Dreams of Stardom (Hollywood SI)

The 73rd Academy Awards were to take place on March 25, 2001. It had been more than a month since the BAFTA had been aired, and the most heated race of the year was the category of Best Actor. Usually, the precursor awards are a good indicator as to who is most likely to win, but the awards till now have been very divisive. The Golden Globes gave out two awards, one to Troy Armitage for Drama, and one to George Clooney for Comedy. The problem here was that George Clooney wasn't even nominated for the Oscar. Critics Choice Award went to Tom Hanks for [Cast Away], the SAG went to Benicio del Toro, and the BAFTA went to Russell Crowe for [Gladiator].

Benicio del Toro was nominated in the Supporting Actor category at the Oscars, so he was out of this race at least.

The ones competing for this award were Tom Hanks for [Cast Away], Russell Crowe for [Gladiator], Troy Armitage for [Billy Elliot], Ed Harris for [Pollock], and Javier Bardem for [Before Night Falls].

Of the five nominees, it was very unlikely for Ed Harris or Javier Bardem to win. While both of them gave wonderful performances, and perhaps even better performances than the other three, there was a little fact stopping the two from winning: their films failed at the box office. Sure, they'll recoup their costs later on in the home media, but at the moment barely anyone has seen their films. People find it hard to vote for such a performance that they haven't seen.

Of the remaining three films, Russell Crowe for [Gladiator] was the front-runner to win the award, up until the news of his actions at the BAFTAs came out. Not only did he attack the producer of the show, but when the said producer, Malcolm, filed a police complaint against Crowe, the New Zealand man initially refused to apologize. In his own words, he didn't hit the man, so he had done nothing wrong. Under pressure from DreamWorks, Malcolm withdrew his report, and Crowe offered a half-hearted apology, but by then the damage had already been done. The BAFTAs banned Russell Crowe for the next decade. If he hadn't already received a nomination for the Oscars by then, his nomination would be doubtful.

In another life, Russell Crowe didn't win the BAFTA for [Gladiator], rather that honor went to Jamie Bell for [Billy Elliot]. But since Troy had already won a BAFTA for Best Actor just last year, the voters rather voted for the Australian man. Life has a weird way of setting up coincidences. Had the original timeline been followed closely, the incident with Russell Crowe and the BAFTA producer happened a year later when he won for [A Beautiful Mind]. This timeline changed a few things, yet some of them remained the same if only the year was different.

So while the race may seem a little heated, in essence, there were only two competitors for the award: Tom Hanks and Troy Armitage, both of whom gave wonderful performances in their respective films. The only problem with the two was that both were already Oscar winners, so the Oscar voters of this category were truly divided.

(Break)

The ceremony was stacked full of stars just like last year. Some of whom I saw right before the ceremony were: Julia Roberts, Juliette Binoche, Jeff Bridges, Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoenix (lots of Js), Kate Hudson, and Frances McDormand. The latter two were part of my favorite film of the year: [Almost Famous]. It's too bad it's unlikely for either of them to win tonight. Joaquin Phoenix was another such guy who gave one of the best performances of the year but was not awarded the big prize in the original timeline. I loved his portrayal of Commodus in [Gladiator]. He was the perfect villain to Russell Crowe's Maximus, inspiring many future actors.

Despite this, I didn't vote for him because my co-actor Gary Lewis from [Billy Elliot] was also nominated tonight, and I had to show support for my own film.

Since I won an Oscar last year, I was inducted into the actors' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Being in the Actors' branch gave me the option to vote in five categories: four in the acting ones, and one for Best Picture.

Of my other votes, for Best Actress, I voted for Ellen Burstyn for [Requiem for a Dream]. My Best Supporting Actress vote went to Julie Walters for obvious reasons, and I don't even need to tell you who I voted for in the Best Actor category. Similarly, I voted for [Billy Elliot] in the Best Picture category.

When I was not an actor myself, I used to think, "Why would they vote for this actor? They weren't good at all." But now, I know why. Of the five votes I held, only one was unbiased, and that was because none of the nominated actresses were from a movie I did. I didn't even know any of them personally. Like, I'm sure that if Toni Collette was nominated tonight, I would have voted for her because of our connection, irrespective of whether she was the best or not. Now if there were multiple people nominated whom I knew, that would have created a dilemma. Thankfully, I'm not that well-connected at the moment.

"Smile," a photographer requested as I posed in my expensive Armani suit this time and numerous flashes clicked away.

