"What kind of production company does Duke Rosenberg, a remarkable and widely popular director and producer, actually run?"
Sitting in the reception lounge of Duke Studios, Gao Fangfang couldn't help but think of this question. She had just adjusted to the time difference and couldn't wait to contact Warner Bros., which led to this visit and interview.
Although she came from a national television station across the ocean, Gao Fangfang was a smart woman. She knew that this was America, where neither her identity nor her television network would be of much use. Even if the waiting time was a bit long, she remained patient and full of curiosity.
After all, she was about to visit Duke Studios and interview the world's top director, Duke Rosenberg.
This famous Hollywood filmmaker certainly had the qualification and the right to make any media or reporter wait. Gao Fangfang understood clearly that Warner Bros. Greater China had facilitated this exclusive interview mainly to use her television station's platform to promote Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which had already entered post-production.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the lounge door. A tall brunette woman walked in with a smile, extending her hand toward her. "Hello, Miss Gao, I'm Duke's assistant, Tina Fey."
Although the woman introduced herself merely as an assistant, Gao Fangfang immediately stood up and firmly shook the hand that reached out. "Hello, Tina. May I call you that?"
Gao Fangfang had once studied abroad in Los Angeles—otherwise, she wouldn't have received this interview assignment. She was also somewhat familiar with Hollywood and had done thorough research before coming. If she truly thought this tall, beautiful woman was only an assistant, she would have to be out of her mind.
She knew perfectly well that this woman named Tina Fey held a significant position within Duke Rosenberg's entire group. One could even say that Duke Rosenberg's tremendous success had directly elevated his assistant into one of Hollywood's most powerful figures.
Tina Fey slightly stepped back to create a bit of distance between them. "Next, I'll take Miss Gao on a tour of Duke Studios."
Although Duke Studios had long been acquired by Time Warner, it still retained all traces of Duke's presence. Many major decisions were still left for Duke himself to make.
"Thank you."
Gao Fangfang replied politely, following beside Tina Fey along with her cameraman as they exited the lounge.
She knew well that a director of Duke Rosenberg's level could never act as a tour guide for a journalist. Having Tina Fey come personally already demonstrated sincerity and a high level of importance.
Gao Fangfang also understood that with less than six months left before the North American and global release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Duke Rosenberg must be seizing every minute to work on the film's post-production.
A film like The Force Awakens was sure to be filled with countless visual effects shots, and narratively, there would also be numerous fine details to polish.
As they passed by an open-plan office, Gao Fangfang caught sight of Duke Rosenberg. The director was busy discussing work with several people.
She deliberately took a few more glances. She didn't sense any nervousness from Duke Rosenberg at all. Together with his partner, Charles Roven, he was giving instructions to some of the staff.
"What kind of production company does Duke Rosenberg, a remarkable and widely popular director and producer, actually run?"
As the tour continued and her cameraman kept recording, Gao Fangfang gradually formed a general impression.
Many Hollywood production companies like this were usually located in detached villas or office buildings near the studio lots, but Duke Studios was different. It stood alone in an indescribable, isolated building near Burbank—just a few blocks away from the Warner Bros. headquarters.
Perhaps this arrangement was meant for convenient contact with Warner Bros. Or maybe the young Duke Rosenberg simply loved jokes and pranks—after all, written across the exterior wall of the building were the words "National Typewriter Company," a completely fictional, nonexistent business.
Walking through the interior of the film company, Gao Fangfang could see things related to Duke Rosenberg everywhere. Along the long corridor walls hung all kinds of posters, including an old American football game flyer printed with Duke Rosenberg's photo.
"This was from one of Duke's high school games," Tina Fey explained at the right moment. "In that match, Duke threw the first sixty-yard touchdown in Mountain High School's history. It's one of his most memorable achievements from those days."
Knowing that Duke Rosenberg had once owned an American football team, Gao Fangfang couldn't help but ask, "Is he very skilled at football?"
Hearing this, Tina Fey shrugged. "At an amateur level, he's not bad. Compared to professionals though…"
She couldn't help but shake her head.
Seeing Tina Fey's gesture, Gao Fangfang immediately understood and didn't press further, continuing to look at the posters along the corridor.
