Hollywood Production - Chapter 1

Duke was squatting between several large boxes in the small living room. He glanced at his CalArts diploma and then threw it into the glove box. He took the tape to seal the box and prepared to ship it back to Santa Monica.

“What about graduating from film and video with all A’s? Tens of thousands of people go to Hollywood every year to seek opportunities, how many of them are really successful?”

Duke muttered to himself as he threw the tape on the old sofa and returned to the bedroom. He was ready to change his clothes and go out. “It’s been 21 years since you came to this world, and you haven’t accomplished anything yet, poor Duke.”

Having said that, Duke sat in a chair, as the memories came to him again. Some things can never be forgotten.

Although he was born in 1970, Duke has lived in the Greater Los Angeles area for 21 years. He cannot forget the real experience and memories that happened across the Pacific Ocean as if they happened just yesterday.

The other person graduated from a famous film school on the other side and has been in the circle for a while, but has not been successful. It is difficult for newcomers to get ahead without a company or big person in this circle.

The other person has worked his way up to the position of dream film director step by step, accumulating qualifications in various jobs in multiple crews. He has worked as an assistant in the props group and fireworks group, and with hard work and research spirit, after several years of hard work, he became a well-known pyrotechnician in the circle. He has also practiced the ability to create explosions and shoot explosions. Finally, in his thirties, he got the position of an assistant director of low-cost war films, specializing in shooting the explosions.

However, before he could enjoy his success, an explosion on the set turned him into Duke Rosenberg, who was just born in Los Angeles.

God is fair, he took away the possible success of the previous life, but also give him a good life in this life.

He grew up in a single-parent family with his mother, Leah Rosenberg. Like most shrewd Jews, his mother, is a shrewd Jew who, like most people in her position, has her own property. She is not very rich, but has a net worth in the tens of millions due to her close business dealings with Hollywood through her advertising agency. and she has been friends with George Lucas since the 1970s, when George Lucas had not yet made his fortune.

In this life, Duke is no longer ignorant. He knows what he wants and has been working hard for it. The family environment also provides enough convenient conditions. During his childhood and adolescence, he frequently entered and exited Lucca. It was a rare experience to be on the set of the film that Lucas made, and even played a small role in “Star Wars”, although it was completely cut out later.

On the set, he observed the Hollywood-style production model, and was silently familiar with everything in the world’s film factories. This is the future path he chose.

Directing is a profession that requires high concentration and deep accumulation. In addition to participating in several sports that interest him, most of his time is devoted to his beloved film knowledge, such as screenwriting, photography, editing, coordinating, etc. Film knowledge is an essential element of success.

Duke is like a sponge absorbing water. He has absorbed knowledge that is useful to him for more than ten years. He did not choose the business school suggested by his mother after graduating from high school, but joined the California Institute of the Arts, which is closely related to Hollywood and the film industry.

I found an agent who was also a novice after the age of 16. With the help of a wider family relationship, I increased my experience by going back and forth between many crews as an extra and a temporary worker in the crew.

Up to now, Duke has played more than a dozen roles without lines and front-facing shots, and has also worked in multiple crews, including Spielberg’s “Captain Hook”. After ten years of accumulation, he has always been like a thirsty desert traveler, never feeling satisfied.

As a member of the Rosenberg family, Duke has been responsible for his living expenses, excluding tuition and other expenses, since he was sixteen years old. No one can deny that the process of learning to become an excellent student is actually a very expensive process.

Duke is bothered by all of the financial burdens that come with buying related books, expensive film stock, and renting camera equipment, even now that he is officially graduated from college. Since graduating, his financial situation has not improved and his credit card is in a negative state.

“What should I do next?”

Back at his home in Santa Monica, he can eat his mother’s food temporarily, but he is in urgent need of a suitable job,  “I used to struggle for more than ten years to achieve the position of assistant director. do I Still need such a long process?”

It is now 1991, and every year that passes, the opportunities he can get will be reduced by one point. Duke has waited for 21 years, and has accumulated more than ten years of study. He is desperate for an opportunity to make a real film.

“But who doesn’t want a chance? Who wouldn’t want a chance in Hollywood?”

Thinking of this, Duke stood up and opened the closet, took out his formal clothes, and walked to the full-length mirror, “Maybe Lovett can help me?”