Hollywood Road

"Murphy, you can't keep doing this."

Just as Murphy walked into Milton Café, he was stopped by the owner, "This is a café, not your office."

Due to the studio being too small and simple, Murphy held the first production meeting for the crew at Milton Café after hiring most of the positions. However, the frequent interviews had already annoyed the café owner, who now clearly disapproved of Murphy's actions.

"Lynch, we order coffee every time we come here."

Murphy paused, looking at the mixed-race old man leaning against the counter, "And we've never shorted you on the coffee money."

The old man named Lynch had dealt with Murphy before and knew how difficult he could be. He turned to Jessica Chastain, who was standing beside Murphy, and his gaze lingered on her striking red hair for a moment, "This beautiful lady has accompanied this rogue Murphy here many times. You should know that every time, no matter how many people come, he only orders two cups of coffee but occupies a booth for hours!"

As he spoke, his eyes widened, and when he turned back to Murphy, it seemed as if he wanted to kill him with his gaze.

It was morning, and there were no other customers. Old Lynch had no scruples, standing with his hands on his hips and blocking Murphy and Jessica Chastain's path.

Murphy's eyes darted around, and he walked over, lowering his voice, "Do you know what my job is? Do you know what I'm doing here today?"

Lynch dismissively said, "I know you're a cheapskate, and that's enough."

Jessica Chastain almost burst out laughing, fully agreeing with Lynch's words. She had accompanied Murphy in interviewing many people, witnessing him tricking free interns and finding every possible way to lower the salaries of his hires. He was frugal in all his expenses...

Ignoring Lynch's attitude, Murphy raised his hand and lightly patted his arm, pointing to himself, "I'm a film director. I find your café very unique, perfectly fitting my filming needs, so I'm holding the crew's production meeting here to discuss the feasibility of shooting."

Hearing that his café might appear in a movie, Lynch involuntarily lowered his hands from his hips, "Are you serious?"

Murphy nodded, "Of course I'm serious. When have I ever lied to you?"

"If more people can see my café..." Lynch muttered, then immediately changed to a smiling face, "Great! Great! No problem. Whatever you need, I'll cooperate."

He made a gesture of invitation and led them to the largest booth, seemingly remembering something, and quickly turned back to ask, "You won't charge me for advertising, will you? If you do, I'm not interested."

Murphy looked at Lynch, seriously considering for a moment before saying, "Lynch, we're old friends. How could I charge you?"

Lynch's face lit up with a smile.

Jessica Chastain, at the back, curiously stared at Murphy's back, muttering to herself, "No charge? How is that possible? Did he change his ways?"

"It's too formal to talk about money between us."

As Jessica Chastain expected, Murphy's voice rang out again, "You just need to cover the coffee and meals while we're filming here."

This seemed like a significant concession.

Lynch pondered for a moment, then patted his chest, "No problem, I'll take care of it."

After leading Murphy and Jessica to the largest booth, Lynch completely changed his attitude, "I'll have someone prepare coffee for you. Please sit for a while."

The booth, although large, wouldn't accommodate everyone. Murphy pointed to the surrounding aisles, "Could you have some more chairs placed here? I have about ten more people coming."

"I'll get right on it!" Lynch agreed immediately, then walked back to the counter.

Seeing Lynch walk away, Murphy lightly tapped the table to remind the person across from him, "Jessica, remember to have him sign a formal contract, including everything I just said."

"Got it." Jessica Chastain nodded seriously.

She clearly saw that Murphy had been eyeing this café for a while. He did an excellent job, securing a free filming location and having the café provide coffee and meals, saving at least a thousand dollars in expenses.

Although she didn't have high hopes for this project, she had to admire the capabilities this guy, who could be considered a rogue, had shown.

Not long after Lynch delivered the coffee and left, the crew members hired by Murphy began to arrive. His lawyer, Robert, who would also serve as the legal advisor for the crew, was present to handle contracts and any potential legal disputes.