I had already had a meet and greet with some of the fans near the red carpet, so after the photo session was done, I just walked in, ignoring all the reporters asking for a comment. Talking to any reporter at this moment wouldn't have any major effect on my winning odds. If I knew any reporters here personally, then maybe I would have stopped, and while I knew a few I could see there, none of them were beyond a passing acquaintance.

I had already endured quite a grueling month in London, and even after landing here in LA, the paparazzi were persistent in following me. It had gotten so bad that Evan had to come over to our place to meet me, and not the other way around as I usually do. I don't understand why they are following me. It's not like I would have a secret girlfriend at my age that they could expose. It would be so convenient if this paparazzi behavior was covered under stalking. Unfortunately, it's not.

Shaking my head off those thoughts, I just walked inside the venue. More than my category, I was excited to give away the award for Best Supporting Actress tonight. The best part was that I don't recall who won in the original timeline, so it would be a surprise for me when I read the name in the envelope.

"Troy Armitage," a male voice called out my name. I turned quickly to come face-to-face with the most talked-about celebrity of the night: Russell Crowe.

"Hey Russell," I offered him a hand in greeting which he shook. "I love your work, man!" I geeked out a little. "You're just awesome."

"Not better than yours from what I can sense," he said with a tinge of bitterness in his tone.

And I immediately understood what he was silently referring to. Anyone would. In my first life, I had heard a joke in [South Park] about how Russell Crowe is so angry and violent all the time, but I didn't know that he would take it to such a level as to threaten the producer of the BAFTAs just because his victory speech was edited in the telecast. I don't think this would have happened in the original timeline because he didn't win at the BAFTAs there.

Yet, I didn't think he would be losing tonight. He apologized for that mistake and, more importantly, his performance was better than mine, and I just won an Oscar last year.

"Don't worry too much," I reassured him. "You have this in the bag. I just won last year, and you should already have won for [The Insider] last year. It would be a travesty if you didn't win."

He cracked a little smile before saying, "Didn't you say at the Globes that you think Hanks was the best?"

"I still think so," I said firmly. "But that doesn't mean that he should win. He has already won twice. He doesn't have anything else to prove to anyone."

"So you're saying that I need to prove something to someone?" he asked challengingly.

"Don't you?" I asked back as innocently as I could.

He scoffed before walking away like a child. I stood there in confusion at his abrupt departure. Did I say anything offensive?

"Troy!" Mum's voice broke me out of my state. "There you are. I was looking for you everywhere. Come on, the ceremony is about to begin."

I looked over at her in her beautiful red gown. She was the most beautiful woman I had seen all night. Despite witnessing superstars and supermodels on the red carpet, no one could beat my mother. I smiled and nodded at her to lead the way.

Inside the stadium, Dad had already taken his seat, and I sat beside him, while Mum was on my left. Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, Stephen Daldry, and the rest of the nominated crew of [Billy Elliot] were sitting all around us, whom I greeted enthusiastically.

Soon the ceremony began, and the first people to appear before everyone were three astronauts from space. It was cool seeing live video from space in Los Angeles. Then old man Steve Martin took the stage as the host of the evening.

He began the ceremony with some American political jokes that I had no idea about before moving to more common ones like: "When they asked me in January if I would host the Oscars, the first thought that came to my mind was if there would be enough time for my facelift to heal."

With the usual self-deprecating jokes out of the way, he moved to jokes at the expense of celebrities.

"Russell Crowe is here," he said, which elicited a gentle round of applause from the audience. "If he wins tonight, I'm pretty sure no one will play music to cut off his speech. He is a tough man."

I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me. There were a few laughs around the auditorium, but not too many. People don't have a sense of humor in Hollywood.

"Tonight we have many young nominees as well," Steve Martin continued, unfazed. "Kate Hudson, 21 years old. Troy Armitage, 12. Fun fact: if Troy wins tonight, between him and me, we will have 2 Academy Awards."

I laughed and clapped at the joke along with most of the audience as the camera zoomed in on my face.

"Another fun fact: Troy's father, Steve Kloves, is also nominated tonight for Best Adapted Screenplay for [Wonder Boys]. Together, they can make history by being the first parent-child to win in the same year."

Then he moved on to making more generic jokes, most of which were funny enough.

It was during one such joke, when I was laughing, that a young woman walked over to me and said, "Troy, you'll have to go backstage."

Understanding her intention, I nodded and followed her silently. As soon as I was out of my seat, a grown man walked over to the area I had come from and took my seat. That was because of this weird academy rule of having 'seat warmers'. They didn't want viewers at home to think that the Oscars have empty seats, so whenever someone goes backstage or goes to use the loo, someone takes your seat, and you can retake your seat only during a commercial break.

