Chapter 268: Oscar Nomination

"This is…"

Inside the studio, Gal Gadot flipped through a stack of drawings. "What are all these?"

Although Murphy's drawing skills were very average, looking exceptionally stiff, she could tell that the protagonist in all the drawings was herself. The question was, why was she depicted as a somewhat strange warrior? And it seemed to be an ancient Greek female warrior at that?

What was he trying to do? With such confusion, Gal Gadot glanced at the opposite side, where Murphy took out another stack of drawings from his briefcase.

"My dear…"

There was no one else in the reception room at the moment. Murphy pushed the drawings toward Gal Gadot. "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day."

Gal Gadot nodded. "Didn't you say you were going to give me a car?"

Originally, Murphy wanted to give Gal Gadot a Lamborghini or a Porsche 911. Such cars, in her view, were too ostentatious and too expensive. From the beginning to now, Gal Gadot had always been opposed to Murphy giving gifts that were too pricey.

"That's just a very ordinary Chevrolet." Murphy understood that Gal Gadot, with her independent nature, basically would not depend on others. He added, "This is our first Valentine's Day!"

No matter what, he very much wanted Gal Gadot to stay in Los Angeles for the long term, rather than returning to Israel to serve her country after completing her studies.

This was indeed somewhat selfish, but even now, his so-called brainwashing work had not made any progress. Gal Gadot grew up in Israel and was influenced by the propaganda there, which was not so easy to change.

However, Murphy could also see that Gal Gadot was a person who valued emotions very deeply. Coupled with their exceptionally compatible relationship, deep feelings might change her future choices.

The law was difficult to study, and Murphy only found out later that there were many restrictions on studying law in the United States. Gal Gadot was just taking preparatory courses for law school, aiming to return to Israel with a degree, which would take several more years. He still had time in the future.

But he would not relax because of this. Too aggressive a strategy would only lead to conflicts over their completely different perceptions of Israel and Jews. After all, the education he received and the news he saw from a young age did not portray Israel in a good light.

In dealing with Gal Gadot, a native Israeli, Murphy's strategy was to influence her subtly, bit by bit, using a long time to win this personal emotional battle against national loyalty.

Gal Gadot flipped through the drawings just handed to her. They were based on Murphy as a model and were completely consistent in style with her own, especially the costumes, which looked like a couple's outfits.

"I want to commemorate our first Valentine's Day in a special way." Murphy harbored some unspeakable secrets in his heart. "So, I specifically designed this set of costumes."

He extended his right hand, covering Gal Gadot's left hand, gently stroking the smooth back of her hand. "Let them be a testament to our love."

"Um…" Gal Gadot nodded vigorously, put down Murphy's drawings, and picked up her own. She felt something was off and frowned. "But... why design it like this?"

In the drawings, she was clad in vintage tight-fitting armor, with a typical ancient Greek warrior style. The shoulder-revealing breastplate tapered to the waist in a V-shape, conveying a triangular beauty of strength. The thigh-revealing skirt armor was rich in detailed engravings and layering...

Also, a bronze round shield was fitted on her left arm, and her right hand was reaching behind to draw a quaintly styled long sword.

This was, of course, the attire of Wonder Woman. However, in this era, the comics' Princess Diana wore a stars-and-stripes outfit, so others would only think this was the attire of an ancient Greek warrior.

Murphy certainly couldn't tell the truth; otherwise, Gal Gadot would hardly accept it.

"My dear…" He had already thought of a reason. "You grew up in a land plagued by war, yet you have never feared or retreated. You are my goddess of war! A female war god! That's why I had this idea."

These words struck right at Gal Gadot's heart. She grabbed Murphy's hand that was on the back of hers and rubbed it against her cheek back and forth a few times, revealing a happy smile. "Then... let's customize it."

After dating for a while, and with these words, Gal Gadot believed she saw very clearly. Murphy had never treated her as a trophy or a man's appendage. Instead, as she thought, he always regarded her as a strong, independent woman.

Murphy stood up and pulled Gal Gadot to her feet. "Let's find Jack."

The actual owner of this studio was Jack Watson, a model maker who had no credentials and wasn't even made of glass. After collaborating with Murphy on four released films and gaining considerable fame and funds, he also had his own studio.

