Inside the film strip room at Warner Bros. Studios, Anna Prinz left her seat, walked over to the projector, and shut off the power. The small screen returned to stillness. Sitting near the door, John Schwartzman pressed a switch, the curtains automatically rose, and the room was once again bathed in light.
Recalling the footage from the second audition, Duke slowly opened his mouth and said, "Everyone, share your thoughts. We still need to finalize the leading role from the last few candidates."
Due to his trip to inspect Edward Air Force Base, Duke had missed the second round of auditions for the female lead. With Anna Prinz in charge of the auditions, he felt reassured. There was on-site footage available, and finalizing the female lead now wouldn’t be too late.
"I think Rosamund Pike isn’t suitable," Charles Roven, who oversaw production matters and had a say in the main casting choices, spoke up and imdiately gave his reason. "She’s British."
Under normal circumstances, a British actress playing a typical Arican character wouldn’t be an issue, but this was the inaugural project of Marvel’s grand plan. Charles Roven, being sowhat conservative in thought, preferred to avoid any unnecessary risks a stance that was perfectly understandable.
No one present was British, nor did anyone have a special fondness for British actresses, so nobody objected to Charles Roven’s opinion.
"If no one has any objections..." Duke looked around at his core team mbers and said, "Then we’ll exclude Rosamund Pike."
Next, Amanda Seyfried, who had been recomnded by regional marketing partner Peter, was also ruled out. The reason was simple she was too young and didn’t fit the role of a mature female assistant.
Flipping through the files in her hand, Anna Prinz said, "I also think Amy Adams isn’t suitable."
She paused briefly and then gave her reasoning. "Amy Adams is too short, and her baby face makes her appear not mature or steady enough. I don’t think she fits the image of a professional woman."
"Gwyneth Paltrow is actually quite good," John Schwartzman suddenly chid in. "Her deanor and acting are on point it’s just her attitude on set that’s hard to deal with."
No one disagreed with the opinions being voiced. Duke gradually ca to realize that, having missed the second audition, he had clearly missed sothing important. Anna Prinz, Charles Roven, and John Schwartzman seed to have a shared favorite.
"Go ahead." Duke directly looked at Anna Prinz. "Who’s the one you all prefer?"
"Rachel McAdams," Anna Prinz answered and gave her reasoning as well. "In terms of acting, appearance, and personal aura, she all fits Pepper Potts’ character perfectly. The only issue is her hair color. But she’s agreed to dye it honey blonde."
The others all nodded in agreent one after another.
Taking a sip of his coffee, Duke once again recalled Rachel McAdams’ audition footage. Although the actress wasn’t Arican, she was North Arican. The relationship between the U.S. and Canada both officially and among the public was very close. They often used "North Arica" as a joint term, especially in the film industry. There has never really been a Canadian film market, only a North Arican one.
After considering all aspects, Duke finally said, "Let’s go with her. Charles, start negotiations with her as soon as possible."
With that, the final key cast mber was confird, and the footage review eting was declared over. As Duke and the others left the room, John Schwartzman walked beside him. The cinematographer, who had recently resolved to lose weight, actually looked a bit slimr.
The two of them chatted as they walked, discussing matters related to cinematography.
"John, according to my vision, there will be so scenes in the film where Tony Stark is recording himself."
Seeing Anna Prinz walk over from the other side, Duke couldn’t help but raise his voice slightly and said, "We’ll use a first-person perspective to show Tony Stark’s process of making and testing the Iron Man suit."
"Don’t worry." John Schwartzman was full of confidence. "That’s a piece of cake for ."
For one of Hollywood’s top cinematographers, this truly wasn’t difficult. Duke’s decision to shoot it this way was also to enhance audience imrsion.
Imrsion is crucial for superhero films.
What the audience experiences isn’t just the story and special effects they need to follow the characters on screen and feel like they’re saving the world together.
As he walked, Duke continued to give instructions. "We also need to change the cinematographic style. For all scenes where the Iron Man suit appears, I want the cara to have a tallic texture."
"I’ll find a way to make it happen." John Schwartzman nodded. "Give a week, Duke, and you’ll see the results."
Duke had always trusted John Schwartzman, who had worked with him for over a decade. After leaving the sound stage, their conversation gradually drifted away from work-related matters.
Once outside, John Schwartzman glanced up at the scorching sun. July’s sun had baked California’s air like a steam oven. Tugging at his oversized T-shirt, he suddenly said to Duke, "Actually, during the second audition, I thought of soone even more suitable for Pepper Potts than Rachel McAdams."