The hallway leading to the conference room was lined with autographed posters—Keanu Reeves' Speed, Nicolas Cage's The Rock, Tom Hanks' Saving Private Ryan, Naomi Watts' Chicago, Charlize Theron's The Matrix, Gerard Butler's Critical Emergency, and Viggo Mortensen's The Lord of the Rings trilogy…
It was practically a grand collection of Duke Rosenberg's cinematic legacy.
After walking down the long corridor, Gao Fangfang followed Tina Fey into a newly renovated screening room. This room was dedicated to reviewing submitted scripts. In the center of the room hung an enlarged poster—one hand-drawn by a child in a notebook, depicting the famous Marvel character Natasha Romanoff. Next to it, in childish handwriting, were the words: "I love Natasha. She is beautiful and smart."
Tina Fey added an explanation, "The artist who drew this is Duke's goddaughter, Suri Cruise."
Gao Fangfang nodded. The little girl named Suri Cruise was clearly the daughter of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
"I'd like to ask you something."
Apparently, Gao Fangfang wasn't very interested in the drawing. Her eyes instead focused on the employees flipping through piles of scripts in the screening room. "For a typical Hollywood company like Duke Studio, how should script review be handled? Or rather, when a project arrives at a film company, what would be the most appropriate and efficient review process to ensure that good scripts aren't missed?"
That was an extremely complicated question to answer. Tina Fey couldn't possibly give too detailed an explanation. After thinking for a moment, she offered a broad reply.
"The strict gatekeeping by the script review department is, at its core, aimed at reducing the company's investment risk," Tina Fey said simply. "Their intent is to evaluate and approve scripts from the audience's perspective—considering every aspect such as the choice of subject, the quality of dialogue, the strength of visual imagery, and the originality of the story. The script review team is certainly more professional, more dedicated, and more responsible than the employees in other departments."
That was as far as Tina Fey went. As an industry veteran, she knew perfectly well that even if one followed those methods and systems to the letter, could they really guarantee finding excellent scripts and projects? It remained extremely difficult.
The people responsible for collecting scripts might hope to keep good, potentially valuable stories, but in reality, the results after initial selection were mostly a wasteland—almost everything ended up rejected.
In Hollywood, only a small number of projects actually evolved from truly unsolicited scripts. The chance of a submitted screenplay being turned into a film was very low—it could be described as sifting gold from the sand.
Afterward, Tina Fey led Gao Fangfang into the Duke Studio exhibition hall. The shelves there were filled with memorabilia and models from Duke's previous film and television works.
Wherever Gao Fangfang's eyes landed, she could see one or two interesting little decorative items. As they toured, new surprises kept appearing. For instance, she discovered a waxing machine with a small "Neo" logo printed on it, about the size of a palm. The note beside it explained that it had been used by Keanu Reeves during the filming of The Matrix.
Duke Studio wasn't very large. Gao Fangfang quickly estimated that it had roughly a hundred employees. But what intrigued her most was that the company employed a group of full-time artisans. Their work wasn't only to print themed T-shirts with machines, but also to make various props through 3D printing or by hand.
Tina Fey told her that this allowed them to quickly create whatever they needed during the creative stage, and decide whether an idea was feasible based on the result.
To further illustrate her point, Tina Fey walked to a cabinet and took out two grappling guns used in Batman. One had been 3D-printed in the studio, costing only three dollars, but after using it as a prototype and making various adjustments, they had finally produced the second one—the actual prop used in the film—made from resin and metal, with a cost of around eight hundred dollars.
Gao Fangfang noticed that there were many editing rooms here, as well as a state-of-the-art mini-theater with sixty seats.
"Though it's not used very often these days," Tina Fey said, looking at the empty theater. Remembering the once-busy days, she added, "Duke values constantly correcting problems during production. It reflects the same passion for filmmaking he's had since childhood—using every available resource to achieve the best result."
After following Tina Fey for a full tour around Duke Studio, Gao Fangfang and the cameraman returned to the initial reception lounge. A staff assistant timely brought in coffee and black tea.
After the assistant left, Tina Fey checked her watch and said, "Please wait a moment—Duke should be almost done with his work. I'll go check."
Gao Fangfang immediately perked up, readying herself for the upcoming interview.
....
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