Chapter 21: Poor Scoundrel

Some might be intimidated by the name CAA, but with Murphy's personality, he wouldn't back down at this point.

Looking at Leon Rose across from him, Murphy slowly said, "CAA is indeed powerful, but can it control the media? Do you really think you're Viacom or News Corp?"

Murphy shrugged and continued, "Even Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone wouldn't claim they can control all media."

CAA does have considerable influence over many media outlets, but claiming to control them is a joke.

News like Kobe Bryant's cannot be suppressed by CAA. One of the media's favorite activities is to create a star and then destroy that star. It makes for compelling news and attracts attention.

If he sold the photos to the media, it would already be generous of those outlets to notify CAA before publishing.

Although Leon Rose underestimated Murphy due to his age and unassuming status, he didn't fully grasp the situation. He thought that throwing the weight of CAA would make most people give him face.

But the young man opposite wasn't so easily fooled or swayed by unrealistic things.

This guy was tough and unyielding. Leon Rose didn't have a good strategy, and at this point, with Murphy holding the Kobe Bryant photos, he was entirely on the defensive.

Unless he wanted those photos to be exposed.

The consequences of exposing those photos would be severe. Many of the things Murphy mentioned might indeed come true.

Even if only one of those things happened, his side would have to pay a considerable price.

"Young man!" Leon Rose looked at Murphy, "Don't be too greedy. CAA is not to be trifled with."

Murphy slightly tilted his head, meeting his gaze, "I never intended to provoke CAA."

Only a fool would want to provoke CAA; he just had the misfortune to run into them.

Just as Leon Rose was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Murphy continued, "I've hurt people, been to prison, and work at the lowest level, just struggling for basic living expenses. But I have no family, no property, and no worries..."

"No worries..." Leon Rose repeated this sentence silently. From what he knew, the other side indeed had nothing to worry about.

To put it plainly, the person opposite was just a poor scoundrel from the slums of Los Angeles.

How do you deal with such a person? After circling around the issue a few times, Leon Rose finally understood the key to the problem.

"Name a reasonable number," he asked directly.

With his hands crossed on the coffee table, Murphy calmly said, "I'm a fan of Kobe Bryant, willing to do anything for him. He's a great star, a city hero of Los Angeles..."

From the beginning to now, Murphy hadn't mentioned anything about money. Such words could become a handle against him.

Transactions like these between stars, media, and journalists certainly exist in many cases, but Murphy was still cautious.

Leon Rose's face grew increasingly serious, finally deciding to treat Murphy as a formidable opponent.

"Smart and cunning as a fox, steady and patient like a hunter!"

For some reason, looking at Murphy, Leon Rose thought of this phrase.

"Ten thousand dollars!" He tentatively offered a price.

Murphy seemed not to hear, continuing to speak passionately, "I'm a fan of Kobe. I would never do anything to harm my idol..."

Leon Rose initially thought he could resolve this matter with some tactics without much effort, but in the end, he had to resort to money. Fortunately, he was prepared, and his employer had said that problems solvable with money were not problems.

Of course, money has its limits.

"Thirty thousand dollars..." he raised the offer.

Murphy was still talking about his admiration for Kobe Bryant.

"Forty thousand dollars..." Leon Rose's voice deepened.

Opposite, Murphy had already elevated Kobe Bryant to an unparalleled superstar in the world.

Leon Rose looked deeply at Murphy, "Greed is a cardinal sin! Young man, fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money."

Murphy showed no sign of stopping, seemingly a die-hard fan of the basketball star.

"You..." Leon Rose's eyes widened, "Seventy thousand dollars! This is my highest offer, don't be too greedy!"

Murphy remained unmoved.

"Eighty thousand dollars!"

"Ninety thousand dollars..."

Looking at the opposite side, Murphy guessed they were nearing their limit.

"You need to know when to stop." Leon Rose's cold voice sounded again, "One hundred thousand dollars."

"I said, I admire Kobe." Murphy also understood the importance of moderation. Although the agent opposite had a bad attitude, he used overt methods. Murphy didn't believe CAA always played fair. The current price was decent for him and clearly hadn't touched CAA's bottom line. "Kobe is my idol. I would never let anything harmful to him spread!"

