Even though he was technically on vacation, Duke couldn’t find any free time. After returning to Los Angeles from San Francisco, he made another trip to Marvel Studios in Burbank to meet with Kevin Feige and discuss future plans for The Avengers. "Iron Man 2 is tentatively scheduled for a summer release next year..." In the office, Kevin Feige was explaining Marvel’s plans to Duke. "Thor will come out after Iron Man 2. It will also be the last standalone superhero film before The Avengers." He asked Duke, "Do you have a plan for The Avengers?" Duke already had a pretty clear idea about The Avengers. "I plan to begin preparations in 2010 and release it during the summer of 2011." His schedule for the next few years was extremely tight. Warner Bros. was already urging him for the next The Dark Knight film, and The Dark Knight Rises would have to be scheduled after The Avengers. "Can it be earlier?" Kevin Feige asked impatiently. "Kevin..." Duke slowly shook his head. "One film a year is already my limit." A film must go through a process from conception to development, revision, reshaping, refinement, adjustment, polishing, and countless rounds of editing. Only after that can it be approved and scheduled for release. During this process, it’s not just Duke alone there’s an entire crew that needs to be guided, incentivized, supervised, urged, pressured, inspired, criticized, organized, and praised, working without regard for weekdays or weekends, all pouring their hearts into the film’s production... It sounds easy, but it’s not. Kevin Feige sighed. He understood how it worked. He then asked, "What about Phase Two?" "We’ll follow the plan," Duke said without hesitation. "We’ll start Phase Two with Captain America 2. Then we’ll expand the universe into space." There will definitely come a day when audiences get tired of superhero movies—no doubt about that. But there’s still a long period ahead. During this time, of course, Marvel’s full value must be tapped. Leaving Marvel Studios and heading back to Malibu by car, Duke was still thinking about The Avengers. This film might seem simple just throw a team of heroes into one movie but in reality, it’s extremely difficult to make. Each hero has their own style. With just two people together, the issue might not stand out, but when six people are fighting side-by-side, it becomes a challenge to blend their styles seamlessly. It truly tests the director’s skill. If you’re not careful and turn six superheroes into a messy stew, the film will definitely fall short of expectations or even risk failure. Whether in North America or around the world, audiences don’t respond well to chaotic, mixed-style films. Joss Whedon had once done a good job. He had fully absorbed the lessons from the failure of his mixed-style series Firefly and made The Avengers stunning. But by Avengers 2, he started repeating his old mistakes, making the film overly fan-centric and extremely unfriendly to casual audiences. Moreover, the villain Ultron in Avengers 2 lacked the personal charisma of Loki. A weak villain in The Avengers is understandable and in line with Marvel’s overall plan. Marvel’s villains are essentially caricatured comic relief. Duke shook his head and decided not to dwell on it anymore. After all, The Avengers hadn’t even begun filming yet. Besides, even if he had considered it, his main focus had to be on the next project. The script for the new project had already been submitted to Warner Bros., and the related review was completed last month. Leonardo DiCaprio had also confirmed to take the lead role. They were just waiting for the project to be officially approved before negotiations could begin. This would be an ensemble film led by Leonardo, and Duke planned to put together a star-studded cast. For instance, Scarlett Johansson, who was preparing for a film next year, would also join the cast as Leonardo’s assistant. Also included was James Franco. Back during the Cannes Film Festival, Duke had spoken to him, and Franco showed a lot of interest. However, putting together such a cast presented a major challenge—actor salaries. Excessive salaries would crush Duke’s budget. The best solution was to shift the payment into back-end profit sharing. But it was unclear how much leeway Warner Bros., as the sole investor, would allow. After all, Duke and Leonardo’s combined profit share would already be astronomical. When Duke returned home, he found Leonardo there, sitting in the living room chatting with Scarlett. He waved at him. Duke walked over and asked, "When did you get back from Spain?" "Two days ago," Leonardo stood up and fist-bumped Duke. "I came over especially to go fishing with you." "Let me go change clothes." Back upstairs, Duke changed into some casual wear and went with Leonardo to the small pier by the beach. They boarded a small yacht and headed out to sea. "So the project starts in July?" Standing next to the helm, Leonardo asked, "You’re not going to take a few more days off?" "Over the next year, we might be traveling all over the world," Duke gradually slowed the yacht. "Just for