Chapter 302: An Eye for Films

At the beginning of October, with the $5 million start-up funds from Stanton Studio, Sky Cinema Fund, and Twentieth Century Fox in place, Murphy's preparatory studio officially began operations. The crew's office was temporarily set up in a warehouse near Venice. Due to several movies being shot here consecutively, this warehouse had already become a temporary soundstage for many small crews.

A week before Murphy and his team arrived, a small crew had just finished shooting and left the premises.

This crew, though not large, had made some modifications to the warehouse, especially to the temporary office area's director's office.

Originally, the director's office was a large office space temporarily set up in the warehouse. Now, someone had divided it into two rooms with an interior and exterior office suite, separated by a special glass wall. From the inside, you could see outside, but from the outside, it only acted as a mirror.

"The director of that previous crew," Paul Wilson, who was accompanying Murphy around the newly remodeled and decorated office, said mysteriously, "had some special preferences. I heard he liked to call female actresses into the inner office and give them 'special guidance' while watching the assistant directors outside."

Without needing further explanation, Murphy understood the implication. He pushed open the glass door, which was also made of glass, to take a look inside. The furniture had not been completely moved out, including a huge desk and a high-backed swivel chair.

Paul Wilson followed him in and said, "The office has been thoroughly cleaned. The back of the chair can be lowered to serve as a temporary folding bed for resting."

Murphy glanced at it and then walked out, "Place all my stuff in the outer office."

He had no interest in such frivolous preferences.

Afterward, led by Paul Wilson, Murphy visited the warehouse area designated for shooting. Likely due to the increased number of crews shooting in recent years, the warehouse had transformed into a huge soundstage after continuous remodeling.

Most of the indoor scenes for the future film would be shot here.

The preparation had just begun, with various departments having officially started work a few days ago. A large number of staff were constantly moving various equipment in, making the warehouse bustling with activity.

However, compared to the loud publicity campaign that started with the preparation of "Deadpool," the current crew was much quieter, with virtually no media attention. Murphy and Kara Faith had no plans to start a publicity campaign just yet. After deep discussions with Twentieth Century Fox, they would launch an extraordinary publicity campaign at the right time.

"Hey, Murphy."

A greeting came from behind. Murphy turned around to see David Ellison carrying two bags, walking in from outside. His face was full of excitement, "I've settled the negotiations!"

Murphy was surprised, "That fast?"

"I've reached an agreement with Nokia. The related documents will be organized and sent to you tomorrow." David Ellison came over, standing beside him, "They've agreed to become the advertising sponsor for our project."

He handed the paper bags he was carrying to Murphy, "These are concept models of the Nokia 6670, featuring a rare video recording function that supports recording clips of more than 10 minutes. They've sent a few sample phones."

"I don't need it." Murphy shook his head, about to suggest giving it to someone else when David Ellison added, "I'm not giving it to you; it's for Gal."

Murphy thought for a moment and accepted the bags, "Thank them for me."

Unlike his previous films, "Gone Girl," temporarily titled "G" for marketing purposes, set in modern society, would naturally incorporate some advertising sponsorships. His past movies all being box-office hits, it wasn't too difficult to find interested advertising sponsors.

As a producer, David Ellison had joined the crew, volunteering to negotiate with advertising sponsors. After considering it, Murphy and Kara Faith agreed, as not only he but also Murphy's lawyer, Robert, and professionals from Twentieth Century Fox, would participate in the negotiations.

Surprisingly, David Ellison performed exceptionally well in business negotiations despite lacking experience. In the first completed negotiations with Volvo, not only did he secure sponsored cars, but he also brought in an advertising sponsorship fee of $3 million.

The outcome of the negotiations with Nokia was also favorable. Eager to feature several Nokia phone models, including the Nokia 6670, in the movie, they offered an advertising fee of $3.5 million.

"Our film hasn't even started shooting, and we've already recouped $6.5 million." David Ellison, participating in the official preparation and shooting of a film for the first time, was very excited, "After signing the formal contract with Nokia, I'll look for alcohol advertising sponsors, especially the liquor used by the female lead for self-abuse. It must fetch a high price."

