Chương 82: Chapter 82: Murder Workshop Conference
In Murphy's memory, a certain director once completed preparation in less than a week and shooting in just over two weeks. He didn't know how the director achieved it, but he suspected Lionsgate Studios played a significant role. After all, it was a second-tier Hollywood company, with undeniable strength.
Companies like Stanton Studio, essentially fly-by-night operations, couldn't compare to Lionsgate Studios. Apart from Bill Ross's support, Murphy didn't have much else to rely on and mostly had to depend on his own resources.
By the end of March, with the coordination of Bill Ross, Murphy had basically filled all the positions in the crew. Most of the personnel were from CAA. Unlike the crew of ten people from "Fruit Candy", the new project had nearly thirty backstage staff, not including the interns brought in by Paul Wilson.
Paul Wilson had brought in three classmates. Even though they were graduates of USC's film school, opportunities to participate in the production of feature films were scarce.
In addition, Murphy's lawyer, Robert, would continue to serve as the legal advisor for the crew.
With the personnel in place, a preparatory meeting was held at Stanton Studio. As the director, Murphy communicated and discussed the creation with all the key creative personnel to ensure a unified artistic vision guiding the preparatory work. He also gave a director's statement to all staff to unify creative thinking.
After the meeting, Murphy kept several confirmed actors to discuss some script matters.
He had been revising the script, but there were still some things he wasn't satisfied with, and he wanted to hear the actors' opinions.
In the studio's upstairs study, Paul Wilson temporarily acted as a waiter, pouring coffee for everyone. Murphy sat behind the desk, while James Franco and Seth Logan, who had recently become closer, sat on the long sofa opposite. Bill Ross stood under a shelf with cameras and other equipment, while Carey Mulligan pulled up a chair and sat next to the water dispenser on Murphy's left.
"Everyone has read the script," Murphy lightly tapped the desk to draw everyone's attention before saying, "There will be various intricate murder methods in the film, which are also important parts of the movie."
Pointing to his head, he continued, "My imagination is limited. Do any of you have more novel murder methods?"
This statement was ambiguous, causing the others to exchange puzzled looks.
James Franco crossed his arms, feigning surprise, "You want to kill someone? Who do you want to kill? Hurry up and do it, I'll call the police right now."
"Jim, this is not a joke," Murphy gave him a stern look. "I'm serious. I'm talking about murder contraptions in the movie."
"I do!" Carey Mulligan raised her hand. "I thought of one."
Murphy nodded at her. "Go ahead, Carey."
Carey Mulligan's eyes turned to James Franco. "We can design a chair where the victim... like Jim, ah, I mean Jim's character, is tied up."
James Franco's mouth trembled, feeling like something bad was about to happen.
"A password lock is set on the chair," Carey Mulligan continued, "If he can't open it within a certain time, a knife will pop out of the chair and... castrate him!"
Instinctively, James Franco clamped his legs together, feeling a chilling sensation below, as if a knife had actually popped out. He unconsciously stood up.
After standing up, he realized that everyone was staring at him with strange eyes. He opened his mouth and forced out a smile, "I... my legs are a bit numb, I need to walk around."
Murphy turned his head and looked to the side, where Carey Mulligan looked serious, but the mischief in her eyes couldn't be hidden.
"Any more ideas?" he asked the others.
To cover up his embarrassment, James Franco took a few steps back and forth, glanced around, and suddenly said, "Murphy, don't you think Carey's character has too few scenes? Her character passes the test too easily, and finding the key hurts others instead of herself."
Murphy looked at James Franco and nodded slightly, Mulligan's words were not unreasonable.
He made a gesture for James Franco to continue.
James Franco's brain quickly came up with an idea, "I think we can set up a passage between Carey's character and the person hiding the key, fill the passage with... "
This character was meant to survive, so things like knives wouldn't work. He had read the script and couldn't help but think that Murphy was biased, leaving Carey Mulligan's character alive despite so many others dying.
"... fill the passage with syringes with needles," he concluded.
Listening to James Franco's suggestion, Murphy picked up a pen and quickly jotted it down. He didn't care if it was a confrontation; as long as it substantively helped the script, he would use it.
Carey Mulligan stared fiercely at James Franco for a moment, then stole a glance at Murphy, seeing him jotting down notes, she swallowed the words she wanted to say and chose silence wisely.
Anything that might affect
Murphy's opinion of her, Carey Mulligan wouldn't dare say.
"Can I share my idea?" Seth Logan raised his hand.
Murphy smiled, "Sure, Seth, go ahead with your idea."
"One time during a chemistry lab," Seth Logan touched the scar on his hand, "sulfuric acid accidentally splashed onto my hand. I still vividly remember the burning pain."
He organized his thoughts for a moment, "I thought, could we set up a device where a person is locked on a deadly contraption, and the life-saving key is placed in a sulfuric acid bottle next to them? To survive, they would have to put their hand into the sulfuric acid..."
Paul Wilson, James Franco, Bill Ross, and Carey Mulligan all looked at this chubby guy, none of them expecting this seemingly simple guy to come up with such a twisted idea.
Seth Logan adjusted his new glasses with a sheepish smile, "I... I just proposed it."
Murphy also earnestly took notes.
Although the main focus of the first installment of this series wasn't on elaborate murder spectacles, it was still a good way to attract audiences.
Later on, this brainstorming session turned into a murder workshop conference, with even Bill Ross suggesting some twisted methods like hooking and hanging, sawing with an electric saw, and puncturing with sharp needles, among others, all coming from the mouths of the attendees.
Many of these suggestions were valuable, and Murphy would continue to use them by appropriately incorporating them into the script.
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