"Me? Let me give me a name?"

Scarlett pointed at herself and asked, "Is it really OK?"

Duke smiled and said, "Of course, my dear, this is your power."

With one hand in his chest and the other holding his chin, Scarlett Johansson thought about it seriously, thought for a few minutes, and said a rather uncreative name, "How about the 'Duke'? I think it's good."

The corners of his eyes twitched slightly, and Duke understood that Scarlett, like him, had no talent at all, but the "Duke" was also good, and it was better than the "Octopus" and "Chief".

Following the spiral ladder in the living room, Scarlett pulled Duke to the top deck, hid under a sun umbrella, stood by the guardrail, looked at the sea in the distance, and suggested, "Let's go out to sea?"

Since he came to see the yacht, he must go out to sea. Duke pressed the phone and notified the captain. However, it was not easy to go out to sea with such a long boat. It was not until the sun was facing west that the "Duke" left the port and left the coastline along the channel.

Even at sea, the weather was still very hot. After staying on the top deck for a short time, Scarlett pulled Duke back down. When it was a little dark, the kitchen brought the steaks ordered by the two of them.

Sitting by the glass window, enjoying the night view of the sea and tasting delicious food, the two of them will not return to the manor in Malibu tonight and plan to spend the night at the sea.

“The yacht is big enough.”

Scarlett quickly put down the knife and fork in his hand, "We can have a party here in the future."

Picking up the knife and fork, wiping her mouth, she asked again, "Did you plan your time last year?"

"Dear." Duke reminded her, "It seems that your time is not allowed?"

"The senior executives of Marvel Studios are crazy." Scarlett put down his tissues and couldn't help but complain, "Captain America has not finished the screening, and has begun preparations for "Iron Man 2".

Speaking of this, she couldn't help but ask Duke, "Will you still be the director of this series?"

Duke shook his head, "I have turned down Marvel Studios."

He could not tie himself to the Marvel series forever, and also recommended Jon Favreau to take over the project. "Iron Man 2" is about to start, and Black Widow is an indispensable part of it. Scarlett is currently negotiating with Marvel Studios on this project. She and Nancy Josephson are not very satisfied with Marvel's offer.

"How is the negotiation going?" Duke asked.

Scarlett shook his head slightly, "It's not very smooth. Kevin Feige has been using the reward practices of male and female actors in the circle to talk about things."

Because he was concerned about Scarlett's self-esteem, Duke did not intervene and couldn't help asking tentatively, "Do you need me to call Marvel's people?"

"Not for the time being." Scarlett is not a person who doesn't know how to adapt. She just doesn't want Duke to come forward and solve the problem so quickly, and even she has her own pride. "If I really need it, I will tell you."

Duke could only reach out and pat her hand gently.

This kind of game between actors and producers is extremely common in Hollywood. The huge difference in the rewards of male and female actors is also a practice in the circle.

The pay represents not only money, but also status. In Scarlett's own words, she was extremely disappointed when she learned about the difference in pay between herself and Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man 2".

It is not because of disappointment with money. Scarlett's disappointment mostly comes from the status of women in the circle and the fact that they are implicitly discriminated against.

Scarlett has always been keen on political and social activities and is also one of the advocates of Hollywood feminism. Naturally, he will not sign such a contract easily.

However, Duke is very clear that looking at Hollywood's nearly a hundred years of history, this is just the most normal situation. If he does not intervene, it will be difficult for Marvel Studios to compromise.

But Duke needs to think carefully about what method to intervene. After all, he also needs to take into account Scarlett's feelings.

In fact, from Marilyn Monroe to Meryl Streep, Hollywood has many famous actresses. The film industry has brought them countless honors and praises, but when it comes to salary, Hollywood's care for women is a bit insufficient, and sometimes extremely insufficient.

Not only are there few female characters in movies, TV and comedy, but their income is often not as good as that of male actors who play together.

In Hollywood, in addition to determining the pay rate by fame, status and appeal, there is another key factor, that is, gender!

If you are also a second-tier star and star in a film, the actresses' pay is often only half of the male actors, or even less than one-third of the male actors.

