"Give it to me, Emma."

Take the silver pot from the butler, Tina Fei walked through the garden and walked towards the side facing the sea, came to a thick palm tree, sat on the side of the oak table, took Duke's tea cup opposite, filled him, and pushed him back.

"Thanks."

With his eyes slightly off the notebook screen, Duke nodded to the female assistant, "When did you come?"

"just."

The sea breeze is a little big, Tina Fee tied her long hair and tied it behind her head. "After the first week, Sony Colombia significantly reduced the resources invested in "Godzilla". "The Matrix" suffered a lot less criticism, and the studio can be easier."

She looked at Duke, and was a little reluctant to speak, and finally couldn't help but say, "You've just recovered and started working again."

"Everything in the world can be squandered because there is always a chance to start over."

He raised his head and saved the script he had just made, picked up the teacup, and said before drinking, "There is only time, and if it is wasted, it will never be found."

"I've followed you like a ss." Tina Fee joked with Duke, "I really don't know if it's luck or sadness."

Seeing Duke shaking his head with a smile, Tina Fei changed the topic, pointed to the notebook and asked curiously, "New script?"

"Well, the new script." Duke nodded.

"I remember you registered several scripts in the Screenwriters Association."

After Duke turned the notebook to her, Tina Fei was not polite, opened the document and said while looking, "Those are not completed yet, and there are new ideas?"

"This is an experimental work." Duke took a new tea cup and poured a cup of black tea for Tina Fei, saying, "It was adapted from an incident you experienced in person."

"Thank you." Tina Fei scratched her face, "You can see that no wonder you asked me about the incidents of so many shootings, and asked me to collect information from the Los Angeles police. It turned out that they were preparing."

Duke felt a little regretful, "It would be better if he could get the video shot by ATV."

"They refused?" Tina Fee raised her head and asked, "You didn't try Robert Iger?"

"Unless they are accepted," Duke shook his head directly, "Water Disney will not offer it, so I gave up."

He turned to look at the sea, "This is just an adaptation with a very small investment, and the content will not be completely consistent with the shooting in North Hollywood. I just want to practice with a small production of multi-line narratives."

"Practice?" Tina Fei said as a matter of course. "With your current ability, do you still need to practice?"

"Dear, don't overestimate my abilities." Duke's mind has always been very clear. "I can't say when I will fail. But I don't want failure to happen in big investments and big productions like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. According to my plan, the last two parts of this series will have a lot of multi-line narratives, and my narrative ability has always been a weakness. I know this very well, so I need to be prepared enough..."

Speaking of this, Duke suddenly asked, "Tina, are you interested in playing yourself in this film?"

"Me?" Tina Fei was stunned for a moment and shook her head, "I don't want to be an actor, I like to do commercial jobs."

When she first entered Hollywood, she also had a dream of becoming famous, but after seeing the appearance of this circle more clearly and the fierce competition, she faded this idea. She also knew that her talent was average. If Duke supported it, it would not be too difficult to become a second-rate actress in the future, but she clearly distinguished which second-rate actress or executive at the Duke Studio is more important.

She won Duke's trust and respect with her performance. Anyone with well-informed Hollywood knows the weight of her speaking in front of Duke. Even actresses like Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron, who are now so popular, need to show enough respect when they see her.

Go and be a little star who is hiding? She is not that stupid.

Of course Duke didn't want to let his right-hand assistant go, but just said this, he asked casually, and then forgot about this idea.

After discussing a few more scripts, the topics of the two gradually shifted to the next stage of work.

"Tina, inform the team members in advance." Duke said to the female assistant, "and back to New Zealand in mid-August."

After all, humans are not machines. Shortly after the release of "The Matrix", except for a few guards who took turns to take a turn for the staff who were busy in New Zealand for nearly a year, Duke had a long holiday, and the holiday lasted for nearly three months.

Turning off the laptop, Duke thought for a while and then said, "Contact the real estate agent and find a suitable house in Wellington. We will stay there for the next few years."

"Where is this project?" Tina Fey pointed to the notebook, "As well prepared in New Zealand?"

"Bank of America won't let us shoot gun battle scenes in front of the door."

Holding up his notebook, Duke walked towards the villa, waiting for Tina Fei to follow with a silver pot and a cup, and said, "Look for a suitable street in Wellington and take a picture on the set."

