Made In Hollywood

The North American release of *Independence Day* had just ended its tenth weekend, and the box office had accumulated a staggering $328.75 million. Though still far behind the North American earnings of *Star Wars* and *E.T.*, which had gone through multiple re-releases, *Independence Day* had a strong chance of surpassing *Jurassic Park*'s $357.06 million.

It had taken *Jurassic Park* over 60 weeks to achieve that total, and Duke estimated that *Independence Day* would also need several more weeks to reach $350 million.

After ten weeks, the box office for *Independence Day* was showing signs of fatigue, and the number of theaters had dropped to around 1,000. Although the weekly box office declines were still healthy, the number of theaters was shrinking steadily. By October, it was expected that only a few hundred theaters would still be showing the film.

As long as the film continued to generate profits for theaters, *Independence Day* would not be forced out like *The Shawshank Redemption*, but would continue to be shown on a smaller scale, possibly for 30 weeks or more.

This was exactly the scenario Duke hoped for—the higher the North American box office, the more he earned from his 20% share.

In fact, the theaters had already settled their box office shares with 20th Century Fox twice, involving a total amount of $300 million. This meant that the portion of the box office share belonging to the distributors and producers had already been credited to Fox's account. However, like all Hollywood studios, Fox had yet to pay out the shares to other parties.

Duke's payment was easy to calculate: 20% of $300 million was $60 million.

This amount accounted for nearly half of the box office share that Fox had received, which seemed unfavorable to the studio. However, Warner Bros. and Fox had been willing to sign such a contract with Duke for two reasons: first, Duke had the leverage to negotiate such terms, and second, the profit-sharing agreement was tiered. Most importantly, the box office was just one part of a film's total earnings.

With *Independence Day*'s massive success, revenue from TV rights, VHS sales, and soundtrack albums would all increase as well. These were long-term earnings, and as long as the rights were held, they would continue to generate a steady stream of income.

Upon learning that Fox had received the box office share, Duke instructed his accountant to push the studio for a prompt settlement. Duke was no longer the small-time director who had to wait passively. Even when dealing with Hollywood giants like Warner Bros. and Fox, he now had a voice.

Besides, these two companies were eager to continue working with him.

While such a huge income was certainly gratifying, it also brought a new concern: taxes.

If taxes were paid normally, a significant portion of Duke's earnings from *Independence Day* would be owed in taxes. And the tax authorities were not to be trifled with—tax evasion was only asking for trouble for someone like Duke, who planned to have a long career in Hollywood's competitive environment.

Thus, legal tax avoidance became the best option.

In the following days, Duke met frequently with his accountant and lawyer to discuss options for setting up a foundation to legally avoid taxes once the payment was received. Most of America's high-income earners had foundations under the guise of charity or other causes that were used for tax avoidance, and this was common throughout Western society.

However, the amount Duke stood to earn from *Independence Day* was so large that, according to his accountant and lawyer, even with legal tax avoidance methods, he would still need to pay a terrifying amount of taxes. Additionally, the funds sheltered from taxes would be subject to certain regulations, and there would be restrictions and inconveniences on how they could be used.

On this land, only taxes and death are eternal.

With his European trip canceled, Duke spent nearly every day at Duke Studios, discussing the new script with the two screenwriters he had hired. The two writers, a man and a woman, had both received screenwriting credit for *The Rock* and *Independence Day*. The income from these two films had far exceeded their previous earnings combined.

Duke could sense that both writers were eager to establish themselves further, and he had no intention of stopping them. In this industry, everyone wanted to make a name for themselves. Duke didn't need screenwriters filled with wild ideas—he just needed people who could fill in the templates for the script outlines. Such writers were not hard to find in Hollywood.

He suspected that after finishing the current script, these two writers would leave Duke Studios.

Duke Studios, which had been set up for tax purposes, was still mostly a shell operation. The finances were outsourced to an accounting firm, and the only full-time employee was a middle-aged Latina woman who handled cleaning and answering the phone.

"The studio is still the same..."

