Chapter 21

Perhaps some people would be intimidated by the name CAA, but given Murphy's character, he would never back down at this point.

He looked at Leon-Ross across from him and said slowly, "CAA is indeed very powerful, but can they control the media? Do you really think you're Viacom or News Corp?"

Murphy shrugged and continued, "Even Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone wouldn't dare claim they can control all the media."

CAA does have a certain influence over many media outlets, but to say they can control the media is a joke.

News like that about Kobe Bryant is not something CAA can suppress. One of the things media loves to do is to create a star and then destroy a star, which makes the news more sensational and attractive.

If he sold the photos to the media, it would already be a big favor to CAA if they notified them before publication.

Although Leon-Ross underestimated him due to his age and unremarkable identity, he didn't take it seriously enough, thinking that throwing out the name CAA would make most people back off.

But the young man across from him was not so easily fooled and wouldn't be swayed by unrealistic things.

This person was impervious to both soft and hard tactics, and Leon-Ross had no good way to deal with him. In fact, at this point, with the photos of Kobe Bryant in the other party's hands, he was completely on the defensive.

Unless he wanted those photos to be exposed.

But the consequences of those photos being exposed would be severe, and many of the things this person named Murphy mentioned might indeed come true.

Even if only one of them happened, his side would have to pay a heavy price.

"Young man!" Leon-Ross looked at Murphy, "Don't be too greedy, CAA is not to be trifled with."

Murphy tilted his head slightly, meeting the other's gaze, and said, "I never intended to provoke CAA."

Only a fool would want to provoke CAA; he just had bad luck and ran into this situation.

Just as Leon-Ross was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Murphy continued, "I've hurt people, been to jail, and do the lowest-level work, just to make ends meet. But I have no family, no property, and no worries..."

"No worries..." Leon-Ross repeated the phrase silently, knowing that the other party indeed had nothing to worry about.

To put it bluntly, the person across from him was just a poor rogue from the Los Angeles slums.

What was the best way to deal with such a person? After circling around the issue, Leon-Ross finally understood the crux of the problem.

"Speak up," he asked directly, "Name a reasonable price."

With his hands crossed on the coffee table, Murphy said calmly, "I am a fan of Kobe Bryant and am willing to do anything for him. He is a great player and a hero of Los Angeles..."

Since sitting down, Murphy had not mentioned anything about money, and these words could sometimes be used as leverage.

Such transactions between celebrities, media, and journalists certainly exist in large numbers, but Murphy was very cautious.

Leon-Ross's expression became increasingly serious, and he finally decided to treat Murphy as a heavyweight negotiator.

"Smart and cunning like a fox, steady and patient like a hunter!"

For some reason, Leon-Ross thought of this phrase when he looked at Murphy.

"One hundred thousand dollars!" he tentatively offered a price.

Murphy seemed not to have heard, continuing to speak at length, "I am a fan of Kobe and would never do anything to harm my idol..."

Leon-Ross originally thought he could resolve this matter with some tactics without much effort, but in the end, he had to resort to money. Fortunately, he was prepared, and his employer had said that problems that could be solved with money were not problems.

Of course, there was a limit to the amount of money.

"Three hundred thousand dollars..." he raised the price.

Murphy continued to talk about how much he admired Kobe Bryant.

"Four hundred thousand dollars..." Leon-Ross's voice became low.

Across from him, Murphy had already elevated Kobe Bryant to a super star unmatched by anyone in the world.

Leon-Ross looked deeply at Murphy, "Greed is a sin! Young man, five hundred thousand dollars is a huge sum."

Murphy showed no signs of stopping, as if he were truly a die-hard fan of the basketball star.

"You..." Leon-Ross's eyes widened, "Seven hundred thousand dollars! This is the highest price I can offer, don't be too greedy!"

Murphy remained unmoved.

"Eight hundred thousand dollars!"

"Nine hundred thousand dollars..."

Looking at the other side, Murphy could tell they were nearing the bottom line.

"You need to know when to stop." Leon-Ross's voice turned cold again, "One million dollars."

