Before Tina Fey could respond, Duke continued, "Actually, the Joker is more like a loan shark. While people gain something from him, they also give up something else—and what they give up is often the nobler part of themselves."
This is actually a very simple truth. Just like the old Duke, no matter what others did, he always adhered to a bottom line.
In his view, when a person insists on principles, they are upholding their soul; when someone wants to behave with dignity, they are considering their own self-respect; when someone defends their bottom line, they are preserving basic values.
Even in North America's highly developed commercial society, people do all these things because they want to give themselves a higher evaluation, not a lower one. It is a way of injecting meaning into their lives, rather than draining it away.
Human beings are highly malleable. Of course, they have the potential to fall, but that is not the only outcome. Certainly, they have selfish and cowardly sides, but that is not all there is to them.
How a person actually behaves depends on the environment they are provided.
If certain conditions are too restrictive, allowing only the baser side of human nature to be expressed, rather than the higher aspects of the soul—if they only permit eating, drinking, defecating, and sleeping, and do not allow the pursuit of value and ideals, or else harsh punishment will follow—then that is a form of deprivation. It is an intentional humiliation, stripping away one's humanity and dignity.
Under such circumstances, one cannot claim that living like a pig is a life that is closer to humanity, and thus more "authentic." What is the truth of a person? What is their original appearance, and the life they want? These only surface after pressure is lifted.
To talk about a person's truth while they are under threat, to treat a state of coercion as the moment of truth's revelation, and to assert that baseness is human nature—only a psychopath like the Joker would think this way, because his worldview ends at that point. Like the lines in the screenplay say, he tries hard to drag others down to his level.
For example, when the film depicts the choice faced by people on the two boats, it offers a solution the Joker did not anticipate.
First, the prisoners on one boat threw away the detonator, accepting the possibility of being blown up if the other side acted, rather than becoming the ones who pressed the button to turn the others into a sea of fire. Likewise, on the civilian boat, even though some people hesitated, in the end no one was willing to pay the moral price to allow the world to be manipulated by an evil man through their own hands.
Could this be a person's behavior in the final moment? It is something they themselves would not know under normal circumstances.
Think of 9/11. On one of the hijacked planes, the passengers fought back fiercely against the terrorists. They knew what the consequences might be, yet they still chose to act. People are not just negative—they have a brilliant side as well. From a higher perspective, it's not hard to see that human beings are not only petty, but also capable of another face entirely.
Someone like the Joker would never want to see that other side of humanity, nor is he capable of doing so.
Therefore, no matter how brilliantly the Joker character is portrayed, he is always just that—a criminal!
In early November, good news came from Nancy Josephson's side. Her ICM had successfully poached talent from the Artists Management Company and officially signed a contract with Michael Bay.
However, given the box office success of Michael Bay's first three films, it wasn't easy to find the right project for him.
That weekend, Duke temporarily set aside his work and accepted an invitation from Steve Jobs to attend a party hosted by Apple in San Francisco.
"Duke, I plan to release the first-generation iPhone next year." Steve Jobs stood across from Duke and raised his glass slightly. "How about you do the endorsement?"
"How much are you offering for the endorsement?"
Duke wouldn't take it regardless of the amount; he was just joking. But seeing Steve Jobs's serious expression, he said, "Steve, I've always been a supporter of yours. I'm not suitable for an endorsement. If you really want a spokesperson, go find an A-list celebrity."
"I think you're great," Steve Jobs didn't give up. "You have prestige and global influence."
Duke had no interest in commercial endorsements. He shook his head without hesitation and then said, "Speaking of prestige, Steve, in the electronics industry, you're more famous than I am."
He had a flash of inspiration and added, "You could totally endorse the iPhone yourself."
Steve Jobs showed a thoughtful expression, as if genuinely considering Duke's suggestion.
After years of open and covert competition with Steve Jobs, Duke still held about 7% of Apple's shares. However, he rarely voiced opinions in Apple's affairs. As long as the issue didn't involve him, his proxy would support Jobs. If Jobs were gone, then they'd support Tim Cook.
After all, he had never intended to gain any real power within Apple.
