scarlett couldn't hold her breath for very long. Duke had originally planned for a diver to carry scuba gear to assist her during filming, but seeing that she could stay underwater for nearly a minute, he decided to skip the cumbersome preparation.
The underwater scene was relatively simple. Scarlett performed a few motions of removing a space suit, then freed herself from all restraints and swam upward. She passed through a patch of aquatic plants and soon neared the surface.
The entire process lasted only a dozen seconds or so. A high-speed slow-motion camera was used for the underwater filming. Just as Scarlett Johansson was about to surface, the main camera operated by John Schwartzman immediately shifted over and clearly captured her every movement.
Duke kept his eyes fixed on the director's monitor. Scarlett struggled to crawl onto the shore, unable to stand. She pressed her face tightly against the muddy ground, feeling Earth, feeling the aftermath of disaster, feeling her own rebirth...
She slowly scooped up a handful of soil, her eyes fixed on it. This incredibly familiar earth now seemed so precious as if only someone who had survived a space catastrophe could understand what this seemingly ordinary soil meant to her, to humanity.
Scarlett struggled to stand. At that moment, no one and nothing could stop her from getting up. Though she stumbled repeatedly in the process, she finally stood firm on the soil beneath her feet.
The camera on the crane first zoomed in for a close-up of her feet and the soil, then slowly panned upward, finally stopping beside Scarlett's face, until she slowly began to walk...
"Cut!" Duke's voice rang out. "That's a wrap on this take!"
A collective sigh of relief echoed through the soundstage. Though the filming had lasted just over forty days, the tension and intensity were unprecedented.