บท 24: Chapter 24 Recruitment
Many tasks Murphy encountered in actual operation turned out to be much more challenging than he had imagined. As the sole person involved, he found himself having to personally handle everything during the preparatory phase, sometimes wishing he had the ability to clone himself.
In addition to writing the script and devising corresponding plans, Murphy also spent money on placing recruitment advertisements in local newspapers in Los Angeles. While actors could wait, various behind-the-scenes roles needed to be determined as early as possible.
To find inexpensive yet capable interns, he specifically visited the California Institute of the Arts and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. However, as someone like him couldn't possibly receive support from these formal institutions, Murphy could only post recruitment posters around the campuses, hoping to attract students aspiring to work in the industry.
Furthermore, Murphy also took a trip to Delaware with his lawyer, Robert, to officially register Stanton Studios as a company. Although according to Delaware's commercial law, only a nominal office is required in the state, and one can even share a resident agent with other companies, this also incurred a considerable cost.
This expense undoubtedly made Murphy's financial situation even tighter, but it was necessary. To attract people to work for him, a legitimate company was much more credible than an individual, especially considering he was an inexperienced nobody.
The biggest advantage of registering a business company in Delaware is the tax incentives. Unlike California's terrifying tax rates, many Hollywood film companies, such as Disney and Paramount, register their companies in Delaware.
Delaware also has a specialized Court of Chancery for commercial disputes, making the handling of many business disputes relatively convenient.
With a formal company established, Murphy returned to Los Angeles, refining the script while dealing with recruitment matters.
His first priority was to find someone to handle various miscellaneous tasks, a position with a fancy title called Production Coordinator.
This position was crucial on a film set but often overlooked. People with a slightly higher ego generally disdained such positions, especially for Murphy's inconspicuous small project. It wasn't easy to recruit an experienced person.
To be precise, from placing recruitment advertisements to completing the registration of Stanton Studios, only six people had called him. Among them, five had never worked in the film industry before. Murphy speculated that like himself, most of these individuals came to Los Angeles in pursuit of the Hollywood dream, hoping to find a related job to support themselves and then seek opportunities.
Originally, Murphy wanted to meet these five people. After all, everyone started as a beginner, and there might be exceptionally talented individuals among them.
But the call from the sixth person changed his mind.
"You can rest assured, we are a professional film studio..."
Standing in front of the studio window, Murphy looked at the rundown building outside and confidently spoke into the phone, "Stanton Studios welcomes any talented individuals with aspirations."
"Alright..." Murphy thought for a moment and said, "Do you know the old Chinatown downtown? Let's meet at Milton Café there at 2 o'clock this afternoon."
After setting the meeting time, Murphy hung up the phone, then sat back at his laptop. Despite being in Los Angeles for only a short time, the caller had worked as a summer intern at the Lincoln Arts Center in New York. Coupled with a degree from the Drama Department of the Juilliard School, this individual's qualifications far exceeded the previous five.
Busy for the morning, after saving the written script and taking the company documents, Murphy went out for a simple lunch, then drove to the old Chinatown in Los Angeles.
On the narrow streets of the old Chinatown, a redhead girl peered through the car window curiously, observing the exotic buildings around her. Unlike New York's Chinatown, there were more slim, dark Vietnamese people here.
Driving a red car, the girl's speed was very slow due to the narrow streets. Her eyes scanned the surroundings, filled with vigilance.
Everyone knew that downtown Los Angeles had poor security.
"Why would he arrange to meet in such a place?"
Furrowing her brows, the redhead girl continued driving past Milton Café's sign at the door without stopping. She drove a bit further along the narrow and crowded road before finding a suitable parking spot by the roadside, then quietly sat and waited.
During the previous phone call, a man named Murphy Stanton explained that since the studio had just been registered and was still looking for a suitable office space, they could only meet in public places like this.
A newly established film studio...
Before coming to Los Angeles, the redhead girl wouldn't have given such a company a second look. With a good upbringing and parents with respectable jobs, coupled with her status as a high-achieving student at Juilliard, and having done a summer internship at the Lincoln Arts Center, she thought finding a suitable job wouldn't be difficult.
For someone like her, who had studied professional acting and drama, there was inevitably a sense of arrogance. However, reality taught her a harsh lesson. Los Angeles was home to too many talented and ambitious people, and the competition in this circle far exceeded her expectations.
