Chapter 85: Because I Can Ride

"I feel like I'm flying in the sky!"

In the back seat of the Bentley, Charlize was obviously a bit excited. She leaned closer to Duke, her breath reeking of alcohol. "This feeling is amazing! It can make you forget all your stress and worries."

Duke slightly turned his head to avoid the alcohol smell and pushed her back. The current Charlize Theron was not only drinking but also doing drugs. Although she only took a small amount of cocaine, the combination with alcohol made her overly excited.

In this era, the modeling world was much messier than the entertainment industry, especially in Europe, where it was hard to find someone who didn't use drugs. Marijuana and cocaine were practically necessities for socializing in the modeling scene.

Of course, Hollywood wasn't much better; there were countless stars like Julia Roberts and Johnny Depp who were involved in drug use.

Driving from Malibu into downtown Los Angeles, Charlize seemed to have sobered up a bit. When they entered the city, at her suggestion, the Bentley finally stopped in front of an old apartment building in a middle-class neighborhood.

"Mr. Rosenberg, we have arrived," the driver quietly reminded.

"Why don't you come sit with me for a while?" Charlize looked at Duke. "I think we still have some topics to discuss."

Looking at her flushed, beautiful face and the smooth, tanned skin under her yellow dress, Duke forcibly turned his head away. "Maybe another time; we'll have another chance to meet."

He wasn't a saint; being alone in a room with a highly tempting beauty, it was hard to guarantee nothing would happen. Although Charlize seemed deliciously tempting, for him, who was in the Hollywood whirlpool and faced with strong competitors, it was best not to touch this now. After all, human hearts were hard to predict, and no one could guarantee that someone wouldn't use such situations to cause huge trouble.

Duke would never underestimate the utilitarian mindset of Hollywood actresses or the allure of fame and fortune for them.

The next day, Duke subtly let Nancy Josephson know about it, secretly relieved that he wasn't driven by his lower instincts. Charlize had only turned eighteen in August, meaning, legally, she still fell under the category of "children"!

While many in the industry targeted even younger women, some things just weren't for him to do. Duke was very clear that some people were probably always watching him, waiting for him to make a mistake.

For example, Sean Connery, whose reputation was in ruins. His son and wife had officially filed a domestic violence lawsuit against him in California. Although there was no evidence linking what happened now and before to Duke, just like when Duke approached Warner, some matters didn't require evidence—recognizing who your enemies were was enough.

Even though Sean Connery was deep in trouble, Duke wouldn't let his guard down. Some things, once done, had to come with the psychological readiness for retaliation. He wouldn't underestimate Sean Connery's substantial fortune; money could often work wonders in this country.

There was also CAA, where conflicts of interest arose between him and CAA. If CAA didn't want him to fail, it would be too high of an estimate of the vampires' conscience.

Especially with *Interview with the Vampire*, which could certainly be profitable, but was overshadowed by *The Rock* from beginning to end. This indirectly validated that CAA's bundling policy might not be suitable for large commercial productions. After Spielberg was forced by Universal to take on *Jurassic Park*, which also didn't implement CAA's bundling services but was a huge success, rumors circulated in the industry that Walt Disney and 20th Century Fox had successively shelved their next bundling projects with CAA.

After *Jurassic Park* was released, all films were impacted. The number of theaters showing *The Rock* dropped to 1,859, and that weekend, the box office plummeted to below $10 million, only grossing $7.88 million. Including the previous four working days, the total North American box office for the week was just over $12.03 million.

As time went on and more films were released, the North American box office for *The Rock* significantly declined. The film's main target shifted to overseas markets, and in the following week, it was released in various countries across Europe, Latin America, West Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia, achieving decent box office results.

By mid-June, when Duke went to New Zealand for vacation, *The Rock*'s North American box office had reached $134.75 million, with global earnings exceeding $220 million, making it a true blockbuster.

"Congratulations! If your next film can achieve such box office results..."

Riding on horseback, Sofia circled Duke and said, "You will become one of Hollywood's top commercial directors."

"Sofia, can you be quiet for a moment?"

Carefully controlling his horse, Duke shot an unhappy glare at Sofia Coppola. "You're making it easy to scare my horse; I don't have your riding skills!"

