Dreams of Stardom (Hollywood SI)

August 2003, Universal Studios, Los Angeles

“Troy!” The old man behind the table stood up and walked over to me as if we had known each other our whole lives. Then he proceeded to shake my hand vigorously.

“Ron,” I greeted with a fake smile. “Nice to meet you again.”

“Of course,” Ron nodded magnanimously after separating from me. “I was so disappointed you left early during [Billy Elliot]'s post-Oscar party. I had planned to discuss more projects with you and your parents.”

“I had to start shooting for [Harry Potter] then,” I said.

“Ah, yes. How’s that going?”

“We just finished shooting the fourth movie last month,” I replied conversationally as Ron led me toward a huge couch, which already seated three men.

“That's great to know,” Ron nodded. “Troy, let me introduce you to the people who hold the reins of the film we are talking about today. Meet Zack Snyder, James Gunn, and Richard Rubinstein—the trifecta of director, writer, and producer.”

Not letting this chance slip, I shook hands with all three of them. Snyder and Gunn were in their mid-thirties, while Rubinstein was even older than Ron Meyer. Then I introduced Tobias, who was standing behind me silently for the most part.

“You are much taller than I had imagined you to be,” James Gunn was the first to break the silence. “Ever since I got to know you were interested in the film, I was planning something for a young boy, but now I’ll have to revamp my plans.”

I shrugged, not seeing how that was my problem.

“It won’t require that much tweaking as James is hinting at,” Zack interjected.

“It will!” James retorted. “Given how tall he is, Troy can pass for a 16-year-old as well. Then we can give him a small romance arc, which would make the story all the more compelling when the life of a cute girlfriend is at stake.”

James and Zack started bickering and bouncing ideas off each other as if no one else was even in the room.

Tobias, who was standing between Ron and Richard, asked aloud, “Does that happen a lot?”

“Yes,” Richard replied. “More than we’d like.” Then he turned to Zack and said, “If you two are done, can we at least brief Troy on the basic idea you two have cooked up?”

Realizing their folly, the two filmmakers quietened before Zack gave the go-ahead to James, who cleared his throat loudly. “Yes. So the story begins like this. You will play Will, a teen boy, whose exact age is yet to be confirmed. Will lives with his father, sister, and stepmother, Ana. Ana is a nurse who witnesses some weird things at the hospital. Will witnesses some similar things at his school—things like people getting out of control and stuff like that. Then he comes back home and has a fight with his stepmom. His dad tells him to go to his room and grounds him, but he escapes through the window and hangs out with some friends all night. Meanwhile, his sister turns into a zombie and kills his father. They attack Ana, but she escapes and runs to the driveway to get the car. Coincidentally, Will was coming back just then. Ana forces him into the car. He was very vocal about how that’s all bullshit until zombies attack the two from everywhere. These zombies include Will’s family and the friends he hung out with just a few hours ago. So Will shuts up and asks Ana to hit the gas.”

James Gunn went into exquisite detail about the story, and I couldn’t help but be spellbound by his narration. Some people just have that natural storytelling gift that enraptures their audience, and Gunn was one such man. He added the character of Will so seamlessly into the story that it didn’t even feel out of place. In fact, it gave the story a much-needed emotional factor that the original film lacked in some places. Heck, I remember that the most emotional part was the killing of a baby zombie, while Ana, who was originally the main character, didn’t have any emotional connection to anyone. She lost her entire family, and it didn’t even seem to affect her in any way. That’s what happens when men write female characters—either they forget to add genuine emotions, or they go overboard with melodrama. But this time, they balanced the story well because they made me the protagonist, and the story focused on my growth.

My character, Will, was given a complete arc: his mother was killed by a gunshot in front of him, making Will mortally afraid of guns. So when zombies started popping up everywhere, he stayed as far away from guns as possible. He also harbored some resentment for Ana for replacing his mother, but eventually, when a zombie attacked Ana and no one else was there to save her, he grabbed the nearest weapon and shot the zombie's brains out. The ending wasn’t finalized yet, but it was okay.

What they told me was a perfect character arc. Even if I hadn’t watched the original film or known about Zack Snyder’s directing prowess, I would still have accepted the film based on this alone. So obviously, I didn’t take much time to give them a reply.

