After continuous communication with those who had participated in the news investigation and reviewing most of the materials, Murphy began drafting the script outline for "Spotlight." This script was entirely different from his previous works and vastly different from "Dark City." Everything in the script had to be accurate and withstand scrutiny by any individual or institution.
While movies inevitably involve some artistic exaggeration, Murphy had previously directed films based on true stories, but none were as serious as this one.
It's crucial to understand that the villains in this film are the modern Catholic Church. If the film contains inaccuracies, it would become a laughingstock under the Catholic Church's attacks.
This was not the result Murphy wanted.
Thus, during the scriptwriting process, Murphy adhered to a single principle: maintain objectivity.
Murphy's script was akin to a detailed report on the activities of the Boston Globe's Spotlight team, leading viewers step by step towards the truth.
The content faithfully recreated the situation back then. For instance, during their investigation, the journalists encountered numerous difficulties: the PR department warned them about angering the 53% of the Boston Globe's Catholic subscribers; the Church's powerful influence made high-ranking individuals reluctant to shed their facade; personal faith crises among the journalists; the heavy burden of facing others' pain; the impact of their busy work on their marriages; and the brutal realities of journalism—such as the team having to shift focus to cover the more "significant" news of 9/11 during the final stages of their investigation, apologizing to their sources while also protecting their lead from being scooped by rivals.
Sentimentality was unsuitable for this film. Objectively revealing the facts was more powerful.
Baseless content would be slander, not a counterattack!
Murphy's script outline was almost devoid of dramatic elements, relying entirely on straightforward narration. There were no exaggerated depictions of the criminal priests or sensational scenes of their crimes.
For example, in one scene, journalist Sacha visits several implicated priests, mostly getting the door slammed in her face. Unexpectedly, she meets a kindly old priest who calmly admits to molesting boys and says, "I never enjoyed it."
In reality, all clergy kept silent about the matter, except for Ronald Paquin, who openly admitted his actions. As depicted in the script, Paquin himself had been raped by a Catholic priest as a teenager.
These moments were not sensationalized or judgmental but presented objectively to the audience.
Given the gravity of the situation, there was no need for the script, director, or final film to make conclusions. The audience could discern right from wrong on their own!
Similarly, Murphy didn't need heroic proclamations, nor did he need conspiracies and dangers typical of commercial films in this genre. Even when someone questioned why the information wasn't acted upon years ago, it didn't lead to a dramatic twist. Robbie Robinson, the editor of the Spotlight team, realized it was due to his oversight that the story was delayed by seven years—highlighting that even the best journalists make mistakes.
The most significant conflict in the script was when journalist Mike found crucial evidence and urgently asked the team leader to publish it. The leader restrained his eagerness for justice, emphasizing that more substantial truths lay ahead. An in-depth report shouldn't just stir up a fuss but aim to "take down the whole system."
After finalizing the script outline over a month, Murphy reassembled Stanton Studios' writing team to further develop the script collectively.
Even a film with such a serious theme couldn't escape Hollywood's assembly line production.
In terms of factory production, a film's creation involves several "assembly" processes, including writing, directing, acting, cinematography, sound, props, and costumes, with each department having more detailed subdivisions.
For example, the writing department might include "conceptualizing ideas," "structuring main plot points," "adding subplots," "writing dialogue," and "adding hooks," each managed by specialized personnel. The directing department might have "main director" and assistant directors for various scenes. The casting department would have experts in discovering actors, who are then divided into different types. Other departments are similarly specialized, with experts performing their respective roles.
This "assembly" process, like other industries' production lines, is a product of the highly developed industrial era.
While films are entertainment products, Hollywood has materialized and industrialized them based on market demand.
This detailed division of labor has its pros and cons.
On one hand, each detail in film production, such as set design, scene execution, and dialogue, is handled by highly skilled professionals, resulting in high-quality and refined work. On the other hand, when each specialist tries to express their creativity, the multitude of individual expressions can clash, failing to integrate into the overall picture and becoming standardized components.
Despite this paradox, detailed and modern professional division of labor remains a critical "joint" in enhancing the quality of products and the industry in Hollywood.
The script was handed over to the writing team to enrich with factual data, while Murphy considered the specifics of the filming plan, starting with the production concept.
The final film must be as objective and calm as the script.
In basic narrative terms, Murphy intended to use the common good vs. evil framework without overly dramatizing tension and conflict. He didn't need to manufacture perilous journeys to uncover the truth, exaggerate the Church's threats, or depict secret sabotage by antagonists. He also avoided excessive internal struggles and emotional transformations of the protagonists.
In his plan, the film would simply and plainly show how these journalists fulfilled their responsibilities, using the power of the press to challenge authority.
In some ways, the film's real conflict wasn't so much between justice and evil but between journalistic integrity and complacency.
Besides countering the Catholic Church, this approach would also garner maximum support from the media!
In today's world, no one should underestimate the power of media!
There were no dramatic battles or exaggerated scenes, only the mundane yet crucial tasks that journalists undertook. For the pursuit of truth in journalism, it was through these steps that change was gradually brought about.
This was Murphy's requirement for portraying journalists in the film.
Additionally, regarding the Catholic scandals, Murphy planned to focus the film on the behind-the-scenes work leading up to the famous report, keeping the priests hidden in the narrative background. This approach allowed more room to showcase the journalists' spirit and avoided crude moral judgments and heavy-handed criticism.
Clearly, the actions of the criminal priests deserved condemnation, but that wasn't Murphy's goal. His film would narrate the process of uncovering the truth, leaving the audience to form their own opinions—viewers, especially concerning matters affecting the next generation, were more perceptive and discerning than one might think, needing no guidance.
In fact, Murphy's reluctance to comment on the outcome wasn't a deliberate avoidance.
On the contrary, in many similar films, directors or writers imposed their strong judgments onto the film, presenting a visual manifesto on the screen.
While this approach wasn't necessarily wrong, for such a serious and sensitive film involving a powerful entity like the Catholic Church, a calm and restrained attitude would ultimately give the film more depth.
In dealing with real cases involving sensitive topics like religion, child protection, and legal fairness, presenting the truth objectively and sincerely without turning it into a sensationalist farce was the true test for Murphy as a director and writer.
Despite not being a good person by many standards, possibly even fitting the role of a villain, Murphy had his own understanding of justice.
Justice means not only punishing evil but also protecting the innocent.
In the absence of visual stimulation and thrilling plot twists, Murphy believed that only through restraint and calmness could a serious film achieve a unique quality.
Fundamentally, this film was still a noir film. Both its theme and content bore the characteristics of such films. Murphy planned to use a dark color palette for the film's visuals, resembling the winter sky of Boston.
By October, the entire script was completed, and Murphy had a comprehensive project plan. Given their past successful collaborations, the massive success of "Dark City," and the backlash against the Catholic Church's attacks, 20th Century Fox fully supported the project, assuring a $40 million investment and participation in the Venice Film Festival.
Murphy then gathered all Stanton allies to discuss casting.
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