Turning his head, Duke couldn’t help but glance at John Schwartzman in confusion.
Walking on Duke’s other side, Anna Prinz asked curiously, "Who is it, John? Why didn’t you ntion it earlier?"
"It’s not that I didn’t want to bring it up, it’s that we simply can’t get her." John Schwartzman showed a strange smile, deliberately keeping them in suspense for a mont before saying, "Anna, what do you think of Tina?"
Anna Prinz couldn’t help but roll her eyes. That was indeed a very suitable choice; she would only need to play herself. But what could they possibly offer to get Tina Fey? If she had wanted to be an actress, she probably would’ve already beco a Hollywood star.
Reaching out to tap John Schwartzman, Duke couldn’t be bothered to respond and directly got into the driver’s seat of an electric cart. Once Anna Prinz and Charles Roven, who was behind them, got on, he started the vehicle and drove out of the Warner Bros. studio lot. At the parking lot, they switched to a business vehicle and headed toward Hollywood. They were scheduled to et representatives from the Hollywood Chamber of Comrce, since the film was set to shoot on location in the Hollywood area.
In the past film, the battles were confined to Stark’s factory vicinity, but Duke had shifted the setting away from New York and brought it to the greater Los Angeles area on the West Coast. Naturally, he needed to destroy so well-known West Coast landmarks.
The Golden Gate Bridge was a bit too far, and Las Vegas wasn’t close either. The Hollywood Walk of Fa was undoubtedly a great option.
Of course, the shooting was only for location footage. The actual destruction scenes would all be CGI composites created by Industrial Light & Magic.
The film’s special effects were divided into two parts: all prop-related and standard computer effects were handled by Industrial Light & Magic, while the live-action motion capture for Tony Stark was assigned to Weta Workshop, which had more expertise in that area.
After eting with the Hollywood Chamber of Comrce, they did a thorough tour around the Walk of Fa. In recent years, Duke had been extrely busy with work and life, and it had been a long ti since he’d strolled through Hollywood so attentively. Their group specifically drove around Highland Comrcial Center and near the TCL Chinese Theatre to get a better look. If nothing unexpected happened, this would likely be the area affected by the battle between Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane.
However, these would just be secondary battlefields. The ultimate showdown between the two opposing forces would still return to the arc reactor for its climax.
"Director Rosenberg..."
As they were preparing to leave the Chamber of Comrce’s office, one of the officials ca over specifically and asked, "Are you interested in the Walk of Fa?"
The man was referring to the stars on the Walk of Fa. Duke naturally understood and smiled, replying, "Mr. Paul, how many stars are you planning to award ?"
Just as the official froze for a mont, Duke took his leave from the Hollywood Chamber of Comrce.
If this were twenty or even ten years ago, getting a star on the Walk of Fa would have been hugely attractive to anyone striving in Hollywood. Back then, applying to the Chamber was a dazzling honor, enough to blind people with its brilliance.
But starting in the late ’90s, major Hollywood stars, directors, screenwriters, and producers gradually lost interest in applying for stars through the Chamber. Even top-tier celebrities had little enthusiasm for it anymore. Most well-known stars who appeared in the news for getting a star did so only when their movies or albums were being heavily promoted. The Walk of Fa was no longer a symbol of glory but had beco a comrcial promotion tool.
In fact, no one could be blad for this—it was the Chamber’s own doing. No one knew exactly when it started, but as long as you paid the association a certain fee, you could get a star on the Walk of Fa. Although the location might not be great, this was completely different from the regular maintenance fees stars usually paid. This purely comrcial practice had undermined the significance the Walk of Fa once held.
For soone at Duke’s level, having a na on the Walk of Fa was entirely optional. Forget about applying—if the location wasn’t good enough, even if the Chamber invited him directly, he would refuse without hesitation.
In fact, this behavior had beco increasingly common in recent years. Many top-tier stars and directors had turned down the Chamber’s invitations.
Of course, if the Chamber was willing to give him stars for each of his roles as screenwriter, director, editor, and producer—Duke might actually consider it.
After leaving the Hollywood area, Duke and Charles Roven went to the Hughes Aircraft Plant, where several hangars had recently been converted into massive sound stages.
Following the production of Batman Begins, which built sets and shot scenes here, Duke had also placed parts of the Iron Man set inside these hangars. The most important was the cave where the terrorists imprisoned Tony Stark.
Duke led a highly experienced team, and the entire pre-production process was proceeding in an orderly and efficient manner.
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