The sharp scissors gleamed coldly, reflecting the light as Daisy's fingers slowly opened, revealing the chilling blade. The blade was smooth and clean, and under the illumination, Daisy's skin appeared exceptionally fair, with the faint blue of veins visible beneath the surface.
The opened scissors moved closer and closer to Daisy's neck, the tiny hairs on the veins seeming to sense the danger and standing on end.
Finally, the sharp blades stopped near the carotid artery!
Daisy's fingers tightened, the scissors opening to their limit, and then swiftly closing. The clear sound of friction between the two sharp blades filled the room, followed by the sound of something being cut.
As the scissors opened again, Daisy raised her left hand, placing a lock of her golden hair between the blades. With a 'snip,' another strand of golden hair fell, joining the hair already scattered on the floor.
The young girl seemed almost manic, her scissors constantly opening and closing. Her beautiful golden hair continued to fall, the strands floating in the air like countless golden threads descending from the sky, slowly covering the floor of the dressing room with specks of gold.
Perhaps because she often managed her own hair, it took Daisy only a few minutes to cut off her meticulously groomed golden hair. She then spent more than half an hour, with the help of scissors, a comb, and hair gel, styling the remaining hair into the meticulously neat hairstyle of the magician from "The Dark City."
"That's better!" Daisy smiled in satisfaction, grabbing a colored magic ball and tossing it in the air before catching it. "But something still feels off."
After all, she was a woman and could never look as crazed as James Franco.
Lacking the appearance and aura, she decided to make up for it with equipment. Daisy left the dressing room and went to the storage room, opening the entrance to the underground storage and slowly descending.
The basement was not large, but Daisy often visited it. The stairs and walls were kept impeccably clean, almost spotless.
The basement was mostly empty, except for a large metal cabinet directly opposite the entrance. Daisy approached and opened it, revealing its contents: an old AR-15 rifle, two Glock pistols, and a few grenade-like objects.
Daisy took out the rifle, clumsily removing the magazine and checking the chamber, confirming it did not need maintenance yet.
Her love for Murphy Stanton's dark and violent films, which always featured plenty of gunfights and violent scenes, led her to join a gun club early on. There, she learned shooting and some gun-handling skills. However, her interest in films far exceeded her interest in guns, so she only visited the club a few times and wasn't particularly familiar with firearms.
She checked the two pistols, ensuring they did not need maintenance, and then closed the cabinet, leaving the basement. After removing the magician's costume in the dressing room, she still found herself captivated by the hairstyle. She decided to head to the gun club for more practice.
The gun club wasn't far. About half an hour later, Daisy walked through its doors.
"Welcome!" The security guard at the entrance checked her membership card and respectfully said, "Colt Club offers you the best service."
Daisy nodded and, sporting her ultra-cool hairstyle, walked into the club, found her previous instructor, and resumed her shooting practice.
She stayed until dark, and when she got back in her car, she shook her head repeatedly, clearly dissatisfied with her shooting skills.
"I should have practiced more," Daisy muttered, slapping the steering wheel in frustration. "Shooting isn't as easy as it looks!"
Determined to improve, she decided to spend the next couple of days at the club practicing with her AR-15, in addition to watching "The Dark City" and the magician several more times.
The long Saturday night passed, and as Sunday dawned, Archbishop Marquez Costello arrived at his office in Santa Monica.
Sitting at his desk, he noticed there were no urgent matters and asked, "Are there any urgent matters today?"
His assistant, who had entered with him, quickly replied, "No."
Archbishop Costello dismissed him, but then called him back, "Do you know which newspapers have Hollywood movie box office statistics?"
"Uh..." The assistant was puzzled but suggested, "The entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times should have it."
"Bring me a copy," Archbishop Costello instructed.
Last night, he had attended a high-end party, and such gatherings in the Los Angeles area inevitably included Hollywood figures. All night, they discussed one film—Murphy Stanton's "The Dark City."
"Murphy Stanton is going to be canonized!"
"With this film, he can stand shoulder to
shoulder with James Cameron!"
These were some of the comments Archbishop Costello overheard. He knew who James Cameron was, and hearing this much praise for someone he personally disliked made him uncomfortable.
Despite the Vatican, North America, and the Southern California Archdiocese all considering Murphy Stanton as extremely unfriendly to the Catholic Church, they had found no suitable way to counterattack.
For now, Archbishop Costello could only bide his time. He understood that to find a suitable opportunity for a counterattack, he needed to keep a close watch on Murphy Stanton, including his film works.
The assistant soon brought a copy of the Los Angeles Times and placed it on Archbishop Costello's desk, already turned to the entertainment section. The headline was about "The Dark City"!
Clearly, the assistant was attentive.
Archbishop Costello temporarily set aside his other thoughts and quickly scanned the headline article. His frustration grew as he read about Murphy Stanton's success. The man seemed to have unparalleled luck, breaking yet another North American film history record.
He must be making a fortune, Archbishop Costello thought, feeling a mix of anger and envy.
The reported figures were indeed astounding.
According to the Los Angeles Times, "The Dark City" grossed $75.5 million on Saturday alone, breaking all previous North American Saturday box office records.
Even with his limited knowledge of the film industry, Archbishop Costello understood that such a single-day box office figure was beyond extraordinary.
After reading the report, he sat quietly for a moment, then called his assistant back in.
"Keep an eye on Murphy Stanton," he ordered. "Compile reports on him every three days and send them to me."
The assistant nodded, "Yes, Your Grace."
As Sunday continued, "The Dark City" remained a hot topic, although its box office performance naturally began to stabilize. No film could sustain over $100 million in daily earnings for long. This gradual decline was a normal market response.
"The Dark City" became the most discussed entertainment topic in North America. It attracted not only Murphy's fans and previous fans of "The City of Chaos," but also many general audiences who were drawn in by its stellar reputation and continuous buzz.
Two days after its release, the media, always eager for attention, began to speculate that James Franco's performance warranted an Oscar nomination, if not a win.
Of course, behind these speculations were efforts by Stanton Studio and 20th Century Fox.
Amidst the good news, there were some challenges. For instance, the film had yet to pass approval in the vast market across the Pacific, mainly due to its themes and scenes involving Hong Kong. 20th Century Fox was still working on this, and it was uncertain whether "The Dark City" would be screened there.
Moreover, the film's heavy themes and the magician's extreme madness sparked discussions about whether it deserved an R rating instead of its current PG-13. The National Teachers and Parents Association even suggested that viewers under 16 should watch the film only under parental guidance.
While these issues weren't major, they required timely handling. Fortunately, 20th Century Fox had the capability and experience to manage such situations. Every blockbuster film in Hollywood inevitably came with its share of challenges.
Anticipating potential problems, Murphy and Carla Faith were prepared. They knew it was only a matter of time before someone, be it a screenwriter or an unknown author, would claim that "The Dark City" had stolen their ideas or infringed on their copyrights.
This had become a common occurrence for every successful Hollywood film.
On Sunday, Murphy divided the crew into two groups. He sent Gal Gadot, along with Margot Robbie and Henry Cavill, to promote the film overseas, while he joined James Franco and Christoph Waltz in making the rounds in North America.
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