Chapter 79

Please give me some recommendation votes, brothers, if you have any to spare!

"You can rest assured," Murphy thought for a moment and said to James Franco, "You won't have any scenes together."

James Franco gritted his teeth, seemingly using a lot of effort to make up his mind, "I'll talk to my agent."

Seeing that the conversation between Murphy and James Franco had come to a pause, Seth Rogen squinted his eyes and asked tentatively, "Are you talking about filming a movie?"

Murphy nodded.

James Franco, with a thick tongue, said, "His first movie just finished its run in North America, and he's preparing for the second one."

"Oh..." Seth Rogen, who looked honest, was not at all foolish. Thinking about how he had been bumping around Hollywood like a headless fly for months without even landing a small role, he quickly spoke up, "Director Stanton..."

"Murphy," Murphy reminded him, "Call me Murphy."

Seth Rogen nodded, scratching the back of his head and squeezing out a sentence, "I... I'm an actor too."

This guy looked much older, and just by appearance, he seemed even older than James Franco, but he was a newcomer to Hollywood, and his face had not been hardened by experience.

"Although we had a bit of a disagreement," Murphy first looked at Seth Rogen, then at James Franco, "I feel a connection with you, just like with Jim. Come to my studio tomorrow, and we can talk more."

"Do you have a pen?" He turned to James Franco, who fished a fountain pen out of his pocket and handed it over. Murphy glanced at it, noticing the new tag, and sarcastically asked, "Where did you get this?"

James Franco shrugged, neither admitting nor denying it.

Taking a napkin, Murphy wrote down his contact information and the detailed address of his studio, then handed it to Seth Rogen.

After dinner, the three chatted for a while longer, until the early hours of the morning before parting ways.

The next morning, as soon as Murphy finished breakfast, Seth Rogen came over.

"Paul, this is Seth Rogen, an actor from Canada."

In the living room of the studio, Murphy introduced the two, "Seth, this is Paul Wilson, my assistant director."

After the two exchanged greetings, he led Seth Rogen into a room on the left, which had been converted into an audition room. Murphy was always cautious and wouldn't just pull someone into his production because of a name. Who knew what these guys were like before they became famous.

He picked a random scene script and asked Seth Rogen to improvise, which was essentially a preliminary interview.

Unlike James Franco, with whom he had worked before, Murphy didn't know much about Seth Rogen and wouldn't casually give him an important role.

However, this guy's performance was good. Winning second place in a performance competition wasn't just bragging. After a two-minute improvised performance, Murphy had a preliminary approval of him.

After chatting a bit more, Murphy learned that this guy was actually younger than himself, though he looked to be in his thirties.

"The project hasn't officially started preparation yet."

Leaving the audition room, Murphy walked while talking to Seth Rogen, who was following him, "Filming might start at the end of April or early May. Arrange your schedule accordingly."

"No need to arrange." Seth Rogen squinted his eyes, "I have nothing else to do. Murphy, I'm waiting for your film."

He wasn't stupid. After going home last night, he specifically checked online. James Franco was already a somewhat famous actor, and the name Murphy Stanton could be found on IMDb. His last work, "Hard Candy," had grossed nearly $1.5 million in North America with a budget of $300,000...

Compared to the TV shows and insignificant small roles he had been applying for recently, this opportunity in a movie was too rare.

And that fight last night seemed to have some benefits. The three of them had a great chat, and he believed that as long as he performed well, the chances of getting a role were very high.

With a lot of work to do, Murphy let Seth Rogen wander around on his own while he started his busy day.

Interviewing financial staff, contacting James Franco's agent, communicating with Bill Rosi about the needed behind-the-scenes roles, further revising the script...

It wasn't until noon that he stepped out of his study.

Coming downstairs, Murphy found that Seth Rogen hadn't left but was helping Paul Wilson move things. He couldn't help but think that this guy could be a good temporary free laborer.

Lunch was takeout. The receptionist, cleaner, and phone operator, who was also the double portion, didn't come over to Murphy but sat on a chair that might fall apart at any moment, quietly enjoying her donuts and fried chicken legs.

Murphy and the other two gathered around a table.

"Don't be polite, Seth." Murphy pushed a bento into the fat man's hand, "The studio is just starting, so lunch is a bit simple. Don't mind it."

"It's fine, it's fine." Seth Rogen sat back in his chair, waving his hand, "It's much better than the work meals in Canada."

Paul Wilson raised his cola glass and took a big sip, "Most Hollywood productions' lunches are even worse than ours."

The three of them laughed.

"Murphy, Seth is very talented," Paul Wilson added, "He wrote a script for a Canadian TV show, and it was used."

Seth Rogen scratched the back of his head, modestly saying, "It was just a small show on a Vancouver local station."

"I didn't know you were so versatile," Murphy seemed not to hear him and suddenly asked, "Seth, are you interested in behind-the-scenes work in a production?"

"Actually..." Seth Rogen smiled sheepishly, "Besides screenwriting, I also want to become a producer and director."

He sighed, "These were my thoughts in Vancouver. Coming to Los Angeles, I realized how hard it is to enter Hollywood. I can't even showcase my acting skills."

"I can give you a chance," Murphy suggested, "If you're interested, you can come to my side and do some behind-the-scenes work for now."

"Really?" Seth Rogen's face lit up with surprise, "I can?"

"Of course." Murphy nodded solemnly, "You can come anytime."

He looked at Paul Wilson, "You can be Paul's assistant for now."

"Great! Great!" Seth Rogen's chubby face was beaming, "I was worried about having nothing to do. Thank you, Murphy."

If he could pass the audition, besides being listed as an actor, he could also be given a title like assistant director or associate producer. These titles wouldn't cost anything and would earn him a free laborer.

Although Paul Wilson was contacting classmates to intern, free labor was always better to have more of.