Sexism is too common in this circle.

When an actress learns about the pay of male actors in the same film, she often realizes that her salary is much lower than those lucky people born to be men.

Not only the salary figures, but the extremely insufficient female roles on the big screen also lead to less opportunities for actresses to make money. Reese Witherspoon once raised a question at an award ceremony for women, women make up 50% of the population, and female roles should also account for half of the screen roles.

But all people with clear minds know that this is just wishful thinking.

The imbalance between the male and female ratio in the behind-the-scenes work is even more serious. In terms of director, screenwriter and producer positions, the proportion of women is less than 2% just over 10% and less than 3%.

"Why does this happen?" Scarlett knew that Duke saw much more than she did.

"This stems from a concept that is gradually getting outdated." Duke briefly explained, "Most of the industry believe that movies starring women will not sell."

Scarlett's eyes flashed, as if there were very few films in Hollywood that could be sold well by women. Moreover, since Julia Roberts, Hollywood has no representative figures in this regard. Even Julia Roberts, her success is still a path to seeking love for the silly sister who pleases male audiences.

This has to be said to be a frustrating fact.

"Dear, don't be discouraged," Duke added. "When the audience proves that stories starring women and driven by women have audiences and markets, then as an industry pursuing commercial interests, Hollywood must pay attention to female actors."

Strictly speaking, white actresses like Scarlett Johansson are not facing serious situations, and non-white female actors, including those in Big 6 in Europe, face even more serious problems.

Although generally speaking, American women earn only 78% of men on average, for African American and Latino women, this number is only 62% and 57% respectively.

This imbalance also exists in the number of non-white characters in the film.

Duke saw a study released by the Anlongberg Institute of Communications. Among the top 1O films in North America in 2017, Indians and Latinos with lines or names account for less than 5%. The roles representing this group of people on the big screen are seriously fewer, even though more than a dozen of these 1O films are starring these minority actors.

Of course, this is a problem that affects the whole of the United States, not limited to Hollywood.

In Hollywood, those lucky people who can earn six-digit seven-digit or eight-digit salary, while in other areas of the United States, those affected are women who struggle to support themselves and their families.

However, Hollywood has a high level of attention and can always attract public discussion.

Just wanting to change this situation, even in Hollywood, which is attracting attention, it is not easy to achieve.

Waving to the service staff, he removed the plates and knife and forks on the dining table. Scarlett poured a glass of water for each of them, picked them up and took a sip, and said, "Aren't you going to make a video with a female perspective?"

Duke thought for a while and said, "There is such a plan, but now is not the time."

In fact, he had long been attracted by a representative feminist character, but this character was too sensitive. If the film appeared too early, it would be difficult for male audiences to accept it.

The right time is when the feminist movement prospers and women have a higher status.

Thinking of this, Duke couldn't help but look at Scarlett. If she hadn't played Black Widow, she would undoubtedly be a suitable candidate for the cast, but it would be difficult for Agent Natasha Normanoff to jump into another world.

However, there is no rush to these. Duke felt tired after several years of high-intensity work. After "Transformers" ended, he planned to take a good rest. It would not be too late to wait until autumn comes to start.

Moreover, the heroine with the most popular film had a suitable candidate as early as last year. Charlize Theron decided to destroy his image and take over the role in the film without thinking for long...

As for the male lead, Duke mentioned to Tom Cruise when he was hunting in Australia last year that when he returned to Los Angeles, he could have a formal contact with him.

Although there are rumors of abnormal beliefs in the newspapers, Qingtang has not been as scandal as before, nor has she done too casual or outrageous behavior. Even though the media has criticized him in recent years, he has not been as bad as before.

His appeal is strong enough, just like Leonardo DiCaprio, he steadily occupies one of the few A-sized positions in Hollywood.

In terms of setting the male protagonist in the new project, it is slightly weaker than the female protagonist. In addition, Charlize Theron's strong personal aura, if he does not use a strong enough male actor to play with her, it will inevitably lead to a serious imbalance between the male and female protagonists as before.
Chapter completed!