Made In Hollywood

Chapter 944: Is This Self-Praise?

Just as he leaned more toward digital technology, Duke had never been a conservative person. He didn’t cling to the old Hollywood, nor did he show much interest in the so-called golden age he had never personally experienced. His eyes were always fixed ahead.

Compared to the past that had already become history, Duke was far more influenced by the rapidly developing film technology of the present—a mindset that could be considered somewhat anti–Martin Scorsese.

"Yes, my style and philosophy are completely different from Martin Scorsese’s," Duke said frankly when Ellen DeGeneres brought it up. "Martin always tries to emulate the aesthetic traits of European filmmakers, but I don’t. I simply love movies. I mix all these aesthetic concepts together, and to me, the result shouldn’t be forced into any particular style. I remember deliberately training myself to use long-focus lenses in Saving Private Ryan, pulling the camera back to include more in the frame—just because everyone else was doing it. But that’s not what makes me different. In The Matrix, I completely abandoned that approach and never did it again, because that’s not how I see things."

Duke had never hidden his views on cinema, and Ellen DeGeneres knew this well. She understood that the great director sitting before her never catered to anyone’s expectations—if he catered to anything, it was undoubtedly to the world’s broadest audience base.

Perhaps that was the key to his success? The thought flashed through Ellen DeGeneres’s mind, but as a skilled host, she didn’t let it affect the show’s rhythm. She asked, "If you don’t believe you have a particular style, then how do you see it?"

"I think it’s all about storytelling," Duke replied. "What does this scene need? How do I plan to tell the audience? How does one character drive another? What is a character thinking but not saying? Is this moment dangerous? Is it uplifting? I force myself to think outside my comfort zone."

Shifting slightly to a more comfortable posture, Duke continued, "Take special-effects films for example. Many people think they’re easy to make—that it’s all just motion capture or CGI. But large-scale effects are extremely complex. They’re costly, demanding, and require filmmakers to quickly and effectively evoke a kind of transcendental state that connects the audience entirely with the characters. Honestly, when I see truly great special-effects films, I’m always filled with admiration—because I think it’s the hardest thing to achieve."

Was this self-praise?

The thought flashed through Ellen DeGeneres’s mind, but she didn’t voice it. The man across from her had earned the right to say such things. After all, weren’t his own films—built upon advanced special effects—what had conquered the world?

If you took away the visual effects and slowed down the breathless pacing, even an outsider like Ellen DeGeneres knew those films would fall among Hollywood’s countless flops rather than become synonymous with classics.

Gathering herself, Ellen asked the next question. "When you’ve mastered the use of special effects, how do you handle your relationship with actors?"

In truth, managing interpersonal relationships within any Hollywood crew was always troublesome. No film set ever completed production in perfect harmony, nor did any cast and crew become a close-knit family after the shoot ended.

Anyone with a bit of social experience understood this.

But Duke wouldn’t say that. Hollywood always presented its sunny side to the public.

"When I was in Mountain High School," Duke began, "I worked part-time at a theater during the holidays, but I never trained in how to deal with actors. I had zero experience in that regard."

He paused briefly, resting his chin lightly on one hand atop the sofa armrest. "I think my way of connecting with them is through writing. I create these characters, and the actors have to fully embody them. That gives us plenty to communicate about—it’s that simple."

Ellen DeGeneres nodded. "Communication is important. I think everyone understands that."

"When you have plenty to talk about with someone, you can find a kind of bond and form a working relationship," Duke said. "I’ve found that this makes it much easier to work with actors. They can collaborate with me effortlessly. Sometimes actors can’t grasp everything in their heads—they can only capture a single, genuine moment."

His words jumped topics slightly. "These days, I’ve realized high-definition cameras are great, because you don’t have to cut—unless it’s a Steadicam shot, which I’m not good at. But I can control everything else: cranes, dollies, handheld cameras. So usually, I’ll just start again right away."

He mimicked his behavior on set. "’Hey! Give me one more take—quick! Push this way or that way, or like this.’ Some actors can really respond because they can seize that moment. It’s not ’Cut!’ and then post-production staff stepping in, everything being scrapped, and people chatting around—breaking the flow. With HD cameras, they can stay in that moment. It’s like in American football—you hear the coach in your ear saying, ’You’re still there, you’re still in the game, there’s no need to stop, no one’s blown the whistle.’"

Those last few sentences came out a bit scattered. Ellen DeGeneres paused for a moment before she understood what he meant.

Duke’s words had thrown off her rhythm slightly, so she took a moment to regain it before asking a more routine question. "In your films, there are both standout solo performances and brilliant ensemble scenes. Is there a difference in how you shoot them?"

"Take Independence Day for example," Duke replied. "Every scene is an ensemble. So I have to bring my actors together and start thinking about how to direct a team."

Such a question posed no difficulty for Duke. "How do you position them correctly? When an actor isn’t part of the creative process at that moment, how do you keep them from feeling neglected? Not every performer in a multi-character scene gets equal screen time. So, yes, that’s a big challenge for a film like this—though compared to the purely technical and logical problems, it comes after those."

After a brief adjustment, Ellen DeGeneres found her rhythm again and asked one of the questions most people wanted to know. "It’s well known that your films always showcase the most advanced special effects in the industry. How do you make sure these effects don’t overwhelm the story?"

Compared with her previous questions, this one was a bit more challenging.

If, back in the 1990s, large-scale productions like Independence Day could drive box office success purely through their impressive visual effects, then in today’s era of visual-saturation, having advanced effects alone is far from enough.

Take Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, for example—it reached the very peak of Hollywood standards in terms of visual effects, yet its commercial performance was painfully disappointing.

As Duke had said before, a hugely successful film never relies on just one strength—it’s always the result of many elements working together.

"You have to make choices," Duke said. "You want to take people somewhere beyond their imagination, but it must be built upon a foundation you’ve already established. It’s not about those ’damn moments,’ but about the details surrounding those moments—what creates those details."

After a few seconds of thought, he added, "Now, if you really think about it, many stories are absurd—or at least highly unrealistic. But when you build them brick by brick, layer by layer, you keep building and building until you create the details. The actors carry a heavy burden because they truly believe in your ideas—and that belief is what convinces the audience that what they’re seeing is real."

Because of the limited airtime, Ellen DeGeneres quickened her pace. "Nowadays, actors often have to perform in front of green screens or blue screens—or react to imaginary objects added in post-production. What can you say to actors who lack experience in that kind of performance?"

"Any actor can take a line of dialogue and, with another actor, create a good scene. From a director’s perspective, there’s actually nothing there—everything you do is just making sure they’re in the frame, right?"

After that rhetorical question, Duke shook his head slightly. "But when the other actors aren’t in the frame, that’s when your real work begins. You use every trick and every bit of knowledge you have to create something that feels theatrically real in their minds. You tell them in detail what they’re seeing and try to explain what it is. What I mean is—it’s actually quite simple: you must understand that actors can create everything."

"Every time one of your films premieres, it’s accompanied by an overwhelming media campaign," Ellen DeGeneres said, shifting toward her own field. "What’s your view on the power of the press?"

"I’ve learned a lot about the media," Duke replied. "They can be crazy. They can be like sharks driven mad by hunger..."

At that, Ellen DeGeneres laughed. Facing a director and producer of Duke’s stature was no easy task—digging up juicy revelations from someone like him was even harder.

Besides, he was an extremely busy man. Getting him to appear on the show again would not be easy.

...

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