As Steve Jobs left, another person approached. "Hello, Duke."
"Hello, Bill." Duke gave Bill Gates's outstretched hand a light shake.
He was initially curious why Bill Gates would attend his archrival's party, but after a few pleasantries, he remembered.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple and desperately needed funds to rejuvenate the company, both he and Bill Gates had extended help to Apple. But Jobs, seeking balance, accepted partial investments from both although Gates's investment was larger.
"I heard you ordered a 500-foot behemoth in New York recently?"
The two weren't even familiar with each other, so they only exchanged superficial topics. Bill Gates was referring to the New York yacht show. "Looks like it's time to retire my old one."
Duke simply smiled and said nothing more.
By comparison, Bill Gates was considered one of the more low-key super-rich in North America.
Gates and Duke only chatted briefly. Their industries barely overlapped and there was no commercial relationship between them. The conversation was mere polite small talk.
Of course, both Duke and Bill Gates showed each other sufficient respect.
People who reached their level might use all kinds of means behind the scenes, but on the surface, they often appeared amicable.
However, there were exceptions—like Larry Ellison.
This infamous maverick immediately walked over when he saw Duke. Bill Gates didn't even glance at Larry Ellison. He whispered something to Duke, then turned and left.
Larry Ellison, upon walking over, gave a cold snort at Bill Gates' retreating back and said, "Duke, we meet again."
His tone wasn't particularly polite.
Duke shrugged. "I think Bill is really smart."
Larry Ellison clearly understood the implied meaning. His expression didn't change as he said, "Afraid of me? Avoiding me?"
"Afraid of you?" Duke couldn't help but find it a little funny.
Larry Ellison didn't answer and instead brought up the same topic as Bill Gates. "I heard you've reserved a yacht over 500 feet long in New York? Let me tell you, I've already transferred the Rising Sun to David Geffen."
Duke immediately understood Larry Ellison's intention. His Rising Sun used to be the longest yacht in the world. Back when it was being built, hearing that Paul Allen was constructing the even longer Octopus, he spared no expense to alter the design just to grab the so-called title of "world's number one."
Sure enough, Larry Ellison said, "I've already placed an order to build a 600-foot-long yacht."
Looking at Larry Ellison's arrogant and self-important face, Duke couldn't help but frown slightly. He didn't have the time or leisure to compete with people like this over yacht lengths.
"Then congratulations on being number one in the world." Duke said blandly.
This indifferent tone made Larry Ellison feel like all his bragging had been for nothing—the other party simply wasn't biting.
But he quickly thought of the one thing Duke cared about most and said, "You know, Duke, I invested in David's new movie. It'll be released at the start of next year's summer season!"
"Oh?" Duke showed interest. "That's good news."
Larry Ellison lifted his chin slightly. "What about your new movie? Is your Batman going to be released in early May?"
"I'm just a director." Duke smiled and shook his head. "When a movie is released is decided by the distributor."
Clearly, this was something to brush off an outsider like Larry Ellison. Who in Hollywood didn't know that Duke had a heavyweight say in the release schedule of his films?
Duke wasn't the kind of person to get hot-headed and jumpy just because someone tried to jab at him with a few words. After all these years of living, if he still lost his temper so easily, then he might as well have lived like a dog.
Not wanting to continue entangling with someone like Larry Ellison, Duke casually made up an excuse and went to the other side. The other party didn't care about etiquette or face, but he couldn't afford to act uncultured in public.
Doing that would be an embarrassment to his mother.
Still, he didn't forget what Larry Ellison said. According to the current plan, The Dark Knight was indeed scheduled to premiere in May, at the beginning of next year's summer movie season.
Walking to a quiet little terrace, Duke took out his phone and dialed Tina Fey's number, saying a few simple words.
By the time the party ended and Duke was preparing to take a helicopter back to Malibu, he received a call back from Tina Fey.
"Planned production budget is 150 million dollars, distributed by Walt Disney," Tina Fey kept her wording concise. "It's adapted from a novel by Richard Matheson. The project is tentatively titled I Am Legend!"
"I Am Legend?" Duke nodded and hung up the phone.
With such a movie as competition, it might not be a bad thing.