Chapter 23

Some things are not necessarily seen more clearly by those who are in the middle of the situation than by those who are outside.

Upon returning home, Murphy carefully considered Kara-Feis's words. They were indeed very reasonable. If he bet all his money on the production of a single film, and it failed, he would inevitably face a very painful situation.

The difficult life after his release from prison had already left Murphy with lingering fears. Now that he had just escaped poverty, he did not want to return to that state.

Murphy did have some confidence in himself, but he also knew that failure was a possibility.

He had analyzed many films, and he had been a film school student, taking his studies seriously. He had just been involved in the production of a documentary, which gave him some experience. However, making a film was a different matter. Just because he had analyzed successful films from the future did not mean he could definitely produce a successful film.

Anyone with a clear head knew that the two could not be equated.

As a rational person, Murphy understood that he needed to leave himself a way out. The investment must be limited to within $300,000.

No one could guarantee that he would have the same luck as the Bill Road incident. The remaining few tens of thousands of dollars could give him a chance to turn things around if he failed.

Throughout the process, Murphy's mind remained clear. His additional insights were a favorable condition, but they could not guarantee his success.

Everyone hopes for success, especially in a highly competitive place like Hollywood.

However, there are countless examples of film flops in Hollywood due to ambition and vanity. Some have led to companies going bankrupt; some have led to directors, producers, or major studio CEOs stepping down or losing their jobs; and some have led to once-great stars fading away and becoming increasingly irrelevant...

In the film industries of all countries and regions worldwide, the number of flops far exceeds the number of successes, and the number is simply countless. How many of these were the dream projects of geniuses? Where did these geniuses end up afterward?

Compared to the nearly zero-cost investment of other art forms, the film industry, a latecomer, has never shown sympathy to its followers. The film industry is also widely recognized as a high-risk industry.

The entire film industry is governed by some irrational rules. No one can confidently claim to know the secret to making a successful film. Often, directors who claim they will make a blockbuster end up with a dismal failure.

Moreover, the former Murphy had seen countless analyses of successful and failed films online. Many people believed that summarizing these analyses would help them do better and avoid failure, but they overlooked one fact: these summaries were typical post-event analyses, and their correctness could never be verified.

Hollywood is extremely competitive. Given Murphy's current situation, if his plan failed, the consequences would be very severe.

No one wants to fail, but if it happens, you have to accept it.

Murphy definitely did not want to be one of those who failed.

Starting from the day after his meeting with Kara-Feis, he completely abandoned his previous job and focused on preparing his film plan.

Making a film must be treated as a rigorous project. Even selling things on the street would not succeed easily, let alone the unpredictable film industry.

The original studio, after Murphy replaced the desk with one more suitable for typing and writing, had become his project planning office.

To plan a project, the content of the project must be determined.

In this world, Murphy had spent a year in prison, and his assault on a director had made it so no one in Hollywood wanted to hire him. The past two months had been spent struggling for a living and raising startup funds. In the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed, and it was already August 2000. Apart from causing a lot of trouble, he had achieved nothing.

After experiencing so many things and encountering so many difficulties, Murphy knew that the scripts he had submitted to Hollywood had little chance of being produced. He had basically given up on this idea and focused all his energy on the new project.

With only about $300,000 to invest, this limited the scale and content of the film. Films that required frequent changes of scenes, large numbers of actors, numerous devices, and complex behind-the-scenes work were not suitable.

The relatively successful small productions were Murphy's first choice.

Instantly, countless film titles appeared in Murphy's mind. In recent years, there was the groundbreaking success of "The Blair Witch Project," and in the future, there would be "Saw," which achieved great success with a small budget.

Films like "The Blair Witch Project" were not even considered by Murphy. How many years had it been since "The Blair Witch Project" was released? Even if he made such a film, he might not be able to sell it. As for viral marketing, it was uncertain whether the audience, who had already experienced it, would buy it, and where would the large amount of money for marketing come from?

Many people always thought that "The Blair Witch Project" easily earned over $100 million in North American box office, but they never paid attention to the fact that the marketing and promotion costs in North America alone exceeded $20 million!

