Dreams of Stardom (Hollywood SI)

August 2003, Universal Studios, Los Angeles

Rian couldn’t believe his luck at all. Not only had Troy Armitage read his script, but he liked it so much that he wanted to meet as soon as possible. Since it was getting late that night, Rian drove over to Troy’s big Beverly Hills home the very next morning. He was a little intimidated by the opulence of the place, but he curbed that thought. He knew that if he were successful, he could have a similar place of his own. Maybe not today, but definitely someday.

“Rian!” Troy walked over in a loose t-shirt and very comfy-looking sweatpants to meet him, shaking his head enthusiastically. “It’s so great to meet you again.”

There was a stark contrast in how Troy's behavior had changed within a day. But then again, yesterday, Rian was just a fan meeting Troy, while today he could be a business partner.

“Same,” Rian said awkwardly. He didn’t know why he was acting like this with a kid of all people. He had even met George Lucas that one time, and he was much more relaxed then than now.

“Let’s convene in our meeting room, shall we?” Troy turned around before remembering something. “Oh, this is Roger, my head of security. He’ll sit in the meeting with us. Hope you don’t mind. I would have preferred my assistant Tobias to be here, but he seems to be out of commission at the moment.”

Rian nodded towards the well-built man standing a few feet away from Troy, who nodded back deftly.

“Alright,” Troy said once they were all seated, after offering Rian some refreshments which he declined politely. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? I want to make this film called [Brick] with you, and I’ll finance it provided you let me play the lead role. Is that okay with you?”

“Are you kidding me?” Rian couldn’t help but blurt out before realizing it came out a little wrong. “I’m a hustler. Wherever I go in Hollywood, all I face is rejection. So if you’re offering me a chance to make the film for real, I would say yes even if you weren’t the most suitable actor for the role. But that’s the best part, you are very good.”

Troy smiled before shaking his head. “You don’t know that for sure. To date, all you’ve seen are my kid-centric roles. My first supposedly mature role is currently under negotiation at Universal, where you saw me yesterday.”

“I’ll make it work somehow,” Rian said confidently. “I’ll work with you and all cast members, as long as it takes to get the characters right.”

Troy silently looked at Rian before nodding. “I believe you. To begin our discussion, first of all, I’d need to see some of your other works. Advertisements, music videos, short films, anything you may have directed before this?”

Rian had been to so many of these meetings that he had come prepared for this. He took out a DVD and handed it over to Troy. “This is my complete short film collection.”

Troy nodded while placing the disk aside. “We’ll see it later. Next question, how much cash do you need to make this film?”

Rian found that he liked Troy's blunt approach a lot.

“Half a million dollars,” Rian winced a little while saying those words. “I know it’s a lot, and I’ll try to cut it down to $400k–”

“Don’t,” Troy interrupted. “Don’t cut it down. I don’t want to make some cheap-ass film. I want the viewers to have the best viewing experience. My fans expect me to deliver quality films, and I won’t compromise on that. A good story will take you nowhere if the production value is poor. You get what I’m saying?”

“Okay,” Rian agreed. “But we’ll have to recalculate the budget again if we go that route.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Troy assured him. “As soon as my assistant Tobias is back from wherever he is, sit down with him and discuss this whole thing. Prepare a fresh budget for everything required. But not too much. At max, try to wrap it up within a million dollars. If it goes beyond that, I won’t be able to do this because I am producing another film that I have already committed to, and most of my liquid funds are earmarked fo that.”

Rian’s eyes widened. He had been fearing that Troy would decline half a million, and here he was offering Rian double that amount.

“Now that that’s decided, next question: how much do you want for the script and direction of the movie?”

Honestly, Rian would have done it for free. But now that Troy was offering…

“How about,” Troy continued when Rian didn’t speak for a few moments, “I offer you $100k, 10% of whatever profit I make, in addition to the right of first refusal for your next three original scripts?”

