Made In Hollywood

"Hand it to me, Emma."

Taking the silver pot from the housekeeper, Tina Fey walked through the garden toward the seaside. She reached a thick palm tree, sat on one side of an oak table, picked up Duke's teacup, refilled it, and slid it back to him.

"Thank you."

Briefly glancing away from his laptop screen, Duke nodded at his assistant. "When did you get here?"

"Just now."

The sea breeze was a bit strong, and Tina Fey tied up her long hair behind her head. "After the first week, Sony Columbia significantly reduced its resources on Godzilla, which eased the criticism surrounding The Matrix. The studio can finally relax a bit."

She looked at Duke, hesitating for a moment before saying, "You've just recovered, and you're already back to work."

"Anything in the world can be squandered because there's always a chance to start over," Duke said, saving the script he had just written and raising his teacup. Before taking a sip, he added, "But time—once wasted—can never be recovered."

"Following a boss like you," Tina Fey joked, "I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse."

Seeing Duke smile and shake his head, Tina Fey changed the topic. She pointed to his laptop curiously. "A new script?"

"Yes, a new script," Duke nodded.

"I remember you have several scripts registered with the Writers Guild," Tina Fey remarked as she opened the document on Duke's laptop. As she skimmed through it, she added, "You haven't finished those, and now you have new ideas?"

"This is an experimental project," Duke said as he poured a cup of tea for Tina Fey. "It's based on an incident you personally experienced."

"Thank you." Tina Fey scratched her cheek. "I can tell. No wonder you asked me so many details about that shooting incident and even had me gather materials from the LAPD. You were preparing for this."

Duke lamented slightly. "It would've been better if we could get the video footage from ABC Television."

"They refused?" Tina Fey asked, raising her eyebrows. "Did you try Robert Iger?"

"Unless I accept their investment," Duke shook his head decisively. "Disney wouldn't provide the footage otherwise, so I gave up."

He turned his gaze toward the sea. "This is just a small adaptation with minimal investment. The content won't entirely align with the North Hollywood shootout. I merely want to use this small-scale, multi-narrative production as practice."

"Practice?" Tina Fey said matter-of-factly. "With your current skills, do you still need practice?"

"Dear, don't overestimate my abilities," Duke said, always remaining clear-headed. "Who knows when I might fail? But I don't want that failure to happen on a big project like The Lord of the Rings trilogy. According to my plan, the next two films in the series will feature extensive multi-narrative storytelling. Narration has always been my weak point, and I'm well aware of it. That's why I need enough preparation..."

At this point, Duke suddenly asked, "Tina, are you interested in playing yourself in this film?"

"Me?" Tina Fey was momentarily stunned before shaking her head. "I don't want to be an actress. I prefer working on the business side."

When she first entered Hollywood, she dreamed of fame, but seeing the true face of the industry and its fierce competition quickly changed her mind. She knew her talent was average, and even with Duke's support, becoming a second-tier actress wasn't impossible. However, she clearly understood the importance of being a senior executive at Duke's studio compared to being a minor star.

She had earned Duke's trust and respect through her performance. Anyone in Hollywood with inside knowledge knew how much weight her words carried with Duke. Even stars like Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron, who were at the peak of their fame, treated her with utmost respect.

Why settle for being a star dependent on others? She wasn't that naive.

Duke had no intention of letting his trusted assistant go. He merely asked out of courtesy and quickly dismissed the idea.

After discussing the unfinished script briefly, the two shifted their focus to the next phase of work.

"Tina, notify the team members in advance," Duke instructed. "Regroup in New Zealand by mid-August."

After The Matrix premiered, Duke gave the staff who had been working tirelessly in New Zealand for nearly a year a nearly three-month-long vacation. Only a few were left on guard duty.

Closing his laptop, Duke thought for a moment and added, "Also, contact a real estate agent to find suitable housing in Wellington. We'll be based there for the next few years."