This was North America, where having a lawyer was almost essential for any crew or company.

Additionally, an accountant was present at the production meeting.

Murphy had a clear self-awareness, knowing that no one could be all-knowing. Financial tasks like payroll and fund disbursement were outsourced to a small accounting firm, saving him time and allowing him to focus more on film production rather than getting distracted by miscellaneous tasks.

Besides the lawyer and accountant, and Murphy and Jessica Chastain, many others were involved in the meeting, including makeup artists, props masters, set designers, lighting technicians, and other behind-the-scenes professionals. Also present were three students from the California Institute of the Arts and USC School of Cinematic Arts, whom Murphy had persuaded to sign internship contracts.

Of course, it wasn't exactly deception, much like the cooperation with Lynch; both parties got what they needed.

The meeting began with Murphy briefly introducing everyone, allowing them to get to know each other. Jessica Chastain then distributed photocopies of the script to everyone, marked with the title of the film project—"Hard Candy."

The title might not seem related to a story about a young girl and a creepy older man, but those familiar with internet culture could easily guess the content from the title.

Online, "Hard Candy" specifically referred to underage girls.

Such production meetings didn't last long and didn't contain much substantive content. The main purpose was for the crew members to get to know each other, establish smooth communication channels, and ensure that while handling their respective responsibilities, they could work together as a team.

Any film is a product of teamwork. Even great directors like James Cameron and Steven Spielberg needed team support.

Murphy knew that to complete this project successfully, he, as the director and producer, had to make these Hollywood failures work closely together.

Currently, there were twelve people in the crew, including Murphy and Jessica Chastain.

Makeup artist Jack Watson had over five years of experience in the industry but no notable credentials. Murphy hired him mainly because he believed Jack was capable and affordable, with a weekly salary of only $350.

The lighting technician, Douglas, was the owner of a lighting equipment store and worked part-time as a lighting technician in a community theater. His salary was also low, only $400 per week.

Props master Mia Sukray had the most experience, having worked on three $500,000 films. Murphy offered her a weekly salary of $500.

The set designer was a young woman named Sunny Craig, who graduated from the California Institute of the Arts two years ago. She had been working as an assistant to others and was taking on independent work for the first time. Murphy deliberately lowered her salary to $300 per week.

In simple terms, this crew was a collection of the inexperienced and failures.

In summary, apart from the lawyer and accountant, and including Murphy, who had no salary, no one in the crew had a weekly salary exceeding $1,000.

None of these people were members of their respective professional guilds. Like the Screen Actors Guild, the guilds for lighting technicians, makeup artists, and other Hollywood industry associations set minimum daily wages, usually above $100. Hiring guild members would undoubtedly cost more.

In Los Angeles, some people don't join their respective guilds. Hollywood's guilds have entry requirements, and joining isn't always easy. Additionally, there are fees to pay, which can be a burden for low-income workers.

There were also three unpaid interns...

Murphy wanted to find more people like this, but not everyone was willing to accept his conditions. Having three free laborers was already good.

According to his plan, the work contracts for both parties would officially start today and last until the film was completed, which would take at least ten to fifteen weeks. Even in the highest estimate, the salaries could be kept under $50,000.

Don't forget, there were other expenses, such as actors, editors, and music.

Murphy didn't plan to hire professional musicians to score the film, nor did he budget for it. He planned to use existing music or fitting songs as the soundtrack.

North American copyright law is relatively complete. After selecting the songs, he could legally use his chosen music by paying a fee to the relevant copyright organizations.

There were also equipment rental costs. Like all Hollywood crews, Murphy planned to rent all the equipment, which was another significant expense. Renting a professional 35mm film camera wasn't cheap.

Then, there was the task of choosing the lead actors.

After the meeting, Murphy and Jessica Chastain first visited the Actors Guild, where they spent some money to place a job advertisement, looking for female actors aged 14-18 and male actors aged 22-35.

After leaving the Actors Guild, they drove to the San Fernando Valley, where a standalone house was available for rent.