"Luckily we got out early, otherwise, we would have lost a lot this time."
As usual, Duke and Tina Fey were having lunch together, with no one else around to disturb them. The assistant casually mentioned the news she had received earlier that morning, "Last week, the market fluctuated once, but many people reassured themselves that it was just a market adjustment and that it would rise again. However, since the day before yesterday, the Nasdaq index has plummeted, and even after two days, there's no sign of stopping..."
"Should have seen signs earlier, right?"
Excluding his Apple stock, Duke had spent almost a year, until the end of last year, before selling off the rest of his stocks. This market crash had minimal impact on him now.
Tina Fey swallowed the lettuce in her mouth and said, "There were signs, but most people believed that the index would hold until the second half of the year."
Putting down his fork and knife, Duke wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I thought it would crash at the beginning of the year, but it's lasted until now."
In his blurry memory, the IT stock crash happened around the turn of the millennium. He had no idea when exactly, but it unexpectedly dragged on until March 2000.
"If the market continues to fall, it will still affect us." Tina Fey finished her lunch and reminded Duke, "Apple's stock has also been hit, its market value has dropped below $8 billion. Also, your investment in Google has been affected by the widespread decline of IT stocks, and two investment firms are considering withdrawing their funds."
"Tell David to keep an eye on them." Duke instructed, "If anyone really wants to pull out of Google, we'll take over. But be mindful of the shareholding ratio. Don't disturb Google's internal balance."
The two Google founders were definitely no fools.
After thinking for a moment, Duke added, "Tell David to watch the sell orders for Apple. With the IT stocks crashing, Apple will surely be affected, and there may be people selling off Apple shares. My principle is simple: he should buy up all the sell orders he can see."
Although he wasn't sure if there would be a large sell-off of Apple stocks, it seemed like a good opportunity to buy Apple shares according to general market trends.
"There's one more thing." Tina Fey picked up her cup and drank her usual water. "After Ivanka returned to the University of Pennsylvania, she made a business plan and sent one to both you and David. I put it on your desk."
"I'll take a look when I have time."
After filming that evening, Duke saw Ivanka's plan. However, he wasn't well-versed in business, so he waited a few days and received feedback from his investment team – the plan had some feasibility.
However, due to the current IT stock crash, David did not recommend that Duke invest. Companies that purely focused on websites, including Yahoo, were in a troubling situation financially.
But after a phone call with Ivanka Trump, Duke decided to take a risk. After all, the initial investment of $300,000 wasn't much for him.
If successful, the potential return was unimaginable.
During their phone conversation, Duke also learned that Ivanka Trump was likely to contribute a similar amount, some of which came from her long-saved pocket money, and the rest from her family.
As Ivanka had said, the website would initially be based at the Wharton School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania. Whether it could expand to the Ivy League schools was still uncertain.
The stock market was gloomy, and not only had the situation not improved as most people had hoped, it had become even more volatile. This had also affected Hollywood. The stock market and real estate were traditionally the most important investment areas for Hollywood stars and directors.
In recent years, many had invested in IT stocks. For example, Ian McKellen, part of the Lord of the Rings crew, had lost a lot and had to take time off to return to North America.
From March to April, the North American stock market caused global economic turbulence. The Lord of the Rings crew encountered some issues. Many people who had invested in the stock market couldn't hide their disappointment and panic, and even normal filming was somewhat affected. Duke had to get angry twice before things improved.
It wasn't just the stock market's fault. After months of shooting, the crew inevitably became fatigued. Most of the staff and actors came from the UK and the US, and being stuck in New Zealand for a long time inevitably caused emotional fluctuations.
As Duke had said before, many things, like continuous work, he could endure, but the actors and crew members couldn't necessarily handle it.
Moreover, most of the remaining scenes required traveling around New Zealand. Aside from scenes shot in the studio, they often had to rush from place to place. Sometimes, they spent an entire morning just to shoot a few minutes of footage.
As May approached, the crew was exhausted after continuous travel. Duke finally gave them a long break. He also had things to attend to outside New Zealand. The premiere of Mission: Impossible 2 was approaching, and before attending, he had to visit the UK.
The Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone crew, led by Robin Grande, was preparing to hold an actor casting after two months of intense promotion. As an important long-term project producer, Duke also needed to go to London.
The director for Harry Potter had been confirmed as Chris Columbus. He, along with Robin Grande and J.K. Rowling, formed the project's power structure. Although Duke was listed as a producer, the crew was primarily led by these three people, except for major affairs.
Of course, among them, the person with the most power would never be the original author, but Duke and Warner Bros. agent Robin Grande.
This ten-day break meant most of the crew would leave New Zealand, with only the duty staff remaining.
Before leaving, Duke gathered the main actors and crew in the set's dining hall to give them some final reminders and warnings.
"I know that the recent economic turmoil has caused your attention to drift, and you haven't been able to fully focus on the filming."
As a director who rarely got angry, Duke's tone was serious now. "I understand, so I'm giving you ten days to handle your personal affairs. When the crew reconvenes in Wellington in ten days, I expect you to be back to your pre-March state. What I need are dedicated people!"
He concluded, "If after ten days, you're still in the same state as these past few days, I'll have to say sorry."
The once busy set quickly emptied, returning to silence. Entertainment journalists gathered at the entrance, chasing after their own targets. The protest activities of Lord of the Rings book fans, which had been ongoing since filming began, temporarily came to a halt. A large number of hardcore fans retreated like a tide, preparing for the next outbreak.
Duke was one of the last people to leave the set. From the private runway at Wellington International Airport, he took his private jet directly to London.
Before the plane took off, Tina Fey received a phone call. After the plane stabilized in flight, she said to Duke, "Nancy sent word that Marvel Comics has invited you to attend the premiere of X-Men hosted by 20th Century Fox in mid-July."
"X-Men?" Duke unbuckled his seatbelt and thought for a moment before saying, "Tell Nancy not to respond just yet."
It was still early, and Duke wasn't sure if he would have time.
Aside from the relatively limited influence of the B-grade film Blade, X-Men marked Marvel Comics' true cinematic breakthrough. After this film's release, Marvel Comics' situation wouldn't dramatically improve, but it would make the higher-ups realize the value of its superheroes.
To be honest, his chance to invest in Marvel Comics came at the last possible moment. Otherwise, after X-Men's release, it would have been nearly impossible to get such an opportunity.
And then there was the little Spider-Man, who would make everyone in America realize Marvel Comics' cinematic value.
"A coffee, a water, thank you."
Duke asked the flight attendants for his drinks. Tina Fey pushed the coffee in front of him. Duke placed the cup in the holder and asked, "Tina, do you know what's going on with Sony Columbia Pictures recently?"
"Hmm?" Tina Fey wasn't sure where to start, given how many things involved large movie companies.
"Their investments and productions." Duke reminded her, "Big productions."
"Sony Entertainment's $140 million Spider-Man movie is already in the preparation stage," Tina Fey recalled. "The director is Sam Raimi, who is said to be writing the script and looking for actors for Peter Parker and Mary Jane."
Indeed, Spider-Man had entered Sony Columbia Pictures' schedule.
Duke sighed quietly. He had been too late to focus on Marvel Comics. Sony Columbia had acquired Spider-Man in the late 1980s, and unless something drastic happened to the Japanese company or the film failed spectacularly, getting it back was nearly impossible.
It wasn't that he couldn't try to influence things. The world was vast, and not all good things could fall into one person's hands.
Sometimes, even knowing in advance, there was little one could do.
He took a sip of his coffee. The bitter taste cleared his mind of any unrealistic thoughts. The rights to Spider-Man, which even Marvel Comics and Walt Disney couldn't reclaim, would not be returned to him simply because he was a director.
"There's one more thing that Sony Entertainment is leading."
More related information kept coming from Tina Fey. "I've heard that Sony Entertainment is negotiating with Hasbro to buy the movie adaptation rights for one of their toys."
Duke looked up at Tina Fey. "Which toy?"