Chapter 102: Possible Competitors

To ensure the success of *Independence Day*, meticulous pre-production preparations and detailed shooting are essential. Although the current shooting involves no actors, most of the main cast has already entered the production team. They are not only undergoing appropriate military training but also rehearsing their scenes. Both the director and actors must work hard; otherwise, they will surely be eliminated by Hollywood.

As December gradually approached, the pre-production was entering its final stages. Duke continued to lead the crew in shooting special effects scenes, especially those requiring computer-generated imagery (CGI) composites, which were prioritized. He needed to give the Industrial Light & Magic effects team enough time to create the effects.

CGI effects, crafted entirely with dollars, leave no room for shortcuts. The difference between CGI effects produced in half a month and those made in a month is like night and day when displayed on the big screen.

Spaceships, alien motherships, alien models, F-18, and F-16 models appeared in front of the cameras. After obtaining the basic footage, the effects team began enhancing the explosion scenes while also starting to composite the massive aerial battle sequences.

Inevitably, explosions echoed in several soundstages daily, far exceeding the frequency during the filming of *The Rock*. In just over half a month, many people were exhausted to the point of nervous breakdowns from Duke's demands.

"Aunt Leah has come to visit."

Hearing Sophia's words, Duke, standing on the shooting platform, nodded and turned to wave at his mother on the periphery, not abandoning his current task.

"Joss, countdown to twenty for the explosion!" he shouted into the microphone.

With a booming explosion, a thirty-foot-wide alien spaceship model crashed down, landing heavily on the green-screened ground. As soon as Duke yelled "Cut," the firefighters on standby rushed in with extinguishers to spray the scattered sparks.

Despite the investigation into the last fire revealing it to be an accident, Duke took it seriously. He ensured that a copy of the footage shot that day was sent to the bank's vault and had Warner Bros. provide enough security personnel for the crew.

Don't think that Hollywood has a perfect industrial system, and that fires will vanish from history. Just this month, a fire broke out on the set of *Forrest Gump*, and Robert Zemeckis was far worse off than Duke. The blaze destroyed numerous props and equipment, and even burned a portion of the film reels. Despite prompt rescue efforts saving most of the footage, the crew still had to be reassembled for reshoots.

It's said the fire was also an accident; whether it was truly an accident is something only God might know.

The crew temporarily entered a break phase. Duke stepped down from the lift and gave a few instructions to his assistant director, Zack Snyder, before walking to the periphery to greet his mother from a distance.

"Mom…" He quickly walked over, "What brings you here?"

His mother was a busy person, frequently flying between New York and Los Angeles, and occasionally visiting Europe.

"There's an advertising crew from Santa Fia filming at the studio," Mrs. Leah said, her eyes landing on the little girl beside her. "Scarlett said she missed you, so I brought her along to see you."

"Hi, Duke." The blonde little girl waved at him.

"It's been a while, Scarlett."

Nodding to her, Duke directly asked, "How well do you know your role? Tell your mom that starting next week, we need to find time for you to rehearse with Bill Pullman."

"Oh, I know."

She held Mrs. Leah's hand and followed Duke to the break area. "I think this role isn't too difficult. Most of the time, I'm just a background character."

"Mom, sit over here."

He gestured for his mother to take a seat at a break table and told a nearby assistant, "Allie, bring two cups of coffee and a juice."

"Hey, Duke!" Scarlett said, clearly dissatisfied after sitting down. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Of course."

Since his mother could bring Scarlett Johansson along, it was evident that she liked this goddaughter. Duke pushed the juice towards her. "You go ahead, Scarlett."

"That…" The little girl's bright eyes darted around as she picked up the juice, her cheerful face hiding behind the cup. "Can you add a few more lines for my role?"

Her eyes were fixed on Duke's face, and seeing his expression shift slightly, she quickly added, "Just ten lines! No… three lines will do…"

"I'll help you add a scene."

Duke wouldn't joke about work or change things based on what others said, even if it was his mother's goddaughter. "Maybe you should pilot a fighter jet and bomb the alien spaceship, Scarlett!"

Scarlett pouted and slowly lowered her head. "Never mind."

"Scarlett…" Mrs. Leah reached out and rubbed the little girl's head. "Patience is a beautiful moral quality. The wait now can lead to future success."

