A sharp suit, a tall and straight posture, a rugged face, a determined expression, wise eyes...
This was the first impression Chai Jing had upon seeing Duke. Although he cooperated well by allowing the caraman to take promotional photos, she clearly knew this would not be an easy interviewee to handle. Extracting any exclusive and explosive information from him would be very difficult.
Most importantly, she did not have enough confidence in herself.
Indeed, she was one of the best reporters at the TV station, but she was about to face one of the world’s most outstanding directors in the film industry. In terms of comrcial success, he was the very best.
Moreover, from nurous reports, Chai Jing also knew that he not only spoke fluent Chinese but was also uniquely well-versed in Chinese culture among Hollywood star directors.
These things naturally made her feel so affinity, but they did little to help with the interview.
Sitting on one of two opposite single sofas, Chai Jing withdrew her gaze and focused more on considering the upcoming interview. The station attached great importance to this interview. Securing an exclusive with Duke Rosenberg was extrely important for the program "Face to Face." All the questions had been carefully selected by her and the station.
The questions mainly fell into three categories: first, topics Duke insisted be emphasized about "Transforrs"; second, so more personal questions; and third, Hollywood and Chinese cinema.
After a few photos were taken, Duke straightened his suit slightly and strode over. As usual, he politely extended his hand. "Hello, Miss Chai."
"Hello, Director Rosenberg." Chai Jing quickly stood and shook his hand.
"Please sit."
Duke gestured to the opposite single sofa. After waiting for her to sit first, he sat down and directly said, "Let’s begin."
This was not a live broadcast. The program would be recorded and aired over the weekend, coinciding with the cooling of the "Transforrs" hype.
Agreeing to this exclusive interview was partly for this reason.
Since she had learned a bit about Duke’s work habits from prior knowledge, she said no more and opened her notebook, taking out a pen to start questioning.
Looking down at the notebook, after Duke gave a signal to start, Chai Jing asked the first question, "Mr. Rosenberg, as a film director, how do you balance your own views, Hasbro’s opinions, and the expectations of Transforrs fans regarding ’Transforrs’?"
"I make my own films; no one can dictate to ."
This was the truth. Even Warner Bros. wouldn’t interfere with Duke’s productions. "During the preparation period, I always thought that if we made the Transforrs look extrely realistic, the effect would be very different from previous movies. From that mont, I basically beca the world’s biggest Transforrs fan. I also dedicated myself to making a film that non-Transforrs fans could enjoy."
Chai Jing interjected appropriately, "You an you want to broaden the film’s audience?"
Duke tilted his head slightly, "Exactly. I want the movie to have more maturity. I know there will be criticisms why make a toy movie so complicated? Will children understand it?"
"The problem is not just children watching this movie. So Transforrs fans are already over forty..."
At this, Duke waved his hand, "Forget it, forget it. I’m digressing..."
"No problem..."
Chai Jing smiled, but her pen quickly moved on the notebook next to Duke’s na — extrely confident, quick-thinking, lively speech, easily creating a sense of closeness.
Ti was limited, so she quickly asked the next question, "The ’Transforrs’ actors often praise you as a ’very, very great director who understands acting.’ We rarely hear this said before. Did you do anything different this ti?"
Duke shook his head, "No. Listen, those are rumors. dia reports can be very strange."
The spotlight was a bit dazzling, and he frowned slightly, raising his voice, "I’m no different from other directors. I visited the set of Jas Caron’s ’Titanic’ once. Our directing thods are very similar. We hardly ever leave the set and like to work closely with actors, giving them freedom to perform, enjoying growing and improving together."
"However, many producers dislike seeing actors behave this way." Duke shrugged lightly. "They always say, ’That’s not how it is in the script! What’s he doing? He’s going to ruin the movie!’"
The lighting technician adjusted the spotlight slightly but did not affect Chai Jing. She cut in, "Do you compromise? If not, how do you handle that?"
"No, but I also don’t yell at producers like so directors do."
After a mont’s thought, Duke said, "My style is this: I tell them, ’Trust , this might bring surprises.’ Because the film already has an overall tone set, occasional deviations are acceptable. But when it cos to action scenes, I’m like a strict coach everything must be precise. Even a tiny mistake can cause the intended effect to disappear."