"Well done, David," Murphy smiled approvingly, "Go ahead, Kara and I will support you. I'll reserve a close-up shot for the liquor used by the female lead."

David Ellison, coming from a business-oriented family, was quite imaginative. He immediately thought of the upcoming auditions and excitedly said, "If you can sign a top actress to play Amy, I'll have even more leverage in negotiations. Imagine a bottle of liquor endorsed by Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, or Charlize Theron, Oscar-winning actresses, would definitely leave a deep impression on the audience."

"Great idea!" Paul Wilson, trying to contain his laughter, kept praising, "Truly a brilliant idea."

Murphy looked at David Ellison and nodded in agreement; he liked the idea of this product placement.

However, whether the actress playing the female lead would accept it was another matter.

Bill Rossi had already sent role scripts and audition invitations to several renowned actresses, including Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and Julia Roberts. Julia Roberts had declined, citing scheduling conflicts with Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's" series.

Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron had not yet provided a clear response, seeming only mildly interested or possibly intentionally keeping the crew in suspense.

Kidman, having recently joined Hollywood's $20 million club, was a bona fide superstar; Theron, though not considered a top-tier star, had just won the Oscar for Best Actress, making her status incomparable to that of Jessica Alba or Jessica Chastain, whom Murphy had previously worked with. They had the luxury of choosing their preferred scripts and roles.

At this level, Kidman and Theron were indeed scarce resources in the industry, not worried about securing roles.

Exaggeration aside, the scripts and audition invitations their agents received each month could stack a foot high on their desks.

Of course, Murphy was aware that despite their immense fame and status, both actresses' careers would not progress smoothly. In particular, Kidman's choice of scripts and roles was often lamentable, eventually leading her to become somewhat of a "movie queen of flops," later relying on mentions of her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, to maintain her presence.

As for Theron, despite her fame after winning the Oscar, her film choices, roles, box office success, and salary barely placed her above the second tier in Hollywood. It wasn't until ten years after her Oscar win that she truly carried a movie's box office on her own.

Aside from other factors, both actresses' choice of films and roles was notably poor.

Murphy's top choice was

 Charlize Theron. Even though the "South African diamond" had won an Oscar, she hadn't had a breakthrough role or proven herself commercially, thus her salary was around the million-dollar mark. In contrast, Kidman was a member of the $20 million club and wouldn't consider roles without at least $15 million in salary, especially since she hadn't yet tarnished her reputation.

Murphy had invited her to audition, mainly because Kidman was also a client of CAA. If the script and role appealed to her, there was a possibility she might lower her fee.

Compared to the already confirmed lead actor, James Franco, Murphy gave more thought to the female lead.

After a busy day, just before closing time, Gal Gadot arrived at the warehouse. She greeted the crew members familiarly as she walked into Murphy's office. Murphy was discussing the film's cinematographic style with Philip Lasher. Handing the phone David Ellison had brought to her, he signaled for her to wait.

Gadot casually entered the inner office and started exploring the new phone while sitting in the office chair.

Half an hour later, Murphy's voice calling her could be heard from outside. The soundproofing of the suite was poor, making conversations outside clearly audible inside.

"Ready to go?" Gadot asked as she came out.

"Let's go," Murphy said, picking up his briefcase and nodding, "We're heading home."

Gadot linked her arm with his, chatting as they walked, "Natalie plans to host a party at her hotel tomorrow night and wants me to invite you. She'll call you."

As they exited the warehouse, Murphy asked, "I recall you have a school event tomorrow night, right?"

"Yes," Gadot said, activating the phone's camera to point at the sky, "I won't have time to attend."

After recording a short video and reviewing it, she commented, "The feature's not bad, better than I expected."

"This is a trial model provided by the sponsor," Murphy said as they reached the car. He opened the door for Gadot. The phone suddenly rang; he took it out to see an unfamiliar number.

Gadot saw it too and mentioned, "That's Natalie's number."

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