Hollywood Road

Imagine someone like Superman standing or sitting next to you—how would you react? Calmly? Excitedly embrace the idea of having a hero's protection? Rush over like a fan for autographs and pictures? Or…

Diego Harris shook his head at his own thought, realizing how absurd such reactions would seem in real life, although they might be commonplace in comics.

In just a few seconds, he recognized his only real response would be panic—fear, confusion, and the resulting caution and rejection.

"Humanity needs a god!" Murphy stated emphatically. "But they don't need a god to walk among them!"

"Right," Diego slowly responded, finding sense in Murphy's words.

"Just as there's a fine line between genius and madness, extraordinary abilities naturally have dual aspects," Murphy's voice softened. "Clark Kent with his powers could either be a god or a devil."

This dark tone was essential for Superman's complexity, and a simplistic, symbolized Superman would only lead to disasters like 'Superman Returns.' Murphy was clear on this. "Even, it can be said that Superman is both heaven and hell. His powers are the source of complicated situations for Clark Kent, and only in his moments without powers does he show vulnerability and pity, allowing people to see him as one of their own."

He coughed softly before continuing, "People fear him because they need him—this magnified need results in a loss of security, as an omnipotent god dictates the life and death of humanity. Humanity needs a god, but not one that walks the earth. This is the eternal paradox inherent in human nature."

Murphy added, "What we most desire and seem unreachable may not be as wonderful as imagined, yet inevitably brings fear and even evokes the demons within us. This is the tragedy of the human paradox."

"Rejecting the unfamiliar is a human instinct, and conformity versus alienation has been a recurring theme throughout human history."

Finally, Murphy concluded firmly, "The emergence of consciousness made humans the smartest beings on Earth, but also cost them the innate harmony and dependency found in nature. Superheroes can only live in human imagination, while the real issues, like pollution, hover tangibly before us."

This meeting essentially aligned Warner Bros. and DC Comics with Murphy's vision for the film's style and philosophy, forming a foundation for their collaboration. Bill Rossis would continue to discuss the specifics of various conditions with Warner Bros.

Once the foundation for cooperation was established, other aspects of the negotiation progressed smoothly. After about a week of formal discussions, Bill Rossis, representing Murphy, reached a series of collaboration agreements with Warner Bros.

Firstly, Murphy was to create a clear developmental framework for DC superhero movies, similar to Marvel's, and establish a unified style for the series.

This was relatively straightforward; the series would naturally feature Murphy's preferred dark style, centered around the 'Justice League' universe, focusing on the 'big three'—Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

Superman and Batman were straightforward, but Wonder Woman's timing was a major consideration for Murphy, as a successful portrayal of her character could attract a vast fanbase.

Secondly, the agreement required Murphy to personally direct the new 'Superman' movie, marking the beginning of the series, and to serve as both screenwriter and producer.

After being convinced by Murphy, Warner Bros. and DC Comics pinned almost all their hopes for revitalizing their superhero films on him.

Lastly, the powers and benefits that Murphy would receive were finalized.

As with all Hollywood productions, verbal promises are never reliable and must be detailed in contracts, including Murphy's final editing authority, casting decisions, and more.

As for Murphy's compensation, his roles as director, screenwriter, and producer combined would earn him a base salary of ten million dollars, plus an unconditional five percent of global box office revenue. Once the film's global box office reached three times its production cost, he would automatically receive up to twenty percent of global box office and DVD sales as a bonus.

This compensation was typical only for top Hollywood directors; even Peter Jackson's contract for the new 'King Kong' after the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy was similar.

In early August, Murphy signed the formal agreement with Warner Bros. With the contract signed, the task of writing the foundational script for the project was promptly scheduled.

Murphy ended his vacation and secluded himself in Stanton Studios to expedite the scriptwriting process.

Despite aiming to produce a superhero movie with a distinct style, Murphy was aware that even with its unique dark theme, the new, yet-to-be-named Superman movie would still be crafted under the typical, proven Hollywood framework.

Hollywood might not be the greatest film production base in the world, but it is undoubtedly the most popular globally. Since establishing a producer-centric system in the 1920s, Hollywood has continually explored ways to draw audiences into theaters and keep them engaged. Even after the studio system era ended in

 the 1960s, the maxim that "movies must attract audiences" remained a golden rule in Hollywood, understood by both blockbuster directors and independent visionaries.

To ensure his future films captivated audiences and kept them engrossed in the plot, Murphy would adhere to the repeatedly proven Hollywood scriptwriting formula.

The story of the film needed to be complete and easily understandable to general audiences.

Hollywood's blockbuster movies, often referred to as "big plot" films, start with a clear conflict and conclude with resolution, incorporating suspense and climaxes throughout—each scene and each act designed to peak interest. This was Murphy's idea of "completeness," with dramatic conflicts clear and appealing to the target audience.

In terms of narrative, Murphy followed the 'three Ss' principle, a highly effective Hollywood scriptwriting invention that also helps secure box office success.

The 'three Ss' principle entails starting the film with a Surprise to attract the audience, developing the story with Suspense to retain them, and concluding with Satisfaction to comfort and reward paying viewers.

Although set in a brutal dark style, Murphy remembered that such commercially driven films are essentially adult fare.

Since the establishment of the Hollywood film industry system, movie production has increasingly specialized and the assembly line has matured. Mainstream Hollywood films mostly carry fantastical, daydream-like secular myths, consistent with Hollywood's long-standing positioning in the commercial entertainment industry.

No matter how stylistically distinctive, it remains a quintessential entertainment film.

Furthermore, as the absolute protagonist, Superman must be powerful and relatable to the audience.

The ability to evoke audience identification with the Superman on screen is crucial to the film's success. In the early part of the script, an event must showcase the protagonist, Clark Kent's, initiative and strength.

With this guideline, after completing the script's framework and outline, Murphy carefully considered past films like 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' to avoid similar mistakes.

Among these, the most critical was to avoid excessive fan service and not directly transplant specific comic fan-favored scenes and gags into the film, which would be extremely unfriendly to general audiences. If the film was to achieve real success, it absolutely needed to avoid becoming a fan-only movie.

In terms of the specific story, it required meticulous crafting, and Murphy constantly pondered—could Wonder Woman be introduced in this new Superman movie?

No matter how the film developed, storytelling was always crucial to a movie. Superhero films have a natural "advantage" in storytelling, as audiences generally have low expectations for the narrative complexity of such films.

The narrative shortcomings of 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,' no matter how fans defended it, could not be ignored.

Inevitably, any concocted story will have flaws, and these flaws can negatively affect the audience's viewing experience. Selecting the right editing techniques can significantly cover these flaws, but ultimately, it boils down to storytelling skills.

In 'Dawn of Justice,' before viewers could even understand why Batman so despised Superman, they were fighting; before understanding why they were fighting, they stopped; and before grasping why they stopped, a new round of conflict began…

Without the clash of sharply contrasting values, just a misunderstanding led to the fiercest and wisest heroes in American comics engaging in petty squabbles. Batman's reckless plan for a confrontation and Superman's choice to confront rather than explain led to a much-anticipated battle that started and ended hastily. Beyond learning that Superman wasn't all-powerful and Batman lacked intelligence, audiences outside of comic fans gained nothing.

In reality, audiences' expectations for superhero movies are often very pure.

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