"Mm-hm," she nodded vigorously. "I understand, godmother."

Perhaps feeling a little more secure, as Mrs. Leah turned to talk to Sophia Coppola, Scarlett scrunched up her nose and quickly stuck her tongue out at Duke. He didn't even look at her. This little girl was a true troublemaker, yet she was closely related to his family.

On the other side, Sophia also sat down and began discussing some aspects of the film with Mrs. Leah.

"Duke's thinking is something most people can't comprehend," Sophia said teasingly. "According to the script's setting, the key weapon for humans to defeat the aliens is actually a computer virus. I'm not very proficient with computers, but I assume viruses are based on computer language and certain systems. Are the aliens using the same computer language technology as us?"

Mrs. Leah laughed directly. "As a mother, I often can't guess what he's thinking."

"Dear…" Duke set down his coffee cup and looked at Sophia. "This is a sci-fi film; it doesn't need to be so logically rigorous. If we went with the most reasonable setting, the aliens would definitely conquer the Earth, and our film would lose money due to a lack of audience."

"But you can't deny, Duke," Sophia said, seeing someone wave at her from across the room. She stood up. "Many settings in the film are overly rough."

"I have to get back to work, Aunt."

"Sophia, if you have time, come visit me in Santa Monica."

As the break time was coming to an end, Duke called for his assistant to take his mother for a tour.

"Let's go see the aliens!" Scarlett jumped off her chair, pulling Mrs. Leah. "The last time I came, I saw them once. They looked so real, very scary!"

Returning to his work station, the sound of explosions echoed in the soundstage again shortly after. Just as the media commented, Duke would never back down without a fight.

Most explosion scenes shot in the studio or production facility were concentrated during this time. The landmark buildings in North America had already been destroyed in front of the cameras. As for why the aliens chose to attack landmarks instead of more crucial military targets, does it even need explanation?

After all, Duke believed it didn't require one. The primary goal of such sci-fi films is to provide viewers with an exhilarating experience. When they watch familiar buildings turn to ash in explosions, the adrenaline rush is enough to cover some logical flaws.

*Independence Day* differs from *Speed* and *The Rock*; this is a film entirely centered around visual effects.

Perhaps this could truly usher in a new era of visual effects in Hollywood?

During idle moments of filming, Duke often entertained such thoughts. After all, future Hollywood blockbuster films like *Independence Day* will likely take a simple, brutal, and direct path to profit.

While Duke was busy shooting, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox were also formulating detailed marketing plans based on maintaining the film's buzz. By mid-December, they officially confirmed the film's release date—June 30, 1994, for its North American premiere, and July 1 for its official release. This timing meant that the film's first weekend, July 1, 2, and 3, would coincide with the Independence Day holiday, likely igniting public enthusiasm for the film titled *Independence Day*.

Undoubtedly, this was a film filled with American ideals. To quote Sophia's teasing words, it even fantasized about changing the national holidays of other countries. If it had been the old Duke, he would have naturally felt repulsion and aversion toward this type of film. However, from his current standpoint, if *Independence Day* succeeds, it could bring him enormous benefits.

The saying "Your bottom line determines your mindset" holds some truth. Given Duke's current position, why would he give up on such a film?

The first audience he faced was the North American public; the film was also produced for commercial purposes. Therefore, the primary audience he needed to please was also the North American audience. Although the film's theme and certain aspects would inevitably provoke a lot of resentment in other countries and regions, let's not forget one thing: movies that perform exceptionally well in North America always sweep through the overseas market.

In other words, as long as Duke could ensure the film's quality, he wouldn't have to worry too much about the overseas market's reaction.

However, whether a summer blockbuster film would succeed didn't only depend on the film's quality and marketing efforts; it also depended on the competition from other films released during the same period. The most typical example is that if *The Rock* collided with *Jurassic Park*The box office performance would definitely not be as good as it is now.

Therefore, while Duke was busy filming, he also asked Warner Bros. to compile a list of films confirmed to be released in June and July next year.

Although James Cameron's "True Lies" will be released in mid-July, "Independence Day" is more than two weeks away, so the two sides will not pose too fierce competition.

When looking back, Duke saw an extremely familiar name - "Forrest Gump", which was released in North America on July 6!

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