Dreams of Stardom (Hollywood SI)

Steven Spielberg was anxious. The film that he had been working on for such a long time was stalled once more, only because of his inability to find the leading actor. The problem wasn’t that there was any lack of actors in Hollywood. Far from that. But the person he needed for his film should be a kid actor. That too, a bankable kid actor to carry a film costing $100m on his shoulders. A commodity that was very rare in Hollywood.

At the top of his head, he could only think of one kid who at the moment was considered a superstar: Troy Armitage. Sure, there were other good child actors in the industry as well, but Troy’s performance in films like [Sex Education] and [The Sixth Sense] just blew Steven's mind. Not only that, the kid was meant to be Harry Potter next, which was undoubtedly a superhit film. A film that was offered to Steven first but he declined it in favor of working on [A.I. Artificial Intelligence] because he felt that Harry Potter would be better off as an animated film while everyone else wanted to make a live-action film.

At this point in his career, Steven didn’t exactly need another superhit film. He wanted to make good films that left an impact on people. Moreover, this film was a longtime passion project of his mentor and friend Stanley Kubrick, who passed away just a year ago. For Stanley, he would make the best film that he could and for that, Steven would get the best talent out there that he had decided already. All other actors had been confirmed, only the lead, David, was yet to be cast.

Normally, Steven would have moved on with another kid, but Warner Bros, the co-producers and distributors, had placed the condition of casting Troy as David if Steven wanted the full budget of $100m for the film.

One would think that with Steven being who he is, people would bend over backward to accommodate his budget while making a film. The problem was that the script was conceptualized by Kubrick, who had added the character of Gigolo Joe as an important supporting character—a robot male prostitute. All other studios were strongly against this character as it would alienate kid audiences and change the rating from PG to PG-13. Warner was the only studio that had agreed to let Gigolo Joe remain, provided their other conditions were satisfied by DreamWorks, namely, casting Troy in the lead.

When Steven had contacted Troy’s mother, who was also his manager, for the role of David, she had declined the offer, citing his busy schedule with [Harry Potter]. A perfectly valid reason.

So Steven waited and contacted Warner to tell him at the earliest as soon as Troy became free from shooting [Harry Potter]. He contacted Troy’s mother again, just a week before [Harry Potter]’s shooting was to wrap up, only to be rebuffed again.

“He’s just a kid, Mr. Spielberg,” Kathy Kloves had argued. “He needs some time for rest as well. He is shooting non-stop for months on end. I don’t want him to move from one film set to another. Is that too much to ask as his mother?”

Steven had felt a little guilty when he heard that excuse from the lady and decided not to pursue the topic anymore. But what could he do exactly? The only option he could see at the moment was holding an open audition call for David and hopefully finding one of the other young actors who would take up the responsibility. He’d have to cut down the budget substantially and delay the project by a few months at the very least in the absence of Troy, but he didn’t have any other alternative at the moment.

At that moment, he chucked all of his anxieties aside and smiled for the cameras alongside other filmmakers, actors, and writers from around the world at that year’s Cannes Film Festival where he was serving as Jury President. A great honor rested with him to award the year’s Palme d’Or and other major awards, a duty he took very seriously.

Had he got his lead actor for the film, he would be focusing exclusively on [A.I. Artificial Intelligence] and most probably would have declined the jury duty. But since the project was as good as stalled temporarily, he accepted the task.

“So what do you think of this year’s selection, Steven?” Jonathan Demme, Oscar-winning director of [The Silence of the Lambs] and a fellow jury member, asked curiously when they were done with the photos.

“I am excited for Coen Brothers’ [O Brother, Where Art Thou?]” Steven replied honestly.

“Oh?” Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. I am more interested in seeing [Billy Elliot] by Stephen Daldry.”

Steven jogged his memory to see if he remembered any of the films with such a name but came up blank. Finally, he asked, “I’m sorry, which film is that?”

Jonathan grinned at Steven’s lack of knowledge, “Oh, it’s our youngest Oscar winner’s next film. You must know it by its old name, [Dancer]. They changed it when they saw the name of the Icelandic film [Dancer in the Dark]. I have heard from Ron Meyer of Universal himself that the film received a rave response in an internal screening. In Ron’s own words, Troy Armitage’s second Oscar nomination is as good as locked. This will be one of Universal’s biggest award contenders of the year.”