Catherine Zeta-Jones gave out the first Oscar of the night, which was a technical award that went to [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]. Then it was my turn to present the award for Best Supporting Actress. I walked onto the stage with a confident smile and stood in front of the mic.

"Good Evening," I greeted the audience politely into the mic. "Just last week, I was presenting my book report for 'Gulliver's Travels,' and tonight I'm presenting the award for Best Supporting Actress. Talk about a big leap!"

The audience laughed at the joke. As much as I would like to claim credit for it, the joke was written by the award show writers, and I was just reading it off a teleprompter. Obviously, I wouldn't be reading 'Gulliver's Travels' when I was about to finish high school soon.

"Until a few years ago," I continued reading, "I used to think a supporting actor or actress must be one who keeps the real actors fed on the set."

More audience laughter.

"But really, these supporting characters are amazing. They make the lead actors look good, and in some cases, steal the spotlight from right under their noses. Just look at me in [The Sixth Sense]."

As soon as I said that, I regretted the joke. Who the heck wrote that? I didn't want to antagonize Bruce Willis on live TV. The people in the audience found it funny, however, and laughed, so I moved on.

"The nominees for Best Supporting Actress have done incredible work this year. They've cried, laughed, screamed, and even worn uncomfortable period costumes, all for our entertainment. Here are the nominees:

- Judi Dench for [Chocolat]

- Kate Hudson for [Almost Famous]

- Frances McDormand for [Almost Famous]

- Marcia Gay Harden for [Pollock]

- And the gorgeous Julie Walters for [Billy Elliot]"

I couldn't stop myself from praising my co-star. Deciding that I had spoken enough already, I opened the envelope.

"And the Oscar goes to… Julie Walters for [Billy Elliot]!" I shouted in excitement as the whole crew of [Billy Elliot] jumped to their feet in celebration. I couldn't keep the grin off of my own face as Julie Walters hugged a ton of people before walking over to the stage and hugged me equally tightly.

"Thank you, Troy," She whispered in my ear.

I patted her back gently, "Thank me later. This is your moment. Savor it."

Julie gave a beautiful speech, thanking our cast and crew, her family, and tons of other people, including me, of course. But my mind was elsewhere. I don't think she changed her performance much in the film as compared to the original version. Then why did she win today when she didn't the first time? Was it just because our film made a lot more money as compared to the original version? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved her performance in the film, and she deserved every award they could throw her way, but this was a little unexpected for me.

Soon I walked backstage with Julie, who went to the reporters to give her post-win interviews. Meanwhile, I waited for the ad break so I could go back and sit in the audience once again.

[Billy Elliot] didn't win another award tonight, but there were a few surprise wins for [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone] in the Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score categories. On second thought, Visual Effects made sense, given that its only real competition was [Gladiator]. And [Harry Potter]'s flight scenes were revolutionary for the period. Similarly, who can forget the classic Hedwig's Theme from [Harry Potter], created by the legendary John Williams? In the original timeline, both awards were snagged by [The Fellowship of the Ring].

So my presence changed a big aspect of history. The [Harry Potter] film series, which never won a single Oscar in the original timeline, just won two.

Not everything was good, though. Dad lost in his category to the screenwriter of [Traffic]. That also we knew beforehand. While the script of [Wonder Boys] was good, the execution and marketing were subpar at best, which led to the film not even recovering its cost at the box office.

Then came a truly surprising win in my opinion: Best Supporting Actor. In the original timeline, the award went to Benicio del Toro, and it made sense because he was amazing in [Traffic], but this time, the award went to Joaquin Phoenix for [Gladiator].

Holy shit! That was a deserving win, although not one I expected. Phoenix was the best in his category in my opinion, but I didn't vote for him. So why did he win? I didn't have the answer to that.

There were no other deviations in the awards, at least not to my knowledge. And then came the award that I was dreading and excited for at the same time: Best Actor. Dreading because it would be a big media circus all over again if I won another Oscar. I have just freed myself from a PR crisis, and I don't want anything even remotely close. At the same time, I wanted that second trophy. And I wanted it badly. If I won it, I would be the youngest person to win in both the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories. My name would be cemented in history for years to come. Probably forever.

As last year's Best Actress winner, Hilary Swank walked onto the stage, my heart started beating wildly.

"And the nominees are:

- Javier Bardem for [Before Night Falls]

- Tom Hanks for [Cast Away]

- Ed Harris for [Pollock]

- Troy Armitage for [Billy Elliot]

- Russell Crowe for [Gladiator]"

As Hilary Swank opened the envelope, tensions were at an all-time high. Will I win it? Or will I lose? What will happen?

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