Echoes of Hollywood

To get the new project underway, Murphy first needed to finalize the script and the project plan. Even in Hollywood's assembly-line style of filmmaking, the script remains one of the fundamental elements of a movie's production.

After the 81st Academy Awards, Murphy focused all his energy on scriptwriting.

The story outline was mostly settled, but due to legal constraints related to Jordan Belfort's rights, Murphy couldn't take too many liberties with the main character. Much of the content had to adhere to verifiable information, meaning the main character was confined to a specific framework, leaving limited room for creative freedom in the script.

This certainly posed some challenges for the script.

However, Murphy quickly found a way to address this. While Jordan Belfort's turnaround posed limitations on the main character, emphasizing the protagonist's traits didn't necessarily have to be solely reflected through him. It could also be highlighted through his supporting characters.

The people around a person often reflect their character. For instance, if Murphy were a paragon of virtue, he wouldn't be best friends with Jonah Hill, James Franco, and Robert Downey Jr.

Using Hollywood's screenwriting philosophy, this meant creating standout supporting characters to complement the main character.

In successful films, characters often embody or highlight specific archetypes, each with distinct behaviors and thought patterns that make them easily understandable and relatable to audiences.

This character archetype theory suggests that everyone has a complex mix of personality traits, with a dominant characteristic among them.

When Murphy created a supporting character for the protagonist, he needed this sidekick to exhibit certain archetypes, thereby becoming a trustworthy ally for the protagonist.

Swedish psychologist Carl Jung identified twelve character archetypes: the Innocent, the Hero, the Outlaw, the Magician, the Jester, the Everyman, the Lover, the Caregiver, the Ruler, the Creator, the Sage, and the Explorer.

Like all filmmakers, Murphy incorporated these traits to some extent when creating characters. However, he didn't limit himself to these archetypes, as doing so could hinder character depth and complexity.

For instance, most traditional Hollywood protagonists are good people or become good by the end. But Jordan Belfort didn't fit this mold. Murphy's plan was to further highlight Belfort's love for money and his dark, manic side, so the supporting characters around him couldn't be good people.

To be precise, most of them had to be bona fide scoundrels.

Due to certain legal restrictions preventing him from taking liberties with Belfort, when the protagonist couldn't carry the story alone, Murphy needed supporting and opposing characters to keep the narrative engaging and full.

Supporting characters also play irreplaceable roles, such as being likable, providing comic relief, or helping to unravel the film's mysteries.

First, Murphy planned for Belfort's most important assistant, effectively the film's second male lead, Donnie Azoff.

In Murphy's script, Azoff would be a typical Jester archetype.

If such a character believes in living life to the fullest, indulging in every pleasure, and being skilled at eating, drinking, and other vices, he is best set as a Jester.

These characters aim to have fun and enjoy life, fearing boredom, constantly joking, and creating joy and mischief. They seek thrills that seem trivial and are often careless and clumsy.

Donnie Azoff was perfect for this role. While casting this character, Murphy naturally thought of the ideal actor for the part—Jonah Hill. Even with some changes to the role, Hill, like Martin Scorsese's choice, was the perfect fit.

When designing this character, Murphy added comedic and humorous elements based on Hill's persona, using witty dialogue to diffuse conflicts or crises, enhancing the Jester character's charm.

Another supporting character was Steve Madden, the founder of the 20th-century footwear giant Steve Madden Ltd. In the script, Madden's career was still in its early stages, and he appeared very naive, making him a classic Innocent archetype.

Innocent characters look very childlike and are the purest type of supporting character, at least on the surface.

For example, Olaf from "Frozen" is a successful Innocent character. He doesn't know he'll melt in the sun yet eagerly wants to experience a "summer day." Olaf is also a charming character who brings joy to the audience.

Such characters, regardless of their inner discrepancies with their outward appearance, strive to do things "the right way" with unwavering conviction.

Another crucial supporting character was Belfort's nemesis, the unbribable FBI agent who ultimately put him behind bars.

This FBI agent, named Patrick Denham, was tasked with investigating Stratton Oakmont's fraudulent activities. Unaffected by Belfort's bribes, he was determined to uncover the truth.

Patrick Denham was undoubtedly an Explorer archetype, a character type that tries to overcome all obstacles, becoming an excellent foil for the protagonist.

In designing this character, Murphy drew on real-life FBI agents who investigated Belfort and also took inspiration from George R.R. Martin's portrayal of Tyrion Lannister in "Game of Thrones."

Tyrion Lannister from "Game of Thrones" is a classic Explorer archetype. Despite his short stature, he is highly ambitious.

In the first season, he travels to the Wall to visit the Night's Watch, a journey deemed unfitting for a nobleman of his status. Yet he is a hero character in "Game of Thrones," becoming Daenerys Targaryen's right-hand man.

In most films and series, Explorer characters love to experience a real, fulfilling life, craving the freedom to explore the world and find their true selves. They fear comfort and worldly troubles, striving to maintain their sense of self, yearning for learning, and expecting long journeys, often being misfits or wanderers.

Having nailed down Belfort's supporting characters, Murphy met with his accountant David, who brought in several professional stockbrokers from Wall Street to help the screenwriting team with the financial and securities aspects of the script.

This area didn't need to be groundbreaking, but it couldn't afford basic mistakes.

The script wouldn't show specific operations or methods in detail. While the protagonist's persuasive skills were crucial, the script avoided intricate specifics, reducing the risk of errors.

"If the film describes it this way, are you saying a bunch of marijuana-dealing rascals became financial experts?" As one of the film's future executive producers, Gal Gadot saw the draft of the script's first half and was puzzled by many aspects. She asked Murphy, "Wouldn't that be a huge slap in the face to financial professionals?"

"They used a method called Pump and Dump."

Murphy wasn't particularly knowledgeable about this but had learned bits from David's Wall Street friends in recent days. He explained, "This mainly targets micro stocks, very small market cap stocks. In the script, you saw the so-called future leader in American telecommunications, which was just a structure by a remote country road."

Though the film seemed comedic, its core was dark. Murphy didn't plan to whitewash Jordan Belfort and aimed to highlight the seedy underbelly of Wall Street instead of its glamorous facade.

From the materials gathered since the Oscars, Murphy had compiled a substantial amount of verifiable information on Stratton Oakmont. Compared to these guys, the Stanton crew seemed like saints.

These con artists duped strangers, presenting themselves as Wall Street elites, then hyped their worthless companies. The key was claiming to have inside information, saying, "Just give me two days; your money won't be urgently needed in that time." The clients would buy, and with the small market cap, prices would spike quickly. This success would lure more people in: "I told you this stock would rise two days ago, and it did. I'm sorry I couldn't contact you earlier, but it's not too late now."

And so it snowballed, like inflating a balloon—hence the term "pump."

When the time was right, typically when they had enough or feared financial predators taking their gains, they'd dump all their holdings, abandoning the stock like garbage—hence "dump."

Those who hadn't sold were left high and dry.

As for Gal Gadot's point about rascals becoming financial experts, Murphy acknowledged that this scenario wasn't uncommon.

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