Chapter 162: Normandy Cemetery
Calling it a move was an exaggeration—he had little to bring besides books and documents. With help from Sofia, Tina Fey, and a few others, Duke finished the job in half a day on Saturday. Early Sunday morning, the party planning company Nancy had hired rolled onto the estate and began busily decorating the garden for the evening's party.
Duke had originally intended to invite only his team members and a few close friends to the party, but Nancy Josephson and his new publicist, Penny Kalis, simultaneously vetoed the idea.
"You know exactly how important networking is in Hollywood," Nancy Josephson had told him. "You've always buried yourself in work and never hosted a formal social party. This is an opportunity!"
Despite the usual friction between publicists and agents in Hollywood, Penny Kalis agreed with Nancy. "Duke, you aren't a rookie director anymore. You're a major figure in Hollywood now! You have the standing to speak as an equal with almost anyone. If you want to sustain long-term success like Spielberg, you have to manage your network. Hollywood prioritizes profit, but interpersonal relationships within the rules can sometimes yield unexpected results!"
Though Duke knew there was another kind of director who could crush the world with their work alone, he knew he wouldn't walk that path. After all, there was only one James Cameron in the world.
And so, what was supposed to be a private bash transformed into a heavily commercial networking event.
This wasn't just Duke's affair anymore. Penny Kalis and Nancy Josephson also brought their assistants to the estate. Ever since Independence Day, a consensus had formed across Hollywood: Duke was a box-office money-printing machine. Both women highly valued this cash-cow client.
Simply put, Duke didn't just bring them financial gain. Just like Spielberg did for CAA, having a superstar director on their roster made it incredibly easy to pull in more business.
Compared to Nancy Josephson, Penny Kalis was a machine. Not only did she stand by Duke's side to outline what he needed to watch out for while mingling, but she didn't spare his new assistant, Tina Fey, either.