Echoes of Hollywood

The police acted swiftly, and everyone on the beach was apprehended. The reporter with the DV camera saw the police loading the suspects into the patrol cars, turned off his camera, and hurried to his own vehicle.

He had already captured all the valuable footage; there was little point in staying any longer.

Reaching a seven-seat van, the door opened from the inside, and the head of the group, a black man, signaled to hurry. "Quickly!"

The reporter jumped into the van, sitting next to the black man.

"Drive back to the studio," the man instructed the driver. Then, he took the DV camera and started reviewing the footage. After leaving the seaside road, he looked up and said, "Great! Perfect shots!"

The people in the van laughed, clearly in high spirits.

"Let's edit this first," the black man said confidently. "Then I'll contact CAA."

"Aren't we selling this to TV stations or websites?" the DV reporter asked, confused. "Why contact CAA?"

"Idiot!" The black man knocked him on the head. "CAA is Murphy Stanton's agency."

Another person immediately understood and gave a thumbs up. "The boss wants to sell it to both Murphy Stanton and the media, double the profit?"

The black man nodded. "I'll contact CAA and reach out to Murphy Stanton. Later, you will contact our partner TV stations."

The person nodded. "Don't worry, boss, I've got this."

"Also," the black man added, "we don't know each other. The content sold to both sides should come from different sources."

"Got it!"

The team quickly arrived at their rented office space and got busy.

In Century City, a black Bentley sped to the Death Star Building. The car had barely stopped before Gal Gadot, dressed in a dark women's suit, jumped out, hurrying towards the main entrance.

Her face showed clear anxiety, walking almost at a run. Within minutes, she was in the elevator heading to the top floor, where the CAA partners had their offices.

"Miss Gadot..."

An assistant greeted her politely. Gal Gadot nodded, saying nothing, and quickly walked to Bill Rossis's office. She knocked twice and then pushed the door open.

Seeing Murphy sitting on the sofa, drinking tea and unharmed, she visibly relaxed, her tense expression softening.

Murphy stood up quickly, took her hand, and sat her down, pouring her a cup of tea. "Dear, I'm fine."

Gal Gadot took the cup, sipping it before looking at Murphy. "I regret it now!"

"Hmm?" Murphy didn't understand.

"I regret not stopping you from making that movie!" Gal Gadot wasn't joking. "I regret agreeing to your plan involving religion!"

Her face tensed again. "Murphy..."

"I'm sorry, dear," Murphy gently hugged her. "I didn't mean to worry you."

Gal Gadot shook her head, unsure of what to say. She knew Murphy well enough to know he wouldn't change his plans over this.

"Be careful in the future," she said, resigned. "Don't make me worry like today, okay?"

Murphy nodded solemnly. "I promise."

He was very cautious with his own safety.

But such incidents wouldn't scare him. Many Hollywood directors had faced controversies and didn't back down.

Moreover, if the media picked this up, it could actually benefit his plans more than harm them.

"Where's Bill?"

Gal Gadot realized the office's owner wasn't there. "Why isn't he here?"

Murphy smiled. "I had him discuss with Grace how to best leverage this incident."

"You..." Gal Gadot rolled her eyes. "That's just like you."

"Isn't it good?" Murphy spread his hands innocently. "The bodyguard shouldn't get egged for nothing, right?"

Though it wasn't technically a rotten egg, any egg thrown at him was, in his view, a rotten egg.

After this exchange, Gal Gadot recalled another matter and changed the topic. "By the way, I met Kathleen Kennedy this morning."

"What did she want with you?" Murphy asked, not having much of a relationship with Hollywood's Jewish community.

He glanced at Gal Gadot. His girlfriend was a genuine Jew.

"She was testing the waters," Gal Gadot said seriously. "Probing your attitude through me."

Murphy frowned slightly. "Does Kathleen Kennedy have a project for me?"

Kathleen Kennedy was best known as a producer, one of Hollywood's few female power producers.

"Walt Disney has almost finalized the acquisition of Lucasfilm from George Lucas. Only the details remain."

It was common knowledge that George Lucas was selling Lucasfilm to Disney. Gal Gadot continued, "Kathleen Kennedy is the preferred choice for CEO by both Lucas and Disney. She told me Disney plans to reboot the Star Wars series and that the higher-ups are interested in you directing."

Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm was primarily for Industrial Light & Magic and the Star Wars franchise. Everyone knew the series would eventually return to theaters.

"Me?" Murphy shook his head. "Next time you see Kathleen Kennedy, tell her I'm not interested."

Even if he were to direct sequels, they would be his own films' sequels, not the Star Wars series.

Frankly, Hollywood had too many sequels. He hadn't finished making his own yet and wouldn't get involved in others.

He knew, though, that the Star Wars series could easily bring success to a director.

"Star Wars VII..." Gal Gadot shook her head and looked at Murphy. "All sequels."

Murphy shrugged. "That's normal."

He had seen market research from CAA showing the prevalence of sequels in Hollywood: in 2011, apart from his "City of Chaos," the only original film in the North American top ten was "Bridesmaids," which ranked tenth. The rest, like "Harry Potter" and "Transformers," were sequels or adaptations. In the top fifty, the percentage of box office revenue from sequels and adaptations had soared from less than 10% in 1998 to over 70% today.

Even Murphy had to admit that Hollywood, once representing the pinnacle of cinema, now relied heavily on blockbuster sequels.

Hollywood had always been a business circle. This situation was more about being led by the market than just the studios' reliance on sequels.

To reduce commercial risks, studios naturally preferred established characters like "Captain America" and "Wolverine."

Having passed its golden age, the true value of the film industry today lay not in the box office earnings but in the opportunities it provided in other fields.

Murphy understood this clearly. Video games, theme parks, and interactive entertainment were all part of it.

For example, Walt Disney once invested heavily in building a Star Wars theme park near Disneyland in California. To keep the park popular, they needed a constant supply of Star Wars films.

As a representative of fan culture, the Star Wars series was known for its loyal fans and its derived consumption in comics, books, and merchandise. Since the first film in 1977, merchandise sales had approached $30 billion, far exceeding the films' box office revenue.

Aside from box office earnings, Hollywood's larger profits came from derivative products.

The office door opened, and Bill Rossis hurried in. Seeing him, Murphy didn't need to ask how the discussion went. Bill Rossis immediately said, "There's more trouble at Santa Monica."

Murphy and Gal Gadot both looked at him.

Bill Rossis explained concisely, "The Catholic who attacked you was beaten up by Daisy and some fans after leaving the Santa Monica Commercial Plaza."

"Good!" Gal Gadot blurted out. "That's what I was thinking."

"Someone called the police," Bill Rossis continued. "Daisy and the others were arrested. Robert's friend at the police station called me."

Murphy stood up, pacing. "Bill, find out the specifics as soon as possible."

He knew fan-related incidents, especially involving someone like Daisy, could easily be linked to him. "Also, call Robert and ask him to bail out Daisy and the others as soon as possible."

"Right." Bill Rossis quickly realized another aspect. "Such news, if spread, will increase your fan support."

Just then, Bill Rossis's phone rang. After a brief conversation, his expression suddenly darkened.

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