Echoes of Hollywood

Mid-December. Murphy, Quentin Tarantino, 20th Century Fox, and The Weinstein Company all received subpoenas from the California District Court. An obscure so-called famous writer had simultaneously sued them, claiming that "Inglourious Basterds" had used his ideas and concepts from over a decade ago, infringing on his copyright and demanding ten million dollars in compensation.

When Murphy got the news, he passed it directly to his agent, Bill Rossis, and his lawyer, Robert, while calling Quentin, who handled it similarly.

As for 20th Century Fox and The Weinstein Company, they had departments specifically for handling such incidents.

In recent years, Hollywood has seen a surge in similar cases, leading major studios to develop countermeasures.

Murphy was also considering whether Stanton Studio should establish such a department, given that this wasn't his first encounter with such an issue.

With films adapted from comics and novels, the rights are typically clear, rarely leading to copyright disputes. However, original films are different. Without prior works to support them, successful original films often face claims from individuals asserting that the studio stole their ideas.

This trend has worsened in recent years. There are few original films that achieve significant box office success, but almost every successful one is followed by someone seeking compensation, claiming the film stole their ideas.

Everyone knows that these individuals are often just looking for fame and a payout. Such occurrences date back to the 1950s and 60s.

However, the proliferation of these cases in recent years is directly related to how Hollywood studios have handled them. To avoid excessive hassle, studios often settle out of court, which means paying the claimants some amount of money. Although this saves on legal fees, it also provides fertile ground for more of these cases.

This practice has somewhat hindered the creation of original films. A director painstakingly creates a film, only to be chased by people claiming plagiarism, which can be extremely frustrating.

Regardless of how others react, Murphy wasn't planning on settling out of court, and Quentin's rebellious nature likely meant he wouldn't settle either.

A few days later, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported that they had traced the threatening letter's origin to a public mailbox in a busy area. Finding the sender was nearly impossible.

The police took the letter for forensic examination, but apart from fingerprints from Murphy, Gal Gadot, and two postal workers, there were no other prints. The sender had been careful.

This case seemed to be heading towards becoming a cold case. Besides beefing up his security measures, Murphy had no better solution.

He continued to believe it was a prank by a bored individual. Could this incident really escalate into a tragedy like John Lennon's, or develop into a bizarre case like John Hinckley Jr. and Jodie Foster's?

Of course, if someone were crazy enough to target the idiot in the White House instead, Murphy would cheer them on. That would be true love!

Still, Murphy heeded the advice of those around him and refrained from participating in the promotional activities and PR parties for "Inglourious Basterds." While this might hinder the film's Oscar campaign, it wouldn't significantly impact its box office performance and public response.

After three weeks in theaters, "Inglourious Basterds" maintained a steady and healthy trend at the North American box office. For two consecutive weekends, its drop in box office revenue stayed below 50%, pushing it past the $150 million mark and close to $180 million, with a cumulative total of $182.4 million.

With the film's success in North America, more overseas countries and regions began screening "Inglourious Basterds." Despite the film's theme, style, and violence making it unlikely to cause the same frenzy as a PG-13 film like "Man of Steel," its overseas box office still comfortably surpassed $150 million.

Without encountering significant obstacles, the global total for "Inglourious Basterds" exceeded $300 million, reaching $338.6 million.

This figure easily met the expectations of 20th Century Fox and The Weinstein Company, exceeding three times the production cost. The clause in Murphy's director contract was automatically triggered, granting him a 20% share of the total box office and internet revenue.

Simultaneously, the film's reputation remained as strong as its box office performance.

The Rotten Tomatoes rating for "Inglourious Basterds" stayed above 80%, and while its IMDb score inevitably fell below 9, it remained at a solid 8.6, making it into the IMDb Top 250 list's top 100.

The film also received favorable reviews from other professional critics.

This bolstered the film's Oscar campaign.

Although some Oscar voters found "Inglourious Basterds" too outrageous, many others considered it an outstanding World War II film.

Such mixed reactions were expected. Even the most widely accepted films by James Cameron had their detractors. For a director with Murphy's distinctive style, this was even more common.

Moreover, some negative opinions stemmed from jealousy.

As time passed, the first major award of the North American awards season, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, was announced, officially kicking off the 2008-2009 awards season.

In Hollywood, the awards season is recognized as starting on December 1, with the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and the Gotham Independent Film Awards typically announced on that day.

Following that, a slew of awards, including the Satellite Awards, National Board of Review Awards, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, and American Film Institute Awards, are revealed or announce their nominations.

These serve as indicators, but the most influential precursor awards generally come after the New Year.

Guild awards, such as the Editors Guild Awards, Producers Guild Awards, Writers Guild Awards, American Society of Cinematographers Awards, Costume Designers Guild Awards, Directors Guild Awards, and Visual Effects Society Awards, hold significant sway.

These guild awards are critical precursors because the voters overlap significantly with those of the Oscars, making them true indicators.

Additionally, the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) cannot be ignored. With a substantial number of British members in the Academy, BAFTA results can directly influence Oscar voting.

Despite its prominent reputation, the Golden Globes don't have as much tangible impact as one might think.

The guild awards are the true indicators because the voters are top professionals in their fields, whose opinions carry considerable weight. Most importantly, the voters for the guild awards and the Oscars often overlap.

For example, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, established in 1995, have correctly predicted Oscar winners in acting categories 57 times, with a 90% overlap in the past decade. Similarly, the Producers Guild Awards' "Best Picture" has aligned with the Oscars for eight consecutive years.

As Christmas approached, most critics' associations had announced their results. British director Danny Boyle and his film "Slumdog Millionaire" emerged as the biggest winners, securing numerous best director and best picture awards.

Although "Inglourious Basterds" didn't win any major critics' awards, it received numerous nominations, which, from Murphy's perspective, was a victory in itself.

The more intense guild awards would be announced after the New Year. Murphy heard that the Academy planned some reforms, potentially increasing the number of Best Picture nominations to nine in the next year or two to avoid missing outstanding films.

Staying at home, Murphy relied on phone calls and news to stay informed. Fortunately, Gal Gadot also set aside other matters to accompany him. They remained homebodies until the weekend before Christmas, when they left Wave Manor and Beverly Hills to attend James Franco and Lily Collins' housewarming party in the seaside villa area of Santa Monica.

Franco and Collins had invited many friends and family. Jonah Hill had even prepared a special gift for Franco and his friends, including Murphy.

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