At the end of November, the Gotham Independent Film Awards announced their nominations, officially kicking off Hollywood's award season.
However, Murphy and "Dark City" were not contenders for this award. As the name suggests, the Gotham Independent Film Awards focus on independent films, primarily those not shown in mainstream North American theaters, clearly distinguishing them from mainstream commercial films.
As December arrived, various awards announced their nominations. "Dark City" received four major nominations—Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress—at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, New York Film Critics Circle Awards, and Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.
Next, the Golden Globe Awards also released their nominations, and like the critics' awards, "Dark City" became a major contender, receiving nominations for Best Director, Best Drama, Best Actor, and Best Actress, among others.
With the announcement of numerous award nominations, Murphy identified the strongest competitors for this award season: "12 Years a Slave," "The Great Gatsby," "Gravity," "Blue Jasmine," and "Dallas Buyers Club."
The award season entered its most intense phase of publicity and campaigning.
Like other industries, the film industry also focuses on summarizing and reviewing annual achievements. The award season is the product of this review and summary, Hollywood's "annual summary."
To become the big winner at the Oscars, "Dark City" had to surpass these competitors.
Shortly after the Golden Globe nominations were announced, CAA, representing Murphy, finalized a series of terms with Los Angeles City Hall. Murphy then signed a formal agreement with them, and the next day, they held a joint press conference announcing the establishment of the Murphy Stanton Film Museum in the City of Angels.
Together, they announced to the press that Los Angeles would invest $1 billion to build the "Murphy Stanton Art Museum" in Exposition Park, which would house a vast collection of film memorabilia from Murphy and Stanton Studios.
The museum, covering an area of 25,500 square meters and designed by renowned Chinese architect Ma Yansong, would display over 10,000 pieces of art, including paintings, illustrations, costumes, film artifacts, and digital art. These would include items from Murphy's films like "Hard Candy," "Saw," "Planet Terror," "Sin City," "Deadpool," "Game of Thrones," "Gone Girl," "Man of Steel," and more.
In addition to the items from Murphy and Stanton Studios, the museum would also feature a large number of film-related exhibits.
Despite the $1 billion investment, the Los Angeles City Hall considered it a worthwhile investment. Their extensive research indicated that the museum, leveraging the powerful brand of Murphy Stanton, could bring in $200-300 million annually, making it highly profitable.
"Building the Murphy Stanton Art Museum is a significant move for Los Angeles," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti at the press conference. "As a director who grew up in Los Angeles, Murphy Stanton has achieved great success and is a distinguished representative of the city's citizens..."
In short, they showered Murphy with praise.
Naturally, Murphy also had to say a few words in front of the media.
"This is a tremendous honor for me, fulfilling one of my wishes. I hope more people will appreciate, understand, and love the art of film, and even become creators of film art," Murphy said, seizing the opportunity for self-promotion during the award season. "Hollywood has already taken the lead in global cinema, and maintaining that position requires the involvement of more talented individuals."
He had prepared in advance. "In addition to providing exhibits for the museum, I will also establish a film foundation in the name of the Murphy Stanton Art Museum to offer scholarships for those interested in joining this industry."
The press conference was met with applause.
A successful director who didn't forget to mentor future talents would earn a lot of goodwill.
After the press conference, Murphy walked out of the hall, surrounded by reporters who asked questions about this topic.
"Director Stanton, what advice do you have for new directors, especially those who want to develop their own style like you?"
Hearing this question, Murphy stopped and said briefly, "Don't think about personal style when making films. Style is for those who have none to worry about."
He thought for a moment and added, "Let me put it this way: I don't consciously think about personal style. The moment you start thinking about style, so-called knowledge and psychological barriers arise, and personal elements can't be expressed."
Another reporter asked, "Do you have any other advice for newcomers to this industry?"
"The only thing that withstands the ravages of time is talent," Murphy said as he reached his car. "People who need encouragement can't make films."
With that, he got into the car. Sitting next to him, Gal Gadot, who had been reading a newspaper, softly instructed the driver, "Drive to Beverly Hills."
Murphy glanced at the newspaper she was holding and saw that it was a copy of The Hollywood Reporter. He asked, "Is there coverage of other films' publicity?"
"The Hollywood Reporter is a key battleground for award season publicity."
"Leonardo DiCaprio is going all out, buying six pages of ads for the second issue in a row," Gal Gadot said, handing the newspaper to Murphy. "It seems he's determined to win Best Actor."
"He has accumulated enough credentials," Murphy said, flipping through The Hollywood Reporter. "If his campaign is effective, the Academy might just give him a statuette."
The Hollywood Reporter was full of praise for Leonardo DiCaprio.
Just as the Oscars were increasingly influenced by external factors, these praises weren't limited to DiCaprio's film work. His team clearly understood the trends affecting the Oscars.
Best Actor was also an award Murphy and "Dark City" aimed to win, so he read the articles carefully.
"Hollywood's best actor, Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental efforts are more impressive than his film career!"
Just reading the headline of one article, Murphy had to admire DiCaprio's team's strategy. Like liberalism, environmentalism was one of Hollywood's most beloved and self-promoted slogans.
The article detailed DiCaprio's contributions to environmentalism.
"On July 14, 2011, Leonardo DiCaprio's foundation announced a donation of approximately $9 million to various wildlife and environmental conservation organizations. In his statement, he said, 'The Earth is being destroyed at a pace we cannot afford or ignore. We have a responsibility to create a new future. We should not threaten the survival of our planet.' Since February of last year, DiCaprio has donated over $12 million. In his statement, he added, 'I am honored to support these efforts to address the greatest challenges humanity faces.'"
"On May 13, 2013, DiCaprio held a charity auction at Christie's in New York to raise funds for environmental and wildlife protection. The auction of 33 artworks raised a total of $38.8 million. In November, he turned his birthday party into a charity event, with proceeds donated to his environmental foundation. The auction included a collection of rare champagne, raising $3 million."
"In May 2007, the Cannes Film Festival screened 'The 11th Hour,' a documentary produced and narrated by DiCaprio. The film explored the global environmental crisis and discussed solutions to the planet's problems. The documentary highlighted the impact of human activities on global warming and emphasized the vulnerability of our planet in the face of recent natural disasters. Twelve experts in the film discussed issues such as whether humanity would be wiped out if global warming continued."
Reading through the detailed timeline, Murphy almost believed that Leonardo DiCaprio was a genuine environmentalist.
Unfortunately, as an insider in Hollywood, Murphy knew very well that, like the so-called United Nations titles, this was just a way to enhance one's image.
Simply put, these were publicity stunts, no different from walking the red carpet.
As for the actual money donated, it was all raised through fundraising, costing the stars very little of their own money. Why not do it?
"In September 2012, DiCaprio, an active advocate for climate change in Hollywood, participated in the Climate Summit on the morning of the 23rd with diplomats, world leaders, scientists, and other climate experts from around the world. He delivered a personal and thought-provoking speech, urging everyone to take action against climate change. In his speech, DiCaprio said, 'I am standing here not as an expert, but as a concerned citizen, as one of the 400,000 people marching in the streets of New York and others around the world who want to solve the climate change crisis.'"
Reading this, Murphy put down The Hollywood Reporter. In an era when the Oscars were increasingly influenced by external factors, DiCaprio playing the environmental card was indeed a clever move. It might change his fate as a perennial nominee.
Whether for James Franco and "Dark City" or past grievances, Murphy didn't want to see DiCaprio win.
"Don't go home yet," he told the driver. "Head to Century City."
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