Chapter 174: Now That's Cool

"Murphy, this is Park Tae-san from South Korea."

The steps in front of the Lumière Theatre provided an excellent platform for networking. Erica Stenberg introduced Murphy to the clearly international film buyers, "This is Mike Gwin from Australia. This is Peter Larson from New Zealand. This is Tanaka Jiro from Japan. This is Nguyen Jing Tian from Vietnam..."

With Erica Stenberg's introduction, Murphy put on a smile and shook hands with each of them, exchanging pleasantries.

In the grand scheme, these were his financiers, so building good relations with them was beneficial. Saying a few nice words was also an easy task.

"Director Stanton,"

Mike Gwin from Australia chatted with Murphy for a bit, "Your previous film left a deep impression, and it was especially well-received in Australia. It's a pity we won't be able to see its sequel."

"Thank you," Murphy first politely responded, then pointed to the giant poster hanging on the outer wall of the Lumière Theatre, saying, "This new film will definitely not disappoint you, Mr. Gwin."

Mike Gwin extended his hand, "I hope so."

He looked up at the poster, which had a strikingly unique image that was unforgettable at a glance: a one-legged woman with an M4A1 as a prosthetic limb!

Just the image of the female protagonist alone made him feel it was a breakthrough, far more appealing than mere nudity.

After Murphy shook hands, Mike Gwin moved on. Murphy looked around and saw that many people were heading towards the Lumière Theatre, so he followed.

The Lumière Theatre was huge, with a lobby outside the cinema hall. Many didn't directly enter the cinema hall but stood in the lobby to chat and network, which is always a good opportunity for socializing.

With Erica Stenberg's introduction, aside from those international film buyers, Murphy also met several people, such as German director Uwe Boll.

"Murphy, your 'Saw' gave me a lot of inspiration." The guy was quite forward, and although his English wasn't very fluent, he quickly came over to chat, "I'm also planning to shoot a horror film. I saw the trailer for 'Planet Terror,' and I think adding zombies is not a bad idea."

"Is that so?" Murphy pretended to be very interested, "Then just add them."

Uwe Boll hesitated for a moment but still shamelessly said, "I've just written a script. If you have time, could you take a look? 'Saw' was outstanding, and you're a master in this field. Could you give me some advice?"

Bill Ross and a woman came over, and Murphy, wanting to dismiss him, casually nodded, "No problem, come find me when you have time."

After the Cannes Film Festival, Murphy would return to Los Angeles, and it was unlikely the other party would find him.

Moreover, this was probably just Uwe Boll's polite way of speaking.

Uwe Boll, having some sense, saw someone approaching Murphy and quickly excused himself and left.

Bill Ross had already come over, and Murphy, looking past him, saw a woman with deep brown to almost black long hair, full lips, and equally full breasts, which could unconsciously attract men's eyes.

This was a woman with a natural fatal attraction to men.

But Murphy only glanced once before moving his gaze away, as she completely did not fit his aesthetic. In his view, this woman was not just voluptuous but overly so.

"Murphy, let me introduce someone,"

The name of CAA was not only useful in North America but also internationally. Bill Ross looked at the woman behind him and said, "This is Ms. Monica Bellucci, Italy's most charming actress."

"Monica, this is Murphy Stanton," Bill Ross spared no effort in praising Murphy, "The future super director of Hollywood."

"Hello, Monica." Murphy took the initiative to extend his hand, and Monica Bellucci stepped forward, shook Murphy's hand, tilted her head slightly, and looked at him curiously, asking, "Have we met before?"

Hearing this, Bill Ross glanced at Monica Bellucci and, misunderstanding her intention, excused himself and walked away. In Hollywood, many actresses like to use this excuse to strike up a conversation.

But Murphy wouldn't misunderstand, because they had indeed met before.

"Probably more than a year ago, in Warner Bros. Studios." Monica Bellucci still looked puzzled, and Murphy smiled, reminding her, "At that time, I was distracted while walking and accidentally bumped into you..."

Monica Bellucci remembered and immediately smiled, "It seems I owe you an apology. Some assistants like to make a big deal out of nothing."

Murphy shook his head, "It's okay."

