Chapter 518: The Golden Rule

Growing up in an environment that overlooked individual motives, Murphy knew he couldn't take the same approach with his film. Especially for a movie like this, if the protagonist didn't have a convincing motive, the film, even if it did well at the box office, would never become a classic nor achieve the sophisticated tone he aimed for.

Hollywood has created many righteous characters, but few films have deeply explored the multifaceted nature of their protagonists, especially in commercial cinema. How does Hollywood typically craft characters in commercial films?

For good characters, they add a few flaws, like being careless or impulsive. For villains, they add a few virtues, like being elegant or emotional. Many so-called "three-dimensional" characters in commercial films are created this way.

To Murphy, this approach seemed counterproductive, disrupting the story's rhythm. Although it's an improvement over creating purely idealistic characters, it wasn't much more sophisticated.

A truly exceptional character doesn't fear being portrayed as flawless because the writer doesn't just organize a story to show their strengths and weaknesses. Instead, they place them in a compelling story, where the character is influenced by the past and bears the consequences of the narrative.

In simple terms: "Motive" and "Cost."

This rule applies to all mainstream Hollywood films. "Superman Returns," for example, was widely criticized because Superman didn't face any real constraints, didn't bear any consequences, and didn't pay any price. He just did what he was supposed to do, making the film feel bland and uninteresting.

"Spider-Man 1" was criticized for being silly and childish because Peter Parker's uncle's death felt like a forced plot device to emphasize "with great power comes great responsibility," unrelated to the main storyline.

In contrast, "Spider-Man 2" received better reviews because Peter losing his powers and then regaining them became the emotional core of the story.

"Iron Man" surprised audiences because the writers let Tony Stark's personality shape the story, rather than using extra plot points to showcase his character. Tony's likable yet flawed nature, driven by his need for redemption, made the audience root for him.

Motive and cost are essential elements for a film to captivate both audiences and critics.

Thus, Murphy planned to give his protagonist a compelling motive that seamlessly integrated into the story and would show the consequences of this motive.

Yes, the motive and cost must serve the entire story.

After years in Hollywood, Murphy had distilled one golden rule: A bad film starts with a bad story.

How to tell a story that captivates is the most enchanting part of filmmaking.

Telling a good story seems simple and easy in theory, but truly well-told stories are rare in Hollywood. Murphy intended to discard the tried-and-true traditional narrative patterns of Hollywood genre films and boldly adopt the narrative rhythm of TV dramas.

What is the traditional Hollywood narrative like?

Anyone who has studied Hollywood's suspense-building techniques knows the basic structure. An American screenwriter and producer, Syd Field, summarized the basic structure of a successful commercial screenplay in several books—many of which became essential reading for film writing courses: setup, confrontation, resolution; with plot points I and II transitioning between these sections.

This is the simplest and most effective model Murphy had seen. Hollywood is essentially a production line. A successful model is refined through countless market successes and failures, and once proven effective, Hollywood never hesitates to repeat it.

Murphy wouldn't claim that all Hollywood scripts are written according to Field's model, but most commercial and even some acclaimed indie films exhibit its influence, and most moviegoers enjoy the satisfaction it provides.

For example, "Iron Man," which catapulted Robert Downey Jr. to stardom, is a textbook case.

The first act sets up Tony Stark's genius and luxurious life; the first plot point is when he's captured by terrorists; the second act is the confrontation, where he escapes using the Iron Man suit and reforms his ways, facing opposition and improving his suit; the second plot point is discovering his long-time partner is the true villain; the third act is the resolution, where Tony defeats the villain and himself.

"Iron Man," like many other Marvel films, follows this model, making their stories compelling.

Murphy carefully studied this and found that Field's plot points I and II played a critical role: the first plot point reforming Tony Stark, and the second providing the main antagonist. They effectively shifted the story's direction.

The film had only three action scenes interspersed with numerous dialogues to round out the story and clarify character relationships, without adding excessive suspense, saving time and effort.

Marvel's movies are quintessential products of Field's model.

Therefore, after watching many Marvel movies, one often feels they are all cut from the same mold, repeatedly treading familiar ground.

But no one can deny Marvel's success, just as no one can deny the importance of Field's model in Hollywood's global dominance.

Marvel's films are excellent but not universally regarded as timeless classics, perhaps marking the distinction between excellent works and legendary ones.

"Iron Man," for instance, is an outstanding product of Hollywood's assembly line but still far from a timeless classic.

Murphy, now an established Hollywood director with solid box office credentials, naturally sought more. Thus, he ignored traditional models, focusing instead on creating conflict and resolution from the narrative, borrowing techniques from TV series writers.

TV writers focus on the density of conflict creation and resolution, not the overall pacing. Murphy planned similarly, making his new series a continuous conflict-resolution cycle, leading to a butterfly effect, escalating into a city-wide war and social upheaval in New York.

It took Murphy nearly ten days to finalize character settings, themes, and outlines, and it still needed further refinement. The actual script writing would likely begin after the Oscars.

But he wasn't in a hurry. Crafting a classic series isn't easy. It requires repeated polishing. The saying "patience pays off" aptly describes his current work.

Progress on the new script was slow. Murphy spent almost all his time on it until 20th Century Fox notified him that "The Wolf of Wall Street" was ending its North American run. Only then did he shift his focus slightly.

After nearly twenty weeks in theaters, "The Wolf of Wall Street" had exhausted its box office potential. While 20th Century Fox could keep it in select theaters in Los Angeles and New York until after the Oscars for consideration, both Murphy and Fox knew the film had garnered enough nominations. Winning major awards was unlikely, and without further public relations efforts, it was better to pull it from theaters and release it on DVD and for online rentals.

In March, "The Wolf of Wall Street" officially ended its North American run, grossing $241.68 million.

Though it didn't break the $250 million mark, this figure ensured it ranked in the top ten of 2009's North American box office.

For a Wall Street-themed film, this was a remarkable achievement.

20th Century Fox's executives, having heard from Bill Rosis that Murphy was preparing a new series, informed him that his 20% share of the North American box office would be paid within a month.

Fox then released "The Wolf of Wall Street" on DVD, but with declining DVD sales, it sold only about 350,000 units in the first week.

However, paid streaming and online rentals significantly outperformed "Inglourious Basterds," increasing by nearly 50%, indicating the future trend for the film industry.

At the Oscars, Murphy and "The Wolf of Wall Street" won nothing, with Kathryn Bigelow and "The Hurt Locker" being the biggest winners.

The weekend after the Oscars, North America saw the release of the most anticipated March film ever—"Batman v Superman."

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