"Are you a reporter, miss?"
On the speeding taxi, the driver asked the blonde woman sitting in the back seat, "Or perhaps you're an entertainment reporter from America, right?"
When did I become so famous? Or is it that I look like a reporter?
Sarah took off her sunglasses and curiously asked, "How did you guess?"
The taxi driver shrugged, turning onto a quiet road, and then said, "From your accent, you should be from North America. Right now, there are only two types of North Americans heading to Brannym. One is the crew of The Lord of the Rings, and the other is entertainment reporters. The crew members are all picked up by designated people, but since you're taking a taxi, you must be a reporter."
"Your observation is sharp," Sarah couldn't help but laugh. "You should consider a career change."
"It's not my sharp observation; it's because I've seen too many entertainment reporters these past two weeks."
Taxi drivers are usually good at small talk, "Since yesterday, you're the fifth reporter I've taken to Brannym."
"Oh?" Sarah became interested. "So many people have arrived there?"
"Though I'm not very familiar with Hollywood, I do know that Duke Rosenberg is currently one of the best directors in the world."
The driver casually said, "The Lord of the Rings trilogy has a total investment of 350 million dollars, plus the fame of the original work. It's no surprise that so many of you are here."
"Not surprising," Sarah nodded. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Do you often go to Brannym?"
"Of course!" The driver said proudly, "I'm from Brannym town. This place has the best natural scenery in the world. Brannym is the best tourist destination. Think about it, Duke Rosenberg chose to film the exterior shots of The Shire here. That says a lot."
He then looked at Sarah through the rearview mirror and said mysteriously, "I'll tell you a secret. Duke Rosenberg himself said that if the Lord of the Rings trilogy becomes a big hit, Brannym will be known worldwide."
"Do you think the movie will succeed?" Sarah asked.
"Definitely," the driver replied confidently, "This is a work by Duke Rosenberg."
"It seems everyone is confident about him."
Sarah muttered to herself, thinking about the purpose of her trip, and then asked, "Do you have any new information about the crew?"
Seeing that the driver was focused on driving, seemingly unaware of her question, Sarah had no choice but to add, "If you have any information I might be interested in..."
She raised an eyebrow at the rearview mirror.
The driver understood and, in just a few words, quickly shared a few pieces of valuable news.
"They say, for filming, the crew has attached 250,000 fake leaves to one tree. Every evening, the director takes his two female assistants for a walk on Crown Street. I heard that the new assistant, the one who just arrived, is supposedly the daughter of some billionaire..."
Taking out a notebook, Sarah recorded everything the driver said, feeling more and more excited about her trip. It's difficult for other reporters to meet Duke Rosenberg, but she had made arrangements with the Duke Studios beforehand, so she hoped to uncover some exclusive stories.
As a sharp-nosed entertainment reporter, Sarah had noticed that Hollywood was quietly changing in recent years. Especially on the internet, where news spreads quickly, directors were becoming like superstars, even gaining fans, some of whom were as passionate as fanatics.
James Cameron and Duke Rosenberg were undoubtedly among the top, with the latter even setting up a personal website. No one could say for sure how much impact that website had on the success of The Matrix, but one thing was certain in the industry: the summer hit The Blair Witch Project had borrowed viral marketing strategies from The Matrix.
This horror film, with a production budget of only $100,000 but a marketing budget of $25 million, became a huge success, and it was recognized as the greatest winner from learning The Matrix's marketing strategies.
Sarah even believed that without The Matrix's marketing lessons, The Blair Witch Project wouldn't have achieved such success.
It's a shame for those two directors...
Sighing softly, Sarah, as an entertainment reporter, knew very well that these two directors would gain very little from this. In terms of profit-sharing, they were getting next to nothing. This was understandable; if they hadn't sold the film rights to Lionsgate, why would Lionsgate invest millions in promoting such a film?
Hollywood's big companies were not charities!
Perhaps those two directors were now famous, but Sarah wasn't optimistic about their future. This type of movie, built on marketing tricks and large promotional budgets, had already tarnished their future credibility. Their future films would inevitably be compared to The Blair Witch Project in terms of quality.
