Echoes of Hollywood

Compared to Murphy's recent films, "Diego-Ross" can be considered one of his smallest-scale releases in recent years. Due to the film's genre and its bid for the awards season, 20th Century Fox used a typical limited release strategy. For the first week, the film would only be shown in two theaters in New York and three in Los Angeles.

A grand premiere was, of course, out of the question for such a limited release. However, a special screening attended by media journalists and film critics was indispensable.

On the afternoon of December 26th, Murphy arrived at the Artista Grand Theater in Nokia Plaza. Unlike the thoroughly commercialized Hollywood Chinese Theater, this venue was dedicated to screening art films, or "art house" films. Many small productions vying for awards had their limited releases here.

When Murphy arrived, Robert Downey Jr., Margot Robbie, and Kara Faith were already there, chatting with Bill Roscoe and Grace in the theater's lobby.

There was still some time before the film started, and with no grand premiere, the invited guests for this special screening would not arrive too early.

"Where's Gail?" Margot Robbie walked over and asked, "Why isn't she here?"

Murphy nodded at his friends and partners before answering, "She's negotiating with Netflix."

Stanton Studios had already come up with a script outline and a general shooting plan, and they had hired a team of writers to formally draft the script. Netflix had also accelerated their steps, and the negotiations had reached their final stage. A formal cooperation agreement was expected to be signed before Christmas.

Robert Downey Jr. then walked over, "It's a pity Ross can't see this film."

"I visited him a few days ago," Murphy said softly. "I've told him about the movie, and I'll find a way to get an MP4 player or something similar to him."

The film was shot for Ross, and if he couldn't see it, it would lose its greatest significance. Although bringing things to Ross was challenging, the guards had become a bit more lenient recently. With some money, it wasn't impossible to get things done.

"Murphy..." Kara Faith approached him as well. "The review committee has approved it. They will allocate no less than eight million dollars for this film's awards campaign."

She spread her hands and said, "That's the best I could secure."

"Thank you, Kara," Murphy gently patted Kara Faith's arm. "Thank you for your support..."

Without the backing of a powerful company, it would be exponentially more difficult to make an impact during the awards season.

Kara Faith shook her head. "Do we need to say these things between us?"

Murphy smiled slightly and said, "If this film doesn't recoup its costs, I promise I'll help 20th Century Fox earn it back tenfold in the future."

"You..." Kara Faith knew Murphy was joking.

20th Century Fox had made a substantial profit from its collaboration with Stanton Studios. Aside from past small-investment, high-return films, even the $300 million total investment in "Chaos City" seemed not to have recouped at the box office. However, through subsequent operations, the surrounding TV broadcasts and online streaming surged due to the word-of-mouth effect. Not only did 20th Century Fox break even, but it also achieved a profit of over $40 million.

Moreover, as time goes by, the film's profits will increase. The more people who watch it, the stronger the audience base for the second film, and the greater the potential for a box office explosion.

It wasn't hard for the observant to see these things.

Of course, Murphy's dividends were also terrifyingly high, with a 25% share of the total revenue...

This guy must be swimming in money.

Kara Faith began to consider taking Gail Gadot on a vacation someday, buying only the best and most expensive things, all on Murphy's dime.

After chatting with everyone for a bit, Murphy saw his public relations manager, Grace, and waved her over.

"Can you check something for me?" he whispered. "Where can I find a private jet exhibition in California recently?"

Grace nodded immediately. "I'll have someone look it up and get back to you this afternoon."

Standing next to Murphy, Margot Robbie overheard their conversation and asked curiously, "Are you planning to buy a plane?"

"Yes." Murphy turned to her and said, "I'm planning to buy a private jet."

Over the past month, Gail Gadot had been flying all over for negotiations, and commercial flights were very inconvenient. He planned to purchase a business jet, which would also facilitate his travels.

Margot Robbie became interested. "Buy a Boeing 747 and turn it into a flying palace."

Such an impractical suggestion was, of course, ignored by Murphy. He told her, "You should focus more on when you can get an Oscar nomination."

"Oscar nomination?" Margot Robbie rested her face on one hand. "It's so hard for a blonde beauty like me to win an award."

