After returning to Los Angeles from New York, Duke did not say much more to the dia and began focusing on preparing for *Chicago*. The hype surrounding it had completely achieved the intended promotional purpose, and now, there was still a long way to go before the film’s release, let alone the start of filming.
Shortly after returning to Los Angeles, Duke’s studio relocated near the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank. He rented a two-story small building, and aside from a middle-aged Latina woman who originally handled phone calls, he also hired several other staff mbers. Since the previous two screenwriters had formally left to beco independent screenwriters, Duke and Sophia hired four new screenwriters, forming the studio’s only departnt with real functions— the script departnt.
In addition, Duke’s accountant, David, would send an assistant to the studio twice a week to handle financial matters.
Compared to a real film production company, Duke’s studio, which had slightly expanded its scale, was still a standard shell company.
As October approached, *Saving Private Ryan* surpassed $285 million at the North Arican box office, while its global earnings officially broke $600 million, reaching $600.1 million, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all ti. With more than half of 1995 gone, anyone could see that, following last year’s *Independence Day*, Duke was about to claim the title of North Arica and the global box office champion again.
The global box office exceeding $600 million also ant that the 20% box office share clause in his director’s contract was automatically activated. Duke’s lawyer and accountant began taking action, frequently communicating with Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox to urge them to expedite the paynt of his share.
Not only was Duke awaiting the share from *Saving Private Ryan*, but Warner Bros. had also not completed the paynt for *Independence Day*. They had only distributed $200 million of the overseas box office to Duke, which ant they had paid him $40 million by mid-October. Warner Bros. again used a $200 million amount as the basis for sharing, paying Duke $40 million.
Warner Bros. did not want to deliberately delay the remaining overseas share, as they had already decided to maintain a long-term partnership with Duke. However, the overseas distributors had yet to consolidate the share into Warner Bros.’ accounts, and based on various information gathered, it was determined that this portion of money would not arrive this year.
Duke wasn’t short on cash at the mont; his stockbroker was still buying shares of Apple and Microsoft for him. The studio’s daily operational expenses were minimal, and the investnt in *Chicago* wouldn’t be very high, so he wasn’t in a hurry for the remaining share.
After discussing with Jeff Robinov, CEO of Warner Bros., and an executive vice president of Ti Warner, Duke decided to invest the remaining share into Warner Bros.’ financing and stock expansion. In exchange for relevant shares, he would beco a shareholder of one of Hollywood’s six major companies.
This arrangent aligned with Warner Bros.’ needs and served his interests, significantly increasing his influence in Hollywood and film production and distribution.
As for the box office share from *Saving Private Ryan*, the two sides were still negotiating. In the near future, the North Arican share would be settled, while the peripheral inco share would take so ti. Aside from television, videotape, and VCD rights, which had little influence in North Arica, there weren’t many sources of peripheral inco, which would only generate substantial revenue once the film left North Arican theaters.
Similar to *Braveheart*, which was still screening in a few independent theaters, *Saving Private Ryan* would not leave North Arican theaters before the Oscar voting. Even if it were forcibly removed from comrcial chain theaters, it would continue to screen in independent theaters in major cities, especially in the Los Angeles area.
The co-producers had a clear goal for the awards season, aiming for major awards such as Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture, particularly Best Picture. With the 50th anniversary of World War II, their publicity and PR strategies were effective, and they almost regarded it as a sure thing.
According to the directing contract Duke signed, he would need to attend several key promotional events if the film aid for the Oscars. However, since there was still so ti until the Oscars, public relations efforts temporarily did not require his involvent. Duke’s main focus remained on preparing for *Chicago*.
As the musical film was about to be officially established, key mbers of Duke’s team were ending their vacations. In recent years, including Zack Snyder, John Schwartzman, and Hannah Selina, they had all beco so of the highest-paid and top talents in their respective fields.
Duke was acutely aware that in a comrcial society, a team maintained through friendship and personal charm was the least reliable. The reason these individuals followed him was that following successful figures made success easier, and they could gain tangible benefits.
Even so, Zack Snyder and Sofia Coppola had both ntioned to him that they would seek opportunities to direct films independently at the right ti.