“I love the idea,” I said with a huge grin. “Let’s do this.”

“Perfect,” Ron Meyer, who had been mostly silent for quite some time, spoke up. “Shall I contact your mother to finalize your terms then? I was told that she was listed as your manager on the SAG website.”

“Nah, Tobias here will represent me,” I said confidently. “It’s not official yet, but he’s my manager going forward.”

“Perfect then,” Richard spoke up. “We can get this out of the way right now. Zack, James, I believe you have a script to perfect?”

Getting the blatant hint, Snyder and Gunn stood up in unison and made a hasty retreat from the room. My remuneration had nothing to do with them, so it would be weird if they were here while we discussed the terms.

“I guess we can offer you $1 million and call it even,” Richard rolled out the first offer.

“Come on, man,” Tobias countered. “Don’t insult us like that. Troy has a very dedicated fan following, and he will bring a lot of audiences to the theaters. Any competent producer would start the offer at $5 million.”

“Yet, you fail to mention that most of his fans are underage, thus unable to watch an R-rated movie,” Ron Meyer countered. “I concur with Richard about the $1 million pay. You’ll get to play a complex character in a grown-up film, and given that our budget is only $25 million, we’re already offering you 4% of it, which I believe is more than fair considering our ensemble cast.”

As no other actor in the film was a big established star, they probably paid everyone below half a mil, maybe even a quarter. From their budget’s point of view, their offer was generous. But when a budget is small and incapable of paying actors, there’s always recourse in the form of dividends.

“We can accept that,” Tobias said. We had planned for this scenario extensively during our flight here, so he knew which points to argue. “If you provide us with some tangible dividends.”

Richard frowned and looked like he was about to say something scathing, so Tobias interjected, “I’m not suggesting an absurd amount. We’ll take it only if the film is a success at the box office, just like Troy did with [Billy Elliot]. Listen, Ron, we both know that if Troy did a teenage film right now, he could easily get five million from any other studio, and I don’t want to lower his rates by accepting just one. It sets a precedent. I know you think Troy’s fans won’t come to see this film, but I think otherwise. So let’s wager. We’ll get paid with dividends only if the U.S. box office gross exceeds $50 million and the worldwide gross exceeds $100 million. If either of these conditions aren’t met, we’ll happily just take $1 million and won’t say another word.”

“This is my IP!” Richard growled lowly. “I was the original producer of the film. I won’t give you my share of profits that easily.”

“Rich,” Ron interjected before Richard could say anything else, shaking his head. Seeing that Richard was silent, Ron closed his eyes for a moment before nodding.

“Alright,” he said after a few moments. “5% if your conditions are met. Don’t worry, Richard, your percentage will remain the same. But I have a condition of my own. Why don’t you do a cameo for me for free in another of my films?”

“Okay,” I didn’t have to think twice about it. “Which film and how many days will it require?”

“It’s a film called [Master and Commander], featuring Russell Crowe. It—”

“No,” I shot down the idea immediately. “Anyone else but Russell Crowe. I will never work with that man in my life. This is a deal breaker for me, Ron.”

Seeing my expression, Ron backed down and asked softly, “Did… something happen with him?”

I shook my head. “Maybe I’ll tell you some other day. Ask for anything else.” Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. “How about this: I’m producing and starring in a teenage film called [The Perks of Being a Wallflower]. It’s currently in pre-production and will start shooting next year. I can give Universal the right of first refusal to distribute the film.”

Ron nodded slowly. “That’s a good deal, but I’ll have to do some research to determine a fair price that we can both agree to. What’s the estimated budget?”

“Around $15 million,” I said. “Excluding my fees, of course.”

The budget was only $10m, but Ron doesn't need to know that. I'll earn my salary for [Dawn of the Dead] one way or the other.

“Of course,” Ron nodded. “Alright. Give me two days, and we can have another meeting then.”

“Deal,” I said, standing up to shake hands with him and then a grumpy-looking Richard before exiting the room, Tobias hot on my heels.

“You forgot that I was supposed to lead the negotiations?” Tobias asked pointedly.

