The deal concerning the Oakland Raiders was quickly finalized. Duke temporarily handed over filming duties to Anna Prinz and set aside two days to travel to San Francisco, where he signed the share transfer agreement with the team's original shareholders, officially becoming the new owner of the franchise.
However, the team couldn't immediately relocate to Los Angeles and would remain in Oakland for this season. Moreover, the series of plans Duke had outlined could only be implemented after the season concluded.
The key figure in all of this was undoubtedly Tom Brady. Nancy Josephson was taking the "wife route," trying to influence Tom Brady through Gisele Bündchen.
It must be said, pillow talk often has tremendous power.
Having settled the matter with the Oakland Raiders, Duke returned directly to New Mexico. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise, who had left earlier, also came back to the crew. After all, he wasn't the director of Mission: Impossible 4, so he didn't need to be involved in the full pre-production process.
Tom Cruise's timely return allowed Duke to continue filming as planned.
After Alessandra Ambrosio's character became the first to be killed off in War Machine and she left the set, the crew created an artificial swamp before Christmas and began shooting scenes in which Furiosa's group becomes trapped.
Of course, this small artificial swamp was all for show and only covered a few hundred square feet. The wide shots would be mostly CGI. Duke couldn't possibly drag the entire crew into a real swamp for authenticity—he wasn't that obsessive or crazy.
"Attention, departments…"
Standing on a specially constructed platform in the middle of a wetland, Duke raised his megaphone and shouted, "Start!"
Tom Cruise knelt on one knee beside the rear of War Machine, holding a rifle. After aiming for a moment, he pulled the trigger, and the crisp sound of gunfire echoed…
Up front, Adriana Lima turned her head and loudly warned, "You only have two bullets left!"
Ignoring her, Tom Cruise just glanced back. He took aim again and fired. Charlize Theron frowned slightly and signaled to Adriana Lima, handing over the pistol aimed at James Franco in the driver's seat and motioning for her to continue. Then, with long, straight legs striding forward, she walked over.
"Give me the gun!" she said to Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise looked up at her and replied, "Okay."
With that, he handed the prop gun to Charlize Theron…
At that point, Duke felt something was off. It wasn't an issue with the actors' performances—it was a problem with the script. He got up from the director's chair and shouted, "Cut!"
Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise stopped acting and looked over.
"It's not your fault," Duke gestured to them, "It's the script."
He jumped down from the platform, not caring about the muddy ground, and walked over. Circling Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron once, he said, "Cut those lines."
Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise looked at Duke with a bit of surprise. Their lines were already minimal, and cutting them would leave almost nothing.
"Your characters are both the silent type, people of action more than words," Duke explained briefly. "You've fought side by side—that trust built through battle far surpasses anything words could express."
He told the two, "Let's do it again, as I said."
Once Duke returned to the monitor behind the camera, the shoot resumed.
Just like before, the actors who had already found their groove didn't make any mistakes. Charlize Theron once again walked up behind Tom Cruise, simply making a hand gesture asking for the gun without saying a word. Tom Cruise handed her the gun and remained kneeling, starting to set up a shooting brace with his rifle.
"Don't breathe."
Charlize Theron spoke only this one line, then took aim and pulled the trigger…
Her clean, decisive performance could only be described as cool. At the same time, Tom Cruise's portrayal of absolute trust between the characters was also commendable.
"Very good!" Duke called out. "That's a take!"
Just like her character, Charlize Theron silently walked to the rest area. A makeup artist immediately came over to touch her up. Nancy Josephson, who had just flown in from Los Angeles the previous day, stood beside her.
"Is everything going smoothly?" Nancy asked.
Charlize Theron was the star actress of her agency.
"If I hadn't taken this role, I'd probably regret it to death."
After the makeup artist walked away, Charlize Theron said, "Only now do I realize how amazing this character is, how outstanding…"
Saying that, she looked over at Duke, who was directing the crew for another scene. "Only now do I realize that beneath his cold exterior, he's always cared about me and gave me such a role."
Nancy Josephson couldn't help but show a wry smile. From what she knew, it definitely wasn't as romantic as Charlize said. The role simply suited her nothing more.
But she didn't say anything, because Charlize continued, "When I saw Furiosa, when I read in the script about the fire and sand reflected in her rock-solid eyes, you'd think gender is such a dull classification!"
"In recent years, we've seen many strong female characters on screen sexy, cool, and good at fighting. Some beat men to a pulp or toy with them." A trace of disdain appeared on her face. "But those portrayals are shallow, flashy, and superficial compared to what Duke has done with Furiosa!"
Charlize was the epitome of a feminist. "Strong female characters who are sexy and can fight are not the best expression of feminism. Feminism is about equality—it means when people judge someone, gender is irrelevant. I think, whether man or woman, when you meet a character like Furiosa, there's only one reaction in your heart—respect!"
Noticing Charlize Theron's increasingly fervent gaze at Duke, Nancy Josephson naturally thought of Scarlett Johansson. People are always biased. She could never favor Charlize, so she deliberately said, "I don't see much difference between this and Duke's other films. It's just one action scene after another."
"It's a motorcycle chase; we can't stop. If we stop, we die," Charlize withdrew her gaze and seriously said to Nancy Josephson, "And then what, they pull over to have sex, or fall in love? I think the audience would instantly be turned off in a second, right?"
Her face again revealed that thick sense of disdain. "Unfortunately, many filmmakers think they can have both combat and romance."
Charlize put away her previous expression and replaced it with a strange tone. "Duke's setup for this film is great the luxury of romance never existed! I mean, Furiosa and Tom couldn't even talk to each other. Duke, Cruise, and I never discussed it; it never existed! No one said 'maybe.' They were always just comrades in battle. At first, they looked down on each other; by the end, they held the highest respect."
Nancy fell silent. She was a woman too. She had been troubled by gender issues. She had read the script, the screenplay, and the storyboards. Just as Charlize said, this was a very unique movie.
Why don't the beautiful, capable, perfectly in-sync male and female leads have a romance? Because the characters are full and don't need a love subplot cluttering things up!
The camaraderie between two warriors fighting side by side is enough.
Take the scene just filmed the male lead gave his last bullet to Furiosa. She took the rifle, rested it on his shoulder, calmly said, "Don't breathe," and then decisively took the perfect shot. Both remained composed.
Charlize Theron then turned her gaze to Nancy Josephson, eyes growing sharper. With her intelligence, she could always see things clearly.
She slightly lifted her chin with a touch of pride and said, "I used to like Duke. I still do. But you don't need to remind me he didn't choose to be with me then, and he won't in the future either."
Nancy remained silent. Even as an agent at ICM, this wasn't the best time to talk back. Provoking conflict with a top-tier client like Charlize would be incredibly foolish. No agent would do such a thing.
"And I wouldn't choose him either," Charlize Theron said bluntly. "You think he'd give up Scarlett Johansson to choose me? Hmph…"
She shook her head and laughed. "I'm not an idiot!"
The Charlize of today was no longer who she once was. As a top-tier A-list star for years now, just like other celebrities, she had developed a pride of her own.
Nancy Josephson gently nodded. She had understood Charlize's meaning. If she were to ever end up with Duke, it would only be if Duke gave up Scarlett Johansson and pursued her.
But based on Nancy's understanding of Duke, that possibility was close to zero.
What defines a person is ultimately their actions.
Charlize Theron understood this very clearly. Sitting in her chair, she recalled the journey she had taken over the years and couldn't help but feel a strong resemblance between herself and Furiosa.
Suffering hardships since childhood, rising step by step through relentless effort, and seizing the chance to pursue freedom once the time was right… Making such decisions took tremendous courage and unshakable willpower, not to mention forging her current status through trials and tribulations!
From victim to success story, just like Furiosa how much pain had she endured along the way?
Charlize had already become one of the top stars in the industry. More importantly, she didn't want her existence to merely serve as a romantic foil for some man.
Meanwhile, Duke was still busy filming, having deliberately removed some of the politically charged personal satire written into the script.
....
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