Chapter 300: The Young Investor

"Can I keep this copy?"

Looking at Gal Gadot's face full of apology and regret, Natalie Portman closed the script, asking, "Is that okay?"

"I'm really sorry." Gal Gadot, not like girls of her age who wear their hearts on their sleeves, concealed her emotions well, "Murphy specifically instructed me to take the script copy back with me. The project is still in a confidential phase..."

Natalie Portman pushed the script back, "It's okay."

Gal Gadot smiled apologetically and put the script back in her bag.

After finishing the coffee left in their cups, Natalie Portman suggested, "Let's go out and walk around."

At that moment, Gal Gadot wanted to find an excuse to leave, not wanting to face this seemingly perfect face anymore, but rather to find Murphy and tell him everything that happened today.

But she still nodded in agreement, "Let's go, I just wanted to buy some clothes, you can help me decide."

The two chatted and laughed, seemingly no different from when they arrived, and left the café together.

After shopping and having lunch together, Gal Gadot had never been as spirited as she was now, even more so than when participating in the Miss Universe contest.

She was independent by nature, and the idea of going back to find Murphy only circulated in her head for a moment before being tossed away to the Rocky Mountains.

Gal Gadot was well aware that Murphy was busy preparing for "Gone Girl" and she shouldn't bother him with such trivial matters. She couldn't always live under the protection of her mother and Murphy. She had to learn to grow up and mature. Moreover, as Murphy became more successful, she was bound to encounter people like Natalie Portman again in the future. She couldn't just retreat at the first sign of trouble, could she?

She knew Murphy was never afraid of trouble or conflict, and neither was she. Having encountered such a woman, she took it as an opportunity to gain some experience.

After all, compared to Natalie Portman, she had nothing to lose.

Accompanying Gal Gadot into one fashion store after another, Natalie Portman was very patient and used what she had learned from stylists to occasionally give Gal Gadot advice, acting like a very caring friend.

While trying on clothes alone in the fitting room, Gal Gadot received another call from Murphy.

"Are you out?" She sounded very happy, "Nat is helping me shop for clothes, you know?"

"Uh, I've arrived at the place."

Murphy sat in the CAA reception room, "Bill has gone out to meet someone, he should be back soon."

He asked with concern, "Are you guys doing okay?"

Previously, Gal Gadot might not have understood the implication of his question, but now she got it, "We're fine, don't worry."

Even though Natalie Portman wasn't by her side, she didn't say much more, clearly not wanting to bother Murphy with these trivial matters.

After hanging up with Gal Gadot, it wasn't long before the reception room door was opened from the outside, and Bill Rossis came in with someone.

Murphy stood up, his gaze moving past Bill Rossis to the somewhat familiar face behind him. The person was so young, seemingly even younger than himself.

This was the guy interested in investing in his movie?

Bill Rossis had already brought the young man with golden brown short hair over, making introductions, "David, this is Murphy, Murphy Stanton, Hollywood's most promising young director. Murphy, this is David, David Ellison, the founder of Skydance Media."

"Hello, David." Murphy extended his hand, and David Ellison, not as green as his age would suggest, stepped forward and shook his hand firmly, "Hello, Murphy, I'm a huge fan of your work. I've seen 'Sin City' and 'Planet Terror' more than three times each."

Murphy smiled, "It's my honor."

During their conversation, Murphy noticed Bill Rossis making a gesture at him, nodding subtly to show he recognized who this young man was.

"Let's sit down and talk." Bill Rossis invited them to sit at their leisure and ordered three cups of coffee to be brought over.

Sitting together, the three discussed mostly movies and venture capital. Murphy could tell that David Ellison wasn't like the typical super-rich second generation he had expected. Although some of his ideas were naive or even a bit green, they revealed a certain ambition and boldness, without the arrogant and clueless demeanor.

Perhaps David Ellison might be different in private, but someone who has received elite education from a young age wouldn't act like an ignorant fool in such a setting.

"Murphy, Bill showed me your script and proposal." David Ellison tried to not seem like a rookie, "It's a very interesting story. I can imagine it will turn into a great movie in your hands."