Laurel Valley Avenue is one of the financial centers in the Greater Los Angeles area. It has been a few years since the bank robbery occurred in the Los Angeles branch of Bank of America. It is a matter of shooting a gunfight scene in front of them. Bank of America is probably going crazy.

This multi-line narrative project has not even been completed. Duke plans to start preparing after he arrives in New Zealand, and will not spend too much time shooting and production. This will only be a small-cost experimental film with an investment of less than tens of millions of dollars.

Back in the eye-shaped villa, Duke sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the sea in the distance, and continued to think about the script just now. Now "The Matrix" is going smoothly, and Warner Brothers is pushing behind the scenes. He doesn't need to spend too much effort. How to proceed with the content of the new project needs to be carefully considered.

Unlike the past, this project has nothing to learn from memory except some information. It can be said to be an original work. According to his plan, the maximum investment is US$8 million to US$10 million, and the type is a realistic gun battle film.

But after sitting here and thinking for a while, Duke found that there were problems with the script he wrote. Now the classical gunfight has declined. The film is adapted from real events, which also determines that it cannot be a gunfight like "The Matrix" or a gunfight with romantic colors. Realism is a necessary choice.

Realism means lagging behind this era and the future benefits of the film...

Thinking of this, Duke suddenly took a picture of his own head. As a film studio, profitability is an instinctive consideration. However, such an experimental film seems to be able to put aside the pressure of profit and shoot it completely according to his ideas. Even if the film loses money in the end, it is nothing to him.

Moreover, he has enough market appeal, and an investment of US$8 million to US$10 million may not be lost.

After taking the coffee from Emma, ​​Duke sniffed the scent of the coffee while recalling the profiles of the people he had seen who he wanted to set as the main character, especially the two criminals, Larry Eugene Phillips and Emil Deckbar Matasalino.

Like most criminals, these two people are not born criminals. The crime of such a serious crime can be said to be caused by many reasons, and an unfortunate family is an important part of it.

Family...a complete and happy family has a huge impact on a person's growth and even on.

Family is also the most recognized mainstream value in North America. Why does "Save Private Ryan" resonate with so many media? Why does it have such a huge influence? In addition to the humanistic care in it, maintaining the integrity of the family is also an extremely important reason.

Any movie has to explain a theme, even the most commercial movie is no exception.

Family is undoubtedly a very suitable theme.

Gradually, Duke's thinking became clear, the broken family caused tragedy, and the happy family...

Thinking of this, drinking the remaining coffee in the cup, Duke picked up the notebook placed on the coffee table in the living room, went upstairs and entered the study, preparing to overhaul some of the completed scripts based on the collected information.

Duke is preparing scripts for the new project, and The Matrix continues to generate large revenues in the market.

Like last weekend, the biggest rival of "The Matrix" is still Sony Columbia Pictures' "Godzilla". The rapid decline in audience reputation has exposed the lack of momentum. As soon as the weekday of the next week, the box office in a single day plummeted.

Compared with the $8.25 million last Sunday, Godzilla's box office fell by as much as 37% on Monday, and closed at $5.2 million in a single day.

"The Matrix" continued its steady trend, with a decline of less than 20% on Monday, earning $8.21 million.

In the following three working days, the single-day box office of "Godzilla" showed a continuous decline, with $5.12 million on Tuesday, $4.95 million on Wednesday, and $4.66 million on Thursday.

In the past three days, the box office of "The Matrix" has also declined, but it has always surpassed "Godzilla", and closed at $8.01 million, $7.85 million, and $7.52 million respectively during the same period.

Before Memorial Day weekend, the Matrix's box office in North America totaled $182.45 million, and "Godzilla" which was released for one week in the evening received $46.72 million.

The single-day box office of "The Great Collision" which was released one week earlier than "The Matrix", has dropped below $2 million, but it has struggled to maintain screenings in about 1,000 theaters, and the box office in North America has reached a figure of $65.12 million.

The single-stage box office and theater number of this film are shrinking rapidly, and the remaining screening time in the North American market will not be too long.

Among the strangleholds of the previous and subsequent three major productions, "The Matrix" has stood out. In this new weekend, Michael Bay's "The Peerless Heavenly Tribulation". (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!