Steven hummed audibly at that but internally he was conflicted. That was a little troublesome. Not only was Harvey Weinstein a pain in the ass for hijacking the award season for the last few years, but now he’d have to compete with Universal as well? DreamWorks was a fledgling studio at the moment and he had full intention to take it to the heights of the Big 6. So obviously they swayed the academy members which in turn gave them full support from the best actors out there. Who wouldn’t want the temptation of an Oscar, huh?

DreamWorks’ biggest movie of the year, [Gladiator], was just released a couple of weeks ago and Russell Crowe is already a fan favorite to win Best Actor. If only he was a little more likable, his win would be as good as guaranteed given Troy just won an Oscar. The more Oscars [Gladiator] wins, the better it would be for the film's home video sales.

Given that, [Billy Elliot]'s award prospects must be nipped right now in the bud. Even if the film is amazing. And it wouldn’t look good if Steven supported an English-speaking film over numerous films from all over the world that are on display here.

Making up his mind quickly, Steven turned to Jonathan Demme, “When you put it like that, I can’t help but get excited for [Billy Elliot] as well.”

(Break)

The reception I received at Cannes was crazy. Given that my movie hadn’t even premiered till then, it was something. Till now, the reality hadn’t even sunk in about my popularity. Sure, there were many crazy people, reporters and fans alike, who had approached me over the last year, but nothing could beat my first Cannes experience.

At least a hundred photographers clicked away numerous flash photographs as I posed in my perfectly tailored Gucci champagne suit with a white shirt and a black bow tie. I was a little surprised when I got sponsors for my Cannes wardrobe. Mostly because of my current age. I knew that older people get such sponsorship all the time, but for kids as well?

I was joined by Julie Walters, Jamie Draven, Gary Lewis, Stephen Daldry, and Jamie Bell on the red carpet, but most of the cameras were focused on yours truly. Normally, Jamie Bell wouldn't be invited to such an event, but since he had received widespread attention of his own owing to his upcoming role as Ron Weasley, the producers didn’t leave him behind from the promotions. In the meanwhile, he got to tour Cannes for free, obviously, Jamie didn’t decline.

“What will we do next?” Jamie asked from beside me as we posed for a photo, just the two of us. It was his first film premiere so his lack of knowledge was understandable.

“We’ll just go in and see the film with everyone from the cast and the crew,” I replied while keeping a grin etched on my face as more photos were being taken. “After that, it would be some questions from reporters all around the world. Mostly British and American as our film is in English. Obviously, they’ll ask about [Harry Potter]. Don’t say too much about it. We are promoting [Billy Elliot] right now.”

Jamie nodded as the photo session finally came to an end. Stephen Daldry had the foresight to rush us along inside, saving us from spending any more unnecessary time with the vultures.

“Keep them on edge,” Stephen lectured sagely. “The more you give these photographers, the more they will take. Be as evasive as you can.” Then he bent down to our level and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone I said that.”

Jamie and I snickered at his antics before moving along inside the theater where our respective guardians were waiting for us. It didn’t take long for us to be seated and for the film to begin. Since I had already seen the original one, all I was doing at the moment was looking for the changes that my presence brought to the script. The biggest one was the much more complex dance sequences and the one-take cinematography of all those scenes.

I had to give it to Stephen Daldry, the director, and Brian Tufano, the cinematographer. The scenes came out much more natural-looking and exciting than what I remember from my past life.

All the themes of the film that Stephen had talked about during the table read like internalized homophobia, the class divide between the rich and the poor, the toxic masculinity imposed upon young boys, and many more, came out very naturally, without it seeming forced upon the viewers.

I closed my eyes when I saw that awkward kissing scene between my character and Nicola, the girl who played my dance teacher's daughter. That was embarrassing on so many levels.

“My son, the ladies’ man,” Mum elbowed me teasingly, and I groaned out loud again. Not that it wasn’t awkward enough already.

I just ignored her and focused back on the film. As the story came near the end, I shed a few tears over the acting of Gary Lewis, Julie Walters, and surprisingly some of my scenes as well. Stephen was a master director who had forced us all to bring our A-game into the fold. My last scene in the film where I bade farewell to my best friend Michael and my family brought a fresh wave of tears as Jamie Draven, who played my brother, gave another master-level performance.

