Due to the "Gadot" undergoing routine maintenance in Los Angeles, Murphy and Gal Gadot had to take a flight back to Los Angeles. Fortunately, the conditions in the first-class cabin were comfortable enough.
Robert Downey Jr. and James Franco stayed behind at the Toronto Film Festival to continue promoting "Spotlight." With these stars in the spotlight, coupled with the film's excellent reputation and inherent topicality, it continued to attract attention from the media and fans.
"The news from CAA..."
With few people in first class, Gal Gadot, seated next to Murphy, discussed the film and its impact on the Catholic Church. "The Vatican has already held several cardinal meetings regarding this film."
Handling such matters was typically Gal Gadot's responsibility. Murphy, intrigued, asked, "Are they discussing a response strategy?"
"No!" Gal Gadot shook her head. "The European branch of CAA has caught wind of some information. The Vatican is discussing who should be held accountable for the series of scandals that have erupted since last year."
Murphy quickly understood, "Someone is trying to use this as an opportunity to advance."
Where there are people, there is conflict. The church is no exception, and history has seen many instances of internal strife within major churches.
Gal Gadot's information was still tentative. "It seems that way. Apparently, a faction led by Cardinal Francis is not aligned with Pope Benedict XVI and is attempting to seize power..."
She shrugged, not continuing, but Murphy grasped the point.
"Faith!" Murphy sighed.
Gal Gadot added, "Faith is not about formal worship of a god or loyalty to a church. It is about the inner truth, goodness, and beauty. That's the essence of faith!"
Before falling for Murphy, Gal Gadot was a believer in Judaism. Under Murphy's influence, although she still identified as Jewish, she had long since abandoned her faith.
She continued, "If people understood the essence of faith, they wouldn't see exposing church scandals as an attack on faith. On the contrary, it's a commitment to it."
"Unfortunately," Murphy shook his head, "I can't embody inner truth, goodness, and beauty."
"That's why you're a person without faith," Gal Gadot said with some resignation. "You've even influenced me to the point where I'm almost without faith myself."
Murphy couldn't help but laugh. Gal Gadot had a point. If people understood the essence of faith, Archbishop Law wouldn't believe that using Bible verses and invoking the name of God to attack those investigating the scandals was defending faith. Instead, it was a desecration of faith. The clergy involved in these scandals had already betrayed their faith the moment they harmed children. Despite still wearing priestly robes, reciting the Bible from memory, and fervently worshiping God, it was all meaningless.
The collective distortion of faith created an environment that fostered and enabled crime, from priests to bishops, from lawyers to police. No one was without blame, and this systemic failure is why the scandals remained hidden for so long.
Due to this distorted understanding of faith, the church lost its ability to self-correct and had to rely on external forces to do so. Ironically, it was those deemed faithless who helped the self-proclaimed faithful return to the right path. The true guardians of faith were clear.
The victims of these scandals were also part of this twisted understanding of faith. They were easily preyed upon by priests because of their excessive trust in clergy. One victim's mother even baked a cake for the priest who assaulted her son. Was this respect for faith? No, it was ignorance!
Faith is a moral consensus, and the church is merely a human organization worshipping God. It cannot replace faith and is, in fact, far from it. Whether a person has faith should not be judged by their church membership! The intense reaction to clergy moral failures stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of faith, where most people easily regard clergy as paragons of faith.
When faith becomes a profession and an interest group, it inevitably harbors filth. Covering it up is a way to protect interests, much like the Buddhist principle of non-attack among adherents, maintaining the religion's pristine image to attract more followers. Naturally, scandals must be hidden.
This world is not as wonderful as some describe it. In today's era, not only is adult life challenging, but children's lives are also difficult...
Murphy, being pragmatic, did not bother with these issues unless they directly affected him. After all, his energy was limited, and he was no saint.
More precisely, his past experiences had made him somewhat numb to certain things.
Even though Murphy disliked journalists due to his profession, he understood that many ugly truths wrapped in layers of secrecy could only be exposed through fair, truthful, and serious media platforms. These platforms, free from systemic oppression and constraints, allowed the public to see a glimmer of justice in a society rife with corruption and deceit.
An event often underestimated and overlooked might hide ongoing, festering issues. Rampant evil forces would continue to spread and corrode, causing irreparable and regrettable consequences.
"If it takes a village to raise a child, the entire village is also to blame for destroying a child." This line from the original film was used verbatim in Murphy's movie, underscoring a deeper meaning beyond "accusation and exposure": "The system's evil above personal evil."
Some events are not merely individual crimes. Many large-scale crimes result from systemic protection and indulgence. In a city with deep Catholic traditions, everyone steps back when confronted with opposing the church.
The Catholic Church has played a significant role in human history, even in modern society, providing substantial material and spiritual support.
However, as the church grows, it inevitably seeks to maintain its authority. It also harbors rotten elements that tarnish its sacred reputation.
In the face of these harms, what does the church choose to do?
No matter what, an influential organization should have the courage to bear its responsibilities.
Unfortunately, few directors have the motivation to bring such events to the screen because it goes against mainstream viewing trends and political needs, making it a thankless task.
Thinking about it, living in certain news worlds is happier because society is always portrayed as beautiful, free from the worries of messy affairs.
Upon returning to Los Angeles, Murphy began preparing for the upcoming North American awards season, while Gal Gadot started working on "Fifty Shades of Grey." Paul Wilson, who had directed explicit series before, agreed to direct this film. Discussions with Jessica Alba were ongoing for the female lead role of Ana, and it seemed likely she would take the role.
Of course, Jessica Alba's skin color was a consideration, but changing the character's background wasn't a major issue.
While Gal Gadot was busy preparing for the new film, Murphy was frequently meeting with some influential Academy members. These so-called big shots might not be as powerful now, but they were influential within the Academy.
In other words, they were those who could sway some Oscar voters.
It's never easy for anyone, even previous technical award winners, to win an Oscar consecutively.
Having just won his second Oscar for Best Director in March, Murphy needed to make thorough preparations to achieve more success at next year's Oscars.
During this time, he also met with Kara Faith to discuss not only new film matters but also updates on "Dark City."
This film had left North American theaters a month after the Oscars ceremony, leveraging the thirteen Oscar statuettes to achieve a final North American box office of $740 million, ultimately reaching $746.7 million.
Although just $15 million short of "Avatar's" North American box office record, Murphy didn't manipulate the numbers to claim the title. To do so would have made him a laughingstock worldwide, a move only fools would make.
Overseas screenings lasted longer, and thanks to the Oscar halo and massive box office success, more countries and regions joined in. Even small African countries showed "Dark City."
It wasn't until early September that "Dark City" ended its screenings worldwide.
Though it didn't surpass "Avatar's" global box office, $2.5162 billion was enough to bring Murphy enormous returns!
When 20th Century Fox delivered the first $400 million director's share, Murphy received news that Archbishop Marcus Costello was leaving the United States.
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