Chapter 676: I Am the Agent of Chaos

In the beach area of Santa Monica, people came and went at the entrance of a small building topped with a cross. However, one office inside remained very quiet, seldom disturbed by anyone. Archbishop Marques Costello was seated in front of his computer, reading the most shared messages on Facebook today.

These messages mostly had nothing to do with Catholicism. After many years, Archbishop Costello had to admit that the influence of Catholicism in North America was not what it once was. Even in regions like California, and the northeastern United States, devout Catholic followers were steadily declining.

As he scanned through the messages, Costello came across a familiar name and paused his scrolling.

"Murphy Stanton's new film 'Dark City' is officially scheduled for release next summer, hitting theaters across North America and many other countries on May 3!"

Seeing this name, Archbishop Costello immediately frowned.

Earlier this year, Pope Benedict XVI himself had called to inquire about the pastoral work in the South-Central California diocese. His dissatisfaction was evident, especially regarding the failure to suppress the film "Diego Ross," with his words being quite harsh.

Costello subsequently submitted a detailed report, attributing a series of problems to Murphy Stanton and the negative impact of that film, claiming it was Stanton's deliberate defamation that had hindered the spread of Catholicism in the South-Central California diocese.

Though exaggerated, this did reflect part of the truth. Both he and the Vatican were well aware of the significant influence of a Hollywood super-director. From some perspectives, these directors had a far greater impact than actors and stars, winning the fanatical support of countless moviegoers, even to the extent of some fans' devotion rivaling that of their faith in God.

Murphy Stanton was one such director!

Although he hadn't succeeded in stopping "Diego Ross" from being released or Murphy Stanton from winning big at the Oscars, the Catholic Church still had several loyal supporters in Hollywood. According to them, after winning the Oscar for Best Director, Murphy Stanton was undoubtedly one of the top five super-directors in the industry.

Some even told him that with Spielberg and Scorsese aging, Ridley Scott being inconsistent, and David Fincher having average commercial success, the most globally influential directors in Hollywood now were only James Cameron and Murphy Stanton!

Turning off the computer and sitting quietly for a while, Archbishop Costello recalled Pope Benedict XVI's instructions: to quickly eliminate the negative impact caused by Murphy Stanton and "Diego Ross" and restore the Catholic Church's credibility in the South-Central California diocese.

This was easier said than done, especially in Hollywood's stronghold.

"What exactly should I do?"

This was the question Archbishop Costello had to consider.

The post-production work of the film crew continued, and the busy promotional marketing efforts did not slack off. In December, Murphy released a series of new posters featuring James Franco.

"New posters again?"

Opening her Twitter and checking Murphy's account, Daisy saw several new posters. "It looks like the Magician-themed series..."

She scrolled through the images, first seeing James Franco in a cheap-looking black magician's costume, standing with an eerie expression in front of a glass window. He wrote in blood-red ink on the glass, "I'm the agent of chaos!"

"I am the agent of chaos!" Daisy muttered to herself, "I am the agent of chaos! I am the agent of chaos..."

These words pierced through all barriers, like a divine light, reaching the deepest part of Daisy's soul. She suddenly realized: everything she had been thinking about was, in essence, chaos.

Wanting to punish those who attacked Murphy also required chaos, didn't it?

Daisy's fingers unconsciously swiped through more posters, each prominently featuring the sinister Magician. He marked the faces of Chris Dane, Jay Rachel, and Detective Lynch with a large red X, as if these were drawn with their blood.

"I get it..." Daisy felt enlightened, "I understand what to do!"

She put away her phone, ran into her bedroom, and rummaged around. Finally, in the corner of her makeup cabinet, she found a bright red lipstick purchased years ago. She twisted it open, examined it, then put it in her handbag, grabbed a wide-brimmed baseball cap, and left her house.

Driving her red Chevrolet, Daisy soon arrived at the nearest Catholic church. Since it wasn't a Sunday, the church appeared deserted.

Daisy parked in a hidden spot far away, donned her baseball cap, changed into a common coat, and walked towards the church, observing her surroundings. Seeing no one around, she quickly sped up and reached the church entrance.

Standing there, she looked up at the cross on the church roof. Daisy took out the bright red lipstick from her handbag and drew a large red X on the stone to the left of the door.

Feeling this wasn't enough, she twisted the lipstick more and wrote below the red X: "I'm the agent of chaos!"

The bright red lipstick marks stood out starkly against the blue stone, reminiscent of Christ's blood.

Satisfied, Daisy quickly left, circled back to her car, and drove away.

"What a pity..."

Driving the red Chevrolet, Daisy lamented, "I still haven't found the person who attacked Murphy. Otherwise, I could carve a red X on his face with a knife. That would be the real crimson!"

Over the past few months, she had searched every Catholic church in Los Angeles but hadn't found the person she had beaten up.

But Daisy knew that finding someone in a populous area like Los Angeles wasn't easy. She wouldn't give up easily; those who did wrong must face consequences!

In Fox Tower, Murphy was still busy with the post-production of "Dark City." By mid-December, a new award season for the North American film industry had begun, attracting countless actors to Los Angeles. Margot Robbie and James Franco, who had been filming abroad, also returned to the city of angels.

Murphy summoned them to his studio to complete their post-dubbing.

"Dark City" had about 45% of its sound recorded on location, a typical ratio for a commercial film.

In today's thriving commercial film era, production cycles, filming locations, and shooting schedules are increasingly complex. Especially with films like "Dark City," set around a city, sound conditions are significantly affected. Since the quality of location sound can't always be guaranteed, Murphy had to address this reality.

During the pre-production phase, Murphy had James Franco and Henry Cavill record some of the audio, mainly as reference sounds. This allowed the crew to know what the actors were saying during post-dubbing, ensuring the emotions were clear and maintaining the highest quality possible for the dialogue.

In addition, location sound also involves recording a lot of sound materials, such as crowd noise, specific prop sounds, and other ambient sounds that are hard to recreate in post-production. Recording a lot of sounds on location provides great convenience for post-production.

Of course, good dubbing depends not only on the actors' performances but also on the subsequent mixing and dialogue editing.

Murphy's first step in the sound department was the editing of the location sound.

He gathered all the location sounds, identifying parts that technically required dubbing. As the director, he delegated this task to a professional dubbing director who would guide the actors in delivering authentic and convincing lines.

Often, actors' ad-libbed lines during dubbing add humor and enrich the dialogue.

Different characters have different dubbing methods. James Franco's dubbing was divided into two parts: one for the seemingly normal Magician and the other for the insanely manic Magician.

These were based on the location sound. In post-dubbing, if the sound quality was insufficient or if Murphy or the sound designer had other ideas, dubbing would be chosen.

During dubbing, James Franco would first mimic the location sound as closely as possible, capturing its subtleties and adjusting accordingly.

Dubbing demands both emotional and technical precision, including sound signal-to-noise ratio and tone. Murphy sometimes required James Franco to project his voice more under certain emotions or adjust the pitch, enhancing the tone.

"How have you been lately?"

After finishing their work, Murphy found James Franco during a break and asked with concern, "Are you feeling better emotionally?"

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