Chapter 149: I'm Broke

In a luxurious reception room on the top floor of the Century City Death Star Tower, Murphy sat behind a long conference table. After flipping to the last page of the contract, guided by his lawyer, Robert, to where he needed to sign, he penned his signature with a flourish.

Once both copies of the contract were signed, Murphy exchanged them with Bill Rossis and Brian Lourd, representing CAA.

Photographers present captured this moment, preserving it for posterity.

"I'm thrilled we could renew this agent contract," said Brian Lourd, the head of film business, smiling broadly. "CAA welcomes young talents like you!"

Murphy shook his hand, responding, "It's an honor to join CAA."

Pleasantries like these were harmless and expected in such settings.

After the photographer and Robert left, only Brian Lourd, Bill Rossis, and three other agents remained.

Bill Rossis took the initiative to introduce them.

"This is Grace Collind, responsible for media communication and your daily life services."

"This is Gabby Ramos, handling your literary creations."

"And this is Lingard Waterwood, overseeing special opportunities."

Murphy shook hands with each, nodding slightly. These agents were selected by CAA based on Bill Rossis's recommendations. Whether they needed to be replaced would depend on time and their performance.

The agent contract mentioned this right, and Murphy wouldn't hesitate to use it when necessary.

Brian Lourd, an important CAA partner with many responsibilities, attended the signing ceremony to emphasize the importance CAA placed on Murphy, a rapidly emerging new director. Now that his part was done and his stance made clear, he left after a few more formalities.

The other three had their duties and left the meeting room, starting with Grace, responsible for media and daily life, followed by the others.

"Murphy," Grace was already in work mode, "do you need me to do anything for you?"

"Yes." Now that he had signed a new agent contract, Murphy didn't hold back. "I need a standalone residence."

Living in Stanton Studio was previously due to financial constraints. With his financial situation improved and Carey Mulligan in his life, continuing there was inconvenient.

Grace immediately took out a notebook, "Do you have any specific requirements?"

Murphy thought for a moment, "Preferably in Santa Monica, not too far from Stanton Studio. The valley or beach areas are fine."

He considered for a while, "It doesn't need to be large, renting is fine."

After the last $2 million payout, aside from the $300,000 bail for Ross and payments to Bill Rossis and other crew members, the remaining funds weren't substantial. The next payout was still a while away.

Before vacationing in Australia, Ross mentioned his account was still under police scrutiny and would return the money once unfrozen. Murphy declined.

Despite ignoring Bill Rossis's advice to help Ross, Murphy knew better than to entangle financially with Ross.

"I'll follow up on this," Grace said, packing away her notebook. "I'll contact you when I find something suitable."

She stood up, "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

"Goodbye." Murphy stood to shake her hand, politely seeing her out.

With the room emptied, Murphy felt more relaxed, moved from the conference table to the bright floor-to-ceiling windows, and looked out. Positioned in Beverly Hills and at the top of the Death Star Tower, the view was commanding, overlooking all of Los Angeles.

"Choosing this building," Murphy said to Bill Rossis behind him, "must have deeper meaning for CAA?"

Bill Rossis approached, shaking his head, "I'm not sure."

"This is the Death Star Tower!" Murphy speculated. "Named after the invincible Death Star in Star Wars, with CAA owning the top eight floors, isn't it to showcase an invincible stance at the industry's pinnacle?"

Bill Rossis laughed, "You'd have to ask the person who proposed buying this building."

Changing the subject, Murphy suggested, "Shall we visit your office?"

"Let's go," Bill Rossis led the way through a security passage to the next floor, to an office at the far left, and opened the door.

The office was modest in size and decor. Murphy briefly surveyed it and then sat across the desk. Having an independent office on a relatively high floor was a symbol of status within CAA.

CAA claims all its agents as partners, a notion more in theory than practice. Today's CAA, vastly different from Michael Ovitz's original vision, still operates on a partnership model, but the majority shares no longer belong to internal agents.

Like many entrepreneurs facing financial challenges and accepting external investments, CAA has outside investors. TPG, one of the world's largest private equity firms, is CAA's largest shareholder, holding a 53% stake!

The remaining shares are distributed among CAA's internal partners.

These partners form CAA's management and upper structure, representing the highest-status agents within the company. Other agents aiming to join this circle simply need to manage super heavyweight clients, such as Tom Cruise's agent, Pat Kingsley, potentially becoming a CAA partner.

In essence, the quality of an agent's clients directly determines their status within the industry.

Thus, Bill Rossis's primary concern remained Murphy's new plan. Ultimately, a director's work speaks for them.

"Fox Searchlight's Goding Clyde has called me a few times," he sat opposite Murphy, "wanting to confirm the start time for the 'Saw' sequel."

"The 'Saw' sequel?" Murphy didn't recall discussing a sequel.

Bill Rossis, puzzled, asked, "Isn't your new film a 'Saw' sequel?"

Murphy shook his head, "No."

Before Bill Rossis could respond, Murphy raised his hand to stop him, "The series indeed has potential for sequels, many stories and character backgrounds left unclear, but now isn't the right time."

He reminded, "Don't forget, the impact of 9/11 will last a long time."

Although the public was gradually recovering, such films would still be affected by the aftermath, making it best to plan sequels for the following year.

The 9/11 attacks significantly impacted Americans' political, economic, and social lives, including the entertainment industry. Hollywood, leading the world in film and entertainment, would see a rise in lighter movies. The public, more than ever, needed relaxation, increasing the flop risk for any movie associated with 9/11 or overly brutal.

Films like "Saw" had a market, but the short-term outlook was unclear.

Murphy wouldn't knowingly face a dead end.

The best choices were superhero movies, as 9/11 increased the public's demand for omnipotent heroes, making individual heroism films more marketable, and lighthearted, typical American-made movies.

North American audiences traditionally show little interest in non-North American productions, a trend likely to intensify post-9/11, making success for foreign films even harder. The entertainment industry's producers and consumers would prefer "Made in America."

European films that were global hits often faced indifference in North America, a situation likely to worsen.

Murphy had considered this thoroughly.

He wasn't opposed to pure market-driven superhero movies, but no one would approach him for such films, especially given copyright issues.

With "X-Men" already released, Marvel Comics recognized the power of their superheroes, becoming more protective of their rights. Currently, only the most famous superheroes were brought to the big screen, with production companies typically inviting A-list or close to A-list directors.

He was far from reaching that standard.

Traditional American-made films were his best choice.

Having accrued sufficient experience in noir films through his previous works, this was inevitably his new project's direction. Murphy knew that even now, his abilities weren't extraordinary, so choosing the most familiar genre was the best way to reduce the risk of failure.

However, most noir films are quite brutal, clashing with the current social climate.

Therefore, he planned to incorporate comedic and absurd elements into his new project to avoid alienating audiences with excessive gore.

Murphy shared these thoughts with Bill Rossis, who frowned, "Fox Searchlight is keen on continuing the 'Saw' sequel, making it hard to push through with such a project."

"Let's find another company," Murphy was not one to put all his eggs in one basket. "We've just signed a new agent contract. CAA won't sideline me so soon, right?"

Bill Rossis perked up, "Are you planning to entrust the new project entirely to the company?"

Murphy found it odd, "Isn't that the most efficient way?"

"You don't plan to continue investing in your own films?" Bill Rossis pressed.

Murphy shook his head, plainly stating, "I'm broke."

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