Every weekend during the summer release schedule is fiercely competitive. Each film facing off against another is eager for a fight to the top. This is the case with *The Bridges of Madison County* and *Saving Private Ryan*. Despite the former's strong debut, featuring two powerhouse actors, and the latter already being in its second weekend, no one had faith in *The Bridges of Madison County*.
Without even considering the films themselves, the directors and actors speak volumes.
Clint Eastwood's films have never been known for their commercial success. Meryl Streep, though widely recognized for her acting skills, lacks significant box office pull.
There is no real suspense in the box office battle between the two films.
Over the weekend, *The Bridges of Madison County* grossed $10.51 million across 1,805 theaters in North America, surpassing *Braveheart's* $2.68 million and *Die Hard 3's* $8.25 million, placing it second in the box office rankings. But standing at the top, untouchable by these films, is *Saving Private Ryan*.
Duke's film, shown in 2,865 theaters, grossed $38.95 million, clinching the top spot at the box office for the second weekend in a row!
Including Thursday's earnings of $9.87 million, the film's cumulative North American box office is already at $149.93 million. Reaching the $150 million milestone is now just a matter of time.
"Tell me!"
A voice full of anger echoed from a luxurious hospital room in Los Angeles. An elderly man, clearly frustrated, shouted, "What's the total box office for my new movie?"
"Sean, calm down!"
His publicist and friend, Jack, reminded the man on the hospital bed, "This isn't good for your recovery!"
Hearing this, a flash of resentment crossed Sean's eyes. He gritted his teeth and forced out the words, "Tell me, Jack!"
After hesitating for a moment, Jack finally spoke. "Braveheart's cumulative North American box office is at $13.57 million."
$13.97 million? $149.93 million? The gap between the two figures is vast. Could it be that the project he had hoped would be his comeback was already a failure?
Sean Connery took several deep breaths to suppress the rising anger within him. The collaboration between him and Mel Gibson now seemed unlikely to even recoup its costs. From a market perspective, *Braveheart* had already failed.
It was all because of that bastard! That bastard Duke!
In an instant, Sean Connery linked the failure of his film to his competitor. If not for Duke, would their release dates have clashed? If not for Duke, would the filming schedule have been delayed? If not for Duke, would the production costs have ballooned to $60 million? If not for Duke… his leg…
Looking at his right leg, wrapped in bandages and completely immobile, Sean's anger vanished. According to several doctors, given his age, even in the most optimistic scenario, his leg wouldn't fully recover. He would never be able to walk normally again, let alone endure long periods of movement.
This meant, essentially, that his acting career was over, his time in Hollywood finished!
Even with his usual arrogance, he now had to admit something—without the carefully crafted gentleman image that CAA had built for him, he was nothing. Even if he were to persist in acting, how many productions in Hollywood would be willing to risk hiring an aging actor with an injury?
Retirement was his only option!
A cold realization settled in Sean Connery's heart, not just from the blow of this failure, but also from the attitude of his agency. After an initial visit from Martin and Bob, no one from CAA had come to see him again. They had completely forgotten about him, a person who no longer held value.
The worst part was when CAA's spokesperson, during an interview with the media, had the audacity to say that Sean's office at CAA would always remain reserved for him!
What a bunch of hypocrites. Even when he no longer held much value, they still used him for publicity!
At this moment, Sean found CAA's betrayal even more detestable than Duke.
Everything… everything was over. Sean Connery felt a darkness descending, unsure of where his future path lay.
After wrapping up the promotion in New York, the cast and crew took a short break. Once they regrouped, they would head to Europe to begin the film's European promotional tour. *Saving Private Ryan* was about to launch across Europe. Before that, the cast would visit Normandy to participate in the D-Day memorial event, alongside leaders and royalty from various European nations.
"Is this our new home?"
Following his mother to her newly purchased house in the Upper East Side, Duke curiously looked around the two-story villa. "It looks pretty nice."
"Go take a look yourself; your room is upstairs," his mother said, already busy with her own matters. Duke walked upstairs, explored the second floor, and then opened a glass door that led to a small garden terrace. Standing by the railing, he gazed into the distance, vaguely able to make out the skyline of Manhattan. After taking in the sight of the tallest buildings, he returned to his room.
