Echoes of Hollywood

After Christmas, Gal Gadot left Los Angeles and flew to Israel. Murphy, meanwhile, met up with Kara Faith and began a new round of negotiations with George R.R. Martin regarding *A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones*.

The fantasy series had now reached the filming of its fifth season. Though George R.R. Martin was still around, his health was deteriorating year by year, causing the writing of the novels to lag behind the TV series. Nevertheless, the series continued to attract more viewers, especially hardcore fans.

Given the immense success of the series, the revenue it generated was substantial, comparable to that of a blockbuster film series. Thus, the central focus of the negotiations was naturally the distribution of profits. To secure future rights, Murphy and Kara Faith, representing Stanton Studio and 20th Century Fox, made some concessions to George R.R. Martin.

Overall, the negotiations proceeded smoothly.

Besides profit distribution, Murphy and George R.R. Martin also discussed the potential development of *Game of Thrones* spin-offs.

With the fifth season underway, the series was heading towards its later stages and was expected to conclude within three to four seasons. However, neither Stanton Studio nor 20th Century Fox intended to easily let go of such a profitable series. They aimed to extract every possible bit of value from it.

Similar to movie franchises, a hit TV series would continue with sequels, and if sequels didn't suffice, prequels and spin-offs would be explored.

In the series, several times references are made to events that occurred before the first season. These past stories are also a hot topic among fans, making the idea of producing a prequel highly feasible.

Murphy and George R.R. Martin had several discussions and reached a preliminary agreement to plan a prequel after *Game of Thrones* concluded. They began to sort through the complex history of Westeros to identify stories with development potential.

Of course, at this stage, it was still early days. Murphy and George R.R. Martin were merely exploring certain periods, without pinpointing any specific timeline or making hasty decisions.

Meanwhile, Kara Faith worked to secure all possible resources from 20th Century Fox and Fox Cable Networks for the *Game of Thrones* production team.

Such matters couldn't be rushed. After Murphy and George R.R. Martin reached a preliminary agreement, specialized personnel would take over to follow up. After concluding negotiations with George R.R. Martin, Murphy participated in a cover interview with *Vanity Fair* magazine.

As 2010 dawned, Murphy, in a suit and tie, appeared on the cover and inner pages of *Vanity Fair*.

Becoming the cover figure for the first issue of the new year naturally garnered significant attention, signaling Murphy's final push for the Oscar nominations, with voting already underway.

"Some people are Hollywood darlings; I've never thought of myself as one. I see myself as a blue-collar worker willing to put in double the effort. Compared to others, I don't have as much leeway," Murphy stated in the cover interview.

Following the cover, the inner pages featured an article by *Vanity Fair*'s editor-in-chief, Tina Brown, about Murphy.

"Film is not just an art form; it's a business. While it's good to receive critical acclaim, a film must be commercially successful to ensure investors profit. Only by gaining investors' trust can you continuously get opportunities to make the films you really want to make," Murphy said in the article's opening quote.

Tina Brown then described Murphy as she knew him.

"Born and raised in Los Angeles, Murphy Stanton grew up in the slums, experiencing a rough youth similar to a street thug. This ingrained a casual, confident, and somewhat rebellious personality in him. During our interview, he exuded a unique charm. As he aged, the once-rebellious youth transformed into a man of humility and determination, traits that have always marked his career."

"In discussing his journey into the film industry, 'hard work' and 'persistence' were words Murphy Stanton often mentioned."

"Today, this just-over-thirty Hollywood director's enduring battle in the film industry can be described as a 'resounding victory.' After years of effort and persistence, Murphy Stanton has become one of Hollywood's most cost-effective directors."

"Despite his growing success, Murphy Stanton doesn't plan to relax in the coming years: 'I never let my guard down. I always feel like an outsider trying to break into this circle, so I keep working hard. The more successful I am, the more motivated I am to keep going.'"

Following the opening pages, *Vanity Fair* dedicated significant space to Murphy, placing his section at the forefront of the issue.

"Murphy Stanton offers audiences new possibilities, gives film lovers a broad canvas, provides fans with new ways to admire films, and brings new styles, logic, and even ways of thinking to commercial cinema!"

For this interview, *Vanity Fair* didn't use the traditional Q&A format. Instead, they employed a narrative style. Besides revisiting well-known aspects of Murphy's career, they focused on his talent for discovering actors.

"Every new actor in Murphy Stanton's hands shines brightly."

"Jessica Alba was just twenty years old when she first worked with Murphy Stanton. Before that, she was stereotyped as a pretty but talentless actress. But the brilliance lies in how Murphy Stanton focused on this very trait, creating the iconic character Nancy in *Sin City*, opening up Jessica Alba's career and making her one of the leading actresses born in the eighties."

"When Christoph Waltz starred in *Inglourious Basterds*, he was over fifty but still relatively unknown. During the casting, Murphy Stanton emphasized, 'What others don't need might be just right for us!' Thus, an Oscar-winning supporting actor was born!"

"For Jessica Alba and Christoph Waltz, Murphy Stanton was not just a director who made them famous but a teacher who taught them how to be genuinely themselves."

"Murphy Stanton has a unique eye. Similarly, the actors coming out of his films have captivating eyes, whether pure or radiant. He believes that the two most important principles of acting are relaxation and focus. Only by being relaxed and focused can an actor's true charm shine through, resulting in their best performance."

"Many Hollywood stars admit that participating in Murphy Stanton's films is a dream for every actor. They hope that through their efforts, they will get a chance to work with him."

With this issue of *Vanity Fair*, Murphy gained visibility among more Oscar voters. Although his style might not appeal to everyone, increasing his recognition among voters was the goal.

Of course, compared to the interview content, *Vanity Fair* didn't include everything Murphy said.

For instance, Murphy mentioned that acting requires mutual support and that scene-stealing is a terrible habit.

Acting is never a simple job, and it's not something just any actor can handle. It requires mutual support.

Murphy believes that comparing actors competitively is a negative approach. The most critical aspect is mutual trust in scenes. If one actor's performance is too weak, the entire scene loses balance, negatively affecting everyone involved.

However, in Hollywood, not competing might mean never getting a break. That's reality.

But if asked what makes a good actor or a good acting team, Murphy would say that if an actor deliberately steals or dominates scenes, he would have a serious talk with them.

As 2010 began, *The Wolf of Wall Street* continued to play in North America. To vie for Oscar nominations, it maintained a substantial number of theaters.

By the end of January, after two months in theaters, the film's North American box office reached $226.8 million, securing a spot in the top ten of the 2009 North American box office rankings.

However, the entire North American and global film market was dominated by *Avatar*. All other films released during this period, including *The Wolf of Wall Street*, were overshadowed by this epic blockbuster and significantly impacted.

Since its release over Thanksgiving weekend, the film's market potential in North America had almost been exhausted. Murphy and 20th Century Fox projected that the film's North American box office wouldn't surpass $250 million, with the final tally likely falling between $230 million and $240 million.

*Avatar*'s impact wasn't limited to the North American market; it also affected overseas markets. *The Wolf of Wall Street* had been suppressed in foreign theaters after surpassing $200 million in overseas box office. Whether its global box office would surpass $500 million remained uncertain.

However, Murphy believed that if the film secured several major Oscar nominations, the ensuing Oscar effect could significantly increase *The Wolf of Wall Street*'s chances of breaking the $500 million mark globally.

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