In the final scene, Billy’s all-grown-up form performs a final dance and the credits roll. I wipe off my tears one final time and turn to Mum who was faring much worse than me. She had soaked up the entire handkerchief that she was carrying in her little clutch. Seeing me looking at her, she engulfed me in a hug and cried anew.

“That was marvelous, son,” she whispered in my ear between sobs. “I’m so glad you talked me into allowing you to do this film. This is much better than [The Sixth Sense].”

“Thanks, Mum,” I patted her back as she controlled her emotions.

Between her tears, I somehow missed the moment when the audience members stood up and began clapping. Most of the audience members around me turned towards me and gave me an appraising look. As soon as the situation dawned upon me, I stood up and bowed graciously to the audience. That did nothing to stop the applause.

I had heard about the polarizing levels of appraisal received at Cannes, be it applause or boos, but this was my first time witnessing any side of it. The audience, which consisted of reporters, critics, people from the industry, and even the general populace, seemed entirely too happy to continue clapping for our film.

Stephen Daldry, who stood just a row in front of me, burst into tears when the applause crossed the seven-minute mark. It was further four minutes later at 11 minutes and 20 seconds that the applause finally died down. It felt so surreal but so comforting that the people liked our film.

Finally, as the applause had ended, the premiere organizers ushered the cast and the director onto the stage to answer some of the media’s burning questions.

“Troy,” unsurprisingly, the first question was for me. “First of all, what an amazing performance. The best I’ve seen this year.”

“Thank you,” I grinned at the middle-aged lady who had spoken first.

“My question to you is, how did you go about with the dance performances? I noticed that they were shot in a single take. Is that your acting style like the song in [The Sixth Sense]?”

“That’s a good question,” I replied. “I hadn’t thought of it like that to be honest. As an actor, I trust my directors to present my best performance forward. That’s what I did here. As for the dance performances, I practiced for them for months on end with our amazing choreographer Peter before shooting my first scene.”

“Stephen,” the next reporter began. “How did you cast Troy for this role?”

“Peter Darling, our choreographer, was Troy’s dance teacher at the time,” Stephen began the story. “He recommended Troy for the role, and we had an audition. His northern accent wasn’t that good at the time, but his acting and dance were top-notch; anyone could tell that. So, I decided to give him a chance against the better judgment of my casting director and producers, and here we are. I couldn’t have made a better decision.”

That I didn’t know.

“Troy,” another question came back to me, this time from a man. “How do you select your scripts? Is it your adoptive parents?”

“Not really,” I replied confidently. “While they help me a lot in weeding out bad film scripts, the ultimate decision is mine. If I don’t like the script, I won’t do the film. After [Sex Education], I had the chance to do either [Magnolia], [Stuart Little], or [The Sixth Sense]. I liked all three but could choose only one as their schedules conflicted. So, I chose [The Sixth Sense] because that was the best script of the three. Similarly, for this film, my mother was against me taking up another film so soon, given the status of [Harry Potter], which was to begin shooting shortly after [Billy Elliot]. But I loved the script so much that I begged and pleaded with her to let me do this. Needless to say, I’m very happy with the result. Thanks to the whole team of [Billy Elliot] that made such a beautiful movie.”

“Troy,” another gentleman said. “Do you think you will get another Oscar for this role?”

“I already got one?” I replied in a half-confused tone. “I don’t think they’d give me another one so soon.”

“Tom Hanks won two consecutive Oscars,” he countered.

“Exactly!” I shot back. “He’s Tom Hanks. By the way, as much as I’d like to discuss my award prospects, let’s keep the discussion to [Billy Elliot], yeah?”

And the questions went on. Thankfully, all questions weren’t centered on me, and others got the chance to answer their questions as well. Whenever reporters were being too clingy to me, I would redirect the question back to either Stephen or any of my other castmates, feigning ignorance or my lack of understanding about the question. That’s the charm of being a kid; you can get away with a lot of things under the guise of your immaturity.

Hopefully, I’ll get used to this whole process as I grow older. Right now, I can only hope this gets over soon.

___________________________

AN: Visit my Pat reon to read ahead, or participate in free polls about the story.

Link: www(dot)pat reon(dot)com/fableweaver