Echoes of Hollywood

As they entered the screening hall, Jonah Hill suddenly appeared beside Murphy, walking with him towards the front row. Jonah kept glancing back, seemingly drawn by something.

"That chick's pretty nice," he suddenly remarked.

Murphy, having just nodded a greeting to someone, didn't quite catch Jonah's meaning and asked, "Who? Who's nice?"

"Julia Roberts' niece," Jonah Hill reminded him quickly. "The girl who just slipped you a note."

The theater, which could accommodate over two thousand people, was quite large, and Murphy still had some distance to his seat. He chatted briefly with Jonah Hill along the way.

"Oh, her," Murphy replied, not having given much thought to Emma Roberts' gesture. Remembering the note in his hand, he handed it to Jonah Hill without even looking at it. "Here, you take it. Do whatever you want with it."

Jonah Hill's face lit up with a broad smile. "When Gal gets back, I'll be sure to say good things about you."

Murphy shook his head, about to give Jonah the finger but reconsidered due to the setting. "Jonah, don't use my name, or I'll kick your ass."

"Am I that kind of person?" Jonah Hill defended himself, then leaned in conspiratorially. "Do you think Emma Roberts is really Julia Roberts' illegitimate daughter?"

"You should ask Downey about that," Murphy replied, not knowing the truth. "He's the gossip king."

With that, Murphy moved towards the row where the film crew was seated, leaving Jonah Hill behind.

Nevertheless, Jonah Hill's question piqued Murphy's curiosity. He too wondered if Emma Roberts was Julia Roberts' illegitimate daughter.

Murphy didn't need to ask directly. If Robert Downey Jr. and Jonah Hill, both notorious for their loose tongues, got hold of solid information, the rest of the Stanton faction would soon know.

Though the rumor seemed far-fetched, the whispers about Emma Roberts being Julia Roberts' illegitimate daughter had persisted in Hollywood for years. Perhaps only Julia Roberts and her brother truly knew the answer.

Murphy soon set these thoughts aside and focused on waiting for the movie to begin.

Aside from the premiere at Lincoln Center, 20th Century Fox had scheduled three thousand advance screenings for "Inglourious Basterds" across North America.

This was a stark contrast to other films aiming for award season glory, most of which did not have such large-scale premieres.

The typical strategy for award season films was to debut in fewer than ten theaters, targeting fans of that genre. These viewers naturally rated their favorite film types higher, easily generating positive word-of-mouth.

After this initial period, such films would not rapidly expand their release. Instead, they would build on their growing reputation before gradually increasing their screening locations, continuing to attract a similar audience to maintain the positive reviews.

Building a strong reputation while limiting the screening scale was all about creating good word-of-mouth.

A film's reputation is a crucial factor for award season success. Small-scale screenings are excellent for marketing a film's reputation, as excluding most casual viewers and having a limited audience of genre enthusiasts or supporters generally results in better reviews.

Conversely, a film released on a massive scale attracts a diverse audience, making it harder to control the word-of-mouth. This is why even excellent summer blockbusters often receive lower ratings than more niche art films due to the vast number of viewers.

With a film that isn't of poor quality, reputation can also be manufactured through marketing, as seen with the IMDb ratings battle between "The Dark Knight" and "The Shawshank Redemption," where it was unclear if there was any behind-the-scenes influence. Regardless, Warner Bros. profited handsomely from DVD sales, TV broadcast rights, and online pay-per-view.

At 7:30 PM Eastern Time, "Inglourious Basterds" began its screening.

After the brief introductions from 20th Century Fox and The Weinstein Company, the screen showed a close-up of James Franco, then gradually panned out to reveal him, as Lieutenant Aldo Raine, briefing a small squad against an airport backdrop. Murphy introduced the characters in the simplest way possible.

The "basterds" then boarded a plane, which took off and dropped them into France, where they began their long campaign of behind-enemy-lines sabotage and slaughter.

Unlike Quentin Tarantino's episodic and freewheeling style, Murphy used a more traditional multi-line narrative alongside his noir elements.

To keep the audience engaged and not bored by long-winded scenes, Murphy included a battle scene shortly after the "basterds" entered France. The battle wasn't just for the sake of black comedy, slaughter, and gore but also to shape the characters, especially the baseball bat-wielding killer.

This rapid and bloody battle scene, with the "basterds" mercilessly killing Nazi soldiers, was nearly at the R-rated limit, leaving the adult audience enthralled and thrilled.

Action scenes, represented by "fistfights," and romantic scenes, represented by "pillow talk," are always the most potent tools for attracting moviegoers.

After the battle, the "basterds" showed no mercy to their enemies, even scalping the dead. The baseball bat killer's head-crushing scene was a carnage spectacle.

Lieutenant Aldo Raine's carving skills also drew much praise.

Unlike Spielberg's reflective "Saving Private Ryan" or Tarantino's playful antics, Murphy's battle scenes lacked any reflective element. They were pure Nazi-slaughtering feasts.

He was never worried about the controversy this might provoke, as anti-Nazi sentiment has been a fundamental aspect of Western political correctness for decades. Films or people trying to whitewash the Nazis have never been well-received.

After the intense black slaughter scenes, the film's colors brightened slightly, transitioning naturally to Colonel Hans Landa and the farmer. Apart from being less verbose than Tarantino's dialogues, Murphy kept this section relatively unchanged. The farmer, unable to withstand Landa's cunning tactics, ultimately broke down, leading to the brutal massacre of the Jewish family hidden under the floor, with only their daughter escaping.

As the war reached its final stages and the Allies began their counteroffensive, the "basterds" had made quite a name for themselves, even reaching Hitler's ears.

In the film, Hitler was depicted as a clownish figure. Murphy certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to show any respect to the Nazi leader.

Sympathy for or siding with Hitler is undoubtedly a path to ruin.

The film then split into two main storylines: one following the "basterds" and the other focusing on the escaped Shosanna.

These two storylines never directly intersected but had many indirect connections. First, both were Jews, seeking revenge for the atrocities committed by the Germans. Second, both were linked by the pivotal character of Colonel Hans Landa, the infamous SS detective. Third, both aimed to destroy the Nazis in the cinema, whether through fire or explosion.

The British also got involved, sending a former film critic officer to France. However, he turned out to be inept, claiming the underground tavern was safe from the Germans, only to find it full of Nazis. He tried to handle them but was all talk and no action, ultimately giving himself away with a hand gesture, triggering a massive firefight.

Michael Fassbender's character was undoubtedly the most unreliable in the entire film.

As the film progressed, the two storylines converged, planning a grand assassination against Hitler and his high command.

Murphy made several changes, such as altering Shosanna's employee/boyfriend from a Black man and adding more guards to Hitler's entrance, increasing the assassination's difficulty.

However, killing Hitler remained unchanged, and

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Murphy planned to enhance the visual impact with a blood-soaked finale.

Desecrating Hitler's corpse was also essential. After killing him, Murphy used close-ups to twice show the Jewish fighters shooting Hitler's body until it became a bloody pulp.

If not for rating considerations, Murphy would have made this scene even more violent and gory. It was one of the film's high points for the audience.

Bloodshed and revenge were the film's themes. Since it aimed for award season, why not portray the slaughter of Hitler and the Nazis even more viciously?

Killing Hitler was a dream for many, even though the real scoundrel had been dead for over sixty years. It was still a fantasy many dreamers liked to indulge in because it would have been a monumental feat.

As for Colonel Hans Landa, his fate wasn't much better. When villains clash, it's about who is more shameless.