"What happened?" It was the crucial period for promotion, and Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas, was an important part of the promotion.
"We just received a notification from his agent," Tina Fey said as simply as possible. "Last night, after the announcement, Orlando went to a nightclub and had a conflict with a Chinese man..."
"Is he seriously injured?" Doug Walter wasn't concerned about Orlando Bloom's well-being. "Will it affect the upcoming promotion schedule?"
"Has the news spread?" Duke knew how popular Orlando Bloom was at the moment.
"His agent dragged it out all night," Tina Fey said helplessly. "When I was notified just now, the negative news was already everywhere online."
Duke walked back to his desk and opened Yahoo Entertainment. As Tina Fey said, news about Orlando Bloom fighting was everywhere, even with pictures.
Though there were no pictures of the fight, there were photos of him leaving the nightclub and going to the hospital. The actor who portrayed the capable Legolas in the film looked miserable, nearly beaten to a pulp. Even with timely treatment, he couldn't possibly appear in public anytime soon.
Yahoo Entertainment provided a relatively neutral description of the incident...
"Orlando Bloom has recently been hot with an Australian model. The incident began with the model, Miranda Kerr, who broke up with her boyfriend because of Orlando Bloom's involvement. Her ex, a wealthy Chinese businessman, had obviously been eyeing Orlando Bloom for a while, and after following him into the nightclub, he directly attacked him. Legolas was helpless, only getting saved when the nightclub security arrived..."
"The man who beat up Orlando Bloom is named Edward Yang. He's a wealthy Chinese businessman from San Francisco, and was bailed out by a lawyer last night..."
Edward Yang?
Duke thought the name sounded familiar, but couldn't remember who exactly it was.
While Duke read the online news, Tina Fey was on the phone confirming the details. She quickly hung up and said to Duke, "The details are almost identical to what Yahoo Entertainment reported."
Duke nodded. If the event were considered on its own, it was just another common Hollywood scandal of jealousy and conflict. Apart from Orlando Bloom, who was beaten a little too badly, there wasn't much unusual about it.
But on the internet, the reaction seemed overly intense.
He opened several websites and forums, where the news about Orlando Bloom being beaten dominated the conversation. There were very few sympathizers, mostly mocking comments.
"Legolas is a disgraceful third party, always seducing other people's girlfriends."
"Orlando Bloom has nothing but a pretty face. His portrayal of Legolas is unworthy of all the praise. He's just a pretty pillow."
"This is the moral level of the Lord of the Rings crew, a bunch of homewreckers!"
"Anyone who watches Lord of the Rings because of Legolas, maybe you should rethink it. Save your dollars!"
If Duke couldn't see that this was a campaign to manipulate public opinion, then he really had been wasting his years.
He closed the computer and immediately instructed Tina Fey to get in touch with Orlando Bloom's agent and public relations team, while also notifying Panny Kallis to come to the studio for a meeting.
One Orlando Bloom wouldn't notably affect Return of the King, he wasn't that important yet, and this was just a petty jealousy-fueled fight. Not a major scandal.
But by noon, CBS and ABC had picked up the story, and media companies like Walt Disney and Viacom were also hyping it up. Just after lunch, a Disney-affiliated website suddenly released a photo of Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen walking into a bar together.
Entering a bar wasn't a big deal, but the problem was, it was a famous gay bar in Los Angeles!
It didn't take long for this news, under some people's manipulation, to spread across the internet.
"So, the Human Emperor and the Elf Prince are true lovers..."
"Aragorn is in love with Legolas, the world has collapsed..."
No one was foolish enough to openly discriminate against homosexuality, but using such a method to provoke moralists' disgust was not out of the question.
By evening, on several famous forums, novels began to appear under the names Aragorn and Legolas, telling the forbidden love story of the Human Emperor and the Elf Prince, and they were quickly reposted...
"Clearly, someone is targeting us!"
It was already late, and the Lord of the Rings studio was still brightly lit. Duke stood at the front of the meeting table, looking at Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom, the latter looking indeed a bit miserable with bruises on his face, clearly badly beaten.
"Viggo, Orlando, explain what happened."
Although rumors of these two had been flying around, Duke was certain they weren't a couple, at least not now.
"We did go to a gay bar together," Viggo Mortensen turned to the other side, "but we went to find Ian."
Ian McKellen nodded solemnly, "I can confirm that."
As long as it wasn't true, a few pictures didn't mean much. Though the impact would be there, with active public relations, the damage could be minimized.
"Panny..."
Duke stepped aside, leaving the professional matters to professionals.
Public relations didn't need any special tactics. By having internet bots ramp up the promotion of Return of the King and release some new information, public attention could be diverted.
As for the focal point of the public's attention, it wasn't difficult.
The next day, Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom were seen on a public outing with their female companions, and Ian McKellen confirmed in an interview that they had gone to the bar to find him.
Though the influence couldn't be completely erased, this kind of hype was fast to rise and equally fast to die down.
By the third day, Duke was still watching the developments. Someone, through connections at Duke's studio, came forward to apologize.
"I'm very sorry, Director Rosenberg, I lost my temper when I saw Orlando Bloom that night."
Duke, recognizing the man next to him, nodded lightly. "Don't let it happen again."
"I promise!" Edward Yang said firmly. "I won't bother Orlando Bloom during Return of the King's release."
He was one of the studio's largest merchandise partners on the West Coast. Duke didn't feel the need to dig deeper. "That's fine, Mr. Yang. Remember what you said."
"Thank you!"
Edward Yang extended his hand for a handshake, then left.
Duke didn't care about the conflict between Edward Yang and Orlando Bloom. After Return of the King hit its peak, whether Orlando Bloom turned into a pig's head or something else, it wouldn't matter to him.
However, those who disliked Lord of the Rings and Duke, particularly film critics, used Orlando Bloom's incident to try to affect the film's market response.
Roger Ebert specifically wrote an article in his column.
"Duke Rosenberg chooses actors based on looks, not talent. He has never valued talent. Just look at the upcoming Return of the King, full of male and female eye candy. This is not just disrespectful to the art of film, but to the audience, and to those who work hard."
"In his films, talented and skilled people have no room to shine, while those with only good looks become big stars. This goes against everything the American Dream stands for and is a clear violation of social fairness..."
"Look at the actors he selects—always surrounded by scandals. Those who enjoy Duke Rosenberg's films should really open their eyes and figure out what kind of people they are really supporting!"
Just before the film's release, Roger Ebert sounded the horn of battle between the critics and Return of the King.
Other well-known critics followed suit, launching constant attacks on Duke and his films.
"Return of the King is a long, boring ordeal. Are the audience prepared for a century-long wait to watch it?"
—David Denby from The New Yorker.
Though the critics tried to diminish the film's impact with their weak influence on the summer box office, they had to face the reality that even if they hated the film, they would still have to buy a ticket to enter the cinema and contribute to the box office.
For two reasons: First, the distributors didn't provide free tickets to any critics, and second, the buzz around Lord of the Rings was too strong for critics to ignore.
Even if they hadn't watched the film, they were prepared to write negative reviews, and even though their reviews would undoubtedly be criticized by fans, at least they would be getting attention.
As the saying goes, being talked about is better than being ignored.
With no one talking about them, the professional film critic group would truly be finished.
On May 1st, Roger Ebert put on his best suit, sat in his living room, and waited for the minutes to pass until it was time to go to the theater for the early screening that would coincide with the premiere.
While waiting, the Chinese Theater in Hollywood was packed with people. Despite all the gossip and negative publicity surrounding Return of the King, it seemed unaffected, as the global screening journey kicked off with extraordinary scale!