Chapter 330: A Fascination with the Perverse

Understanding that persuading Murphy was crucial, Dave Skolnick had thoroughly researched him, gleaning from vast amounts of data that Murphy was a pragmatist through and through. From his entry into Hollywood, all his collaborations and decisions were driven by the pursuit of maximum profit.

Such people are challenging to deal with because they rarely have attachments and are very pragmatic; however, they are also easy to deal with because their desires are very clear.

Thus, Dave Skolnick presented a series of conditions laden with significant financial incentives in the most straightforward way possible.

Murphy, arms crossed and brow furrowed, appeared to be deeply considering the series of conditions laid out.

Seeing Murphy's expression, Dave's smile grew broader; he didn't expect Murphy to agree to anything immediately, but as long as he was tempted, that was enough.

Once intrigued, Dave could initiate a series of actions to turn this promising young director into a pawn to climb higher in the echelons of 20th Century Fox.

"Pawns should have the awareness of being pawns," he thought to himself, "They shouldn't fantasize about dictating the players."

Murphy's frown deepened, and Dave's smile reached its peak, with crow's feet starkly evident.

"He's definitely tempted," Dave was sure of it.

"What can change the minds of those who've grown antagonistic towards 'Gone Girl' due to its over-marketing?" Murphy pondered while sitting there, "How can they be converted into contributing to the film's box office?"

As Dave spoke, Murphy didn't respond immediately; he was still considering these issues until Dave's face broke into a full grin, prompting Murphy to cough lightly and bring his thoughts back to the conversation.

"I am indeed a pragmatist!" Murphy stood up, "But sometimes, profits are not the most important thing to me."

Dave's smile suddenly froze, as if time had stopped.

After giving the stunned Dave a glance, Murphy, not bothering to say more, shook his head and walked away, leaving the Fox Building to head to the Death Star Building in Century City, to discuss the issues he'd been considering with Bill Ross.

'Gone Girl' had received universal acclaim from media and viewers, but for some, it was an object of disdain, a negative consequence of its aggressive marketing.

In the short term, changing these people's perspectives was not straightforward. Besides public opinion, friends, classmates, or colleagues were the most likely to influence them.

Fortunately, the film's reputation was exceptionally good. Despite the R rating, which prevented many from entering the cinema, word of mouth still attracted many viewers by Saturday.

Feedback from cinemas for 20th Century Fox and Stanton Studios indicated that 'Gone Girl', whether in terms of scheduling frequency, seat occupancy, or ticket issuance, far exceeded all other films being screened at the same time.

The positive reception and the growing number of supporters who had seen the film began to alter some bystanders and detractors' views.

"Are you really going to miss out on a fantastic film for such a peculiar reason?"

In an online chat room, Daisy was typing rapidly, "Kate, I swear, if you don't see this film, you'll regret it."

"But..." Kate, known by her username, seemed still resentful, "Daisy, don't you think using such deceptive marketing is shameful?"

"It's just business," Daisy, tired of explaining, sent a new message, "I'll send you some real reviews from viewers."

She accessed the IMDB viewer comment section and posted several ordinary viewer comments in the chat room.

"A drama that manages to be so riveting, even thrilling, is quite a feat. This shows the narrative skill of director Murphy-Stanton and the excellent performances of the actors, especially Charlize Theron as the female lead. Her elegance, her coldness, her purity, her ruthlessness are brilliantly intertwined."

"A heartwarming blockbuster of the year, depicting true romantic love, an excellent choice for a date. Those who haven't seen it should definitely go to the cinema with their loved ones to experience this real human emotion—Murphy-Stanton's latest urban romantic comedy 'Gone Girl'."

"A meticulously crafted masterpiece covering themes of 'life, love, loss, guilt,' and is also an engaging outstanding film."

Daisy's efforts somewhat changed the views of the girl called Kate, who left a message in the chat room, "I'll go check out the reviews myself."

In a detached house in San Diego, the brunette named Kate logged off the chat room, pondered for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed her cousin's number.

"It's me, Kate," she directly asked, "Dante, didn't you go see 'Gone Girl' yesterday? How was it?"

