Chapter 293: Public Relations Romance

The night deepened, and the valley area fell completely silent. Murphy and Gal Gadot saw off the last batch of guests and returned to the living room of the main building. Sounds of rustling came from the backyard, where the party cleaning crew was tidying up the yard. Unlike the day-long setup, they would restore the backyard to its original state as quickly as possible.

Gal Gadot walked over to the rear window, pulled back the curtain to look outside, and said, "They're very professional."

"The party company Grace hired is the best in the business, and she's keeping an eye on them. There's nothing to worry about," Murphy reassured her as he came up behind Gal Gadot to also look out the window. "Let's not worry about it. They'll leave on their own when they're done. Let's go take a shower and rest."

"Okay," Gal Gadot nodded.

After taking a shower together upstairs, Gal Gadot sat in front of the dressing table drying her hair, while Murphy sat at his desk equipped with a notebook and easel, reviewing what he had written in the past few days, looking for the thread of thought interrupted by "A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones."

This was his new project mentioned to James Franco.

The rights negotiation for "A Song of Ice and Fire" was still ongoing and wouldn't be concluded any time soon. Even if they successfully acquired the rights, producing a TV series, especially a fantasy series, was extremely complicated.

Murphy didn't own a TV network, and Kara Faith, who could have connections with TV networks, had long left Fox News. Her connections were mostly in the news industry, creating a thick wall between her and TV production and broadcasting.

Like movies, TV series aren't immediately picked up by networks just because they're produced; even if the quality is good, it's not enough. Almost all new American TV series undergo pilot testing, and poor feedback from the pilot often means the series will be ignored.

Though Murphy wasn't well-versed in American TV series, he knew there were many instances where series of high quality and critical acclaim had low viewership and got canceled, while others with melodramatic and poorly reviewed content achieved blockbuster viewership.

"A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones" was a long-term plan for him and Stanton Studio, and they weren't in a hurry.

"Murphy," Gal Gadot turned off the hairdryer and said, "It seems like you have opinions about Nat."

She could somewhat tell that her boyfriend wasn't very fond of her newly made friend.

"I just met her; what opinions could I have?" Murphy decided to caution Gal Gadot, "Her personal reputation is somewhat polarized in the industry, and quite severely so."

Gal Gadot, with her hair down, walked over, looking puzzled, not quite understanding what he meant.

Murphy shrugged, "Some people in the industry, just like ordinary movie fans, think she's beautiful, elegant, intellectual, and virtuous, the epitome of a talented and good girl."

This was also Gal Gadot's opinion, as Natalie Portman had left such an impression on her in their interactions.

"And the others?" she asked.

"The complete opposite," Murphy said vaguely.

Aside from the news he had seen on the internet, he had heard rumors about Natalie Portman. Summarizing them was simple – a white lotus and a saint.

"Oh?" Gal Gadot lacked experience but was not slow to understand. She knew Murphy was not the type to gossip. She frowned slightly, showing a thoughtful expression.

She simply pulled a chair over, sat behind Murphy, and watched him typing while recalling her interactions with Natalie Portman.

As scenes of their interactions flashed through her mind, Gal Gadot realized that Natalie Portman was flawless, a woman even more likable than her powerful mother, a clever and cunning old fox.

Looking back to see Gal Gadot in thought, Murphy felt reassured. Regardless of what kind of person Natalie Portman was, as long as Gal was cautious, her intelligence would prevent her from suffering too much harm.

However, the name Natalie Portman reminded Murphy of his life on the other side of the Pacific, where a group of unique Hollywood stars had very peculiar circumstances. Natalie Portman was somewhat related to this group.

These stars were incredibly popular in the Asia-Pacific region, far more than in their home region of North America. The most typical examples were Jessica Alba and Avril Lavigne.

Natalie Portman's fame also far exceeded her status in Hollywood, mainly because of her role as Mathilda.

The character from "Léon: The Professional" had a tremendous impact in Europe and East Asia. In contrast, it was not very well received in North America, where mainstream media criticized it, and Portman rarely mentioned her debut film role, occasionally expressing regret.

For a long time, many in North America associated her with concepts like *** and Lolita. Natalie Portman, aiming for a mainstream career, would naturally avoid such associations. Any Hollywood actor with ambition and a promising future would likely refrain from mentioning a role criticized by many, especially from a public perspective where the criticism was not entirely baseless.

The cultural and social differences between countries often lead to such contrasting situations.

The peculiar popularity of Hollywood stars in the Greater China region compared to their reception in Europe and America is not uncommon, with some cases being extremely extreme. For instance, Tom Hiddleston, known as "Loki" from "The Avengers," received massive support from Marvel fans. When he and Taylor Swift became a couple, Marvel fans even debated on Weibo that Swift's status and fame in the United States were not worthy of Hiddleston...

Murphy found this quite speechless, knowing that Taylor Swift was among the top in the North American music scene at that time.

In fact, Swift dominated over Hiddleston in career, achievements, wealth accumulation, and fame. That year, Forbes' celebrity wealth list placed Swift at the top, overshadowing Leonardo DiCaprio, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Roger Federer, Gisele Bündchen, and Tom Brady...

These matters should not be taken too seriously. After all, the relationship between the two seemed like a public relations stunt.

Thinking about this, Murphy got distracted and stopped typing. He knew the rumors about Natalie Portman could be false, as Hollywood is rife with scandals born from jealousy and envy. Once someone becomes famous, rumors and controversies are inevitable.

Murphy warned Gal Gadot just to have her be on guard, as it's better to be prepared than to regret being tricked later.

Noticing that Murphy had stopped typing, Gal Gadot snapped out of her thoughts and saw that Murphy, too, was lost in thought. She first looked at Murphy and then at the notebook screen, reading a paragraph he had just typed.

"Love is the world's most indescribable fickleness, embodying various forms: interwoven with lies, hatred, and even murder. Love, unable to escape hate, is a delicate rose, exuding a faint scent of blood."

After reading this, Gal Gadot was first shocked, then confused, looking at Murphy, wondering how he could have such thoughts. If this was his view of love, what did their relationship mean?

But then her thoughts shifted. Was Murphy's new work a romance?

"What's wrong?" Murphy noticed Gal Gadot's

 expression.

Gal Gadot didn't say anything but gestured towards the notebook screen.

"Oh, that." Murphy understood and explained, "It's a line from Tony Kushner's play 'Illusion,' setting the tone for my new movie's theme."

"Is it a romance?" Gal Gadot asked.

"No," Murphy shook his head. "It's not a story about mutual love. It's different from the current Hollywood movie values."

The phone suddenly rang. Murphy answered a few words, closed the notebook, and told Gal Gadot, "Grace and the others have left. Let's rest."

Lying down, Gal Gadot quickly drifted off due to the day's exhaustion, but as she turned over, she saw Murphy lying beside her, still contemplating.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Gal Gadot snuggled into his arms.

"Downey is about to have his bachelor party," Murphy hugged Gal Gadot tightly. "After all the times he's thrown sharp words at me, I'm thinking about what unforgettable gift to give him at the party."

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