Echoes of Hollywood

As the sun gradually set, finally dipping below the horizon, the lights at the entrance of Waverly Estate suddenly turned on, illuminating the crowded entrance.

Hundreds of reporters and paparazzi had gathered at the gate, and several TV stations had even brought broadcast trucks. They pointed their cameras towards the estate. From their vantage point, they could barely see the beams of light shooting up from the garden behind the mansion and faintly hear the music carried by the sea breeze.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, they could only capture images of the mansion through the iron gates, unable to photograph the garden hidden behind it.

Some reporters had considered sneaking in, but the sight of several burly security guards deterred them from any reckless attempts.

On the other side of the iron gate, nearly ten security personnel stood guard at the entrance, vigilantly preventing reporters and paparazzi from crossing the line.

In the back garden, the brief engagement ceremony had ended. Murphy and Gal Gadot had cut the cake together and, amidst the cheers of their friends, stood at the microphone on the stage.

"Murphy, say a few words!"

The clear voice of Robert Downey Jr. rang out from the lawn, "Come on, tell us how you feel!"

Margot Robbie, standing below the stage, also joined in the fun, "And Gal!"

Murphy stepped back, pushing Gal Gadot forward, "You go first."

"Quiet down! Quiet down!"

Jonah Hill took on the role of order maintainer. With fewer than thirty people attending the engagement party, the garden quickly fell silent.

Gal Gadot, wearing a moon-white evening dress, stood at the microphone, seemingly still excited. She took a deep breath and said, "I am incredibly, incredibly, incredibly happy. Happiness truly is a wonderful feeling."

She lightly wiped the corners of her eyes, preventing the tears from falling.

A round of applause erupted from the audience. Surrounded by close friends and family, Murphy took the microphone from Gal Gadot and simply said, "Gal is truly special. I am very fortunate. She has always supported and tolerated everything about me. Proposing to her was the wisest decision I ever made!"

With those simple words, Murphy and Gal Gadot stepped down from the stage, hand in hand.

"Congratulations, Murphy!"

"Congratulations to both of you, Murphy and Gal!"

"You two are a match made in heaven!"

"No one is more perfect for each other than you!"

"You two were meant to be together!"

"When's the wedding? Don't forget to invite us!"

Making their way around the party, Murphy and Gal Gadot received a plethora of well-wishes.

As the party progressed, some guests with busy schedules began to take their leave.

For instance, Robert Downey Jr. had flown back from Atlanta that afternoon and had to catch a plane back that night to continue filming "Iron Man 3" the next day.

"Taking the pay means doing the work." Jonah Hill joked, "Downey is now Hollywood's highest-paid actor, so his work commitments are unavoidable."

Murphy understood the situation and did not try to persuade Robert Downey Jr. to stay.

As the night deepened, most of the guests departed, leaving only the Stanton gang. Murphy led the group inside the mansion's dining room, away from the cooling garden. Gal Gadot asked the staff to bring snacks and drinks, and the close friends chatted while they ate and drank.

Their conversation topics were all over the place, touching on whatever came to mind. With no formalities among friends, there were no restrictions.

"Recently, while promoting 'This Is the End' at Brown University, I ran into Emma." Seth Rogen brought up the frequent collaborator with the Stanton gang, Emma Watson. "Emma has a new boyfriend again. How many has she had this year?"

Murphy raised his glass towards everyone before taking a sip. "You should ask Emma about that."

Just like many Hollywood male stars frequently change girlfriends, this was also common among female stars. Emma Watson was young, beautiful, and wealthy. There was nothing wrong with her finding a few handsome young men to enjoy her time with.

"By the way..." Murphy steered the conversation back to business. "Seth, how is 'This Is the End' doing at the box office recently?"

Over the past few days, Murphy had been preoccupied with his collaboration with Netflix and preparing for the engagement party, leaving little time to check on the box office progress of "This Is the End."

"It's going well, better than we expected." Seth Rogen set down his glass and gave a brief update. "With the Thanksgiving holiday, the box office performance has been steady. After the first weekend, as of last Friday night, the total box office has exceeded $100 million."