Hearing Murphy's words, Leon Rose couldn't help but look at Murphy again, feeling this young man was even more shrewd and intelligent than he had estimated.

"I want all the copies." Leon Rose steadied his mind and said calmly, "And a confidentiality agreement."

Murphy picked up his cup, drank the remaining coffee, and stood up, "You know my number."

He didn't even take the storage disk, turning to walk towards the café door.

A night's work, exchanging for one hundred thousand dollars, Murphy thought this was a business worth doing.

Later, Murphy met with lawyer Robert and went to Burbank to formally sign a temporary work contract with Channel 6, participating in the production of a documentary.

Channel 6 had its own editors and production staff. Although Murphy would be credited as assistant director and cameraman on the yet-unnamed documentary, there wasn't much he could be involved in.

Murphy didn't mind. Compared to Channel 6's professionals, he was indeed a novice, not yet fully capable of handling the assistant director role.

Most of the time, Murphy was just assisting the editors.

Since the material didn't need shooting, using past video footage, the importance of the editors was highlighted. It wasn't unreasonable for Murphy to follow the editor around.

Becoming a qualified director and editor is no easy task.

In the editing room, Murphy stood out of the way, not saying a word, just watching Griffith, the editor, at work. Griffith was dealing with the Bill Road case video and an old footage Murphy shot of a Latin community robbery. He was using parallel montage to mix the scenes, linking the poor and the rich white people who were shot and fell, seemingly trying to show that violence in Los Angeles was no longer confined to one place, and both the poor and the rich were victims.

Moreover, compared to the specially treated footage in news broadcasts, the scenes here were more realistic and bloody, with only the faces of the deceased obscured, making them more eye-catching.

"Your footage is quite rare."

After finishing a segment of work, Griffith walked to Murphy, pointing at the Bill Road case on the screen, "I've been in this business for many years and haven't seen anyone capture such shocking scenes."

"Thank you." Murphy said modestly, "Just lucky."

At this moment, someone knocked on the editing room door from outside. After Griffith responded, someone pushed the door open. Murphy turned to look, it was Kara Faith in a business suit. She greeted Griffith and then called Murphy out of the editing room.

In the lounge on the first floor of the TV station, the two found an empty table and sat down. Kara Faith directly said to Murphy, "It seems you are really studying seriously."

"Opportunities like this are rare." Murphy said earnestly, "I cherish it very much."

Kara Faith pointed in the direction of Santa Monica, "How is that matter handled?"

"Basically settled."

Facing someone in the know, Murphy didn't hide, "Tomorrow I will sign a confidentiality agreement with the other party's agency."

"How much?" Kara Faith made a money-counting gesture.

Murphy shook his head, "Not a lot."

He held up five fingers, waving them back and forth.

Kara Faith understood, with a slightly mocking tone, "That doesn't seem like your style."

"It's quite a bit." Murphy said contentedly, "It's just gossip, and for me, CAA is much harder to deal with than the LAPD."

"Want to develop in the film industry..." Kara Faith said bluntly, "You shouldn't provoke CAA."

Murphy finally showed a hint of helplessness, "How could I have known that someone like Kobe Bryant would be under CAA's wing?"

But then he regained his composure, "Dear, you know I need funds, a lot of funds."

"I know that." Kara Faith didn't spare him any face, "And I also know that entering the film industry will make you poorer than you are now."

She sighed softly, switching to a persuasive tone, "There's a rule in Hollywood: a director never invests in his own films."

For someone else, Kara Faith wouldn't have said so much.

"I know this unwritten rule." Murphy leaned back in his chair, "But I can't think of any other way."

The scripts he sent out had not received any response; during crew auditions, once they learned he had injured a director, they shut the door...

He had already wasted a year in prison, and there really wasn't much time left in the future. Every passing year, the chances of success decreased.

Kara Faith checked her watch and stood up, "Then I can only wish you good luck."

After a year of bad luck, Murphy's luck had recently been quite good, but he wasn't sure how long this good fortune would last. Especially in the film industry, luck often played a crucial role. If your luck was bad, even a brilliant film released at the wrong time and place could flop badly.

A good film is just the most basic condition for a movie's success.