Monica Bellucci felt it was necessary to explain, "That assistant was fired a long time ago."

Looking at his watch, Murphy smiled and said, "It's about time, Ms. Bellucci, let's go into the cinema."

"Monica!" Monica Bellucci emphasized, "Just call me Monica."

Murphy nodded and gestured for her to go first, leading the way into the cinema hall.

In just over a year, Monica Bellucci's attitude towards him had changed drastically. Murphy wasn't surprised, as the world is like this: achievements always speak louder than words.

This was the global premiere of "Planet Terror," but it was more appropriate to call it a screening for industry insiders and media. The audience was scarce, with most people in the cinema being media professionals or international buyers from various countries and regions.

Mike Gwin's seat was very good, near the middle, aware that this was deliberately arranged by the film party. Australia is an important overseas market for Hollywood, and such a large-scale film is often a big seller in the Australian market.

To his left was a colleague from New Zealand, Peter Larson, and to his right was a Vietnamese person, possibly Nguyen Jing Tian, who spoke some not very fluent English.

After greeting a few colleagues, Mike Gwin settled down to wait. Soon, the big screen lit up, the lights in the ceiling went out, and the previously noisy cinema hall instantly quieted down.

The beginning of a film is most important, and Mike Gwin knew this well, so he focused on the screen. First, there was a bloody and violent trailer featuring Uma Thurman in a killing spree, which was also quite interesting.

"Is this Quentin's new work?"

Just as Mike Gwin thought this, "Planet Terror" began. The film didn't have a lengthy opening. After the Miramax logo, a striptease dancer appeared next to a pole, and an erotic dance accompanied the introduction of the cast and crew, but no one cared about the subtitles; all eyes were on the striptease dancer.

This striptease dancer had fair skin, a voluptuous figure, exquisite dance skills, and seductive movements, even her gaze was full of allure. Although her facial features were somewhat masculine, making her not very pretty, Mike Gwin adjusted his posture after watching this short segment to avoid others seeing something unseemly.

He specifically looked around, and the New Zealander, Peter Larson, loosened his tie, his Adam's apple rolling as if swallowing saliva; the Vietnamese, Nguyen Jing Tian, had his dark face turn red, his small eyes bulging...

This was a common striptease in nightclubs, but why was it so enticing when presented in a film?

Though he couldn't figure out the reason, Mike Gwin knew it was due to the director's skillful technique. The camera almost magnified all of the female protagonist's advantages tenfold, while skillfully ignoring her flaws.

An actress meeting such a director is indeed her luck!

Mike Gwin nodded slightly, regardless of the aspect, this was an extremely successful beginning.

The director didn't beat around the bush but clearly intended to attract the audience with this striptease. It's a low-level tactic but also the most effective.

He had extensive market research experience and knew well that the most sellable elements in movies are "pillows" and "fists". The opening can be considered a successful "pillow scene", so what about the "fist scene"?

For such a zombie film, the fist scene is also key.

After watching just twenty minutes, Mike Gwin was reassured. Like the opening striptease, the fist scenes were uncompromising. The director didn't play any profound or pretentious tricks. The action scenes were sharp, bloody, and direct, with spurting blood and flying limbs stimulating the adrenaline rush, making one want to cheer loudly.

Especially in the latter half of the film, when the female protagonist with a severed leg equipped an M4A1 as a prosthetic limb and rampaged through the zombie crowd, it was simply thrilling!

The female protagonist's leg-shooting actions incorporated many striptease moves, providing humor and excitement while also delivering a hot and sexy sensation.

Mike Gwin looked towards the front row, wanting to ask the young director how he came up with such stimulating shooting methods.

As a fan of this type of film, these scenes were absolutely irresistible to Mike Gwin!

A small-budget, large-scale B-movie, could it be played any cooler or more stimulating than this?

However, there were even cooler scenes than the legless dancer's prosthetic machine gun firing, such as when the helicopter tilted and its rotor blades decapitated zombies one by one. Mike Gwin finally couldn't help but slap his leg hard!

"I @#!" He cursed, shouting in his heart, "This is what I call cool!"

After the film ended, Mike Gwin was the first to stand up and clap vigorously, followed by more applause around him.

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