Fleet Street's notorious reputation is well-known. Compared to North American journalists, those from Fleet Street have even lower standards, thriving on scandals and gossip. Even the most ordinary relationships are viewed through a scandalous lens.
This behavior is ingrained in their very bones.
With Murphy's rise to fame as a prominent Hollywood director, everything and everyone around him naturally became the focus of media attention. Even a casual outing for Gal Gadot would see her trailed by a squad of paparazzi.
The close relationship between Gal Gadot and Margot Robbie was no secret. Murphy had known Margot Robbie for ten years. These facts were old news.
However, a Fleet Street entertainment journalist, seeing Murphy and Margot Robbie together, immediately conjured scandalous thoughts. To this journalist, their relationship had to be inappropriate, scandalous, and full of intrigue!
As a journalist, he believed it was his duty to uncover these stories. The world had a right to know!
Using his size to his advantage, the journalist pushed through the crowd, disregarding the security guards. He squeezed a recording pen through the gaps of several arms, shoving it in Murphy's face.
"Director Stanton, what's your relationship with Miss Robbie?" he shouted, making sure Murphy could hear. "I have reliable information that Margot Robbie is the shared lover of you and Gal Gadot. You three often engage in threesomes. Is that true?"
Despite the chaos, Murphy heard him loud and clear. He simply glanced over and, saying nothing, continued on with the help of security, making his way to the car.
This wasn't Murphy's first trip to the UK. He knew the character of British entertainment journalists all too well. Questions like these were pointless to answer. Any response would be twisted.
In fact, not answering would still give them something to write about.
"Not answering, huh…" The journalist retracted his recording pen and quickly formed a story in his mind: According to insiders, Margot Robbie has had multiple threesomes with Murphy Stanton and Gal Gadot. When questioned by the media, Murphy Stanton tacitly admitted…
Such an article would certainly grab countless eyeballs, and there would be no fear of backlash. After all, Murphy Stanton did "tacitly" admit it.
Every time Murphy came to the UK for promotion, the local journalists never left a good impression, and this time was no exception.
The next day, numerous tabloids featured various scandalous stories about him. The most exaggerated was a detailed account of how he and Gal Gadot engaged in threesomes with Margot Robbie.
Fortunately, both Murphy and Margot Robbie were aware of the absurdity of these stories, so there was no awkwardness between them.
Murphy had his assistant Grace send routine legal notices to the gossiping tabloids and then put the matter aside, focusing on the promotion activities in London.
During a promotional event at Trafalgar Square, Murphy even invited Emma Watson to join, and the event went smoothly. However, during the inevitable media Q&A session, the annoying Fleet Street journalists struck again.
Before this year, the most powerful press in Britain came from various News Corp-owned newspapers. When Murphy visited before, tabloids like The Sun hadn't given him much trouble. But since early this year, News Corp's papers had been under strict scrutiny by the British government, forcing them to lay low, while other media outlets took the opportunity to kick them while they were down.
This situation inevitably affected Murphy.
"Director Stanton, 20th Century Fox is part of News Corp, and its current CEO, James Murdoch, is under investigation by the British authorities..."
The first question came from a BBC reporter. "He is your current collaborator. What do you think of his involvement in the phone hacking of numerous British celebrities?"
"Sorry," Murphy replied, "I don't know about that."
In reality, Murphy suspected that James Murdoch was likely involved in many of the phone hacking cases. However, he wasn't British and certainly not a saint. He had no interest in getting involved in these matters.
But the British journalists wouldn't let Murphy off so easily. To them, even Mother Mary and Jesus would be subjected to scandal digging, let alone a Hollywood director with a dubious reputation.
Another reporter stood up and said, "British actress Sienna Miller has filed a complaint with the police, claiming her phone was hacked. In response, the British police have launched a new round of investigations in the entertainment industry, indicating that James Murdoch might be one of the masterminds."
No matter what the reporters said, Murphy maintained a detached attitude.
"Sienna Miller has worked with you," the reporter continued, "and has publicly stated that you are good friends. Director Stanton, shouldn't you help your friend seek justice?"
Murphy cleared his throat and said, "I recently ******** with Miller. She didn't mention this to me. I'll ask her about it later."
"Director Stanton..."
"Murphy..."
None of the questions at this press conference were about 'Chaos City.' Murphy had to admire Fleet Street journalists' ability to derail topics.
Seeing that the press conference wouldn't help promote 'Chaos City' and was turning into a chaotic market, Murphy signaled Grace, who quickly found an excuse to end the session early.
"They're always like this..."
In the large business car leaving the venue, Emma Watson looked out the window at the still-hovering reporters and said to Murphy, "They're crazier than American journalists. They want to strip every celebrity naked, leaving no privacy. Even if you've done nothing wrong, they'll make up scandals to pin on you."
"Like the scandal between me and Murphy?"
Margot Robbie shrugged, "Utterly ridiculous!"
Murphy shook his head, "Good thing we're only here for promotion. We'll leave tomorrow."
Margot Robbie glanced outside and muttered, "Bunch of lunatics!"
"There are even crazier ones," Emma Watson said, recalling something horrifying. "The day after my 18th birthday, while I was shopping, a Fleet Street paparazzo tried to crawl under my skirt to take photos. If I hadn't reacted quickly, he would have succeeded..."
She looked genuinely frightened. "That's why I decided to study in the US, to get as far away from these lunatics as possible."
Murphy just smiled. In his early days as a freelance journalist, he had been even more aggressive than these Fleet Street reporters.
Compared to his past actions, these reporters were child's play.
"I don't plan to take any roles for a while. I'll stay at university for some time."
As Murphy reminisced, Emma Watson continued chatting with Margot Robbie. "I've been Hermione Granger for ten years. Now I want to be Emma Watson."
"You need a transformation."
Since Emma Watson had come to support his film, Murphy said a few more words. "People need to gradually forget Hermione Granger. The process will be painful and difficult, with many failures."
Nodding firmly, Emma Watson appreciated Murphy's concern and confidently said, "I won't let fear of failure stop me from doing what I care about."
Others might think that with the fame of the Golden Trio from Gryffindor, their future would be smooth sailing. But Murphy knew that their transition would be incredibly challenging.
Regardless, confidence and hard work were commendable. Murphy added, "Confidence is crucial, Emma."
Emma Watson smiled confidently. Since the age of nine, she had been used to a high-paced lifestyle. In her world, there were no damsels or Mary Sues. She was naturally competitive and knew not to give herself any excuses for falling behind.
Murphy knew that CAA and Bill Rossis hadn't signed Emma Watson just to squeeze the remaining value out of a washed-up star. They saw potential in her and had a series of plans to help her transition.
For example, Bill Rossis had often reminded Murphy to keep Emma Watson in mind for suitable roles. CAA was also working to make Emma Watson the new face of strong, independent women, even arranging for her to become a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador.
Though Emma Watson's private life saw her change boyfriends as frequently as Taylor Swift, her relatively low-key manner made this less noticeable. Besides, putting her private life aside, her effort and dedication were undeniable.
In Murphy's view, Emma Watson's smartest move was knowing when to make sacrifices. Unlike other child stars who drifted aimlessly, she knew what to do at each stage of her life.
To break free from the image of Hermione Granger, she first had to shake off people's fixed impressions.
In Murphy's private conversations with Margot Robbie, he would say that the scariest thing Emma Watson had to face was letting others' perceptions limit her self-worth.
Murphy and the crew didn't stay long in the UK. The next day, they flew to France and then traveled through Spain, Italy, and Germany, carrying out their final European promotional tour before the film's release.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter]