Echoes of Hollywood

By this point in the awards season, everyone knew that "Inglourious Basterds" wouldn't be the biggest hit at the Oscars, but it was undoubtedly one of the best films of the previous year.

"Inglourious Basterds" was listed among the top ten films of 2008 by The Hollywood Reporter, also making it into Empire magazine's top ten list, and was one of Roger Ebert's top twenty films of the year. It ranked sixth among the BBC's most influential films of the year.

If the $212.6 million North American box office and the $422.71 million global box office of "Inglourious Basterds" represented the audience's choice, then these accolades proved the film's professional acclaim.

Although "Inglourious Basterds" didn't win many awards during the season, it wasn't empty-handed either. Christoph Waltz won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Colonel Hans Landa. At the recently concluded Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, "Inglourious Basterds" also took home Best Director and Best Film.

Therefore, while this film wasn't the frontrunner for the Oscars, it was widely acknowledged to have a high chance of being nominated.

In mid-January 2009, the nominees' luncheon for the 81st Academy Awards was held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Murphy did not attend the luncheon due to threats received through bullet letters. Instead, Bill Rossis attended on his behalf, bringing back good news as soon as the luncheon ended.

"Inglourious Basterds" received a total of eight nominations: Best Director, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing.

However, Murphy was well aware that while this film could compete for some of the less significant awards, due to its subject matter, it had little hope of winning the Best Picture and Best Director awards.

The real frontrunner, which almost swept the awards season, was "Slumdog Millionaire." It was said that nearly $15 million had been spent on its awards season publicity. If this film didn't win some major awards, the producers and distributors would truly suffer a financial loss.

Sometimes, the Oscars can be very fair; the more you invest, the more you get in return.

With the Oscar nominations announced, Murphy had achieved his goal of building his credentials. Knowing that he had little chance of winning Best Director, he temporarily set aside Oscar matters and turned his attention to negotiating with Leonardo DiCaprio, who had expressed interest in collaborating.

Before the negotiations began, Murphy had already disclosed the project to Kara Faith. Given his current reputation and achievements, it was no surprise that after the routine procedures, 20th Century Fox would also be an investor and distributor.

Bill Rossis and Leonardo DiCaprio's agent had several discussions, but there were many disagreements between Murphy's Stanton Studio and DiCaprio's production company that only Murphy and DiCaprio could resolve in person.

As Murphy understood, Leonardo DiCaprio's production company had been investing in films he starred in, including several projects with Martin Scorsese. To be precise, these projects' directors were tools for DiCaprio to aim for the Best Actor Oscar.

Of course, this collaboration benefited both parties. A great actor needs an equally great director to guide him, and a great director needs an equally great actor to support him. However, directors often hold more power, especially those with final cut privileges.

No matter how good an actor's performance is during filming, if the director messes up the editing, the final product could still show the actor's worst performance.

Having been in the industry for over twenty years since his days as a child star, Leonardo DiCaprio understood this very well and always fought for the most power in the films he starred in.

This was one of the biggest disagreements between Murphy and DiCaprio. Another point of contention was the investment and future profit distribution between their two companies.

This made the negotiations over the Jordan Belfort biopic ultimately fall to Murphy and DiCaprio themselves.

"Murphy, no matter what your calculated production cost is," DiCaprio said in a meeting room at Death Star Tower, where both were CAA clients, "I want to cover sixty percent of the investment."

Murphy frowned slightly. Such an investment ratio would mean DiCaprio would dominate the crew in the future. Five years ago, Murphy would have agreed without hesitation to work with such an A-list superstar, but now, giving up control was out of the question unless DiCaprio made significant concessions on the profits.

"The distributor for this project is 20th Century Fox, and they are also interested in investing in this film," Murphy said tactfully. "Sixty percent investment is impossible."

DiCaprio thought for a moment and said, "Fifty percent is my bottom line."

"Alright," Murphy agreed unexpectedly. DiCaprio showed a joyful expression, but before he could fully smile, Murphy added, "This fifty percent investment return includes your salary."

Murphy's meaning was clear: even if DiCaprio starred in this movie, he would earn as an investor, not as a Hollywood superstar with a separate salary.

"No way," DiCaprio immediately rejected the idea of lowering his status, looking at Murphy without budging, "My salary must be calculated separately."

Murphy's frown deepened. At this moment, DiCaprio was a very professional investor, not considering their friendship at all.

Then again, Murphy hadn't considered it either when setting his conditions.

"How much is your salary?" Murphy asked directly. "The number your agent gave to Bill?"

"That's right," DiCaprio nodded. "2+2 is my bottom line."

DiCaprio's unyielding stance started to dispel Murphy's idea of working with this superstar. The 2+2 condition wasn't just $4 million; it meant a base salary of $20 million plus 20% of the global box office gross.

This would mean that if the project took off, most of the future revenue would go into DiCaprio's pocket. If he got lucky and received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, it would be a win-win situation.

Murphy could only sigh inwardly. DiCaprio was not just a superstar but also a successful businessman.

Seeing DiCaprio's refusal to compromise, Murphy decided not to push further. He did want to work with a superstar, but if the conditions weren't right, it didn't matter.

After a few more exchanges, Murphy said at the right moment, "Let's leave it at that for now, Leo. I need some time to think about it."

DiCaprio nodded slightly, smiling, "I hope to hear good news from you."

Murphy smiled, shook DiCaprio's hand, and left the meeting room first.

Watching Murphy's figure disappear at the door, DiCaprio could tell that Murphy was very resistant to his terms, but he didn't plan to back down, especially not on his salary. A single concession could trigger a chain reaction, lowering his future earnings.

After leaving the meeting room, Murphy didn't leave Death Star Tower but headed to Bill Rossis's office.

"How did the negotiations go?" Bill Rossis asked concernedly upon seeing Murphy enter. "How did it go with Leonardo DiCaprio?"

Murphy walked to the chair opposite Rossis's desk, pulled it out, and sat down, shaking his head. "The results were not ideal. From my perspective, the negotiations have broken down."

"How could that happen?" Rossis was a bit surprised.

He and DiCaprio's agent both wanted to make this collaboration happen. CAA also wanted to facilitate cooperation between their biggest clients.

"Leo's terms were too harsh," Murphy explained, "I can't accept them."

He added, "Neither can 20th Century Fox as the distributor."

No matter what, Murphy couldn't accept DiCaprio's terms. The high salary alone made him retreat.

Although Rossis wanted to see Murphy and DiCaprio collaborate, he knew that even with the full force of CAA, they couldn't force their A-list clients to agree. They could only mediate, as any forceful measures could have severe consequences.

At their level, the agency truly became a service provider.

Rossis still asked, "Is there no room for further negotiation?"

Murphy shook his head without hesitation, "No need."

"What about the actor?" Rossis asked, concerned. "Do you have a suitable candidate?"

"No rush. I haven't finished the script and project plan yet." Murphy looked at his watch and got up to leave. "I need to go back and work on the new project's script. Call me if anything comes up."

Leaving CAA's office area, Murphy was immediately accompanied by two bodyguards, escorting him to Stanton Studio, also located in Century City.

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