Chapter 53: Award Invitation

The black limousine had just approached Mason Street when it had to stop due to the road ahead being temporarily blocked. George Lucas opened the door and stepped out, standing at the edge of the crowd, looking ahead. He saw a camera hanging from a tall crane and heard the roar of car engines and the screeching of tires on the road.

Calling over his assistant, he instructed him to negotiate with the crew handling the situation, and George Lucas easily entered the set. Following the guidance of a crew member, he made his way to a high platform to avoid any cars that might come crashing in.

"Uncle Lucas..."

Hearing the voice tinged with a slight nasal tone, George Lucas nodded, raising his voice a little to ensure his words could be heard despite the constant noise on set.

"Sophia, how's the shoot going?" he asked.

"Much smoother than the scenes in the studio," Sophia Coppola leaned close to George Lucas's ear, pointing toward Duke, who was personally operating a camera in the distance. "Car chases, crashes, explosions... these might be difficult for others, but for the crazy director Rosenberg, this is his favorite and most skilled territory."

As Sophia spoke, a loud crash echoed from the front. A black Hummer H1 knocked down a prop post, and several cars, prepped on catapults, were flung high into the air, colliding heavily with the sedan charging from behind. Shards of glass and debris flew in all directions like leaves caught in a storm, some landing not far from where they stood.

"Are you going to see him?" Sophia asked as the crew entered a brief break and moved to the next location at a nearby intersection. "There's another crash scene coming up."

"I'll watch from a distance for now," George Lucas said as he followed the crew to the next intersection. "No need to bother Duke at the moment."

As he distanced himself from the improvised set, Lucas's eyes gradually focused on Duke, who was at the center of it all. He could tell that Duke was deeply immersed and quite excited.

The makeshift set resembled a battlefield in its chaos, with everyone cautiously bustling around as if an explosion could happen at any moment. Cameras were everywhere, and George Lucas couldn't help but feel that many of them were completely unnecessary.

He was reminded of the set of "Speed." Although he hadn't visited often, he'd seen Duke shoot action scenes before, and it was always like this—seemingly chaotic and unnecessary setups. But once the footage came together, it became clear: Duke knew exactly what each camera was for. He had already pieced the scenes together in his mind.

While it looked chaotic, it was evident that Duke was in complete control. After watching for a while, Lucas noticed a streetcar, a Hummer H1, and a Ferrari being brought onto the set. The pyrotechnics team he had recommended was busy rigging explosives on the streetcar model.

"Nothing less than total destruction will do," Lucas thought, recalling some critics' reviews of "Speed."

To be honest, when the final cut of "Speed" came out, while Lucas had high hopes for it, he hadn't expected it to perform so spectacularly. A debut feature film grossing over $100 million in North America? Not even Steven Spielberg, whom he had supported so heavily back in the day, had achieved that—and Spielberg was considered a cinematic genius.

Looking back now, he realized that pushing Lucasfilm to greenlight "Speed" had been a lucky break. Not only did it earn him a favor from both Leah and Duke, but it also effortlessly brought in over $10 million in profit. It was the first time in over two decades that something this fortunate had happened.

Perhaps it was luck, but in Lucas's eyes, "Speed" was far more than just a stroke of good fortune for Duke Rosenberg. After all, what successful film isn't the result of the director's hard work? The young man's dedication and focus were things Lucas hadn't seen in any other young filmmaker in recent years.

If it were any other young director, such a success might have gone to their head. Hollywood was, after all, a place filled with temptations. Without the ability to stay focused on one's career, one would surely become a shooting star, blazing across the sky and then quickly fading away.

Possessing a certain degree of talent, knowing exactly what he wanted, and working hard for it—there were far too few young people like that today!

"Let's go take a look," Lucas said to Sophia, who was by his side.

The two of them gradually moved closer to the filming area. The most prominent sound was Duke's booming voice, "John, mount the camera on the Hummer. You have twenty minutes."

Turning around, Duke saw George Lucas but didn't go over to greet him. He simply smiled in his direction and continued with his work. What they were about to shoot was a massive car crash, and there was no room for error.

"Christie..." Duke called over the sound team leader, "I want live sound recording. Place the equipment on the Ferrari and the streetcar. I don't want any filters or editing. I want the raw, screeching sound of metal crashing."