the main scenes, I’ve planned shoots in six countries across four continents." "I heard you’ve always wanted to travel the world but never had the time," Leonardo teased. "Are you planning to use this project as a world tour?" Duke shrugged and changed the subject. "Leo, after reading the script, how do you feel about your role?" "It’s fun." Leonardo pulled out two fishing rods and prepared the gear. "I like the role of the dream thief!" That’s right Duke’s next confirmed project was Inception. He had registered the script with the Writers Guild and Copyright Office years ago. As for the rumors about Christopher Nolan borrowing from the Japanese anime Paprika, Duke didn’t care at all. In Hollywood and the global film industry in general whenever a film becomes a hit, there will always be various accusations. Almost every well-known Hollywood director has been plagued by such issues. Duke was no exception. Years ago, an Argentine writer claimed Independence Day plagiarized his unpublished manuscript. Later, a comic artist from Catalonia even accused The Matrix of infringing on his comic’s copyright... Duke couldn’t be bothered to respond to these matters. Even if these people looking to profit from the hype really wanted to take action, Warner Bros., the film’s copyright holder, would be the first to step up. Fame brings trouble this phrase is more than just talk. Many times, even if you try to avoid trouble, trouble comes looking for you. In this industry where the struggle for fame and fortune is magnified countless times, it’s practically impossible to shoot films in peace and harmony. This place is fiercely competitive. To climb to the top, even if you don’t mean to, you might end up stepping on someone else’s head. A few years ago, Gal Gadot came to Hollywood from Israel. Through the introduction of her friend Natalie Portman and by virtue of her Jewish identity, her first Hollywood film was Fast & Furious 4, a relatively big-budget and well-received production. She thought she had secured a foothold and would, like Natalie Portman, become a representative of the new generation of actresses. However, in the audition for Quantum of Solace, despite having a clear advantage, she lost out to a little-known Ukrainian model, Olga Kurylenko. Gradually, she came to understand that this industry was far more complicated than she had imagined. Even though she was Jewish, success was not something easily attained. She believed she was full of talent, but does having talent mean you’ll be appreciated? After the audition for Quantum of Solace, Gal Gadot discarded that overly naivety after all, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. Gal Gadot understood the importance of connections. On her agent’s advice, she grew even closer to Natalie Portman. She stood in the training hall, watching the petite girl dancing gracefully to the Swan Lake ballet, a trace of envy flashing through her heart... When the music stopped, Natalie Portman rubbed her wrist and walked over. Gal Gadot quickly took a towel from her assistant and stepped forward to hand it over. "Wipe your sweat, Nat," she said with a smile. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱 "Thank you, Gal," Natalie Portman accepted the towel and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I’m glad you came to see me." Gal Gadot accompanied her to the lounge area and sat down in a chair, saying, "You’ve been unhappy ever since you returned from Cannes. I’m a little worried did something happen?" Natalie lightly patted her hand. "Nothing much, just some trivial matters." Seeing she wouldn’t get an answer, Gal Gadot proactively changed the topic, "Do you have time tonight? I’ve booked a table." "I’m sorry, Gal," Natalie’s eyes turned toward the coach who had just been dancing with her. "I already accepted someone else’s invitation this morning." "No worries. I think Blake would be happy to join me," she said, referring to her agent. Natalie Portman nodded, "Tomorrow night then. I’ll keep you company tomorrow night." Ballet practice resumed. Gal Gadot sat for a while, then made a call to her agent and left. Ten minutes later, she appeared at a nearby Italian restaurant. Guided by a waiter, she arrived at her reserved table where her agent Blake was already waiting. After placing their order, Gal Gadot asked, "You said on the phone you had something to discuss with me?" "Yes, something very important. It concerns your future!" Blake’s tone was quite serious. "If you can get the appreciation of certain big figures, your entire future path will be smooth!" Gal Gadot looked at her agent in confusion, not understanding what he meant. "Someone doesn’t like Natalie Portman!" Blake raised an eyebrow. Hi For access to additional Chapters of Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters) Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters) Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters) Douluo Dalu: Reincarnated as Yan(40 Chapters) Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters) The Great Ruler (30 Chapters) Join pateron.com/Translaterappu