"Cut!"
On a stretch of sand dunes bathed in the setting sun, Duke's voice rang out. Daisy Ridley and the crew member operating BB-8 immediately stopped performing and turned toward Duke. He waved his hand to signal that it wasn't their mistake and quickly walked over to John Schwartzman.
The shooting time during sunset in the desert was limited, and Duke couldn't afford to waste a second.
"John, change the shooting setup," Duke said quickly, standing behind the IMAX camera nicknamed "Death Star." "Use a reflector on the opposite side. Also, let Camera Two switch to a wide-angle lens."
John Schwartzman understood the importance of time and immediately replied, "Got it."
The crew adjusted swiftly, and within minutes, shooting resumed. The footage appearing on Duke's monitor showed a noticeable improvement compared to before.
The golden hour provided the best light for the subjects' outlines, but the parts in shadow were completely lost, and the strong highlights could easily overexpose. Using a reflector could bounce some of the intense light back onto the darker areas, making the overall image balanced and unified.
By using the golden-hour sunlight as the main background light, combined with a reflector, the resulting shots became more dazzling.
Likewise, the lighting conditions during the golden hour made any scene look stunning. Details stood out, layers appeared rich—perfect for wide-angle shots. Using close-ups or telephoto lenses, however, would only conceal the golden hour's advantages.
After staying in the Abu Dhabi desert until June, Duke finally wrapped up filming there. The massive crew headed north, leaving the scorching sands behind and flying to the relatively colder Iceland to begin shooting the final lightsaber duel scenes.
In the forests of Iceland, Daniel Wu wielded a lightsaber for the first time. Duke immediately released a still photo, which caused a stir across North America. The appearance of an Asian Jedi created just as much shock among Star Wars fans as the introduction of a Black Jedi once did.
But Duke wasn't worried. It was all part of the illusion—just like before—fabricated to generate buzz for marketing purposes.
Unlike in North America and the Western world, when the photo surfaced on Chinese internet platforms, it sparked immense curiosity. Although hardcore Star Wars fans were few in China, almost everyone had at least heard of the franchise. Now that a Chinese actor was playing a leading role—apparently even a Jedi of symbolic significance—it was impossible not to draw attention, especially under deliberate online guidance.
Meanwhile, Star Wars: The Force Awakens finally confirmed its China release date. Because December was the government's designated "domestic protection month" and foreign blockbusters weren't allowed during the New Year holidays, the film could only open in China on January 9, 2015.
That was more than half a month later than its North American and global premieres, and its post-holiday release meant it would suffer from a market cooldown and face fierce competition from strong local Lunar New Year films.
At this point, Duke would never underestimate the competitiveness of Chinese cinema on its home turf—especially the marketing prowess of its entertainment industry, which was in no way inferior to Hollywood. In fact, having the home-field advantage gave them even more leverage.
He still remembered, from his final years living on the other side of the Pacific, some promotional tactics so clever that he couldn't help but admire them even now. The most typical example was the "Monkey King Gala" marketing phenomenon during the Year of the Monkey—it had mobilized the entire nation's attention.
Duke remembered clearly how, back then, an unverified news post went viral on social media: "Liu Xiao Ling Tong's Monkey King denied appearance at the Spring Festival Gala." Overnight, the entire Chinese internet exploded in outrage.
"The Gala organizers and the authorities are so stupid! Even Koreans can perform, but not Liu Xiao Ling Tong?"
Then, a group of hired internet comedians and trend-chasing users jumped into the fray.
"If the Great Sage appears on stage spinning his staff, and the Journey to the West theme starts playing, the whole nation would be happy."
"I'd watch the Great Sage even if he's just sitting there cracking sunflower seeds."
"Remember what happened last time Heaven didn't invite the Great Sage to the Peach Banquet?"
"Liu Xiao Ling Tong is already 58—twelve years from now, he won't be able to play the Monkey King again."
"The whole of China awaits the Great Sage's return!"
Meanwhile, the masterminds and companies behind this event continued to leak new "updates" through major news outlets:
"Liu Xiao Ling Tong says he hasn't received an invitation from the Gala organizers."
"Liu Xiao Ling Tong declares he's always ready for the Gala's call."
"Liu Xiao Ling Tong spotted rehearsing for the Liaoning TV Spring Festival Gala."
The story's ending was clear—Pepsi's Monkey King–themed Lunar New Year commercial and KFC's "Great Sage Combo" became the ultimate winners.