Therefore, after completing a comrcial for Estée Lauder, and being satisfied with Anna overall performance, Duke brought Irene Lauder’s friend to Los Angeles to serve as one of the assistant directors for the film.
Aside from temporarily adding a musical directing team from Broadway and an art director, the future *Chicago* crew would not undergo many changes. Duke would still focus on assembling the crew around his core team, with Robin Grand serving as the production manager, while he and Sofia Coppola would act as executive producers...
The specific coordination affairs would be handled by Robin Grand, and his first task was to negotiate with Tom Cruise. After a brief audition and costu fitting, Cruise signed a contract for $5 million, officially becoming the first confird actor in the crew.
At the sa ti, Nancy concluded her discussions with Warner Bros., Fox, and Disney. The latter two showed little interest in *Chicago*, but Warner Bros. signed a distribution agreent with Duke’s studio. According to the agreent, they would not directly invest in the film but would beco the North Arican and overseas distributor for Duke’s studio’s next three films, including *Chicago*. Moreover, if Duke’s studio accepted outside investnts for the subsequent two films, Warner Bros. would have the right of first investnt.
This resolved Duke’s biggest concern regarding film distribution.
According to Duke’s preliminary plan, the film would not have any exterior shots and would be entirely fild on set. He had considered going to Fox Studios in Sydney, given the tax incentives there. However, due to the lengthy preparation ti required for the film, combined with the uncertainty of securing the limited slots available, he ultimately chose Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.
By late October, *Chicago* was officially established, with an investnt of $20 million. Due to the film’s genre, according to Hollywood’s practices, the salaries of everyone from Duke as the director to Tom Cruise as the leading actor were reduced to varying degrees compared to *Saving Private Ryan*.
Preliminary preparations, such as script developnt, set design, and choreography, were progressing in an orderly manner, but casting the actors remained the top priority. The three lead actors would undergo systematic singing and dancing rehearsals in the coming months.
Besides notifying Naomi Watts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Charlize Theron to co for auditions, Duke did not issue any targeted audition invitations. Nevertheless, many actors’ agents sought out Duke’s studio to promote their star actors, competing for the leading roles, while also introducing their newcors to vie for other notable dance roles.
Many in Hollywood believed Duke had gone mad for making such a drastic stylistic shift, yet this did not deter many from wanting to join. The reason was simple: Duke was one of Hollywood’s top comrcial directors. Even if they ultimately did not appear in the cast, rely being associated with his new film would guarantee dia coverage, and who knew, they might even land headlines soday.
No one could ignore the allure of a continuously successful director for aspiring actors.
Duke left most agents to Robin Grand to handle, but so managed to reach him through various connections to recomnd their actors.
"Go ahead, Riley, what’s on your mind?"
Sitting in Duke’s new office at the studio, Duke looked at the formally dressed middle-aged man across from him. Anyone who could enter his office was certainly not a stranger; this was an agent from ICM.
"Can’t I co by to see an old friend?"
Upon hearing this, Duke said nothing, only watching him. They had only seen each other a few tis at parties organized by ICM, and there was no friendship to speak of.
"Here’s the thing."
The agent nad Riley took a sip of his coffee. "I have an important client who is very interested in the role of Roxie. She has encountered so troubles in recent years and her fa and works have greatly diminished. ICM wants to help her make a coback with a significant project."
"She can co for an audition."
Although Duke didn’t like it when agencies ddled too much in his projects, he understood the importance of relationships. As long as the other party did not overstep boundaries, he could accommodate them to a degree. "Tell her na, and I will have soone get in touch with the casting director."
"Thank you on behalf of Julia." Riley smiled, sounding genuinely grateful. "Before I ca here, Ms. Roberts specifically asked to convey that if you have ti, she would love to have dinner with you."
Upon hearing this, and recalling Julia Roberts’ usual conduct during auditions, Duke imdiately understood this was a very obvious hint. Unfortunately, that big-mouthed Julia neither fit his requirents for the role nor aligned with his aesthetic preferences, so he could only apologize.
"I’ve been very busy lately," Duke politely declined."If I have ti, I will contact Julie."
He will give Julia Roberts an audition, after all, this is a topic that can be hyped, but he will not let her appear in the film.
...
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