Echoes of Hollywood

Murphy picked up a carbon fiber pen and stretched his wrist. In the era when DVDs were selling like hotcakes in Hollywood, he had done this type of signing event before. The activity seemed simple—just scrawl a few specially designed, simplified letters on the Blu-ray case fans bought and exchange a few words with them. In reality, it was quite physically demanding.

Signing several hundred, even up to a thousand names in one go was tough on the wrist, making it sore and swollen.

However, Murphy had a unique skill. He could sign with both hands, giving each hand a rest in turn. This was partly due to some practice he had, and partly because he had the signature design simplified as much as possible from the start.

Like all celebrity signatures, Murphy's signature design looked almost like a doodle.

Murphy removed the cap from the carbon fiber pen and looked up. The first fan had already walked in.

It was a girl with short blonde hair that reached her ears. She looked familiar, carrying a stack of freshly bought Blu-ray DVDs, her face beaming with joy, clearly thrilled to be the first to get an autograph.

She looked familiar, but Murphy couldn't recall where he had seen her. Standing behind him, Bill Rossis whispered, "This girl is Daisy, the leader of your discussion group on IMDb, a very dedicated fan."

With Bill Rossis's reminder, Murphy remembered her immediately, the leader of a large and loosely connected online fan group.

"Hello, Murphy." Daisy had already approached. She was carrying too many Blu-rays, so a staff member quickly went over to help, placing the DVDs on the table. Daisy gave the staff member a polite smile. "Thank you."

Murphy picked up one of the DVDs from the stack, signing his name while nodding to the blonde girl. "Hi, Daisy."

"Uh..."

Hearing Murphy call her by name, Daisy was stunned for a moment, then her smile widened. "Murphy... you... you remember me?"

"Of course." Murphy not only signed the DVD but also added "To dear Daisy," then said, "You're the leader of my IMDb discussion group. We've met a few times."

"Yes! Yes!" Daisy nodded eagerly, completely forgetting that Murphy had never replied to her emails.

The girl had bought over a dozen DVDs. Murphy patiently signed each one and chatted with her briefly.

"Did you arrive early to queue up today?" he asked.

"I got here at five in the morning." Daisy, not at all tired from waiting all morning, replied excitedly, "But being first in line was worth it."

After signing all the DVDs, Murphy signaled to the staff member, who came over to help carry the DVDs. The staff member prepared to escort this special fan out.

"Goodbye, Murphy."

"Goodbye, Daisy."

Satisfied, Daisy followed the staff member out of the signing area, took her DVDs, left Santa Monica Commercial Plaza, and went to her car in the parking lot. She didn't start the car immediately but waited in the driver's seat for a while. She had arranged to meet several discussion group members who had taken the tram here, planning to give them a ride.

Back inside Santa Monica Commercial Plaza, Murphy continued signing autographs. Like with Daisy, he not only signed his name but also added a personal message, "To so-and-so," and chatted briefly with each fan.

Murphy always understood that in the fiercely competitive Hollywood, fans were the foundation of his reputation and status. He would never do anything to undermine that foundation.

Ten minutes after the signing started, some journalists from major media outlets were also let in. After all, this was an event to promote the upcoming film, and media involvement was essential.

However, the journalists had to stay outside the signing area, about twenty feet away from Murphy, so they wouldn't disrupt his work.

Major newspaper reporters cooperated, knowing the event's protagonist would definitely accept interviews at the end of the signing.

Some journalists took photos of Murphy signing and interacting with fans, while others went to the queue to interview waiting fans.

"Hello, I'm Kramer from The Hollywood Reporter..."

A young reporter with glasses approached a male fan in his twenties. "Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure." The male fan responded cheerfully.

The young reporter held out a recorder and asked, "How long have you been in line?"

Without hesitation, the male fan said, "Almost six hours. I came before the mall opened."