"What about this project?" Tina Fey gestured toward his laptop. "Will it also be prepared in New Zealand?"

"American banks won't let us film shootouts in front of their doors."

Picking up his laptop, Duke headed toward the villa. When Tina Fey followed with the silver pot and cups, he added, "We'll find suitable streets in Wellington or build sets in studios for the shooting."

The Laurel Canyon Boulevard area is one of Los Angeles' financial centers. Considering a bank robbery had occurred there not long ago, it would be a nightmare for any bank if a film crew staged a shootout on its doorstep.

With the script far from complete, Duke planned to begin preparations only after arriving in New Zealand. He intended to spend minimal time filming and producing this $8–10 million experimental low-budget film.

Sitting in the villa's bay window, Duke looked out at the sea, contemplating the script. With The Matrix maintaining its momentum and Warner Bros. backing it, he didn't need to focus too much energy on it. Instead, his attention was now on how to develop his new project.

Unlike his previous works, this project had little to draw from past experiences or memories. It was entirely an original creation. According to his plan, the investment would cap at $8–10 million, and the film would be a realistic depiction of a gunfight.

But after thinking for a while, Duke noticed problems in his draft. Classical gunfight styles had long fallen out of favor. Furthermore, adapting a true story dictated that it couldn't feature the romanticized action of The Matrix or other cinematic gunfights. Realism was a must.

Realism, however, often lagged behind the times. A film of this nature would struggle to achieve substantial profits...

At this thought, Duke slapped his forehead. As the owner of a film studio, profit was a natural consideration. Yet for this experimental film, perhaps he could set aside the pressure of profitability and focus entirely on his vision. Even if the movie ended up losing money, it wouldn't matter much to him.

Taking the coffee Emma brought over, Duke savored its aroma while recalling information on the people he intended to depict as main characters—particularly Larry Eugene Phillips and Emil Matasareanu.

Like most criminals, neither of them was born evil. Their heinous crimes resulted from various factors, one of which was their troubled families.

Family… A complete and happy family has an immense impact on a person's growth and decisions.

Family is also a widely embraced value in North America. Why did Saving Private Ryan resonate so strongly with the media? Why did it wield such enormous influence? Beyond its humanitarian message, the film's theme of protecting family unity played a crucial role.

Every film needs a theme, even the most commercial ones.

Family is undoubtedly an ideal theme.

As Duke's thoughts gradually cleared, he considered the contrast: broken families leading to tragedy versus happy ones...

Finishing the last of his coffee, Duke grabbed his laptop from the coffee table in the living room and headed to his study. He planned to revise the already-written portions of the script based on the materials he'd gathered.

While Duke was drafting the new project's script, The Matrix continued raking in revenue.

Like the previous weekend, The Matrix's main competitor remained Sony Columbia's Godzilla. However, Godzilla's rapidly declining audience reception exposed its lack of stamina. By the start of the second week, its daily box office numbers plummeted significantly.

On Monday, Godzilla grossed $5.2 million—a sharp 37% drop from its $8.25 million Sunday haul.

The Matrix, meanwhile, maintained steady momentum, experiencing less than a 20% drop and earning $8.21 million.

Over the next three weekdays, Godzilla's daily earnings kept declining—$5.12 million on Tuesday, $4.95 million on Wednesday, and $4.66 million on Thursday.

In the same period, The Matrix consistently outperformed Godzilla, grossing $8.01 million, $7.85 million, and $7.52 million, respectively.

By the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, The Matrix had accumulated $182.45 million at the North American box office. In contrast, Godzilla, which had been out for a week, stood at $46.72 million.

Earlier release Deep Impact had seen its daily earnings dip below $2 million and was barely holding onto about 1,000 theaters, with its North American gross at $65.12 million.

Amid this fierce competition between three blockbuster films, The Matrix had already emerged victorious and was set to dominate the coming weekend, despite the release of Michael Bay's Armageddon.