"Duke, this is Lieutenant Colonel Howard from the Department of Defense."
Introduced by the Pentagon's Hollywood liaison officer, Duke shook hands firmly with a military man sporting short chestnut hair. "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure to meet you too, Director Rosenberg."
To be appointed as an officer liaising with the media industry, one certainly couldn't be a stiff character. Lieutenant Colonel Howard flashed a rather brilliant smile at Duke.
"Just call me Duke, Lieutenant Colonel."
Although he had made some achievements, Duke had never been an arrogant man. Besides, maintaining good relations with the Pentagon was nothing but beneficial. There would be plenty of occasions in the future when his films would need Pentagon support, and only an idiot would assume that everyone in the Pentagon was a fool.
This was the reception room of Duke Studio. Lieutenant Colonel Howard introduced his accompanying team members to Duke, and the two sides began a small negotiation regarding film cooperation.
As is well known, the Pentagon has always supported Hollywood film productions, often offering equipment and personnel support for free, provided the films align with the military's consistent propaganda goals.
Although the script of Iron Man had some elements alluding to the Afghanistan War, it still carried strong American patriotism. After finalizing the script, Duke had it specially delivered to the Pentagon's Hollywood liaison office. Aside from a few minor details that didn't affect the film's market value, the Pentagon raised no significant objections.
Since The Rock more than a decade ago, Duke had been collaborating with the Pentagon. The subsequent Independence Day and Saving Private Ryan not only deepened their working relationship but were all about America saving the world. Furthermore, after 9/11, Duke actively cooperated with the government and the military on various proposals. It's no exaggeration to say that he was the Pentagon's most trusted partner in the film industry.
This also had much to do with Duke's character and mindset. Whether in the past or now, he was always keenly aware that an individual could never go against mainstream society and the massive machinery of the state.
His experiences were unique, but only a fool would choose confrontation over cooperation.
Just like, as a Hollywood director, he wouldn't be foolish or arrogant enough to fight against the traditional Big Six studios; instead, he established very deep partnerships with some of them.
Since both sides had aligned on the major direction of collaboration, the negotiation went quite smoothly. The Pentagon would send in a military Humvee convoy, over twenty fighter jets, and a large number of professional personnel to participate in filming, charging only symbolic fees.
But what Duke hadn't expected was that the Pentagon also brought along a luxurious bonus package.
"Duke, there's a scene in the script where Tony Stark encounters Air Force jets—initially a confrontation, then a rescue sequence."
Though a non-combat officer, Lieutenant Colonel Howard maintained a perfectly upright posture. After briefly recalling the script, he said, "I remember you suggested the Pentagon use F-16s or F/A-18 Hornets in that sequence?"
"That's right." Duke nodded slightly.
He couldn't recall which year the F-22 Raptor would be officially deployed, but it was clear that the U.S. military hadn't yet put it into service. So he didn't bring it up.
What he didn't expect was that Lieutenant Colonel Howard would mention it on his own. "Have you heard of the F-22 Raptor?"
Of course Duke knew about it, and he replied, "The new-generation main battle aircraft?"
"The F-22 is about to be officially deployed," Lieutenant Colonel Howard got straight to the point. "The Pentagon wants the F-22 Raptor featured in your film, so its name can quickly become known worldwide."
There's no reward without a price. The Pentagon's support wasn't a free lunch. Duke understood this well—and it would only benefit the film.
Tony Stark, after becoming Iron Man, battling with the F-22 Raptor would undoubtedly add a huge highlight to the film.
So Duke didn't hesitate and said, "I completely agree with the suggestion."
Lieutenant Colonel Howard stood up and extended his hand. "I believe this will be another pleasant collaboration."
Duke shook his hand. "I've always thought our cooperation has been very pleasant."
After seeing off the Pentagon delegation, Duke left Duke Studio and headed to the nearby Warner Bros. studio lot to check on some of the preparation work. As usual, aside from some staff from Marvel Studios, the core team for this film was still composed of Duke's own crew.
In terms of producers, in addition to himself and Kevin Feige, Charles Roven took on the extremely important role of executive producer. As in the past, he was specifically responsible for handling all of Duke's miscellaneous affairs.
His most important task at the moment was negotiating with the lead actors. After about a week of back-and-forth, Robert Downey Jr.'s contract had been finalized. Not only had he officially signed the actor agreement, but he had also signed the supplementary terms.