Media reporters began to enter the theater, and Murphy didn't intend to continue the topic with Margot Robbie. He casually threw out a comment, "Get ugly, get hurt, or have a mental breakdown..."

"Hey, Murphy." Margot Robbie, thinking Murphy was teasing her, raised her voice slightly. But Murphy ignored her and walked straight to Bill Roscoe.

Watching Murphy's back, Margot Robbie quickly closed her mouth because she realized that Murphy was giving her a hint.

As a blonde beauty, she knew that relying solely on looks wouldn't get her far in Hollywood. If not for her connections with Murphy and David Robbie, who knows where she would be now? She might still be struggling for small roles.

Margot Robbie then thought of Charlize Theron, who had collaborated with Murphy. This South African woman was a role model for all beautiful actresses like her.

Charlize Theron's successful transformation was a benchmark for Hollywood's pretty actresses. Concealing beauty, embracing ugliness, and challenging themselves and the audience was the path from being a starlet to a serious actress.

Although the approach seemed formulaic, beauty is like a distracting signal when assessing acting skills. Few can completely disregard it and focus solely on the so-called inner quality.

Hollywood was also happy to reward their sacrifices, with major film festivals and awards eagerly giving out prizes.

In fact, if you think about it, emphasizing inner qualities while ignoring appearance is also a form of discrimination, isn't it?

Margot Robbie shook her head, stopped overthinking, and joined the crew in entertaining the guests who came for the screening.

At seven o'clock sharp, the Artista Grand Theater was packed, and the screening of "Diego-Ross" began on time.

"As a director, making a biopic about someone close to you is a big taboo!"

Sitting in the third row, Todd McCarthy, a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, said to his old friend Kenneth Turan, "Murphy Stanton has always been a smart guy. Why would he make such an unwise choice?"

"Let's watch the movie first," Kenneth Turan pointed to the brightening screen. "We can talk about other things afterward."

Todd McCarthy's eyes turned to the big screen as well. "Okay, let's watch the movie first."

Not only them, but there were also many other media representatives and internet columnists, though most were younger than them.

Everyone looked at the big screen. Although this film had a low budget and minimal promotional activities, it generated a lot of controversy and attention. Murphy Stanton's biopic about his drug dealer friend...

If Murphy Stanton glorified his friend, they would certainly have something to say.

The logos of 20th Century Fox and Stanton Studios flashed by quickly, and the screen showed an obvious aerial shot. It started with a colorful panorama of downtown Los Angeles. As the shot zoomed in, the colors gradually faded, the tone became darker, and it eventually turned into a black-and-white image.

In the black-and-white frame, the dilapidated, chaotic scenes of Los Angeles' slums, juxtaposed against the backdrop of affluence, seemed more like Africa than America...

Todd McCarthy couldn't help but murmur in admiration, "The use and transformation of the camera and color are seamlessly perfect."

"Revealing the worst side of America..."

The content of this shot, aside from its technical aspects, hit the nerve of someone like Kenneth Turan, an old-timer and a native Angeleno. The once glamorous City of Angels was indeed this rotten. He nodded, "A true artist must have the courage to peel back the surface glamour and show the festering sores beneath!"

Murphy Stanton was undoubtedly a very brave filmmaker!

Compared to these old-timers, the younger critics around them also nodded, especially those with internet columns and significant influence on social media, like Klaus Ismael.

"Is America good?"

If someone had asked him this question ten years ago, he would have answered: America is the world's paradise!

But as he grew up, he realized there was too much injustice, too much darkness, too much corruption, and too many disgusting things in this country.

Thus, as part of the internet generation, his thoughts gradually changed. His country was rotten to the core!

As a film critic, Klaus Ismael became known for his caustic remarks. Those movies about America saving the world always received his scathing reviews!

If the world needed America to save it, who would save the rotten-to-the-core America?

With this mindset, seeing the most shameful aspects of glamorous Los Angeles revealed at the beginning of a film without reservation instantly engaged his emotions.

The black-and-white image zoomed in further, and human figures began to appear. Suddenly, gunshots rang out, and a Latino man fell to the ground. As blood splattered, the screen regained its color amid the red blood.

_________________________

[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!] 

[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]

[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter]