Chapter 6

"Are you sure you want to do this, Leah?"

Putting down the coffee cup, George Lucas broke the tranquil atmosphere of the cafe while being surprised by the her words. He quickly lowered his voice, "This is too risky!"

"I am Duke's mother."

Sipping coffee slowly, Leah Rosenberg's voice was still flat, "I know how realistic Hollywood is. If I don't help him, who else in this world will help him?"

She raised her eyes to look at George Lucas, her black eyes as calm as water, "I'm just doing something within the power of a mother."

"After you called me last night, I studied the script carefully."

Seeing his friend's resolute attitude, George Lucas quickly recovered his calm,before telling the most basic facts, "If this movie wants to make a screenplay effect, it will definitely require tens of millions of dollars of investment. I watched Duke. He did have a lot of ideas for a video shot, and his quick and sharp editing was also very characteristic, but he lacks experience!"

"George, give me a definite number." Leah Rosenberg ignored George Lucas' last words, "Based on your estimate, how much money does Duke need?"

After watching his friend carefully for a while, George Lucas rubbed his signature beard and slowly said, "If Lucasfilm produces, the special effects will be completely handed over to Industrial Light and Magic. It can be done, but Duke is a novice, this number will inevitably increase, at least 15 million US dollars."

"I will mortgage the two properties in Santa Monica and San Francisco as soon as possible." Leah had this idea when she first saw the script, and after weeks of deliberation, she made up her mind. At this time, she talked about these matters as a trivial things, "Adding part of my savings, it's no problem to make up $10 million. I will figure out the rest."

"Leah, you are betting!" George Lucas reminded her.

"George, past forward for twenty years..." Leah's calm eyes finally revealed her spirit, "When we started our business, which decision was not a gamble? Do you remember the situation when filming "Star Wars"? Ninety percent of people in Hollywood said that you were a fool. All the film critics in North America were scolding you for shooting garbage but What happened afterwards?"

Hearing his friend mention his most proud thing, George Lucas couldn't help but smile, and took a sip of coffee, "You have so much confidence in Duke?"

"I have no confidence."

Leah Rosenberg's words almost caused George Lucas to spit out the coffee, "But as a mother, I am willing to create opportunities for him to succeed. Even if he fails, I will just lose two properties and part of the money. I can bear that loss."

Seeing George Lucas nodding his head slowly, her voice gradually slowed down, "George, we have known each other for 30 years, and I have never asked you to do anything for me. The production and distribution of the film..."

"All these are given to Lucasfilm."

Now that Leah decided to take on most of the investment and said so solemnly, George Lucas stopped persuading her. He thought for a while, "If I am interested in this script, those film funds will definitely be willing to contribute to the rest."

Hollywood's big shots are handy for this kind of thing that can be charitable by borrowing chickens and eggs.

They reached an agreement in the general direction, and the two discussed some specific aspects. They did not leave the cafe separately until a short time later.

Duke knew nothing about his mother's decision. Although he had never given up hope, he was also soberly aware that the opportunity did not seem to appear in a short time. He must find a suitable job to support himself.

He was contacting an associate director of the crew of "Captain Hook". After Spielberg's crew went through a financial crisis and was shut down, they finally got the investment and started shooting again in the Universal Studios studio. Duke wanted to return to the crew to work. , Even if it's just a casual worker doing chores, it's a rare learning opportunity to watch the shooting of Hollywood's first fast shooter live.

The most important thing is that he must have a certain source of income,then wait slowly and look for opportunities.

Duke had considered reaching out to his mother for investment, but it was just a passing thought.

No mother in the world owes anything to their children. He couldn't ask for more. Mrs. Leah also had expressed her disinterest in the script.

Stepping back 10,000 paces, even if his mother were willing to invest, without support from a film company, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Leaving the support of the film company to assemble a large crew is complex enough, but even after shooting the film, releasing it poses a significant challenge.

In this vast industry, the distribution company reigns supreme. Duke wouldn't be naive to think that simply signing a contract with the distributor would lead them to invest millions into the film, handle publicity, and then share a substantial portion of the proceeds with him, an unknown individual. Are the executives of the distribution company all foolish?

Don't forget, he is a newcomer through and through. No publishing company will invest such a large amount of money into works directed by newcomers whose copyright is not in their own hands. They are not engaged in charity!

Unless the copyright of the film is completely sold to the distributor, the question remains: who will pay a high price for a debut Flim director's work?

Therefore, he needs the support of production companies or well-known producers. If the film is produced by a large production company like Lucasfilm, some of the problems will be solved.

Duke's personal production is a completely different concept from Lucasfilm's production or Warner's productions, and the benefits that investors can enjoy will vary greatly.

Why did the directors who just debuted all follow the path of the producer or the film company? In fact, this is an unsolvable choice.

Because he had worked as a temporary worker on the crew of "Captain Hook" before, Duke got the job after only two phone calls and entered the studio of Universal Studios starting from the new week.

Temporary workers like them do not have fixed positions. They are all about where the crew needs to go, and they do dirty and tiring work.

Like most of the Hollywood crews, the atmosphere of this crew is definitely not harmonious. There are endless battles, both open and secret. This is an extremely competitive circle. If you want to get ahead, you have to do everything possible to climb up, these is especially right. For those who are aspiring.

Of course, the king here is called Spielberg, but even a successful director like him will be troubled by funding problems and even had shut down the crew for a while in search of investment.

Similarly, there will be people who challenge his authority, such as the heroine Julia Roberts.

Before the crew was shut down, Duke had witnessed with his own eyes that her loose tongue, fueled by drugs, led to an argument with Spielberg over a trivial matter, and she even pushed Spielberg for a moment. If someone hadn't intervened, a fight would have likely ensued.

Probably due to funding issues and loose tongue having already filmed a large number of scenes, Spielberg did not replace her. However, it's difficult to say that Julia Roberts's reputation from the early nineties to the mid-nineties had nothing to do with this incident.

At the end of the day's work, Duke casually found a corner, changed out of his overalls, put on his own jacket, and walked out of the studio along the narrow road lined with many buildings towards the parking lot.

Temporary workers like him, with no status, cannot enjoy special treatment such as battery cars.

Despite the exhaustion of work, Duke's back is still straight, and his tall figure is as strong as a palm tree on the side of the road.

The brakes suddenly sounded from behind, and a white six-seat battery car steadily stopped beside him.

"Duke Rosenberg?"

There was a somewhat familiar voice, and Duke turned his head to see that Rick Solomon was sitting in the driving position of the battery car.

Nodded slightly to that side, Duke turned and prepared to leave.

"Hi, Duke!"

Rick Solomon first honked the horn of the battery car, and when Duke's gaze turned away, he said loudly, "I heard that you wrote a script and are searching for the investing in various Hollywood companies, how about it? Great director, When will your movie start?"

His tone was full of sarcasm, "Could it be that your film has already started shooting in Universal Studios? This is big news..."

Before Duke had any reaction, he pointed to the badge hanging around his neck, "Did you see it? Alien 3's crew pass to Universal Studios! I am the supporting actor inside!"

"David Fincher's debut. Film work?" Duke said with a bend of his mouth, "Congratulations."

Seeing that Duke was still in his usual appearance, without showing any envy or jealousy, Rick Solomon said condescendingly, "By the way, Duke, I heard my father talk about it the other day. Warner Bros. had a meeting to discuss yours. script..."

Duke raised his eyebrows, and Rick Solomon put a smile on his mouth. "It's a pity that your "Speed" was rejected by Warner!"

He lightly patted the steering wheel, saying, "Duke Rosenberg, embracing the heart of a director! Let's continue the promising career of temporary crew work!"

Suddenly, the whistle of a battery car came from behind, clearly obstructing each other's way.

Duke voluntarily moved to the side of the road, but the battery car behind didn't leave; instead, it stopped.

"Duke?"

A girl, about twenty years old, emerged from the battery car. She wore a short-sleeved shirt with stripes and blue jeans. Slender with distinct features—a prominent eagle nose, black eyes, and full lips—she smiled, revealing white teeth.

"Hi, Sophia."

Duke gestured to the girl approaching. Though not very familiar, they had met several times at George Lucas's house. Her father was the famous Francis Coppola. "What brings you here?"

"I'm working on the "Alien 3" crew," she said with a faint nasal voice, "as a temporary assistant for David Fincher."

"Hello, Sophia."

Rick Solomon, appearing from the battery car, greeted her as well.

"Hello."

Sophia Coppola lightly tapped her chin, ignoring Rick's enthusiastic greeting, and playfully slapped Duke's arm. "I haven't congratulated you yet!"

"Congratulations?" Duke was puzzled.

"I visited Uncle Lucas in San Francisco yesterday," she said in her usual monotone. "He mentioned you and said your script is about to be approved by Lucasfilm, and you..."

There was a hint of envy in her tone. "You're the final director candidate."

"Is that true?" Duke couldn't believe it initially.

"Would I lie to you?" Sophia folded her arms and looked at him. "Lucasfilm will probably notify you soon."

"Okay, let's not dwell on it." She gestured to the battery car. "Hop in, I'll drive you to the parking lot."

As the two got on the battery car, Rick Solomon reacted, "Hey, Sophia, are you serious?"

But the only response he received was the whir of the battery car.

After standing there dumbfounded for a moment, Rick Solomon took the driver's seat. He glanced at the sun sinking below the horizon and frowned. "This... how is this possible?"