A deep brown residence sat quietly by the roadside, surrounded by lush, meticulously manicured lawns. The road beneath the grass was packed with vehicles, each equipped with satellite receivers. These were news vans Kara Faith had borrowed from Fox Television for the shoot.
Around the vehicles, reporters wearing Fox Television and other network vests bustled about, their cameras and video cameras all aimed at the brown house.
After completing some individual actor shots, Murphy began filming scenes where Nick and Amy's incident was covered by media reporters. This was one of the few large scenes in the shoot, and as the current setup around the residence suggested, it couldn't be done discreetly and quietly.
Initially, the shooting of the reporters and broadcast vans went smoothly. However, as the sun climbed higher and the town awoke, the filming site quickly descended into chaos with the arrival of numerous onlookers.
Town residents appeared unexpectedly around the filming site. In this secluded town, there weren't many communal entertainment activities, and the crew's presence was treated as a spectacle worthy of attention.
More and more people gathered around the exterior set. Some brought their entire families, and even more astonishingly, some brought chairs, seemingly planning to spend the entire day there.
"Cut!" Murphy's voice rang out near the entrance of the deep brown house. He called for a halt to the shooting. "Let's take a ten-minute break."
James Franco and Charlize Theron, the leads, were still in makeup in a trailer behind the house. Murphy had been filming media and reporter shots when the unexpected crowd completely disrupted the plan.
"Murphy..." Paul Wilson approached him, "Do you want me to clear them out?"
"There are too many people." Murphy could see hundreds already, and since the crew needed to shoot there for a significant length of time, having tense relations with the local residents could be troublesome. He thought for a moment, "No, let's just incorporate them as onlookers in the film."
In the film, Amy's disappearance triggered a sensational social event, so having people gathered around was quite normal.
However, this was a country with relatively well-established copyright and personal rights laws. If these people appeared in the film without permission, and someone decided to pursue the matter, it could be problematic.
But having onlookers during Hollywood exterior shoots was common, and every crew had strategies for dealing with it.
"Have the production assistant draft an agreement," Murphy instructed Paul Wilson. "Find the town's official organization and have them help go door-to-door for signatures."
There would be more exterior shots and undoubtedly more onlookers; this could solve the issue once and for all.
"Problem solved?" After Paul Wilson left, Kara Faith approached, "Won't the onlookers interfere with the shooting?"
"Actually, having onlookers isn't bad. The media in the movie needs to create some spectacle."
Murphy pointed at the townspeople bringing out more folding chairs, "This is almost exactly the effect I wanted. I intended to replicate the scene on Gretna Green Street during the Simpson case, across from Nicole Brown Simpson's house."
He looked towards the makeup trailers behind the brown house, "During rehearsals, I even had Jim refer to the Simpson murder case."
"But these two cases are ultimately different," Kara Faith stood beside him, watching the growing crowd below. "Do you think the public's reaction in the film's setting is logical?"
Murphy didn't answer directly but instead said, "You used to cover social and current affairs news. You should know better than I do."
Kara Faith nodded, "The media's influence on public opinion, and the public always wanting to see and believe only what they want to."
"Just like this crowd in the square," Murphy gestured at the onlookers. "If incited, they only have two responses: the most enthusiastic cheers or the most despicable accusations."
He shook his head, "Since Amy returns to find her husband, and they present the most beautiful side that everyone wants to see, they'd rather believe this fairy tale is true."
The exterior set was ready, just waiting for James Franco and Charlize Theron, who were in makeup, to play a very important part of the movie—Amy kills her ex-boyfriend Collins and returns to Nick.
Murphy had even named this scene "A Bloody Reunion!"
With nothing immediate to do as the crew waited, Murphy chatted further with Kara Faith.
"I heard that 20th Century Fox is planning to merge its film and television production departments?" He asked with interest, "Is that true?"
"It's in the planning stages," Kara Faith nodded, "Probably after this year's Emmys."
"So, your power will increase?"
"But so will the number of competitors," Kara Faith smiled. "I also need to come up with something for TV series production. Your 'Game of Thrones' will take a long time to start production."
"Hmm..." Murphy frowned, not very knowledgeable about American TV series. If not for "Game of Thrones" being linked to the catchy "A Song of Ice and Fire," he wouldn't have specifically looked into it, and he couldn't offer much help in that area.
He and Kara Faith were both good friends and firm strategic allies. From projects like "Deadpool," it was evident that Kara Faith was fully committed, and Murphy, of course, wanted to help if he could.
Especially if Kara Faith truly moved up in 20th Century Fox—it would only benefit him, a director in Hollywood.
"Game of Thrones" was still in the scriptwriting stage and was exceptionally complex to prepare; it couldn't be shot immediately. Was there something else?
Suddenly, Murphy recalled his earlier idea.
"Kara, what do you think about the Simpson murder case as a subject?" Murphy mused. "Film it as a mini-series from different perspectives, portraying this shocking American case."
Hearing this, Kara Faith also pondered, "It seems... feasibly interesting."
"You should get professionals to assess this project," Murphy suggested, unsure of its feasibility.
Given the sensational nature of the Simpson murder case, if the series was of high quality, it would likely not lack an audience.
This case had a massive impact in North America; even someone as unrelated as Murphy had heard quite a bit about it.
In 1994, former American football star and actor O.J. Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman. Due to Simpson's celebrity status and his star defense team's meticulous planning, the trial quickly evolved into a sensational news and entertainment event. Despite the prosecution possessing a wealth of evidence, the trial lasted eight months, and the jury ultimately acquitted Simpson.
This "trial of the century" had a profound impact on American culture, leaving a deep imprint on every American's heart that year.
Even more than a decade after the verdict, the truth remained unclear, making it an excellent opportunity for a visual medium like television to play on the ambiguity.
Murphy's suggestion was just a proposal. To turn it into a viable TV project would require many steps and processes.
When James Franco and Charlize Theron, made up and ready, appeared in front of the house, Murphy temporarily set aside these thoughts and continued with the filming.
James Franco and a 'blood-stained' Charlize Theron rehearsed their movements before Murphy started shooting.
Like in the studio, Murphy didn't want any handheld filming or shaky camera work. Two cameras were set up at
angles that wouldn't interfere with each other, one behind the house door and the other to the left of a black Chevrolet sedan, to capture shots of Charlize Theron and James Franco respectively.
The shooting officially began.
The first image that appeared on Murphy's director's monitor was captured by Camera Two featuring James Franco.
He pushed open the door and stepped out, spotting the Chevrolet parked in front of the house. He also noticed the woman in the driver's seat, pausing in disbelief, seemingly unable to comprehend how the missing Amy had suddenly reappeared.
Murphy nodded in approval. Although James Franco lacked the natural stoic advantage of the book's character, his acting was superior, and his current state was more than adequate. His handsome face bore none of its usual levity, perfectly conveying Nick Dunne's state of mind.
Across from him, Charlize Theron opened the car door and staggered towards James Franco, her eyes fixed on him as if seeing the big boy she had once fallen in love with.
The reporters, played by extras, immediately followed, their camera lenses focusing on Charlize Theron, especially the dark red blood stains on her white nightgown.
The two drew closer, their facial expressions diverging.
James Franco was still dazed, while Charlize Theron had already burst into tears, like a lost child finding her way home, she threw herself into James Franco's arms.
Camera One immediately switched to a close-up.
"You damn bitch!" James Franco finally spoke.
The surrounding reporters quickly raised their cameras, capturing the embrace of the two.
"Cut!" After Murphy called cut, he quickly walked over to James Franco and Charlize Theron. "That shot didn't work. I need to redesign it!"
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