According to those supplementary terms, Robert Downey Jr.'s total $2 million payment would be split after deducting the $500,000 the crew had already paid in advance to help him pay off debts, the rest would only be paid after the film was pulled from theaters in North America. If during that period he relapsed into drug use, the remaining payment would be automatically forfeited.
Of course, the drug use here refers to incidents that are exposed to the public by the media.
As long as it doesn't cause any negative impact on the film, even if Robert Downey Jr. turns to injecting heroin, Duke couldn't care less.
This industry indeed can't be measured by normal standards, but in the end, the path is one you choose yourself.
In addition, the crew also signed a formal actor contract with Scarlett Johansson. Her salary was only $500,000.
At first glance, this seems extremely mismatched with Scarlett Johansson's fame, but in fact, Marvel Studios was already offering a huge discount out of respect for Duke.
Scarlett had a certain degree of fame, but she had never acted in a commercial film before, and thus had never proven her market value. In a sense, this is a major sorrow for art film actors. Just like Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep, their asking price in commercial films is not high at all.
Especially the latter. With her acting skills and number of awards, she should be an A-list or even super A-list actress in Hollywood, already a member of the $20 million club. But the truth is quite the opposite.
Acting skills and awards have always been only a part of what makes a superstar and not even the most important part.
For example, Julia Roberts. Even if she hadn't won the Best Actress Oscar around the turn of the century, no one would deny that she was the most representative Hollywood actress of the 1990s.
The price tag of $500,000 is enough to confirm Scarlett Johansson's current market value. In fact, Duke vaguely remembers that the real-life Scarlett Johansson, in order to transition to commercial films, was reportedly paid less than $300,000 for Iron Man 2.
Inside the large soundstage at Warner Bros. Studios, Duke made a round through each department, checking on the progress of various preparations. Although California doesn't offer tax incentives, Duke still decided to shoot the main scenes of the film in the Greater Los Angeles area.
"Although Iron Man's comic book setting is mainly in New York, just like all Marvel superhero comics, I want to set the story on the West Coast."
Walking inside the soundstage, Duke spoke to his assistant Anna Prinz, "Too many superhero films in the past have placed the battleground in New York. Tony Stark is fundamentally different from other superheroes we have to bring something fresh to the table."
Compared to Zack Snyder, Anna Prinz was an excellent executor, but not a decision-maker. After thinking for a moment, she said, "You mean, to differentiate this from other superhero movies? Is that why you insist on letting Tony Stark reveal his Iron Man identity at the end of the film?"
"All superheroes hide their heads and show their tails, leading double lives. Even though there's no aesthetic fatigue yet—"
When they reached the entrance of the soundstage, Duke stopped, looked up at the vast sky, and said, "We still need to bring something new. Wouldn't an Iron Man who dares to publicly admit he's a superhero feel more refreshing?"
In the real-life version of that film, Tony Stark publicly admitted at the end that he was Iron Man. That scene had a huge impact, as no superhero had ever done such a thing in a movie before. Duke didn't know what kind of considerations Marvel had when they agreed to shoot the film that way.
Maybe because it was too early, when Duke brought up the idea, he was strongly opposed by Marvel's writers, led by Stan Lee. Superhero comics had developed for so many years that certain patterns and thinking habits had inevitably formed. The reason Duke was ultimately able to convince them had a lot to do with his past achievements.
After all, no one could ignore the advice of such a successful director.
Besides, according to Marvel Studios' development plan, the Avengers would eventually appear. The Avengers were bound to cause earth-shattering events. Under such circumstances, if superheroes' identities could still be kept secret, it would simply be insulting the audience's intelligence.
"I'm working with a few assistant directors to draft the script schedule and storyboard illustrations."
Seeing that Duke was about to leave, Anna Prinz handed him a folder. "This is the completed portion."
Now wasn't the time to look at it, so Duke merely flipped through it quickly before handing it to the bodyguard following behind him. He waved to Anna Prinz to indicate that was all for now, then turned and headed toward the training facility next to the soundstage.
The main actors for the action scenes and their stunt doubles were currently receiving professional training from Jimmy Carter in the training center. When Duke entered the facility, aside from spotting Scarlett Johansson's familiar figure, he also saw another main actor Robert Downey Jr., who was playing Tony Stark.
...
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