Chai Jing laughed but didn’t forget her duty and asked, "Do you think ’Transforrs’ is very different from your previous works?"
"When interviewed in North Arica, people often asked , ’After making "The Dark Knight," do you want to go back to making simpler films?’"
Duke struck a thoughtful pose, then said, "I seriously considered that question and feel that if the approach is cool and the idea good, I can direct a great action blockbuster — an excellent sumr entertainnt film. I like trying things that haven’t been done before, then fighting tooth and nail with my team for months to achieve the special effects that make images erge from thin air, like when the audience sees Bumblebee and instantly senses a living soul inside that machine."
"There’s a saying in Hollywood that you and your films have driven the internationalization of the Hollywood film industry."
Unconsciously, Chai Jing shifted the topic to Duke himself. "Do you agree with this statent?"
Duke only offered a single sentence. "There are no saviors in the film industry."
Chai Jing’s questions ca like a rapid-fire barrage. "Then do you think special effects and action scenes or the story itself are more important for a movie?"
Although the questions were getting a bit pointed, Duke handled them with ease. "There’s no comparing the two—both are important and indispensable."
"Are you aware that so fans were dissatisfied with the special effects in Transforrs?" Chai Jing’s pace was speeding up. "There are many people online accusing you of going overboard, like giving Optimus Pri lips."
"Yeah, that was indeed my idea," Duke replied unhurriedly. "We did a lot of research on facial expressions. It’s really hard to convey a character’s emotions without matching movents. We also tried having robots without lips express emotions, but it just felt off."
Suddenly, Chai Jing changed the topic. "Have you ever thought about making a low-budget film, one that relies mainly on the actors to drive the story?"
"No." Duke denied it flatly. "I have no interest in that kind of film. My team and I have never considered flying to the south of France to shoot a movie."
"As a producer and director, you have final say over the films you make, but that cos with downsides too." Chai Jing began touching on so of the behind-the-scenes dynamics in Hollywood. "How do you balance those relationships?"
"It’s probably like having a stick hidden behind your back for self-defense. But you hope you never have to use it."
Today’s Hollywood is also gradually losing its veil of mystery. Duke was simply speaking about common scenarios. "A lot of people hear ’final cut authority’ and imdiately blow up, thinking it’s an insult to them. Others feel that it wears everyone down to exhaustion. But I’ve never intended to give up final cut. That would be absurd."
Chai Jing stared at Duke and asked, "Can you give a few examples?"
"I was once advised, ’For the first Transforrs movie, it’s best not to focus too much on the robots.’" Duke showed clear disapproval. "So you really have to speak up. See what the audience and producers think, and then you know what to do next. Ultimately, though, I have to make the decision. But I do respect the studio. For example, I felt if I had just two more weeks, Transforrs could have been even better—but the studio wouldn’t allow it. Nothing you can do—there’s never enough ti."
Duke spoke seriously, "A lot of people ask what the perfect movie is. For a director, the perfect movie is the one where you preserve every shot you love at any cost. If you want to go big, you have to have final cut authority."
In interviews like this, the topic inevitably shifts to the Chinese market and Chinese cinema. Duke had already stated beforehand that he didn’t want to delve too deeply into these areas, but he knew it was impossible to avoid them completely.
Fortunately, those questions had been discussed in advance and were kept general in scope.
Chai Jing only asked a few on this topic. "China’s status in the international market is growing more important. Has that led you to spend more ti on the Chinese market?"
"That’s true. Because the Chinese market is growing—it’s very important. Of course, the North Arican and European markets are important too, and the Latin Arican market is also growing."
Duke was repeating answers prepared by Warner’s PR team. "But the changes in the Chinese market in recent years have been astonishing and gratifying. A few years ago, annual revenues in China were only tens of millions of dollars, but in the past two years they’ve risen to hundreds of millions. Growth on this scale will make China one of the largest film markets in the world."
"What’s your view on Chinese films now?" Chai Jing asked again.
"China is increasing its film output and promoting its movies to global audiences." Duke naturally took a complintary tone. "This is an exciting era. Chinese cinema has a great market, not just because people are willing to watch movies, but because they’re outstanding audiences. They’re thoughtful, and their tastes are highly diverse. So for filmmakers, this is a fantastic group of viewers. Knowing your movie can find an audience in China—that’s very exciting."
....
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