“Don’t worry, you did good,” I remarked. “But you didn’t have all the cards like I did, so I had to step in.”

“What about—”

“Let’s get home first,” I interrupted him. “We don’t know who’s listening here.”

(Break)

Staying in LA without my parents, Emma, or Evan was a little daunting. I had a nice place to stay at our home, so that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that I didn’t have anything worthwhile to do. My dearest Loki also didn't seem in the mood to play as he was snoring peacefully in his bed. Also, I didn't feel like going out and getting mobbed. This is LA, for God’s sake. People expect to see celebs here. If I were in London or even New York, it would be much easier to get by unnoticed.

Ron had said it would take them two days to get back to me, which meant two days of uninterrupted boredom. God, I’m already losing my mind.

“Why don’t you read a book or something?” Tobias suggested as he walked down from his room, all decked out to go out for a night of fun.

And that’s what I hated even more. Even if I were willing to go out, I couldn’t even go out to one of those VIP clubs LA has because I’m 14 and don’t want to give the media any chance to speculate that I’ve lost my marbles.

“So easy for you to say when you have the chance to go out for a night of fun,” I snarked. “God help me if you bring someone home tonight; I’ll kill you.”

Tobias scoffed. “Get in line, buddy. Your mother would be the first one to kill me if I brought someone where her cute little baby could be corrupted.”

“Oh, piss off,” I threw a cushion at him, which he deftly caught and tossed back.

“I’m serious,” he said. “Read a book or something.”

Then suddenly, an idea popped into my head. “What about that script the guy gave us today? You still have it?”

“I do, but really? Most of these scripts are pure trash.”

“Just give it to me, man. I need to kill some time.”

Tobias sighed before running back to the guest room he was occupying and returning moments later with a thick spiral-bound script.

“Here you go,” he said, handing it to me. “Just don’t stay up all night. I may be late.”

I waved him off as I read the title of the script and was transfixed. Holy shit! I know this film. I’ve seen it! It’s one of the best mystery thrillers I’ve ever watched. And the best part was that the film was made on a shoestring budget. Thanks to this film, the lead actor and the director shot to fame.

The film I was talking about was none other than [Brick] by Rian Johnson. The same man who would go on to direct films like [Looper], [Knives Out], and [The Last Jedi]. The last movie divided the internet with its portrayal of characters, but one thing everyone could agree on unanimously was that the direction and visuals were mind-blowingly good. Just like Zack Snyder, Rian Johnson was a director with a very distinct and acclaimed visual style. It would be a shame to let this opportunity slip by.

Just to be sure, I speed-read the whole script to confirm it was the same film I remembered, and sure enough, it was. I got up from the seat I was occupying, walked over to the nearest telephone, and brought it back with me. Without wasting any time, I quickly dialed the phone number of Rian Johnson, which was mentioned in the script.

Ring Ring

I could hardly wait for the phone to be picked up.

(Break)

Rian had lost all hope of getting his film made, at least in Hollywood. He was so desperate at this point that he was meeting with any and all film executives—from big to small studios, to indie producers. Hell, he had even approached a few big actors. No one was off the table for him. If anyone was willing to finance the film, he would have said yes.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he would have to do what he was most reluctant to do. His father had offered to pool money with some friends to finance his first film, but the uncertainty of the project was the problem. He couldn’t say for sure if the film would be successful, and he didn’t want to risk losing his parents’ money. Big producers with industry connections can make money off a film years after it’s been released. But first-time producers find it hard to sell a film at a profit because they can’t afford to take a loss in the short run and wait for future gains. So, they sell the movie outright to the highest bidder.

Still, making a film was more important to him at the moment than worrying about potential losses. He had decided that he would call his father the next morning. Just as he had made the firm decision in his mind, his phone rang.

“Hello?” Rian answered hesitantly. It was a little late in the evening, and he wasn’t expecting any calls.

“Is this Rian Johnson?” an oddly familiar voice asked from the other side.

“Yes,” he said, still hesitant.

“Rian, this is Troy Armitage. I read the script you gave me today, and I loved it. I want to work with you on it. When can you come by my place at the earliest?”

_____________________________________

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

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