Naomi Watts, who followed Duke into the office with a stack of documents, sat down and, rubbing her chest, said breathlessly, "You've already gathered so much material, and *Independence Day* hasn't even been released yet!"

"You've been talking about this all the way here, darling."

Duke poured Naomi a glass of water and pushed it toward her. "For me, musical theater, especially jazz, is a relatively unfamiliar field. I need to do some basic research."

"You always prepare well in advance..." Naomi Watts took a large gulp of water. "Everyone else is getting ready to take a break, but you're still working."

Duke downed his glass of water, savoring the refreshing feeling, and then refilled both their glasses. "Transforming isn't easy. Even though the next film is a war drama..."

He shook his head and didn't continue.

"Only those who are well-prepared succeed."

Naomi Watts, whose reputation was gradually rising, understood the truth of this statement in Hollywood. She looked straight at Duke and said, "Honestly, what you've told me has been a big help."

"It's because of your hard work," Duke said, smiling, not reacting to her intense gaze. "Maybe in a few years, when you're an A-list actress, you'll look back and think it wasn't a big deal."

Although A-list actresses were still weaker than A-list directors, they had enough leverage to speak up. Often, once actresses made it to the A-list, they were eager to cut ties with their past.

"I'll always remember you!" Naomi's eyes were full of sincerity.

Duke just smiled and said nothing, flipping through the thick materials in front of him, clearly ready to start working.

Seeing Duke begin to work, Naomi Watts wisely chose to stay quiet. After finishing her water, she picked up a random book from the stack of materials on the desk and began to read, combining it with her intermittent dance practice over the past few months.

After about ten minutes of reading, Naomi, feeling some discomfort in her neck, stood up carefully and walked over to the window. She gazed out for a while, then turned her attention back to Duke.

Over the past few years, this guy had gone from being an unknown young director to one of Hollywood's top commercial filmmakers, yet he still maintained the same diligent and focused work ethic. He could easily block out everything around him when he worked.

Naomi was certain of this. She quietly tiptoed back to her seat, making no noise. After a few years of knowing Duke, she had gradually come to understand many of his habits.

"What are you thinking about?"

Duke looked up just in time to catch Naomi staring at him. "You seem lost in thought."

"Seeing all the materials you've gathered, I feel like I need to hurry up and prepare too."

Naomi Watts sat back down, lightly flipping through a book on jazz dance. "If my performance isn't up to par when the time comes, you definitely won't use me, will you?"

"I'm glad you understand." Duke didn't deny it.

Although he had encouraged Naomi to start practicing dance early, he made no promises. If she couldn't even pass the basic audition, there was no point in discussing anything further. After all, there had been plenty of examples of unqualified actors ruining movies.

Duke stayed at the studio until dusk, then went with Naomi Watts to a nearby restaurant for dinner. After dinner, Naomi didn't seem interested in returning to Beverly Hills and followed Duke to his North Hollywood apartment. Without saying much, they indulged in each other, fulfilling their physical needs and giving each other intense sensory pleasure.

Petite as she was, Naomi Watts always seemed so fragile, which only made Duke more wild. Sometimes, it even stirred in him a desire to completely dominate her. However, he knew that true enjoyment came when both partners were equally engaged, so he refrained from being as rough as he had been with certain models.

The next day, after dropping Naomi off in Beverly Hills, Duke headed straight to his mother's house in Santa Monica, as she had returned from New York a few days earlier.

"Mom..."

He had just walked out of the garage when he saw his mother and her goddaughter coming from the house. "Are you heading out?"

"I have some work to deal with at the company."

"Hi, Duke," Scarlett waved at him.

"No school today?" Duke asked curiously.

"Her school is on a short break," Mrs. Leah replied before gently pushing Scarlett toward Duke. "Since you're here, you can take care of her for the day."

There was no room for negotiation in his mother's tone. Duke said hesitantly, "I have an appointment with a real estate agent this afternoon in Malibu."

"I won't bother you while you work," Scarlett said sweetly.

"Are you going look for a house?"

Hearing his mother's question, Duke nodded and said, "I found a beachfront villa from the information and plan to go and take a look at it in person."

....

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