Chapter 70 of 100
Chapter 70
12 min read2,903 words
Please... please... give me some recommendations!
As the sun had just climbed above the horizon, not yet illuminating the dark Latin community, a van turned out of a T-junction and barreled into the narrow community road, drawing furious glares from countless people before finally stopping in front of a dilapidated small building. △
The person in the passenger seat picked up a phone and dialed a number, shouting, "Boss, the car is here, you can come down now."
This call seemed to be the opening act, as the previously quiet building suddenly came to life. One by one, burly men carrying packed boxes emerged from the building.
The last to come out was a Latin man with intricate tattoos on his hands, who loudly reminded them, "You bastards, be careful, handle them gently, the boxes are full of art!"
"Boss..." A bald black man walked to the back of the van, passing a box to someone above, then turned back with a grin, "Don't worry, this is nothing for us."
The sun peeked out from behind a small building behind the van, its rays shining on the black man's forehead, reflecting a few star-like glimmers. The black man smiled, revealing exceptionally white teeth, "Boss, I didn't expect you to really know the movie company's boss. Talk to Mr. Stanton, when can we get a chance to appear in a movie?"
Murphy, carrying a briefcase, was just walking out of the building, "If you're willing, next month."
Hearing this, the black man was taken aback. Murphy walked over to Ross and continued, "But there's no salary, no lines, and you'll be chopped up."
Laughter erupted around them, and the black man awkwardly scratched his head.
With many hands, the few boxes were quickly moved. The van slowly started and drove out of the Latin community, heading toward the new house Murphy had found.
It had been almost a week since Murphy returned to Los Angeles. Apart from completing the deal with Miramax Films, he spent most of his time looking at houses with the real estate agent Robert introduced. He had many requirements: the house needed to be suitable for both office work and as a temporary residence, and the price couldn't be too high. After a while of searching, he finally signed the lease contract yesterday.
This house was located at the border of Santa Monica and West Hollywood, on the outskirts of the valley, a two-story detached building. The first floor was about 1,500 square feet, and the second floor had two bedrooms with bathrooms and a study, perfectly meeting Murphy's needs.
Given its relatively good location and large size, the rent wasn't cheap, with Murphy paying $5,500 per month, which was still a friendly price thanks to Robert's recommendation.
Another reason Murphy liked it was that the house was originally the office of a small company, which had recently moved to an office building. Many old desks, chairs, and equipment were left behind, which Murphy bought at a very low price, saving them from being scrapped.
The van passed through West Hollywood, then through the green area of Santa Monica, and finally stopped in front of the detached house. Murphy's Ford followed, and he parked, greeted Ross, who had come in another car, and directed his people to unload the van.
Pushing open the iron gate and walking through a stone path about thirty feet long, Murphy climbed the high steps, took out the key, and opened the door. He waved to the people behind him and went in first.
Through the foyer was a large living room, but there were no sofas or other furniture. Instead, it was filled with about a dozen partitioned desks, all office equipment Murphy had acquired, looking somewhat old but neatly arranged after being cleaned by a cleaning company before the move.
"Over here..."
He walked to the stairs leading to the second floor, opened a door, and revealed a basement storage room almost as large as the living room.
Most of the items they had moved, except for a few laptops, might not be needed in the short term or even in the future.
These items could be stored in the basement for him to sort out later.
With many hands, the move was completed quickly. Murphy took them to a nearby restaurant, as the host, he had to treat them to a meal.
Last night, Ross called him, hearing about the move, and brought this group of people over.
In the restaurant, the others sat together enjoying grilled meat, while Murphy and Ross sat in a booth, eating and chatting.
"So..."
Hearing about Murphy's experience at the St. Denis Film Festival, Ross looked up in surprise, "You invested over $300,000 in a film, and it sold for $1 million?"
"Yeah," Murphy chewed on the fragrant grilled meat, speaking indistinctly, "You should be able to see this movie in theaters soon."
This film was small in scale, and Miramax wouldn't invest too many resources. After a simple promotion, it would be released in theaters, followed by TV broadcasts and video releases.
"Such high profit?" Ross furrowed his brow, his scarred face showing a thoughtful expression, "The return on investment is impressive."
Murphy swallowed his food, "Just lucky, if not, that $300,000 might have turned into waste paper."
"No, no," Ross put down his knife and fork, raising his finger, "If once was luck, so many times together can't be explained by luck."
Since meeting Murphy in prison, Ross couldn't count how many unexpected things he had done.
Murphy smiled and suddenly changed the topic, shouting to a few people at another table, "When my film is released, I'll take you all to see it."
Laughter erupted again, and the bald black man, clearly a lively character, shouted, "Can we find some pretty actresses to accompany us? Don't they say there are a lot of beautiful women in Hollywood?"
Raising his hand, Murphy gave them the middle finger.
Laughter erupted once more.
Murphy shook his head, turned back, and found Ross still deep in thought.
"Are you going to continue making movies?" Ross looked at him, asking, "Is that right?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Murphy picked up his water glass and took a sip, then resumed his usual tone, "My future is in Hollywood."
Ross didn't mock or ridicule, but asked seriously, "Do you have any new film plans?"
"I have some ideas," Murphy, considering him his best friend, didn't hide anything, "I'm still organizing them, it will take some time."
Nodding lightly, Ross unexpectedly said, "I can invest in your new film."
Murphy was surprised, completely not expecting Ross to have this idea.
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---