Though these two directors were being hyped by the gossip media as rising stars like Duke Rosenberg, Sarah was certain that, unless a miracle occurred, their future would be limited.
How many great directors became famous by relying on these gimmicks? And how many directors who achieved fame through such tricks had a promising future?
With a disdainful snort, Sarah reached the crew's base and quickly contacted the press officer. Thanks to her recommendation from Duke Studios, she didn't have to work hard to get in. She walked into The Lord of the Rings's filming location amidst the envious gazes of nearly a hundred colleagues.
Once inside the set, Sarah followed the unspoken agreement between the crew and reporters: she didn't take any photos, only observing with her eyes, writing down everything that seemed valuable, which would later be turned into enticing entertainment news.
Walking towards the set's perimeter, Sarah was asked to stop as filming was underway. She found a slightly higher spot and tried to look, searching for her target interviewee.
Soon, she saw the director, with short brown hair, standing behind the camera, seemingly filming some rural scenery. A tall blonde girl was standing behind him, likely one of his assistants.
Her gaze quickly swept across the girl's face, and Sarah vaguely thought she looked familiar. Then it clicked—this must be Ivanka Trump, the daughter of Donald Trump.
If we only consider the background of his assistants, no one in Hollywood could compare to Duke. His former assistant was Sofia Coppola, the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, and his current assistant was Ivanka Trump, the daughter of a billionaire...
This director seemed never to lack the allure for women.
"Duke..."
After finishing a shot, Duke heard Ivanka's voice from behind, "The reporter from Los Angeles Times has arrived."
"Mm," Duke nodded, telling the cameraman, "Dave, you continue filming."
He turned to Ivanka, walked over to her side, and asked, "Where is she? Remember to communicate with the press officer; keep the interview short."
"I've already talked to Leveni," Ivanka replied.
Saying that, Ivanka followed Duke, walking toward the set's perimeter.
The reporter coming for the interview, Sarah, was an old acquaintance of Duke. The fact that Los Angeles Times sent her, the current deputy editor of the entertainment section, showed their sincerity and seriousness.
The interview was arranged by the press officer at the bridge by Whiskey River. The two sat on prop tree stumps with natural surroundings and began the brief promotional session.
After the super show, the crew maintained appropriate publicity heat. Apart from constantly releasing some news and pictures, they would also arrange for key cast and crew members to accept media interviews, continuing to spread the fame of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Duke was no exception. Especially his personal website, which was updated with new pictures about the film every so often, attracting a lot of fan attention.
Of course, as a busy director, Duke only occasionally checked the website. Like all future directors and celebrities, his personal website was managed by a dedicated team.
He would never underestimate the importance of publicity to a film's success.
Thus, during this brief interview, Duke was fully engaged, answering all of Sarah's questions about the film.
Taking out her pen and notebook, Sarah asked her first question of the day, "Duke, why did you choose to bring The Lord of the Rings to the big screen? It's widely regarded as one of the hardest works to adapt in Hollywood."
"I'm a loyal fan of The Lord of the Rings novels, and I love the series," Duke answered without hesitation. "Tolkien created a magical fantasy world with his words, taking readers around the world into it, sparking strong resonance, and even having a huge impact on society, giving rise to the fantasy novel genre."
After a brief pause, Duke continued, "The Lord of the Rings changed the entire entertainment industry. Looking back, we can see countless novels, videotapes, role-playing games, video games, comics, or films that were inspired by it. Under Tolkien's influence, an entirely new, booming market was born."
"I've always believed that The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a work perfectly suited for the big screen, but to faithfully capture the essence of the original, this trilogy will undoubtedly be the largest production in film history. I believe the timing has finally come—thanks to the rapid advancement of visual effects, I now have the opportunity to faithfully present the magnificent and grand fantasy world created by Tolkien."
Sarah asked, "Is this the purpose behind filming The Lord of the Rings trilogy?"