After seeing Jack Watson, Murphy gave him a few instructions. His drawing skills were limited, and the drawings could only serve as a direct reflection, not as design drafts. Many details still needed to be finalized, and they agreed to communicate in a timely manner.

Then, staff members came to measure Murphy and Gal Gadot's body data. After finishing, they left Jack Watson's studio.

The two didn't stay in Beverly Hills any longer, heading straight back to Santa Monica, to their home. Not long after arriving, a sales company delivered a brand-new red Chevrolet sedan. It was one of Murphy's Valentine's Day gifts to Gal Gadot.

It was a very ordinary Chevrolet sedan, worth less than $20,000. Gal Gadot's driving license had also been approved. Having a car would make it convenient to get around Los Angeles.

Los Angeles's public transportation was not developed, which did not match the city's grand reputation. Without a car, it was very inconvenient.

The house had two garages. Murphy parked the Chevrolet in the other garage, and Gal Gadot went to the main building, carrying a large bottle of champagne and a box of vegetarian pizza, entering the garage as well.

Then, the two didn't leave the house for the rest of the night. The brand-new Chevrolet sedan bore witness to their burning passion and desires that even the most intense actions couldn't quench.

Since Murphy had given the post-production team a holiday, he and Gal Gadot hid at home for Valentine's Day. Both were madly in love with the game of hiding at home, ready to embrace each other passionately at any moment, regardless of time and place. Almost every corner of this house in the Santa Monica canyon area bore the marks of their frenzy.

Murphy had been considering buying a house lately. The lease on this house was about to expire, and if he chose to renew it, he would have to let Grace negotiate with the landlord and the agency again. Due to the contract, he couldn't renovate the house according to his wishes.

But he was currently facing some financial issues. For instance, a lot of the profits from "Sin City" hadn't been paid yet, and much of the money he had received was invested in the "Deadpool" project. Moreover, it wouldn't be long before the U.S. real estate market would take a dive, or so he remembered. He wasn't entirely clear on the details, but he believed it would have an impact.

The most important thing was that Gal Gadot spent most of her time living at school, only coming over on weekends or holidays, so there wasn't an urgent need right now.

After Valentine's Day, Murphy and Gal Gadot returned to their respective work and studies, especially Murphy. The post-production of "Deadpool" had reached a critical stage. The film was set to premiere on the second weekend of April, and he had to ensure all work was completed on time and leave enough screening time for 20th Century Fox.

Although the initial cut had been completed early, Murphy still reviewed a vast amount of footage daily. Sometimes, integrating a poorly acted scene into the right segment could become a stroke of genius. More often, it was about selecting and editing the exceptionally good performances, like those of Robert Downey Jr.

It must be said, Robert Downey Jr.'s performance was outstanding. His height was a disadvantage, but solving an actor's height issue during shooting was too easy. In other aspects, his performance was perfect, leaving Murphy with many choices. Thus, the challenge became, "Which one is right for this scene? Should I use this funnier take, or should it be more sincere here?"

However, these materials weren't just a simple mix and match; sometimes, a scene might be funny when viewed independently but could feel excessive when placed within the context.

Murphy was well aware that "Deadpool" should be a typical popcorn movie. Yet, what made the character most appealing was his insanity and nonconformity.

Therefore, editing was essentially about staying true to the character without deviating from the story's destination.

After adding a lot of post-production effects, Murphy and Jody Griffiths managed to reduce the initial two-and-a-half-hour cut to around 1 hour and 55 minutes.

But that wasn't enough. Murphy planned for the final film to be between 1 hour 35 minutes and 1 hour 45 minutes long.

This meant he and Jody Griffiths had to continue editing.

Murphy first eliminated some unnecessary shots, then the ineffective ones, followed by the redundant ones.

During this process, he might have to cut some scenes he liked—always with the principle of "for the better good" in mind.

By the end of February, the editing was essentially complete, lightening Murphy's workload somewhat. His focus shifted more towards supervising and reviewing the work on special effects production and addition, sound recording and dubbing, and music production.

Bill Rossis, who had been busy with the awards season, reappeared in Murphy's life after a period of absence, specifically visiting Fox's post-production studio to see him.

"The Academy has announced the Oscar nominations, and the PR work has gone underground, so I'm not as busy," he explained.

Looking at Murphy, Bill Rossis sighed deeply. "The company and I wanted to campaign for a Golden Globe or an Oscar nomination for you. It's a real pity, given the current situation."

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT