Bab 21: Chapter 21: The Pauper
Perhaps some people might be intimidated by the name CAA, but with Murphy's personality, he would never back down voluntarily.
He looked at Leon Ross across from him and said slowly, "CAA is indeed powerful, but control the media? Do you really think you're Viacom or News Corporation?"
Murphy shrugged and continued, "Even Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone wouldn't dare claim they could control all media."
CAA certainly had some influence over many media outlets, but to say they could control the media was a joke.
News about figures like Kobe Bryant was something CAA couldn't suppress. One of the media's favorite pastimes is building up a star and then tearing them down. That's what makes news interesting.
If he were to sell the photos to the media, the fact that they would even notify CAA before publishing would be giving CAA a lot of face.
Although he underestimated the other party due to age and inconspicuous status, Leon Ross didn't take enough precaution. He thought throwing the weight of CAA around would make most people back down a bit.
But the young man across from him obviously wasn't easily fooled and wouldn't be swayed by unrealistic things.
This person was tough, and Leon Ross didn't have a good solution. In fact, in this situation, with the other party holding photos of Kobe Bryant, he was completely at a disadvantage.
Unless he wanted those photos to be exposed.
But the consequences of those photos being exposed would be quite severe. What this person called Murphy said would probably turn into reality.
Even if only one of those things happened, his side would pay a heavy price.
"Young man!" Leon Ross looked at Murphy, "Don't be too greedy. CAA is not easy to mess with."
Murphy tilted his head slightly, meeting the other's gaze. "I never intended to provoke CAA."
Only a fool would want to provoke CAA. He just had the misfortune of running into them.
Just as Leon Ross was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Murphy continued, "I've hurt people, been to jail, worked at the lowest level, just to make ends meet. But I have no family, no property, and no worries..."
"No worries..." Leon Ross silently repeated the phrase. As far as he knew, the other party really didn't have much to worry about.
In essence, the person across from him was just a pauper who emerged from the slums of Los Angeles.
What was the best way to deal with such a person? After circling around for a while, Leon Ross finally understood the crux of the problem.
"Speak up," he asked directly, "Give me a reasonable number."
With his hands crossed on the coffee table, Murphy calmly said, "I'm a fan of Kobe Bryant and willing to do anything for him. He's a great basketball star, a hero of the city of Los Angeles..."
From sitting down until now, Murphy had never mentioned anything related to money. Sometimes, these words could become leverage.
Such transactions surely had numerous examples between celebrities, media, and journalists, but Murphy was still cautious.
Leon Ross's expression grew more serious, realizing that he needed to treat Murphy as a heavyweight negotiator.
"Ten thousand dollars!" he tentatively offered a price.
Murphy seemed as if he hadn't heard and continued to talk about his admiration for Kobe Bryant.
"Thirty thousand dollars..." Leon Ross increased the bid.
Murphy was still talking about how Kobe Bryant was the greatest superstar in the world.
"Forty thousand dollars..." Leon Ross's voice grew lower.
Across from him, Murphy had already elevated Kobe Bryant to a level where no one else could compare.
Leon Ross looked deeply at Murphy. "Young man, seventy thousand dollars is a huge sum."
Murphy remained unmoved.
"Eighty thousand dollars!"
"Ninety thousand dollars..."
Watching Murphy, Leon Ross could tell they were approaching the limit.
"You need to know when to stop," Leon Ross's voice turned cold again. "One hundred thousand dollars."
"I said, I admire Kobe." Murphy knew when to stop too. Although the agent's attitude wasn't good, they were only using surface tactics. Murphy didn't believe CAA would act openly and honestly. The current offer wasn't low for him, and it clearly hadn't touched CAA's bottom line. "Kobe is my idol, and I will never let anything harmful to him circulate."
Upon hearing Murphy's words, Leon Ross couldn't help but look at Murphy again, feeling that this young man was even more seasoned and clever than he had estimated.
"I want all copies," Leon Ross steadied himself and pretended to be calm. "And a confidentiality agreement."
Murphy picked up his cup, drank the remaining coffee, and stood up. "You know my number."
With that, he didn't ask for the storage disk, turned around, and walked toward the cafe's entrance.
After a night of hard work, earning a hundred thousand dollars, Murphy believed this deal was entirely worthwhile.
Later, Murphy met with lawyer Robert and went to Burbank, officially signing a temporary work contract with Channel 6 and participating in the production of the documentary.
Channel 6 had its own editors and production staff. Although Murphy would be credited as assistant director and cinematographer in the untitled documentary, there wasn't much he could contribute.
Murphy didn't mind. Compared to Channel 6's professionals, he was still an inexperienced novice, not yet capable of fully handling the role of assistant director.
Most of the time, Murphy was assisting the editor.
Since there was no need to shoot new footage, and only past video material was being used, the importance of the editor's work became evident, and Murphy's role behind the editor was reasonable.
Becoming a qualified director and editor was not easy.
In the editing room, Murphy stood in a non-obtrusive place, not saying a word, just watching as Griffiths, the editor, worked. Griffiths was busy working on the Bill Road case video and a robbery case Murphy had filmed a long time ago. He used parallel montage to intercut footage of the poor and the wealthy, connecting the images of the gunned-down poor and the wealthy white people closely. It seemed he wanted to prove that violence and crime in Los Angeles were not confined to one area; both the poor and the rich were victims.
Moreover, compared to the specially processed footage broadcast on the news, the footage here was more realistic and bloody, ignoring the facial blurs covering the identities of the deceased, making it more eye-catching.
"Your footage is exceptional," Griffiths said, approaching Murphy after finishing work. "I've been in this business for so many years and have never seen anyone capture such shocking scenes."
"Thank you," Murphy said modestly. "It's just luck."
The door to the editing room was knocked from the outside, and after Griffiths responded, someone pushed the door open from outside. Murphy turned to look, seeing Kara Feis in a professional suit. She greeted Griffiths first, then called Murphy out of the editing room.
They found a vacant table in the TV station's lounge and sat down. Kara Feis addressed Murphy directly, "You seem to be really serious about learning."
"Opportunities like this are rare," Murphy
said earnestly. "I cherish them."
Kara Feis gestured toward Santa Monica and asked, "How's that going?"
"It's basically settled," Murphy replied.
As she was someone in the know, Murphy didn't need to hide anything from her. "I'll sign a confidentiality agreement with their agent tomorrow."
"How much?" Kara Feis made a counting motion with her fingers.
Murphy shook his head. "Not much."
He held up five fingers, flipping them over on both sides.
Kara Feis understood. With a hint of sarcasm, she said, "That's unlike you."
"It's already quite a bit," Murphy said contentedly. "It's just gossip, and for me, CAA is much harder to deal with than the LAPD."
"I know," Kara Feis said without giving him any face, "and I know that once you enter the film industry, you'll become even poorer."
She sighed softly, then took on a persuading tone, "In Hollywood, there's a rule: a director never invests in his own film."
If it were anyone else, Kara Feis wouldn't have said so much.
"I know this unwritten rule," Murphy leaned back in his chair. "But I can't think of any other way."
Submitting scripts, he still hadn't received any responses; going for interviews, the other party would just learn about his experience of injuring a director and close the door...
He had wasted a year in prison already, and his future time wasn't too much. With each passing year, the chance of success diminished.
Kara Feis checked her watch and stood up. "Then I can only wish you good luck."
After a year of bad luck, Murphy's luck had been quite good recently. But he wasn't sure how long this streak of good luck would last, especially in the film industry, where luck often played a significant role. If luck was bad, even the most brilliant film might appear at the wrong time and place, unrecognized by anyone. A good film was just the most basic condition for success.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone