"Murphy Stanton's 'The Wolf of Wall Street' disregards the facts and infringes on many of my legal rights."
Sitting in Bill Rossis's office at Death Star Tower, Murphy watched the screen showing Jordan Belfort enjoying the attention of the media during a TV interview. "I have officially filed a lawsuit with the court, and I believe in the law..."
Seeing this, Murphy turned off the video. Next to him, lawyer Robert said, "I called to confirm, and it's true. We should expect a court notification soon."
Murphy nodded, "This guy is really persistent."
Since rejecting Jordan Belfort initially, Murphy had been mentally prepared for this possibility. That's why he had gathered ample evidence and spent a considerable amount to secure all necessary legal authorizations.
Bill Rossis, aware of Murphy's preparations, asked Robert, "What's our chance of winning?"
Robert responded without hesitation, "Over eighty percent."
No one speaks with absolute certainty, and lawyers like Robert even less so. Murphy knew that Robert's confidence essentially meant they were bound to win.
Murphy thought for a moment and said, "Bill, send a copy of our collected evidence to Robert."
"I'll get someone on it right away." Bill Rossis picked up the phone to notify his assistant, then suddenly said, "Murphy, have you considered an out-of-court settlement?"
Robert gave Bill Rossis a surprised look, while Murphy directly asked, "Why settle out of court?"
Bill Rossis didn't beat around the bush, "First, the time cost. Cases like this can drag on, which isn't good for your work. Second, the awards season has already started..."
Seeing Murphy's thoughtful look, he continued, "Biographical films are often Oscar darlings, and 'The Wolf of Wall Street' getting an Oscar ticket is partly based on that. But if the protagonist himself publicly claims the film doesn't match his experiences, it will create many negative effects, directly influencing some Oscar voters' decisions."
Bill Rossis's words reminded Murphy of Harvey Weinstein's old tactics of attacking Spielberg and "Saving Private Ryan" through veteran strategies.
"The longer this lawsuit drags on," Bill Rossis knew Murphy's stance on such events, but the current situation was different from the past, "the more negative impact it will have on our chances of getting an Oscar nomination!"
Murphy understood all this. He wasn't stubborn; he knew that compromising when it was beneficial was often the best course of action.
But Jordan Belfort's case was different.
"Bill, have you thought about it?" Murphy looked at Bill Rossis, speaking earnestly, "I'm not even thirty yet, with a long career ahead and countless movies to make. If I compromise this time, who will come out next time?"
After considering Murphy's words carefully, Bill Rossis said, "Long-term interests versus immediate benefits..."
He shook his head, "I've been blinded by the Oscars."
"Our goal remains the nomination, and that won't change." Murphy, the ultimate decision-maker, said, "Not reaching an out-of-court settlement with Jordan Belfort doesn't mean we give up on an Oscar nomination."
Bill Rossis nodded slightly. No matter what, Jordan Belfort was the real-life protagonist of the film. If he denied the biographical accuracy of the movie, it would significantly lower their chances of winning Best Director or Best Picture.
Indeed, Jordan Belfort's statements might not directly influence Oscar voters, but Bill Rossis never ignored other award-season contenders. Murphy and "The Wolf of Wall Street's" competitors wouldn't miss the chance to attack and discredit them.
If the attacks were too fierce and their promotional efforts slackened, missing out on key nominations was possible.
Bill Rossis could foresee this, and so could Murphy. But he had thought it through before coming over.
"Bill, we'll make some adjustments to our PR strategy." Murphy shared his thoughts, "Keep our original plan, but add some topics to keep 'The Wolf of Wall Street' in the spotlight."
"That can be done," Bill Rossis stroked his chin, "Having topics means having attention."
Murphy added, "Also, we'll create some media buzz to show a certain stance."
"What stance?" Bill Rossis asked.
"We're not just chasing awards for the sake of it!" Murphy crossed his arms, "You know better than I do that the Academy's core members can't be judged by normal standards. Often, those who make films just to win awards are shunned by them."
"There are many such examples," Bill Rossis agreed completely, "Scorsese before winning Best Director, DiCaprio now—they're typical cases. I've always reminded you that chasing awards often backfires."
"Exactly." Murphy nodded, "So, we need to show that 'The Wolf of Wall Street' wasn't made solely for the Oscars."
He laughed, "And it's true. 'The Wolf of Wall Street' wasn't made just for the Oscars."
Bill Rossis believed him. Directors like Murphy never ignored commercial profits, and his style wasn't exactly Oscar-friendly.
Bill Rossis stood up and paced for a while, then said, "I'll handle this."
After discussing for another ten minutes, their meeting ended. Murphy continued cooperating with Fox's promotional plans, Bill Rossis took charge of the Oscar PR efforts, and Robert handled Jordan Belfort's lawsuit, minimizing Murphy's involvement.
In Hollywood, reaching Murphy's level meant representing more than oneself. Behind every major player was a mature team, and collective effort often outperformed solo ventures.
Every December 1 marks the start of the North American awards season. As December progressed, numerous precursor awards announced their results. Unlike last year's "Inglourious Basterds," Murphy and "The Wolf of Wall Street" almost universally missed out on nominations, possibly due to Jordan Belfort's constant claims of inaccuracies and competitors exploiting this.
Things looked bad for "The Wolf of Wall Street," especially as January neared, when the Academy would distribute nomination ballots.
At this critical juncture, Murphy, Bill Rossis, and Fox made a bold move, buying space in "The Hollywood Reporter" to publish news about Murphy and "The Wolf of Wall Street."
"Murphy Stanton, a director who has never made a bad film!"
"Hollywood's most stylistic director and his uniquely styled 'The Wolf of Wall Street'..."
These were standard promotional tactics. Amidst them, they intentionally highlighted the film's controversial aspects.
"As the North American holiday season sees numerous film releases, perhaps the most significant Oscar contender, 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' has finally hit theaters after a series of delays, unfinished editing, and rescheduling."
"But there's no doubt that this nearly three-hour black comedy, with its jaw-dropping scale, challenges the psychological limits of audiences, critics, and even Oscar voters. The resulting polarized reviews and audience reactions are unsurprising and certainly not a good sign for the Oscars..."
"In this Murphy Stanton-directed 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' a decadent, drug-addicted stockbroker character, Jordan Belfort, is portrayed. In the film, he's unscrupulous, shameless, and degenerate. If audiences ignore the last ten minutes where Belfort is investigated by the FBI and sentenced by federal court, the whole movie almost entirely showcases a life of luxury and debauchery."
Publishing these wasn't meant to self-sabotage the film. Instead, it was to show the many older Academy voters that: Look, this film wasn't made just to chase Oscars; otherwise, why include so much controversy and explicit content?
This seemingly absurd promotional strategy aimed to tap into the peculiar minds of Academy members, most of whom were over sixty-five and couldn't be judged by normal standards.
Their thoughts were truly enigmatic, making it hard to grasp. Overly eager Oscar contenders were deemed impure, while those distant from the Oscars were seen as disrespectful...
Thus, as Murphy said, posture mattered, sometimes determining whether the Academy voters would favor a film.
Murphy set a tone for "The Wolf of Wall Street" and publicly showcased it through "The Hollywood Reporter."
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