"Martin, over here!" Duke waved over the stunt coordinator. "Don't drive too fast. Give yourself enough time to escape safely. Safety first!"

The stuntman, clad in thick protective gear, gave Duke a thumbs-up.

Finally, Duke returned to the camera crew, instructing John Schwartzman, "Camera one, horizontal 180-degree parallel shot. Camera two in the air, switch to a 60-degree angle to capture the details, focusing mainly on the Ferrari. Camera three, 30-degree upward shot—I want the undercarriage of the streetcar as it's thrown into the air."

"John, we don't get a second chance!" he reminded.

John Schwartzman nodded solemnly.

Although the set looked chaotic, everything was under Duke's control. Seeing things progressing as expected, Duke returned to the camera he was personally handling, adjusting the aperture and preparing to shoot with a wide-angle lens.

"Next time I go to City Hall to discuss filming, I'll probably be the least welcome person there," Robin Grander suddenly walked over, saying.

"Don't worry, Robin," Duke didn't even look up as he continued adjusting the camera. "Jos Williams is an expert in pyrotechnics. They've calculated everything precisely. The explosions will be controlled within safe limits, so there won't be any damage to the roads or buildings."

As time passed, department heads gathered to report to Duke that preparations were complete.

"Uncle Lucas..." Sophia, who wasn't far from Duke, handed George Lucas a pair of earplugs. "This might help a bit. That madman is about to make some noise."

On the other side, Duke raised his megaphone and shouted, "Pyrotechnics?"

"Ready!"

"Cameras?"

"Ready!"

"Stunts..."

Finally, he yelled, "Action!"

The streetcar model rigged with explosives and the wrecked SUV parked nearby simultaneously erupted with a thunderous explosion. Flames shot into the air, and the streetcar was hurled into the air like a leaf in a storm, tumbling as it crashed down at the intersection. Upon landing, it was pulled by two thick steel cables, skidding down the slope with a deafening screech towards the parked Ferrari.

The Ferrari was crushed beneath the streetcar, turning into a pile of scrap metal.

"Perfect!"

Behind the camera, Duke slowly stood up, raising his arm and giving it a strong wave.

As the set returned to calm, many people could be heard breathing sighs of relief. They weren't nearly as excited as Duke; some even wore expressions of near nervous breakdowns, having been tormented by crashes, noise, and explosions for what felt like ages.

"Robin..." Duke called to the production manager nearby. "The cleanup is up to you."

After that, he picked up his megaphone and shouted, "Move to the next location!"

With the crew in a good rhythm, Duke didn't want to waste the momentum they had painstakingly built, so he planned to shoot a few more scenes.

"Well done, Duke."

As the crew prepared to move, George Lucas approached. "Your filming techniques are getting more and more refined."

"Thank you!" Duke said, humbly acknowledging that, compared to these true directing legends, he had no room for arrogance. "I still have a lot to learn."

"I'm looking forward to seeing another masterpiece like 'Speed.'"

Hearing this, Duke showed a confident smile. "I promise, George, you'll definitely see one."

After exchanging a few more words, George Lucas excused himself. Duke knew Lucas was a busy man, so he didn't try to keep him. Instead, he had an assistant escort him out of the makeshift set.

"Is something up?" Duke asked, noticing that Sophia hadn't left.

"Charles Roven just called," Sophia pulled out a notebook and began flipping through it as she spoke. "Warner Bros. wants you to attend the MTV Movie Awards."

"MTV?" Duke was a bit puzzled, so Sophia explained, "The MTV Movie Awards are a new awards show launched by MTV last year. While it's still new, it has a certain influence among the audience. Unlike the Oscars and other academic awards, it doesn't use a panel of judges to determine the winners; instead, the public votes for the winners—or at least that's what they claim in their promotions."

"I've been nominated?" Duke asked.

"'Speed' received several nominations," Sophia replied. "Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Sexiest Actor, Sexiest Actress, Best Kiss, Best Action Sequence, and Best On-Screen Duo—a total of eight nominations."

"Warner wants me to participate for publicity, right?" Duke immediately thought of the film that was being shot.

"That's right." Sophia nodded. "Viacom and Time Warner's media are trying their best to hype this award, wanting to make it a world-class film award. And the award method selected by the audience means that it will not lack attention."

"Well, let me remind you." Sophia said with a monotonous nasal tone, "Warner recommends that you bring a female companion."