Parking her car in the open space in front of the set, Jessica Chastain grabbed her handbag and walked towards the entrance. Just as she reached the gate, she was stopped by the security personnel.
"Sorry, miss," the guard said politely, "we're filming here, you can't go in."
Jessica quickly explained, "My name is Jessica Chastain. I'm here to visit the set."
Hearing this unfamiliar name and seeing her attire, which indicated she was likely from the Hollywood circle, the guard became even more vigilant. In recent years, many pretty but unfamiliar women had shown up at the set looking for Murphy, and such individuals were strictly prohibited from entering the set.
"Who are you here to visit?" the guard asked.
Jessica knew that many Hollywood sets had strict management. She patiently explained, "Murphy Stanton."
Hearing this name, the guard's alertness heightened.
"Who are you..."
As they were talking, another person approached. This young man looked at Jessica Chastain with a hint of surprise and said, "Is that you, Jessie? Long time no see!"
Jessica Chastain turned and saw the familiar face of Paul Wilson. Smiling, she said, "Hello, Paul."
The guard, recognizing Paul Wilson, smartly kept quiet after glancing at Jessica.
After greeting Jessica, Paul Wilson looked at the guard and said, "Are you here to see Murphy, Jessie?"
"I have some business with Murphy," Jessica said with a smile.
Paul Wilson understood and told the guard, "Miss Chastain is a friend of Murphy. I'll take her in."
Since Paul Wilson knew her, the guard didn't stop her. However, as Jessica followed Paul inside, he was puzzled.
"This woman seems to be an actress," he muttered to himself, "and she's a friend of Murphy Stanton. Murphy's friends are always famous. Why isn't she well-known?"
Walking through the warehouse set, Jessica chatted with Paul Wilson while looking around. However, her attention soon returned to Paul Wilson.
The once unpaid helper had become the director of a project like "Game of Thrones." Sometimes, fate is truly remarkable.
Looking at the now-successful Paul Wilson, an uncontrollable thought flashed through Jessica's mind. If she hadn't been so focused on becoming a star and had stayed by Murphy Stanton's side as his assistant, she might have become a renowned producer by now.
"Too bad," Jessica barely shook her head, "there's no such thing as regret medicine in this world."
Entering the filming studio, Paul Wilson and Jessica Chastain walked quietly. Not far away, a group of actors led by Robert Downey Jr. and Jonah Hill were frantically partying. Murphy stood behind a camera, intensely focused, seemingly shooting the party scene himself.
"Cut!"
Murphy's loud voice echoed through the set, pausing the filming. Jessica shifted her gaze back and saw a tall, beautiful Jewish woman approaching.
"Paul, what brings you here today?"
Seeing Gal Gadot, Paul Wilson smiled and greeted her before explaining, "I'm free for now, so I came to take a look."
The new season of "Game of Thrones" was about to air. Apart from participating in some necessary promotional activities with Stanton Studios and 20th Century Fox, he wasn't as busy as he had been during the preparation phase.
Gal Gadot nodded and asked, "How's the preparation for the next season going?"
"The actors' pay is driving me crazy," Paul Wilson sighed heavily, "several main actors are demanding raises. Their agents are going nuts, with some demanding double or even several times the current pay."
He shook his head, "This negotiation will probably be a long one."
Realizing that Jessica Chastain was standing beside him, Paul quickly introduced, "Gal, this is Jessica Chastain. She used to be Murphy's assistant."
Then, he introduced them to each other, "Jessie, this is Gal Gadot."
Gal Gadot nodded in greeting and exchanged a few words with Jessica. Jessica subtly observed Gal Gadot, comparing her to the memory of Carey Mulligan.
Given their limited interaction, she could only judge superficially. This Jewish woman seemed quite reserved and genuinely friendly, appearing more mature than the impulsive Carey Mulligan.
"Jessie is here to visit the set," Paul Wilson explained at the right moment.
Jessica smiled at Gal Gadot, "Actually, I have some business to discuss with Murphy."
"You'll have to wait a bit," Gal Gadot pointed to the busy set, "Murphy is still filming. I'll tell him you're here and have him come over during the next break."
"Thank you," Jessica replied politely.
Gal Gadot returned to the set. As Murphy returned to the director's monitor, she took the brief moment before filming resumed to tell him that Jessica Chastain was here to see him.
"Her?" Murphy was a bit surprised. Although Jessica had been his assistant, they hadn't been in contact for a long time. "What does she want?"
"I don't know," Gal Gadot shook her head and added, "Paul brought her in."
Murphy didn't find this strange. Paul Wilson and Jessica Chastain had been his most important employees back in the day.
Unable to figure out why Jessica wanted to see him, Murphy put the matter aside and continued his work.
The set was ready, and filming resumed.
Led by Robert Downey Jr. and Jonah Hill, the actors re-entered the partying state, especially Downey, who used a straw to snort the white powder spread on the table.
Of course, it wasn't drugs. Murphy wouldn't have his actors snort real drugs. When filming drug scenes, the actors were actually snorting crushed Vitamin B powder. This not only made the scenes look realistic but also kept the actors energetic.
There were many such drug scenes in the film.
"Money, sex, and drugs" was the main theme Murphy intended to weave throughout the entire film, and it was also the film's selling point. Especially the bold depiction of sex and drugs, which was something no previous film about Wall Street had done. Many might find it exaggerated, but according to Murphy's research, these scenes were not only true but just the tip of the iceberg of Wall Street's reality.
These three words often appeared in Wall Street gossip and were indeed major points of excitement.
Money was the driving force behind Wall Street and the most important measure of this materialistic financial center.
As for the real attention grabbers, sex and drugs, did Wall Street elites need these to fill their emptiness? Murphy's understanding from Wall Street insiders was "yes, and no."
For example, Jordan Belfort's mentor spoke of similar activities, and according to Murphy's accountant David and other professionals, many white brokers on Wall Street indulged in these activities during work hours, often at their desks.
Wall Street gossip often revolved around who slept with whom recently, a managing director's escapades with a secretary, or the scandalous stories of certain individuals. These weren't voyeuristic or mocking but more for humor and relaxation, and most of the time, these sexual activities weren't transactional or coercive, but for stress relief.
Regarding drugs, they were more common in the 80s and 90s but less so now among Wall Street's upper echelons. Nowadays, New York's public servants are more likely to smoke marijuana, possibly due to the monotony of their work.
Murphy often heard the term "energy level" from Wall Street professionals. From his understanding, it meant "excitement level."
People on Wall Street needed to maintain a high level of mental agility and excitement. Most of them were perpetually highly excited. Even the women were often more aggressive than men, and most people on Wall Street exercised daily to maintain this level of excitement.
For such perpetually excited people, the need for sex was naturally higher than normal. It's similar to how the Olympics are also a major gathering for prostitutes every four years.
It was said that sex was a common way to entertain high-end clients or as a form of bribery on Wall Street. Some mid-level and senior employees also hosted private parties with male friends and occasionally hired entertainers for variety.
For entry-level employees, in a place like Manhattan teeming with supermodels and beauties, hitting the bars after work to pick up girls was quite normal.
Murphy's take was that the people with a huge demand for sex or drugs were those who hadn't yet reached the upper echelons of Wall Street. Most of the most successful people on Wall Street weren't overly obsessed with these things. For them, the accumulation of money and the game of career success were higher levels of excitement, making the previous two less appealing.
This situation applied to Murphy himself as well.
Filming paused for a break, and Murphy asked someone to bring Jessica Chastain over.
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