Echoes of Hollywood

The struggle between labor and management permeates every aspect of this commercial society. Murphy and his Stanton Studio are no exceptions. As Murphy once said, few people would tremble and serve someone for free just because of a persuasive speech.

Murphy's production team had been with him for years, not only because Murphy could bring them fame but also because they earned higher incomes compared to their peers in the industry.

Leonardo DiCaprio was indeed worth $20 million, but Murphy had initially thought that DiCaprio, eager to win the Best Actor Oscar, might lower his salary demands, allowing Murphy to benefit. However, it turned out that DiCaprio was not foolish either.

Both wanted to profit from the other without making significant compromises, leading to the inevitable breakdown of negotiations.

Of course, Murphy's desire to collaborate with a superstar like DiCaprio played a part in these negotiations.

With the negotiations broken, Murphy abandoned the idea entirely. Instead of paying DiCaprio $20 million, he'd rather spend it on his own people.

Murphy decided that the best choice for the lead role in this autobiographical film would be someone from the Stanton crew.

As February began, the 81st Academy Awards ceremony drew closer, and news related to the Oscars became a hot topic.

"Are you going to attend the Oscars?" Gal Gadot asked while eating her salad during their dinner together. Both had their own work to focus on. Gal was juggling producer courses and her graduation thesis, but they made it a point to have dinner together to nurture their relationship, even if the conversations were often about gossip and rumors.

Gal put down her fork and looked at Murphy. "Has there been any news from the police?"

Murphy shook his head as he swallowed his food. "No, it's hard to investigate this kind of thing."

After a moment's thought, he added, "I won't be attending the ceremony."

Gal smiled happily upon hearing this. Whether the threat was a prank or not, Murphy not taking any risks made her feel much more at ease.

Murphy changed the subject, talking about industry gossip. "You know, the hottest entertainment news right now isn't the Oscars."

Gal's curiosity was piqued. "Someone's stealing the Oscars' spotlight?"

Every year, during February and March, Hollywood's focus was usually on the Oscars, but with the Oscars' declining influence in recent years, someone always managed to steal its thunder.

"Who is it this time?" she asked.

Murphy wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Tom Cruise."

"Is he getting divorced again?" was Gal's immediate reaction.

It was understandable. There were long-standing rumors in Hollywood that Katie Holmes was not Tom Cruise's own choice but a wife carefully selected for him by the Church of Scientology.

Murphy knew why Gal thought that way.

It's said that Tom Cruise had been controlled by Scientology for nearly thirty years, with the church even selecting all three of his wives.

"Don't make any jokes about homosexuality. Don't give Tom Cruise's movies mocking nicknames like calling 'Top Gun' 'Topgay' or 'Mission: Impossible' 'Marriage: Impossible.' Don't talk about Mr. Cruise's male friends. You must live according to the rules of the Galactic Confederacy..."

These strange and strict terms were widely rumored details of the prenuptial agreement between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

Apart from being stunned by the sheer number of terms, the industry was puzzled by the Scientology-related clauses, such as: "If Xenu returns to Earth, Katie Holmes must accompany Tom Cruise on the carrier or ship of his choice, or she will lose all her assets."

The prevailing belief was that the marriage between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes was merely a charade, with each party getting what they wanted. Cruise's sole purpose in marrying was to demonstrate loyalty to Scientology and quell rumors of his homosexuality.

Though the prenuptial agreement's authenticity couldn't be confirmed, it certainly thrust the controversial religion into the spotlight.

Murphy had heard even more outlandish rumors.

In 1999, shortly after filming "Magnolia," Tom Cruise reportedly received an offer he couldn't refuse from Scientology's upper management, inviting him to attend a course called "Potential Trouble Source/Suppressive Person."

The course aimed to strengthen the faith of followers and pinpoint the sources of problems in their lives—deemed "suppressive persons." Scientology's leaders believed Cruise's trouble source was his second wife, Nicole Kidman.

The alarm bells started ringing at the end of 1998 when "Newsweek" interviewed Kidman. During the interview, she said, "I believe in a bit of Buddhism, a bit of Scientology. But I was raised a Catholic, and I'm still largely a Catholic."

To Scientology's leaders, this wasn't a good sign, as Kidman was married to one of their prominent members. Her lack of pure faith made her a "potential trouble source."

The subsequent events were visible to all.

Similar rumors surrounded Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

In 2005, to counter speculation that Tom Cruise was gay and to restore his healthy, heroic image among fans, Scientology began secretly seeking a suitable marriage partner for him among Hollywood actresses. Candidates included Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara, with the church privately promising substantial career and financial benefits to Cruise's new partner.

Many of these rumors weren't baseless. Some details were so specific that it was hard to distinguish fact from fiction. Murphy had heard Robert Downey Jr. mention that fellow Scientologist and Hollywood star Will Smith first introduced Sofia Vergara to Cruise. The then-unknown actress seemed interested in Cruise initially.

Vergara was then taken to tour Scientology's "Hollywood Celebrity Centre," but this visit completely changed her view of the potential relationship. Finding Scientology tedious, she declined to join the church, ending that potential match.

But Scientology didn't give up. In the same year, with Tom Cruise producing "Mission: Impossible III," they hoped to use the film's lead role to attract rising Hollywood actresses.

Scarlett Johansson and Katie Holmes both made the shortlist. In the end, Johansson showed no interest in Cruise or Scientology, not responding at all, while Holmes, despite not getting the film role, became Cruise's partner.

Holmes wasn't the prettiest or youngest among the candidates, but crucially, she was willing to accept and support Scientology, agreeing to sign a secret agreement with the church.

"Tom Cruise hasn't had the best years," Gal remarked, knowing a bit about the superstar. "It's said he's had conflicts with Scientology and hasn't had a great relationship with Paramount Pictures."

"This morning," Murphy shared the gossip that overshadowed the Oscars, "Sumner Redstone publicly announced that Paramount Pictures is ending its collaboration with Tom Cruise."

Gal pondered for a moment, asking, "They've been working together for over a decade. Why the sudden break?"

Murphy shrugged. "Like my negotiations with Leonardo DiCaprio, it's all about profit distribution."

The split between Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise after over a decade of partnership caused quite a stir in Hollywood.

It signaled that Hollywood's major studios, including Stanton Studio, had begun to push back against their pampered and demanding stars. This sparked a domino effect, with ABC canceling a mini-series deal with Harrison Ford's DreamWorks about the Holocaust, Morgan Creek Productions replacing Lindsay Lohan due to her poor behavior on set, and Stanton Studio replacing two actresses in "Game of Thrones," especially the character played by Natalie Dormer, who demanded an excessive raise.

Superstars are a scarce resource, but when their demands grow too high, taking a larger share of the profits, the profit-driven capital finally decided to restrict the stars' influence in this era of diminishing star power.

Hollywood studios had had enough of the stars' exorbitant demands, leading to a major industry shift. The true measure of a star's influence and power was now determined by investors and market appeal, not by talent agencies.

In an era dominated by visual effects and homogeneous commercial films, the draw of superstars had significantly decreased. More big-budget productions were opting for relatively cheaper actors over A-list stars.

Tom Cruise was an inevitable casualty of this reality.

As for why he was singled out, Murphy's view was that production companies and investors had to start somewhere, and who better to target than him?

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