"It was fantastic!" came the enthusiastic response from the other end, "Absolutely brilliant!"

Kate frowned, "Don't give me that fluff. Be specific!"

"Ah, okay then." There was a brief silence as Dante seemed to think about how to articulate his thoughts, and then Kate heard his well-structured response, "Let me break it down."

"First, truly perverse, really enjoyable, really love it!"

He repeated this many times, causing Kate to slightly frown, but he continued.

"Second, long-awaited! I've been waiting for this type of story that explores perversion amid normalcy, feeling humanity in the perverse."

"Third, the emotional high 'Gone Girl' brings is so intense, it took me a week to come back down to earth."

"Fourth, Murphy-Stanton must have a special fondness for the perverse, and I think he genuinely appreciates and loves women, especially those 'who might seem tame like a lamb but eventually bite back.'"

"Fifth, I don't believe in overrating something. Now, I really care whether a director's skills are mature before discussing style and quality. 'Gone Girl' is a mature film, and Murphy-Stanton is a mature director. I think many directors can't compare with him at this level."

"Sixth, directors like Spielberg love to overpower with grand themes, but they lack a sense of mischief and a feeling of emptiness. I like the themes Murphy-Stanton picks. Although the film is full of control, he often expresses in his movies an attitude of 'damn, what's all this for?' I think movies should make people question their lives—especially seemingly ordinary lives with uniform, flat worldviews."

"Lastly, I'm really looking forward to Murphy's next work!"

After hearing this, Kate paused, wondering if she really missed out on something special.

"Have you not seen it yet?" The voice from the handset sounded like a shout, "You really haven't seen it? Kate, you're so out of touch!"

Kate hung up the phone and opened her browser again, but this time she didn't go to IMDB, known for its potential for paid reviews. Instead, she logged onto a more niche movie website and quickly found the section related to 'Gone Girl'.

Below the section dedicated to 'Gone Girl', there were numerous comments, more unrestricted compared to IMDB.

"This is the best movie I've seen all year, Murphy-Stanton truly lives up to his reputation as a distinctive director!"

"Cool enough to not need friends, crazy enough to not need companions! A dog-eat-dog story, no one is innocent. I loved the part where the male lead asks why we must destroy each other and hurt each other, and the female lead answers emotionlessly because that's what marriage is. The ending, oh the ending, I thought for sure one of them would kill the other, but Murphy-Stanton uniquely gave it an even more terrifying ending."

"Murphy-Stanton deserves five stars: clean, stark, decisive, tight yet relaxed, the climax's soundtrack is spectacular, visually impactful. The plot is unexpectedly arranged with a clear social satire. Also, it's strange that people in the cinema were laughing, I've been laughing from the 70-minute mark to the end, it's top-tier even as a comedy."

After reading these overwhelmingly positive reviews, Kate sighed, feeling the increasing sense that she had missed out on something great, and finally couldn't resist anymore.

"Forget it," she turned off her computer, grabbed her wallet, and ran out the door, "I'm going to see it now. If it's not that good, I definitely need to join the group protesting 'Gone Girl'!"

Kate went to the nearest cinema, and after two and a half hours, she came out not with the joy seen online but with a grave expression.

As she was about to leave the cinema hall, she was stopped by a middle-aged woman from Cinema.Score conducting a field survey.

"What do you think about the movie 'Gone Girl'?"

Seeing Kate's serious face, the middle-aged woman thought she might get a rare negative review from a viewer, but Kate's words were not what her expression suggested.

"Having seen too many lukewarm art films recently, being shocked back to reality by Murphy-Stanton was unexpected. The leading lady is a top-tier white lotus! Beautiful yet ruthless, focused on distorting high-level personalities for decades! Ever since it was revealed mid-movie that the lead female was orchestrating everything herself, my stomach churned and my head buzzed non-stop! The twists and turns leading to the ending were literally breathtaking!"

She took a deep breath, "Murphy-Stanton, besides admiration, really leaves one speechless."

After a brief period of word-of-mouth fermentation, more and more viewers like Kate, who initially disliked but ultimately supported the film, increased. As the film's reputation and box office soared, it garnered even more attention.

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