It all seemed like a perfectly coordinated "victory of the people."
But as an insider, Duke couldn't help but smell the scent of marketing all over it. He had even analyzed the event as a case study back then—to learn from its brilliant methods.
Duke truly admired Liu Xiao Ling Tong's portrayal of the Great Sage, still believing his version was the only one worthy of the title "Monkey King." Yet, setting aside sentiment and viewing it from a commercial perspective, it wasn't hard to identify the real masterminds behind this marketing play.
Liu Xiao Ling Tong's collaboration with Pepsi must have been brokered by certain intermediaries, and Duke held great respect for those marketing strategists.
He also recognized an effective form of online promotion—identify a clear antagonist and channel public anger toward that target.
Across the Pacific, some roles were almost predetermined to be "villains." At specific times of year, this pattern became routine. As the Positioning theory suggests, "We're not changing consumer habits—we're activating positions and switches that already exist in their minds."
In China, every year before the Lunar New Year, the two most criticized institutions were always the Spring Festival Gala committee and the Railway Bureau.
In other words, the emotions had always been there, and the villains had always been there—it only required the right manipulation.
The Liu Xiao Ling Tong incident was a classic example of online marketing—one that The Force Awakens could learn a great deal from for its China campaign.
By comparison, The Force Awakens lacked top-tier stars with strong drawing power. In both China and the global market, no one could deny how much influence an A-list celebrity brought to hype and box-office appeal.
Nevertheless, Lucasfilm and Warner Bros. had devised targeted strategies.
The Star Wars brand's influence was unquestionable. According to one survey, in countries like the U.K., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, more than one million people had written down a very special entry under "religion" on their profiles—"The Force."
It was no exaggeration to say that Star Wars was a religion for many.
During the promotion process, a number of famous directors also joined this collective faith.
Lucasfilm organized an event called "May the Force Be With You," in which many directors who had publicly declared themselves as Star Wars fans not only participated but also accepted media interviews.
Afterward, Lucasfilm and Warner Bros. jointly released a Star Wars special edition in The New York Times, highlighting these directors who were fans of the saga.
"That year, Peter Jackson was only fifteen: 'Watching Star Wars changed my life. So magical, yet so close to our ordinary human existence.' — Years later, he directed The Hobbit trilogy."
"That year, Ron Howard was twenty-three: 'When the movie ended, I didn't say a word. I walked out of the theater, queued for another hour and a half to buy another ticket, and watched it again.' — Later, he became George Lucas's protégé and directed Cocoon, Apollo 13, and A Beautiful Mind."
"That year, James Cameron was also twenty-three: 'Watching Star Wars shocked me so much I almost peed my pants. I jumped out of my seat—Oh my God! Who made this? I told myself: I'm going to make movies like that! So I quit my job as a truck driver.' — Seven years later, he directed The Terminator, and seventeen years later, Titanic."
"That year, Steven Spielberg was thirty-one: 'It dazzled me! I loved it to death.' — He was already a close friend of George Lucas. Afterward, he went on to direct Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Jurassic Park, The Lost World, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and Minority Report, among other sci-fi masterpieces."
"That year, Ridley Scott was forty: 'After watching Star Wars, I was stunned. I turned to my producer and said, "What are we waiting for? How could something this great not be mine?"' — He immediately began catching up, directing Alien two years later and Blade Runner five years after that."
And it wasn't just them. After Duke made several phone calls, the now-retired George Lucas also stepped forward, using various methods to help generate publicity for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Thus, for the sake of promotion, the media began portraying the relationship between George Lucas and Duke as somewhat delicate.
"The creator of the Star Wars universe, George Lucas, has chosen to watch the new film with cautious optimism. On one hand, the prequel trilogy had been heavily criticized by long-time fans, which placed immense pressure on Lucas, who admitted he no longer wished to endure more backlash after putting in so much effort. On the other hand, in our interview, he revealed the real reason—creative differences."
"George Lucas wanted to tell a story he believed in, focusing on the generational shifts among the son, the father, and the grandfather. Apparently, Duke Rosenberg, who held the power of final say, disagreed, and so Lucas was effectively shut out of the project…"
"As for this situation, George Lucas described it like a couple breaking up—since they've parted ways, there's no need to stay in touch, and each will live their own life—his tone carrying a hint of helplessness."
....
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