He couldn't hide his excitement. "As long as the box office doesn't experience a sharp decline like 'Thor' over the next month, the final domestic gross will definitely surpass $200 million!"

For a raunchy comedy, a $200 million domestic box office was considered a huge success.

"What about overseas?" Lily Collins asked with interest.

"Overseas release started this week." Seth Rogen adjusted his glasses. "We don't have specific data yet, but the overseas box office definitely won't match North America's."

James Franco nodded. "If it matches North America's, it'll be a miracle."

The others agreed.

The reality was that compared to sci-fi, action, fantasy, epic war films, and comic book movies, raunchy comedies rarely found wide acceptance outside of Europe and America.

This was an inevitable result of cultural differences.

Back when Murphy lived across the Pacific, he couldn't understand the appeal of some popular American comedies. The humor often left him puzzled, while blond-haired and blue-eyed Westerners seemed to enjoy it immensely.

"Currently, Seth and I are receiving invitations from many companies." Jonah Hill boasted a bit, "We are now the hottest comedy directors and producers."

Seth Rogen added cautiously, "We need to be careful with our choices."

Murphy nodded in agreement, "Seth is right. You can't squander the reputation you've built."

"Otherwise..." James Franco chimed in, "You could end up like the Douglas father and son."

Murphy and the others exchanged knowing smiles.

Gal Gadot knew these guys weren't as harmless as they appeared. Otherwise, they wouldn't have risen to their current success from the bottom.

Lily Collins seemed bored and stood up. "Gal, you mentioned you set up a new gym. Let's go check it out."

"Sure." Gal Gadot called to the others, "Susan, Lauren, join us."

Susan Downey and Lauren Miller followed her and Lily Collins out of the small banquet hall.

With the women gone, Murphy and his friends became even more uninhibited, discussing numerous industry gossip and amusing stories. They talked about Scarlett Johansson's recent scandal, Fox's fabricated romance between Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult for promoting the "X-Men" series...

Men aren't much less gossipy than women.

The former incident involved leaked explicit photos, which didn't offer much to discuss. Such matters might ruin a female actor across the Pacific, but in Hollywood, they were trivial, barely causing a stir among fans.

This was a stark display of cultural differences.

Indeed, since Scarlett Johansson's explicit photos were stolen by hackers and she claimed they were intended for her then-husband Ryan Reynolds, she garnered sympathy from the media, public, and fans rather than criticism.

In some ways, the photo leak even benefited Scarlett Johansson more than it hurt her.

"You know, Dave and Nicholas Hoult are good friends."

James Franco, with a mysterious air, seemed to have some insider information. Dave Franco was his younger brother and just as mischievous. "Nicholas Hoult bragged to Dave that the day after agreeing to the fake romance with Jennifer Lawrence, he got her into bed."

Murphy's group showed little interest. Jonah Hill bluntly said, "What's so unusual about that?"

"Of course!" James Franco insisted, "Nicholas Hoult sent Dave a photo. He took it after they were done. The guy finished on Jennifer Lawrence's face, and she's one of the top contenders for Best Actress at the Oscars this year!"

"In recent years, this actress named Jennifer Lawrence has risen to fame quickly." Seth Rogen sighed, "She became famous almost overnight."

Murphy shrugged without comment. Unlike them, he had fought in the lower circles for years before achieving his current success, so seeing such a lucky girl naturally evoked some feelings.

Moreover, rumors in the industry suggested Harvey Weinstein was planning to push Jennifer Lawrence to the top during this awards season. Despite his diminished influence, this Jewish mogul still wielded considerable power in Oscar campaigns.

Of course, everyone knew Harvey Weinstein never did anything for free or at a loss.

The group chatted until nearly midnight, drinking three large bottles of wine. Finally, they left, some accompanied by their partners. Jonah Hill, who had no partner and had drunk too much, was allowed to stay over by Murphy.

After the engagement party, Murphy quickly returned to work, focusing on the promotion with 20th Century Fox and closely monitoring negotiations with Netflix.

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