"Why come so early?" The young reporter, seemingly inexperienced, asked a formulaic question. "Was it worth it?"

"Of course it's worth it!" the male fan said firmly. "I love Murphy's movies, especially 'City of Chaos.' I've been eagerly waiting for the second one, can't wait!"

As the line moved forward, the fan left the reporter and hurriedly followed the queue, seemingly more eager to move forward than to be interviewed.

"Justin..."

Someone in front turned around and asked, "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Justin, the fan, shook his head. "Just a dumb reporter."

"Then hurry up." The person in front reminded him, "It's almost our turn."

At the signing table, Murphy had switched the pen to his left hand. Writing neatly with his left hand was difficult, but signing was manageable.

"Thank you for your support." Murphy handed a signed DVD to a fan, smiling, "Please continue to support my films."

"I will!" The fan, overwhelmed, promised sincerely, "I definitely will."

The fan left the signing table, and another fan, wearing a baseball cap, came in. He looked to be in his early twenties, with a few strands of brown hair peeking out from under the brim, a typical white guy.

He had a stern look, holding a copy of "City of Chaos" in one hand. Suddenly, his other hand reached into his pocket, as if to pull something out.

Murphy's pen paused as he saw the guy pull a spherical object from his pocket.

As Murphy noticed this, the bodyguards did too. Two bodyguards stepped forward, reaching Murphy just as the guy raised his hand and threw the object.

Murphy was about to dodge when a bodyguard blocked him, and then Murphy heard something shatter.

"Control him!"

At the same time, Bill Rossis shouted, and two bodyguards grabbed Murphy by the arms, escorting him backward. Another bodyguard continued to shield him in case of another attack.

Murphy didn't resist. His safety was the priority. He glanced back and saw it was an egg that had hit the bodyguard, unsure if it was a rotten egg.

"You're a scumbag, Murphy Stanton! A f**king scumbag!"

The fan's angry roar echoed, "How dare you slander the Catholic Church in your movie! You slander the Father! You desecrate the divine! You will go to hell! You will..."

So it was a Catholic protester? Murphy's mind raced. Seeing Bill Rossis approaching, he signaled him over.

"What's wrong?" Bill Rossis asked.

With the two bodyguards around him, Murphy spoke concisely, "Don't make things difficult for him. It's just a difference in faith."

"I understand." Knowing Murphy's plan, Bill Rossis got it immediately. "Don't worry, I'll handle it."

He instructed the bodyguards, "Protect Murphy."

Then Bill Rossis turned and walked back.

Although two bodyguards and a staff member had subdued the egg-throwing Catholic, the scene was chaotic. Fans were mostly indignant, but the media was thrilled—this was the kind of news they loved. Some reporters broke through the barricade to photograph the Catholic up close, hoping for an interview, while others chased after Murphy.

"You desecrate the divine! The Father will punish you, and every Catholic won't spare you..."

The man kept shouting, as if Murphy had violated his most sacred beliefs.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the chaos ahead, Justin muttered, "That bastard!"

He knew the signing couldn't continue after this.

People in front were shaking their heads, "What a bummer, where did that fool come from!"

Suddenly, Justin's phone pinged with a message. He took it out and saw it was from Daisy, asking if he was done and telling him to hurry to the parking lot.

"Not yet, I didn't get the signature. Murphy was attacked!"

"What? Someone dared to attack Murphy? Is he hurt?"

"He's fine. The egg thrown was blocked by a bodyguard. The attacker was subdued by security, but the signing might be canceled..."

As Justin typed, the organizers made an announcement, apologizing and regretting that the signing had to be canceled due to security concerns.

While fans were upset, most of their anger was directed at the Catholic, and curses filled the air.

Then, Justin received a call from Daisy. Explaining the situation, he suddenly saw the attacker being released by security.

"The attacker is being let go."

He said into the phone, and after a moment of silence, Daisy's voice came back, "Follow him, see where he goes."

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