This was a racetrack located on the green grass at the foot of a hill in the outskirts of Wellington. From atop the horse, one could see the interconnected peaks in the distance, with clearly visible white snow atop the mountains.

New Zealand was full of natural gardens with picturesque scenery in all seasons. Surrounded by lush green forests and a blue sky with white clouds, the vast beaches, lakes, towering forests, rolling farmlands, deep valleys, and majestic mountains formed unadulterated natural landscapes that left one in awe.

During his time in New Zealand, Duke and Sofia had toured famous scenic spots in both the South and North Islands. This country was rich in blue skies, green grass, and unique stones, radiating immense warmth and vitality.

When standing among towering redwoods, it felt like touching the strength of the primordial forest; while exploring the bay area, dolphins frequently leapt from the water nearby; camping in sparsely populated fields brought a complete sense of immersion in nature.

This country maintained many pure natural features.

Although Duke had taken riding lessons in boarding school, his riding skills were not that good—at most, he was just a beginner. Unlike Sofia, who rode freely, he spent most of the time just walking on horseback. This was a skill that required time and practice; one couldn't just become proficient.

After another lap around the racetrack, Sofia slowed her horse to ride alongside Duke.

"The scenery here is quite nice, isn't it?" Duke held the reins with a serious expression.

"If you could learn to ride with the attitude of riding women..."

Without responding to Duke, Sofia deliberately teased him, "You would quickly become a riding expert!"

"Sofia Coppola!" Duke nearly snapped in irritation, quickly firing back, "Can I take this as jealousy?"

"Jealousy?" Sofia turned her head, asking in confusion, "Why would I be jealous?"

In front of only a few friends like Sofia Coppola, Duke would jokingly say things without restraint. "Because I can ride women, but you can't!"

"Dammit! I'm not a lesbian!"

Sofia glared angrily at him, while Duke maintained his serious expression, seemingly unaffected by her cutting gaze.

In discussions like this, women had a natural disadvantage. Sofia retracted her angry gaze and changed the topic. "Why did you insist on dragging me to New Zealand? I originally planned to go skiing in Europe."

"Because I heard a long time ago that New Zealand had beautiful scenery, but I never got the chance to see it." Duke casually provided his reason. "Such almost primal scenery is every director's favorite. If we could capture them on camera..."

"Must we discuss films and work?" Sofia pulled the reins, leading the horse toward the stable. Once Duke caught up, she added, "In that case, why not talk about my salary increase?"

"Hey, dear, I'm about to go bankrupt." Duke said unhappily, "Do you want to step on my neck too?"

"*The Rock* will soon stop screening in North America."

Arriving at the stable, Sofia dismounted, tossing the reins to the staff. "By then, you'll at least become a millionaire, right?"

"That's in the future!" Duke also jumped down from the horse.

Recently, Rock Studios had paid him the final installment of his total $3.5 million payment for writing, directing, and producing, with this $1.5 million income greatly improving Duke's financial situation, but it wasn't as good as he had imagined since there were also considerable expenses.

Personal income tax was an unavoidable topic. Duke's accountant, David, first withheld $1.5 million for prepayment taxes. Even with some reasonable tax avoidance strategies, California's tax rate was still maddening.

Duke had also paid off a $500,000 bank loan in one lump sum, including principal and interest. As an agent, Nancy Josephson had a ten percent commission right, and her share of the agent's commission was not after-tax; $350,000 went to Nancy. Similarly, lawyers and accountants handling related affairs also required payment, taking away another $50,000.

Plus, with rent, car payments, clothing, and Sofia Coppola's assistant's salary among various expenses, the remaining $2 million after tax prepayments was already missing $1 million.

Fortunately, he was just a director and hadn't hired a professional public relations person yet. He could minimize expenses on clothing and travel and didn't need to pay off the media for so-called "street shots" or news reports.

If it were a star who quickly became famous, the same income might not even be enough to cover expenses.

Duke temporarily put the last $1 million in his account, waiting for the share of the profits from *The Rock* to arrive before considering its specific use.

Of course, holding cash is the dumbest thing to do, as the dollar is depreciating rapidly now.

...

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