Returning to California, the redhead girl only managed to secure three jobs: as an extra without any lines, as a temporary assistant on a set for a week, but was fired for a minor mistake, and as an actor and board member at a community theater without any pay.
These experiences severely humbled the girl's once proud heart, and made her thoughts more pragmatic. Having moved out of her parents' home, she didn't want to rely on them anymore. Instead, she wanted to find a job that could support herself as soon as possible.
This became her recent goal, and she understood that it was the most practical goal for now.
If she couldn't even achieve basic independence, how could she expect to make a name for herself in Hollywood?
After months of trials, the smart girl had learned that experience and qualifications were accumulated step by step. Many big stars in Hollywood had started from inconspicuous positions.
Contrasting her past thoughts of when she could become a leading actress in a movie, the redhead girl's current thinking was more about—how much salary this job could offer?
Waiting for over half an hour, the redhead girl pushed open the car door, locked the car, and walked towards Milton Café.
Murphy arrived at Milton Café about twenty minutes early. It wasn't far from where he lived, and he often came here for coffee recently. Sometimes, feeling bored working alone at the studio, he would bring his laptop here and treat this relatively quiet café as his office space.
Ordering a coffee, Murphy sat in his usual corner, contemplating his next tasks while keeping an eye on the entrance. He had instructed that if someone came looking for him, the server would immediately bring them over.
Giving up his previous job and returning to the Hollywood dream road, Murphy knew he would face immense pressure. His ideal employees were also people capable of handling significant work pressure.
After waiting for about ten minutes, a redhead girl entered the café. She said a few words to the server, who then led her towards Murphy's table.
The entrance was a bit far from where Murphy was sitting. He discreetly glanced at the redhead girl.
She seemed to be in her early twenties, about five feet six inches tall. The most striking thing about her was her rare red hair, and the snow-like skin visible under her Western-style dress.
Overall, apart from having slightly high cheekbones, there was nothing particularly
outstanding about her appearance.
Murphy didn't care about these superficial traits. He was looking for someone whose abilities suited the job, not a pretty vase.
"Hi, sorry," the redhead girl spoke first before reaching Murphy's table, "I'm late."
"No problem," Murphy stood up and extended his right hand as she approached, "Are you Jessica?"
"Yes, I am," the redhead girl took a couple of steps closer and shook Murphy's hand. Murphy gestured to the seat opposite him, "Please, have a seat."
Once the girl was seated, he returned to his own position and introduced himself, "I'm Murphy, Murphy Stanton."
"Hello," the redhead girl seemed a bit nervous, evident in her guarded eyes, but she responded accordingly, "I'm Jessica, Jessica Chastain."
Hearing this name, Murphy glanced at her again. The red hair, fair skin, light blue eyes, and slightly high cheekbones...
She just looked much younger.
"My studio has just been registered," Murphy didn't waste any time, getting straight to the point and placing a series of documents from the studio in front of the redhead girl, "These are the details of the studio. You can take a look first."
These actions immediately reduced Jessica Chastain's wariness. She picked up the documents and carefully looked through them one by one.
When she reached the last document, Murphy spoke again, "My studio is preparing to produce a film, and I need to hire some professionals."
In the Los Angeles area, countless film crews were formed every day. After confirming that the studio truly existed upon reviewing the documents, Jessica asked, "The newspaper said it's for a Production Coordinator position. Could you elaborate on the specific responsibilities?"
From her appearance, the man across from her didn't seem much older than herself. Could such a person be capable of filming and producing a movie?
Jessica Chastain still had some doubts.
"For the fortunate ones, it's a good job..." Murphy used decorative vocabulary to explain the importance of this miscellaneous job role. Jessica wasn't stupid and roughly understood the nature of the job.
If it had been a few months ago, the proud Jessica would have definitely turned and left.
But after returning to Los Angeles and facing numerous difficulties, as well as moving out from her parents' home, she wanted to achieve complete independence and needed a job with a suitable salary. This job, closely related to the film industry and Hollywood, was perfect for her needs.
From this perspective, this job was very suitable for her requirements.
Murphy looked at her and said, "I'd like to know about your previous work experience and what you've learned from it."
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