Opening the door, Duke looked outside and saw that the person knocking was Tina Fey. His brows furrowed slightly. If it had been the housekeeper Emma, it would have been a domestic matter, but since it was Tina Fey, it had to be an urgent official issue. "What happened, Tina?"
Though Duke was still drowsy, Tina Fey didn’t have the time to wait for him to fully wake up. Leaning against the doorframe, she said, "At a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in the Santa Monica Shopping Plaza, there has been a serious shooting incident."
Scarlett, who was just putting on her clothes, walked over at that moment. "A shooting? How could it actually happen?"
Duke’s heart sank slightly, but he remained calm, asking in a steady tone, "What’s the casualty situation?"
"At least more than ten people..." Tina Fey shook her head. "I just received the news. The specific details aren’t clear yet."
"Keep gathering information." Duke turned to glance at Scarlett. "Get dressed."
After Tina Fey left the door, she went straight to Duke’s study. Duke and Scarlett quickly washed up, got dressed, and ten minutes later, they also arrived at the study.
Entering the study, Duke immediately asked, "Any new updates?"
"I just called the Los Angeles County Police Department," Tina Fey said as she sat in front of the computer, still scrolling through the screen. "They’ve already held a press briefing. There should be updates online soon. Sheriff Lee Pace said the situation is extremely serious."
Ever since filming Speed, Duke had maintained a good relationship with the Los Angeles County Police Department.
"Got it!" Tina Fey said suddenly. "There’s already related news on Instant Share."
Hearing that, Duke and Scarlett immediately walked over, standing behind Tina Fey to look at the computer screen. Not only was there related news, but the entire event was described in great detail.
"At 12:30 a.m. today, a tragic event—the most devastating in the history of cinema—occurred at the Santa Monica Shopping Plaza theater in Los Angeles."
"At that time, it was the screening of the Hollywood famous director Duke Rosenberg’s ’most likely to win the 2013 box office championship’ superhero epic film The Dark Knight Rises..."
"This film, which was highly anticipated by many American media outlets and fans, had been playing for thirty minutes when a tall man dressed in a purple costume, wearing Joker makeup, and fully armed entered Hall No. 9 of the theater. The man first threw a smoke grenade, and then, taking advantage of the spreading smoke, began randomly firing at the audience."
"After causing 12 deaths and 59 injuries (the numbers are still being updated), the man calmly walked out of the theater and was immediately arrested by the police. When the officers detained him and asked for his name, the man replied in a deep voice—’I am the Joker.’"
"This answer led the police to immediately rule out the possibility of terrorism, preliminarily identifying it as a copycat crime. Although the Los Angeles Police Department’s indirectly released information hasn’t yet been supported by a full confession from the suspect, eyewitnesses at the scene stated that during the rampage in the theater, the shooter also shouted—’I am the Joker!’ These details have shrouded this tragedy in mystery, making the case the second largest shooting incident in the United States after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre."
Soon, more and more information began appearing on the internet. People who had experienced that nightmare started posting photos from the scene on Instant Share. "Horrifying" wasn’t even enough to describe the nightmare that had unfolded in Hall No. 9.
Relevant information also kept flowing into the Duke’s Manor in Malibu. One phone call after another came in, and one after another was made by Duke and Tina Fey.
Opening the car door, Duke looked at Scarlett Johansson, who had followed him all the way to the villa gate, and said reassuringly, "It’ll be fine."
Scarlett knew exactly what she should do at this moment. Forcing a smile, she nodded to Duke.
Even though it was still some time before dawn, Duke still got into the car, heading with Tina Fey to Warner Bros. headquarters in Burbank.
As the sky began to lighten, Duke entered the top-floor conference room of the Warner building. Many people were already gathered there—Doug Walter, Jamie Johnson, Panny Kallis, Nancy Josephson, Charles Roven...
The temporary report stated 12 dead and 59 injured. The news cast a heavy gloom over the meeting room. Even The Dark Knight Rises’ freshly reported $36.27 million North American midnight box office record was completely forgotten by everyone.
"Public opinion will definitely turn against us."
Once the core Warner executives and Duke’s key team members were all present, Jamie Johnson spoke first. "It will certainly affect The Dark Knight Rises’ box office trend. I just spoke with the Los Angeles County Police Department—the shooter was indeed dressed as the Joker, and he also identified himself as the Joker."
With something happening, it was absolutely impossible for the film to remain unaffected.
Everyone present, including Duke, was well aware of that.
"Have our media start shaping the narrative," Doug Walter said almost instantly. "We must guide this incident toward being seen as an individual act. Also, starting at dawn, Warner’s publicity and PR departments must immediately formulate strategies and launch crisis management."
Panny Kallis reminded, "Regardless of the killer’s motive, the shooting took place in a screening hall of The Dark Knight Rises. We have to take some action, especially toward the victims."
"Nancy, you’ll be responsible for contacting Christian Bale’s agent and public relations manager."
Breaking his silence while sipping coffee, Duke finally spoke, "Get in touch with the police and hospital as soon as possible. Bale and I will visit the injured to express our condolences."
What had already happened couldn’t be avoided. The only solution was to handle it the best way possible. Besides, shootings weren’t something rare in this country—there were several every year.
The most important thing now was to steer the direction of public opinion.
As people began leaving the conference room to deal with the crisis, Duke, Doug Walter, and Jamie Johnson stayed behind.
"We also need to guard against our competitors," Jamie Johnson warned. "Warner has practically become the industry leader in recent years. There are plenty of people waiting for us to fall."
Duke nodded slightly. It was the same for him—though he had faced setbacks, things had gone relatively smoothly overall, and there were always people waiting to see him stumble.
"The North American box office for The Dark Knight Rises will be dragged down," Doug Walter said with some regret. Of course, his sorrow wasn’t over those who had died or been injured. "It might not reach our expectations."
Compared to the potential problems facing Warner and The Dark Knight Rises, the victims of the shooting weren’t even part of the discussion. To be precise, Duke and the others didn’t care at all about how the victims felt.
"North America will indeed be affected."
Every situation has two sides, and Duke had already seen the other one. "But this incident will undoubtedly draw worldwide attention, which will greatly help in boosting The Dark Knight Rises’ international recognition."
Duke’s reputation was certainly loud enough, but looking at the whole world, those who would actually step into a theater to watch his films were still only a handful among the few. Many people simply didn’t have the habit of going to the cinema. Yet such a sensational event would inevitably arouse public curiosity—what kind of movie could possibly inspire someone to imitate the villain’s actions and commit a massacre in real life?
To a certain extent, the progress of human society has always been driven by curiosity, and the film industry is no exception.
As long as curiosity exists, the desire to watch will arise. Once there is desire, there are potential audiences—people who might buy movie tickets or DVDs and other products.
Therefore, aside from the North American region wounded by the shooting, on a global scale, this may not be entirely a bad thing.
Of course, the North American market is the foundation of Hollywood. Duke and Warner Bros. would never just watch The Dark Knight Rises suffer a disastrous failure there.
But there were certainly many in Hollywood who wanted to see The Dark Knight Rises fall.
It was, after all, a fiercely competitive circle. Over the years, Duke and Warner Bros. had seized far too much of the market share.
Inside an office on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, David Ellison was in an exceptionally good mood. Both he and his assistant believed that the man named James Holmes had helped them vent their anger. Duke Rosenberg’s film would definitely be affected—and they were planning to add more fuel to the fire.
"Contact the media outlets that are friendly to us," David Ellison instructed his assistant. "Have them direct public opinion so that the origin of this incident points toward the movie itself."
The assistant nodded. "I know what to do."
Few people knew that through several covert channels and plans made over time, they were, in fact, closely connected to this incident.
Not far from there, in another estate, Sumner Redstone was having his morning tea. Reading the newspaper, he said to his personal assistant, "Have the company’s media keep a close watch on this matter."
The assistant cautiously asked, "And what should our stance be?"
Sumner Redstone didn’t speak. He merely looked up at the assistant, and the assistant immediately said, "Understood, Mr. Redstone."
Whether from Viacom’s standpoint or Paramount Pictures’ perspective, they were competitors, although they had recently been cooperating to suppress News Corporation.
It wasn’t just Sumner Redstone and Viacom. In the New York headquarters of News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch—who had been swamped with problems lately—had just finished a meeting. His media outlets would also give significant coverage to this incident.
He knew it couldn’t deal a heavy blow to Warner, but he hoped the other major media conglomerates that had been pressuring News Corp. would temporarily shift their attention.
Walt Disney and Sony Entertainment had likewise formulated the same strategy. They were all waiting for the right moment. If The Dark Knight Rises’ box office were to collapse because of this, nothing could please them more.
The shooting incident was only the beginning of a storm—an even greater wave of public opinion was just beginning to unfold.
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