Hollywood Road

People say that women at 20 are judged by their faces, at 30 by their figures, at 40 by their charm, at 50 by their health, at 60 by their wealth. It seems true, but regardless of their age, a woman with charisma always appears more attractive than others, even if not every woman is exceptionally beautiful or has a great figure, they definitely must possess a temperament highlighted by fashion.

Such sentiments wouldn't typically catch the eye of men like Murphy, yet most women view them as golden rules.

Therefore, Kara Faith said with some pride, "Picking out what will be fashionable from a pile of clothes and accessories is a keen test of sensitivity. It's not that all good-looking things will become popular; it's the fresh and distinctive things that do. However, not all fresh and distinctive things will become popular—they must be able to capture the world's attention."

"I think..." Murphy purposefully said, "you're already the center of attention at Twentieth Century Fox."

Gail Gadot laughed, "Kara's fashion taste is top-notch."

"Kara..." Murphy timely shifted the topic, "You just mentioned there was a problem with the financing channels at Twentieth Century Fox?"

Kara Faith gently shook her head, "Not just Twentieth Century Fox, but nearly all producers in Hollywood will soon face financing difficulties."

"A new economic crisis is forming." Gail Gadot appeared to have researched the matter, "The U.S. government's over-reliance on the real estate sector has started to show its negative consequences. A collapse in real estate will drag down the financial sector, and then..."

She didn't need to finish for Murphy and the others to understand; what follows would inevitably be an industry-wide crisis.

But with crisis comes opportunity.

Murphy asked directly to Kara Faith, "I want to invest in the 'The Devil Wears Prada' project you mentioned earlier. Twentieth Century Fox should accept my investment, right?"

"I guarantee..." Kara Faith said with a smile, "Fox's finance department will welcome your investment with open arms."

Murphy nodded, "If the project goes ahead, remember to send me a copy of the detailed plan."

"No problem."

Now that Twentieth Century Fox was actively seeking investments, Kara Faith knew Murphy would be very popular.

Of course, investing in a movie wasn't so simple; this was just an initial intent. The subsequent plans of Twentieth Century Fox and the choice of director would influence whether the investment would actually materialize.

This was indeed a high-risk, high-reward project, but Murphy was well aware of the risks involved in such projects.

'The Devil Wears Prada' had once dazzled everyone, including those who made the movie. Initially targeted at a female audience, its explosive success at the box office was unexpected. It was hard to categorize into any traditional film genre and difficult for successors to replicate.

It wasn't a conventional genre film, not a romantic comedy about young women's choices, nor a biopic, or a revenge film. It was more like an inspirational fairy tale set in the adult workplace, telling a story about the process of young people starting their jobs and constantly searching for their self-positioning.

Hollywood rarely produces blockbusters with women as the main protagonists that describe the workplace rather than romance. It's like the female version of "Wall Street."

So, until he saw the actual plan, Murphy only had an intention to invest, with the specifics to be negotiated slowly.

As time passed, the impact of the economic crisis became more apparent. Hollywood, now tied with Wall Street, couldn't possibly remain unscathed.

There's a myth about Hollywood—that in every economic crisis, Hollywood is a place the storm cannot reach.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, a quarter of Americans were unemployed, yet people still counted their pennies to watch the latest films. People escaped reality by ducking into cinemas, and the movie industry thrived while Hollywood not only survived but flourished.

From August of this year, the financial crisis, the worst since 1930, triggered a downturn that had lasted for months and showed no signs of ending. The homes of the poor were repossessed by banks, and the wealthy began auctioning their valuables, from $4,000 handbags to private jets priced at $500,000.

Could Hollywood truly remain a safe haven amidst a real estate crash, stock market crash, 64,000 companies declaring bankruptcy, and an unemployment rate of 7.2%?

Hollywood was no longer the Hollywood of the last century. Major production and distribution companies had become parts of media conglomerates with complex revenue structures, which definitely could not avoid the financial storm.

When Wall Street plummeted, entertainment stocks were not spared. Entertainment stocks across the U.S. saw an overall decline of forty percent, with stocks of every major movie studio's media group suffering significant losses.