If he had $20 million, would Murphy still consider a film like "The Blair Witch Project"?

Another method was to hand the film over to a major company for distribution, letting the company cover the costs of distribution and promotion, and then participating in the profit-sharing as a director...

If the executives of major Hollywood distribution companies were still in kindergarten, this might be possible.

One of the prerequisites for the viral marketing plans of "The Blair Witch Project" and other typical low-budget films was that the filmmakers completely sold the copyright to the distribution company!

Shaking his head, Murphy discarded these low-level and boring ideas and began to consider "Saw."

This was also a typical example of a low-budget film achieving high box office success and would later become a classic in the blood and gore horror genre. Relatively speaking, it did not require too many scenes or actors.

However, after a few minutes of consideration, Murphy gave up on "Saw." He did not overestimate himself and knew that he did not have the ability to produce such a film with only $300,000.

After rejecting several films, Murphy finally realized that the one he had thought of earlier might be the most suitable.

In terms of actors, there were only two main roles. Although the underage female role had higher requirements, Murphy had thought of alternative solutions, such as relaxing the acting requirements and focusing more on the character's appearance and the level of gore.

Finding a male actor with some acting skills and a reasonable price should not be difficult, especially in Los Angeles, the heart of Hollywood.

The setting was even easier. Over 90% of the scenes took place in a house, which could be solved by renting. The few other minor scenes were very common and could be found with minimal time and money.

The behind-the-scenes production was more complicated than finding actors and settings.

This was a modern drama. Could the actors bring their own costumes? If not, he could buy some cheap ones.

He could serve as the cinematographer himself, and the assistant director, art director, and script supervisor could also be combined, saving a significant amount of salary. However, roles like the prop master, lighting technician, and makeup artist were still necessary. Without them, the shooting would be much more difficult.

Especially the lighting technician, who directly affected the quality of the shots.

The makeup artist and prop master were also important. The former was responsible for the actors' makeup, and actors without makeup could not be filmed with high-resolution cameras, which would magnify even the smallest flaws. The latter had a lot of work, especially with the many bloody scenes, which required a lot of props.

Murphy did not have the money to use CGI to enhance the visuals.

Thinking about this, Murphy realized that the $300,000, which initially seemed ample, was actually quite tight. He had to consider cost-saving measures in his preliminary planning.

Indeed, there were many professionals in Hollywood, and some were not doing well. However, those who were struggling were the ones who needed money the most. If he could not pay the basic fees, Murphy could not expect them to work for him.

This was a very practical society. If others put in the effort, he, as the employer, had to provide a certain amount of compensation, not just vague ideals and promises.

"Ideals and promises?"

Repeating the words, Murphy slapped his forehead, thinking of where he could hire sufficiently professional and cheap help.

The Greater Los Angeles area had many colleges with film production-related programs. After graduation, most students started with the most basic jobs, and many could only work as interns in advertising crews. Those who managed to enter film crews were often the lucky ones.

Taking out his notebook, Murphy wrote down "interns," which should reduce the expenses for behind-the-scenes roles.

Additionally, he needed to hire someone to manage the crew's miscellaneous tasks. Even a small crew would generate many chores and trivial matters that needed to be handled by a dedicated person.

This position could also be filled by an intern or someone with low salary requirements.

For an entire day, Murphy considered these matters. No one could guarantee the success of a film, but thorough preparation could undoubtedly reduce the likelihood of failure.

Making a film was not something that could be done immediately, even with such a small investment. A lot of work was required.

Over the next two days, Murphy not only recorded all his thoughts but also wrote a detailed ten-page project plan. Although there were still many areas to be revised, there was plenty of time.

After initially sorting out everything and making a backup on his computer, Murphy began preparing the script. Among the many elements of a Hollywood film, the script was relatively undervalued but was the foundation of the film's production.

With a script, he could better plan the shots and shooting schedule.

Murphy first wrote the script outline. The content of the film could be simply summarized in one sentence: "How a precocious little girl castrates a pedophile uncle!"