"Why have you been so happy lately? Did something good happen?"
In Central Park, New York, the crew had just entered a break. Duke looked at Scarlett Johansson, who was grinning as she handed him a cup of coffee. He felt something was off. Ever since they had dinner together that night, her mood seemed to have significantly improved. Especially when she looked at Naomi Watts, she would inexplicably giggle.
"Because you promised to take me to the Super Bowl!"
Tugging at her blonde hair, the young girl leaned over the back of Duke's chair. "When the godmother came over yesterday, she even promised to take me to the VIP section!"
"You're not being honest, Scarlett." Duke knew these were just excuses and pointed at her. "Lying kids' noses grow longer, you know."
"Well... I'll tell the truth then."
Her eyes spun mischievously for a moment before Scarlett leaned over and whispered in Duke's ear, "It's because you've been nicer to me lately. You being happy makes me happy too."
"Really?" Duke didn't quite believe her.
"Hey, you're my brother!" The young girl pouted in dissatisfaction. "If you're happy, of course, that makes me happy."
Even though he still didn't fully believe her, Duke nodded. He treated all the actors in his films equally, whether it was Naomi Watts, with whom he had a personal relationship, or Scarlett Johansson, who was close to his family. No one got any special treatment.
"Do you have some time now?" Scarlett moved to the front of the chair, tugging on Duke's sleeve and pulling him up. "There's another film crew shooting over there. Let's go check it out."
Along the riverbank in Central Park, Scarlett pulled Duke forward. Not too far away, they saw cameras set up and a bustling crowd. Duke had noticed the other film crew when they entered the park earlier, but since Central Park was a popular filming location, he hadn't been curious enough to check it out.
"I auditioned for that crew last year too."
Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, Scarlett pointed to a chubby man behind the camera. "That's the director. I was eliminated in the first round of auditions because I wasn't old enough."
"Him?" Duke suddenly became more interested in the other crew.
"Yeah, a French guy," Scarlett confirmed. "In the end, he chose another girl from New York!"
"See, that's the girl."
At some point, Scarlett had jumped onto a nearby stone bench and pointed to a girl who had stepped away from the crowd and was now standing under a big tree. "She's sneaky. The director also rejected her at first because of her age, but she shamelessly stopped him afterward..."
The little one rambled on, clearly still upset about last year's audition.
"Sweetie, opportunities have to be seized."
After watching the shoot for a while, Duke lost interest. He tugged on Scarlett and started walking back. "Especially in Hollywood."
This little one was crafty, but compared to someone later on, she wasn't even close.
"I'm going to seize opportunities too," Scarlett said, running to catch up with Duke and grabbing his sleeve. "Mr. Rosenberg, do I still have a chance to be in your movie?"
"That depends on my mood."
The filming of *Independence Day* was going smoother than expected, and with the end in sight, Duke was in a good mood and decided to joke a little. "If you can make the first thing I think of when I see you happiness, instead of getting a headache from your mischief, I might consider it."
"Oh, I see." The little one followed closely beside Duke, nodding continuously. "I'll work hard to play the role of a diligent and cute girl in front of you."
"Play a role?" Duke glanced over at Scarlett, who was smiling mischievously, shook his head, and walked back toward the crew. In fact, lively, clever girls were often very cute.
Back at the crew's site, Duke adjusted the camera positions and began filming again. The scenes in Central Park were few, consisting mostly of transition shots that weren't too important. Though the shoot wasn't particularly difficult, it wasn't smooth either. After all, this was Central Park, a major tourist attraction, and the crowd of onlookers often caused unexpected problems for the crew.
Maintaining order was a headache, especially with tourists. A sudden camera flash could ruin an entire shot.
There were also the journalists. Although they generally respected the unspoken rule of not disturbing the filming, Duke was no longer an unknown director. Especially with *The Rock* slowly crossing $390 million at the global box office and approaching the $400 million mark, he had become a media focal point.
For promotional purposes, Warner had been encouraging Duke to say a few words to the press during breaks, throwing out tidbits to catch the public's attention.
A commercial film's promotional campaign usually peaked about one to two weeks before release, but the entire process was complex and long-term. No major star or director could single-handedly carry a film's promotion. It was always a team effort, with various strategies working together.
The primary promotional focus for *Independence Day* was the upcoming Super Bowl. Duke had taken a trip back to Los Angeles to work with the special effects department, editing a 30-second teaser trailer for the Super Bowl's halftime ad.
Due to the ripple effects of *The Rock*, many other films' trailers would also appear during the Super Bowl's halftime, including titles like *True Lies* and *The Lion King*.
As February arrived, Duke returned to New York, with the filming of *Independence Day* nearing completion. The actual time spent on shooting wasn't much, and the performances of the actors would likely be criticized by professionals as subpar, especially Will Smith's exaggerated comedic style. Duke could already foresee how harshly critics would tear into him once the film released.
But none of that mattered. This film was a collection of summer blockbuster clichés, packed with the typical elements associated with the season.
One by one, the main actors had left the crew. By the time the last scene was being shot, only a dozen stunt actors and some extras recruited from New York were left. Duke led them to 8th Avenue in Manhattan for the final scene.
"Grace..."
Standing at the roadblock on 8th Avenue, Duke gathered all the stunt actors together. "You'll be driving a police car..."
Duke brought them to the center of the street. "The police car stops here. You get out, and then look up in shock."
"Got it."
The middle-aged stunt actor nodded, following Duke as they continued walking.
As they crossed the road, Duke pointed to various positions, explaining, "Three taxis and two cars collide! Be mindful of the impact!"
After circling the prepared stunt vehicles, the group returned to the roadblock. Duke pointed to the truck on his left. "Martin, watch for the signal. When you see it, drive out and hit the police car!"
After the actor acknowledged the instructions, Duke moved over to the camera and sound departments. "John, same as usual, mount the cameras on the vehicles, especially the truck. Lana, capture the sound on-site. I want the most authentic collision sounds."
After adjusting the camera angles, gauging the car paths, and giving instructions to the 'bystander' actors, Duke remained busy for nearly two hours before returning to the director's monitor.
"Duke, we need to hurry." Sofia Coppola had just seen off a city official and came over to remind him, "We only have two more hours before the evening rush in New York."
This was Manhattan, one of the most crowded places in the world, and Duke knew that the authorities wouldn't give them much more time. After checking with the departments, filming began.
A police car sped down the road, suddenly braking as the officer noticed something unbelievable. The officer jumped out, gazing at the sky in astonishment. As he walked forward, a taxi rear-ended the police car, followed by several more vehicles in a chain reaction. A pile-up ensued.
Just as the officer stepped away from the police car, a truck barreled into the scene from the side, smashing the police car. But the officer didn't even glance at his wrecked vehicle, still staring in awe at the sky...
Duke didn't call "cut" right away. He watched the monitor intently as the crashes, chaos, and panic unfolded as planned. The scattered cameras captured the reactions of the extras as they stared at the alien ships.
"Cut!"
Finally, Duke called it. The noisy 8th Avenue fell silent. While there was still a wrap party after Super Bowl weekend, the crew had essentially completed its mission.
There was no shouting, no passionate hugs—just a routine round of applause. Hollywood film sets were always fraught with hidden conflicts, and *Independence Day* was no exception. But with the crew now disbanding, many of the tensions Duke had suppressed would fade into the past.
Under pressure from the city official, the crew hastily packed up their equipment. Duke personally delivered the film reels to a bank vault before returning to the hotel, ready to enter a brief vacation and fly to Atlanta to participate in the annual North American extravaganza—the Super Bowl.
And of course, the Super Bowl halftime lingerie show.
....
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