Time Warner-AOL, the world's

 largest media group and parent company of Warner Brothers, saw $25 billion in market value evaporate.

Viacom, the parent company of Paramount and one of the five largest media conglomerates in the U.S., saw its stock fall from a high of $45 per share to $12, leading financial magazines to speculate that Sumner Redstone of Viacom "might embarrassingly no longer be a billionaire."

For DreamWorks, Spielberg had been reduced to desperately waiting for funding from Indian investors...

Just like cash-strapped Twentieth Century Fox, no major film company in Hollywood was having an easy time.

Murphy temporarily set aside the new project and sent people to scout out cash-strapped projects from various production companies, selecting suitable types to participate in and take a share.

Though he had spent $100 million on the 'Flower of Lys' deal, the ongoing revenue from two seasons of 'Game of Thrones' was enough to cover this expense. The substantial dividends from 'Man of Steel' undoubtedly needed a proper investment channel.

Murphy was most familiar with the film industry, and naturally, his investment focus remained primarily on movies.

By December 2007, Murphy had contacted multiple film companies. The substantial capital he controlled was undoubtedly his biggest asset in negotiations, and Murphy's terms were not stringent. Any investment, aside from box office shares, would only include a corresponding share of other revenues from the film for the next three to five years, without involving the copyrights that major Hollywood companies regarded as vital.

Since DreamWorks had been unable to secure funding from Indian investors, it was the first to formalize an agreement with Murphy's Stanton Studios. The upcoming 'Transformers 2' would receive an investment of up to $50 million from Stanton Studios to cover the significant funding shortfall at DreamWorks.

Simultaneously, DreamWorks Animation, even more strapped for cash, also signed a contract with Stanton Studios. Jeffrey Katzenberg agreed to Murphy's participation of $40 million in the newly initiated 'How to Train Your Dragon' project.

The rebooted 'Fast and Furious' series by Universal Pictures, also facing a funding crisis, secured $35 million from Stanton Studios after signing a formal contract, ensuring continuous funding to the production's completion guarantee account.

In a time when Wall Street capital and private movie funds were exiting Hollywood, Universal Pictures also agreed that if the 'Fast and Furious' series sought external financing in the future, it would prioritize investment from Stanton Studios.

Another significant investment was the dream opportunity Murphy had obtained.

Twentieth Century Fox was under financial strain, fundraising through private equity and Wall Street was problematic, especially the latter with several major banks going bankrupt, directly leading to previously agreed large sums of money failing to materialize. This caused the temperamental James Cameron to almost daily chase Kara Faith and other executives around Fox Towers for funding.

As head of the production department, Kara Faith was exasperated, and in her words, she was nearly driven by James Cameron to jump into the sea at Malibu...

Then, at Kara Faith's recommendation, Twentieth Century Fox and James Cameron turned to Murphy's Stanton Studios. Amid the economic crisis, after prolonged tug-of-war negotiations, they also signed an investment contract that similarly did not include issues of copyright ownership.

Foregoing copyright for investment and potential returns was enough.

If the projects Stanton Studios invested in could be successfully produced and released, Murphy believed he could achieve substantial returns in the future.

In this industry, there are numerous super-rich individuals, not to mention those investors or media group owners from other industries. Just among directors, there were figures like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who were among the top directors and wealthiest individuals in North America.

Murphy knew that Spielberg had a fortune of at least $1.5 to $2 billion, and his newly constructed yacht cost nearly $200 million!

And George Lucas, through the 'Star Wars' series, had amassed a fortune of over $3 billion.

In this commercial kingdom, wealth was undoubtedly a symbol of status and position. Murphy didn't know much about other aspects, but he was most confident in the film industry.

After settling these investment matters, Murphy's focus gradually returned to the new project, and like the title of a past film, before officially writing the script, he officially named the project 'Inglourious Basterds'!

He also determined the overall direction of the film—a group of small-time crooks trying their best to topple a major villain.

Then, Murphy temporarily set aside other matters and began to focus wholeheartedly on writing the script and developing the project plan, but unexpectedly, Nicolas Cage came looking for him.

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