"We are quite confident in this project," Murphy said confidently, "My Stanton Studio and our partner, 20th Century Fox, are currently a bit tight on funds, which is why we're looking to raise external financing."

Bill Rossis added, "Several banks and foundations have already approached us."

This was the reality. With the success of "Deadpool," Murphy's new work naturally attracted much attention, including from investors. Multiple investors and foundations had contacted Stanton Studio, but these were just preliminary expressions of interest. Murphy still needed to choose the most suitable conditions.

David Ellison, with significant funds at his disposal, had been unable to find a suitable investment opportunity. After several introductions, he met Bill Rossis. Although young, having studied at USC School of Cinematic Arts gave him some insight into the industry. He knew Hollywood was full of scammers, with numerous strange crews pulling off funding scams.

Therefore, he was cautious in selecting projects. With CAA and Murphy Stanton involved, this project was unlikely to have many issues.

But while considering the safety of his investment, he also had his own ideas.

"Director Stanton, I have a question." David Ellison wrinkled his nose, "Could you add some flying scenes to the movie?"

Hearing this, Murphy felt an urge to roll his eyes, while Bill Rossis looked over.

"This is a drama," Murphy flatly refused, "not a war movie with flying scenes."

He frowned slightly. If the other party insisted on such a demand, he would have to exclude him. Though it would mean losing a willing investor, finding another wasn't too challenging given his current fame.

"Oh..." David Ellison scratched his head, "Do you have plans to make a war movie in the future? Especially one with planes and aerial combat."

This man's obsession with planes was no small matter.

Murphy shook his head, "Probably not. War movies aren't really my forte."

David Ellison tapped the armrest of the sofa lightly, appearing quite disappointed.

But after his emotional moment, he showed his rational side. After dropping out of USC School of Cinematic Arts earlier in the year, he took a significant sum of money intending to ambitiously enter Hollywood. However, the situation wasn't as simple as he expected. Well-known projects from the big six studios didn't lack funding, and smaller projects had no guarantees, potentially even being investment traps. Skydance Media, established for over three months, hadn't found a single suitable project.

In the end, it was his father who

 stepped in, asking an old friend for help, who then introduced him to CAA, where he found this reliable-looking project.

Only the lack of aerial combat and planes in the project... these were aspects he was dissatisfied with.

However, compared to breaking into Hollywood and truly making a name, planes and aerial combat weren't as important.

Thinking this, David Ellison returned to the main topic, "Murphy, I heard 'Gone Girl' has a funding gap of $15 million. My Skydance Media is interested in investing."

"Indeed, there's a funding gap," Murphy considered, saying, "The project does need external financing to resolve the remaining financial issues."

Looking at the young David Ellison, Murphy's mind raced. This was truly a wealthy man, vaguely recalling some news he had seen online. Rumors had it that Larry Ellison, when David Ellison dropped out to enter Hollywood, handed him a sum of several hundred million dollars to carve out a career.

David Ellison later proved to be quite successful, but his initial investments were almost all colossal failures, as if to break through, he kept throwing out huge sums without much concern for returns, earning the ridicule of many.

It was through these seemingly wasteful failed investments that David Ellison accumulated valuable experience, leading to his later successes.

Murphy felt that this man's threshold for initial investments might be very low, as long as the project was relatively reliable, not too focused on profit.

With this in mind, he decided to probe, "David, I've reached an agreement with Kara Faith, the project lead from 20th Century Fox, that the external funds introduced to 'Gone Girl' would mainly be in the form of a loan."

A loan meant that the investor wouldn't participate in the film's profit sharing but would receive a stipulated interest.

This was common in Hollywood investments. After all, no one could guarantee a film would definitely make a profit. A loan provided more stable and safe returns than participating in revenue sharing.

David Ellison frowned again, seemingly pondering.

"You've read the script. You should see it's a small project leaning towards drama," Murphy signaled Bill Rossis and continued, "Its main focus in the future is the award season, so we can't offer too high of an interest rate."

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