"I said, I admire Kobe." Murphy also knew when to stop, though the agent's attitude was poor, he used overt means. He didn't believe CAA would only act openly, and the current price was not low for him, clearly not touching CAA's bottom line. "Kobe is my idol, and I will never let anything that harms my idol spread!"

Hearing Murphy's words, Leon-Ross couldn't help but look at him again, feeling that this young man was even more experienced and smart than he had estimated.

"I need all the copies." Leon-Ross steadied himself and said calmly, "And a confidentiality agreement."

Murphy picked up his cup, finished the remaining coffee, and stood up, "You know my number."

With that, he didn't even ask for the storage disk and turned to walk toward the coffee shop door.

A night's hard work had earned him one million dollars, and Murphy thought this deal was worth it.

Afterward, Murphy met with his lawyer Robert and went to Burbank to sign a temporary work contract with Channel 6, officially joining the production of the documentary.

Channel 6 had its own editors and production staff. Although Murphy would be credited as an assistant director and photographer on the unnamed documentary, he had little involvement.

Murphy didn't mind. Compared to the professionals at Channel 6, he was a novice with little experience, not yet capable of fully handling the role of assistant director.

Most of the time, Murphy was assisting the editor.

Since no new footage needed to be shot, using only past video materials, the editor's role became crucial. It made sense for Murphy to follow the editor.

Becoming a qualified director and editor is not an easy task.

In the editing room, Murphy stood in a place where he wouldn't get in the way, saying nothing, just watching the editor named Griffith work. He was handling the video of the Bill Road incident and a robbery case in a Latin community that Murphy had shot long ago, using parallel montage to closely link the poor man who was shot and the wealthy white man, seemingly to prove that violent crime in Los Angeles was no longer confined to one area, and both the poor and the rich were victims.

Compared to the specially processed images in the news, the footage here was more real and bloody, and ignoring the facial blurring to protect the identity of the deceased, it was more eye-catching.

"The footage you shot is rare."

After a break in the work, Griffith walked over to Murphy, pointing to the Bill Road incident on the screen, and said, "I've been in this business for many years, and I've never seen anyone capture such a shocking scene."

"Thank you." Murphy was unusually humble, "Just lucky, I guess."

At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the editing room. After Griffith responded, someone pushed the door open. Murphy turned to see it was Kara Fice in a business suit. She nodded to Griffith and then called Murphy out of the editing room.

In the rest area on the first floor of the TV station, they found an empty table and sat down. Kara Fice said directly to Murphy, "It looks like you're really taking this seriously."

"Such opportunities are rare." Murphy said earnestly, "I value it very much."

Kara Fice pointed in the direction of Santa Monica and asked, "How's that thing going?"

"Pretty much settled."

Since the person across from him was in the know, Murphy didn't need to hide anything, "Tomorrow I will sign a confidentiality agreement with the other party's agency."

"How much?" Kara Fice made a gesture of counting money.

Murphy shook his head, "Not much."

He held up five fingers and wiggled them.

Kara Fice understood and said mockingly, "That doesn't sound like you."

"It's not bad." Murphy said contentedly, "It's just gossip, and for me, CAA is more intimidating than the LAPD."

"To succeed in the film industry..." Kara Fice said bluntly, "You shouldn't have provoked CAA."

Murphy finally showed a hint of helplessness, "How could I have known that a basketball star like Kobe Bryant would be under an entertainment company like CAA?"

But then he put away his helplessness, "Dear, you know I need the money, a lot of money."

"I know that." Kara Fice didn't spare him any face, "And I know that entering the film industry will make you even poorer than you are now."

She sighed softly and changed her tone to a more persuasive one, "Hollywood has a rule: a director should never invest in their own film."

If it were anyone else, Kara Fice 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."

None of the scripts he submitted had received a response; when he went to auditions, the moment they learned he had injured a director, the door would close.

He had already wasted a year in prison, and the future was not long. The older he got, the fewer chances he had to succeed.

Kara Fice checked her watch and stood up, "Then I can only wish you good luck."

After a year of bad luck, Murphy's recent luck had been quite good, but he wasn't sure how long this good luck would last, especially in the film industry, where luck often played a crucial role. If the luck was bad, even the most brilliant film could flop so badly that no one would recognize it.

A good film is just the most basic condition for a film's success.