The room's décor closely resembled his room in Santa Monica. As expected, when he opened the closet, it was already filled with clothes. Duke found some casual wear, went to the bathroom to take a shower, and then changed into his new outfit before heading downstairs.
His mother had already prepared a simple dinner, but the atmosphere of eating at home was incomparable to any other place.
"Have you finalized your contract with the Lauder Group?" his mother asked with concern.
Duke nodded, swallowing a mouthful of pasta. "Nancy finished the negotiations last month. I've already signed the contract. Now, I'm just considering the right storyline for the commercial. We'll start filming in September."
"Don't use your wild ideas from filmmaking to plan the commercial," his mother reminded him. "In advertising, you must consider mass appeal. If you come up with some unconventional, non-mainstream concepts like you did when you were a kid, the commercial will undoubtedly fail."
"I understand, Mom."
At his mother's words, Duke naturally thought of some of the foolish things he had done in the past. He once showed his mother what he called "future advertising" ideas, but none of them passed the review at Santa Feia because they simply didn't fit the mainstream aesthetic at the time.
For the commercial for Lauder Group's *Youth Dew*, Duke certainly wasn't foolish enough to apply examples from the future. The years before and after 2000 were entirely different eras.
After spending just one day in New York, Duke rejoined the film crew and flew to France.
During this time, he also received another message—from a certain country on the distant Pacific coast. The country's film authority was interested in importing his films. Warner Bros. first recommended the globally popular *Independence Day*, which was still playing in some remote areas, but it was rejected due to ideological concerns. Instead, they were interested in *The Rock* and were also keen on *Saving Private Ryan*.
When the news came, Duke couldn't help but recall some old rumors. Was it true that some high-ranking officials over there were fans of Nicolas Cage?
Of course, Duke didn't dwell on these thoughts. While that market was indeed vast, even ten years later, it wouldn't be worth focusing on.
Expanding into such markets was something Hollywood's big six studios would naturally handle. A director like Duke had no need to worry about it.
On June 6th, the small town of Ouistreham in northern France became the focus of global attention. With the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, world leaders and celebrities gathered on Sword Beach to attend the memorial event.
"That's the French president, the British prime minister, the German chancellor..." Tina whispered to Duke, identifying the leaders not far away. It wasn't just these heads of state; also present were European royals such as Queen Elizabeth II of England, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
These figures were the main focus of the event, drawing most of the media's attention. The *Saving Private Ryan* crew's presence was, as before, purely for promotional purposes.
Although few media outlets paid attention, reporters from WarnerMedia and News Corp.'s European networks kept their cameras trained on the crew. For a film and crew like this to appear at a D-Day event was newsworthy enough to capture the interest of many European viewers.
Moreover, the film's box office success in North America gave both companies confidence in its potential profitability. They demonstrated their substantial resources and influence, even across political and business spheres, by not only hosting *Saving Private Ryan's* European premiere in Ouistreham that night but also inviting European royals and dignitaries to attend.
The film's subject matter was another draw for these attendees. Supporting such a movie was, in its own way, a politically correct move.
The screening was held in a small local theater, attended by political figures, European royalty, and numerous World War II veterans invited by the production team.
In short, the goal was clear: to attract as much public attention as possible during this special time, and the production team was doing everything they could to achieve that.
The premiere, needless to say, garnered significant media coverage. After the film screening and the following press conference, the crew followed the political tradition by hosting a formal banquet at a nearby hotel.
The one who attracted the most attention among the crew was Tom Hanks. As a two-time Oscar-winning actor, he was a key figure for many celebrities, particularly members of the royal families. In a way, today's European royals are not much different from Hollywood stars. Since the 1950s and 1960s, the two worlds have been in contact, sharing a common ground for conversation.
There were also quite a few people paying attention to Duke. Although these individuals carried prominent titles such as prince, princess, or other noble ranks, in Duke's eyes, their significance paled in comparison to that of Tom Hanks. This allowed Duke to interact with them with ease and a calm demeanor.
After entertaining several royals, Duke sought out a quieter spot to rest for a moment.
A girl nearby seemed to notice him. After confirming she wasn't mistaken, she approached him directly.
"Are you... Director Rosenberg?" she asked in English that was not entirely fluent.
Duke nodded, realizing she was one of the guests invited by the crew, and smiled politely. "You can call me Duke."
"You can call me Victoria..." she said, clearly an outgoing personality. "Or better yet, Vicky or Alice."
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