While the 10% profit offer was more than generous, the right of first refusal was a difficult thing to sign away for a writer like Rian. Just like some actors sign a three-picture deal when signing their first film, writers are also offered similar clauses in their contracts. This means that for the next three original scripts Rian writes, Troy would have the first right to produce the film. If Troy says no, only then can Rian take the script elsewhere. It might lower the writer's future remuneration a little, but it also serves as a safety net for the producers. If the first film doesn’t work commercially, the second, third, or fourth film might cover all those accumulated losses. Also only produced screenplays are considered for this. So if Rian wrote a terrible film, passed it off to Troy, and Troy rejected it, and the film wasn’t produced by anyone else either, it wouldn’t count as Rian’s film for this purpose.

“I’ll include a 10% profit deal for you in each of the original films written and directed by you,” Troy spoke suddenly before Rian could counter him. “The actual price of the screenplay will be decided later.”

“Deal!” Rian didn’t have to think too much about it. No one offers a new director 10% profits just like that.

“Not so fast,” Troy cut his celebration short. “I haven’t seen your short films yet. Wanna watch your work with me and tell me what your thought process was while filming?”

“Sure,” Rian accepted that easily.

(Break)

“Close the window,” I said to my assistant-cum-manager as he sat beside me in the car. “I don’t want some paparazzi snapping something they shouldn’t.”

“You’re being paranoid. It's not like we're having an illicit affair here,” Tobias commented but closed the window nonetheless.

He looked a little displeased, so I asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just think you shouldn’t take up so many projects one after another. Especially with inexperienced directors who could make very bad movies and ruin your career after [Harry Potter],” Tobias said grumpily.

Logically, Tobias wasn’t wrong. Stephen Chbosky, Zack Snyder, and Rian Johnson were all untested directors right now. Many so-called superstars refuse to work with a director unless they’ve proven themselves. One big example I can recall is Tom Cruise refusing to star in [The Shawshank Redemption], only to regret it later.

“And I’m telling you again that you’re wrong,” I said emphatically. “Seriously, man, this is turning out to be the best trip to LA ever, as far as my work is concerned. By this time tomorrow, I will have signed two new film contracts. And by this time next year, all three films will have been shot—if everything goes perfectly, that is.”

Rian Johnson’s contract, which he had agreed to sign after consulting a lawyer, was the same as I had offered him yesterday. I could have offered him only $100k or nothing at all, and he would have still accepted it. I knew it. But I didn’t want him to feel resentful of me later in life. I learned that from J.K. Rowling’s contract. Dad hadn’t told me when it happened, but Mum told me later how Dad decided to pay Rowling a one-time $10 million to make sure she remained helpful in future film productions. With my meta-knowledge, I could have told our screenwriter everything he wanted to know, but a single statement from Rowling could tarnish Dad’s image forever.

Similarly, I didn’t want Rian to walk away from me and seek out another prducer when he was done with our deal. People rarely abandon successful collaborations if everyone is earning good money. And I’ll make damn sure our collaborations are successful, and everyone comes out on top.

"As soon as the papers are signed, I want you to sit down with Rian and sketch out all the details, just like you did with Chbosky," I said to Tobias. "I'll fly back to London, after signing the two contracts. You come back only when a basic production plan and budget is made."

"Sure, boss," He nodded.

The car came to a halt soon, and I got out, followed by my one trusted employee. The home we had stopped in front of was a modest two-story house with a perfect lawn. A perfectly normal working-class home.

“Troy,” Roger said from the driver's seat, gaining my attention. “I have some personal errands to run. It won’t take long. If you don’t mind, can I come back in 30 minutes or an hour tops to pick you up?”

“Sure, go ahead,” I agreed easily. “Just keep your phone on.”

“Will do, boss,” he saluted me mockingly before driving off to do God knows what.

"Is that your new tactic?" I asked Tobias. "Calling me boss."

“It wasn't until now," he grinned before looking contemplative. "Why does he have errands in Los Angeles? He’s British.” His tone was full of suspicion as we walked up to the door.

I shrugged as I rang the doorbell. “Beats me. I don’t scrape through my employees' lives.”

“Troy! And Tobias!” Stephen Chbosky opened the door after a few moments and greeted us enthusiastically. “It’s so nice to see you again, Troy. And you for the first time, Tobias. Come on in.”

To help with pre-production, Tobias had been in touch with Chbosky for months. They had been exchanging updates on the screenplay via email. With just emails and a few calls, Tobias had created a complete production plan along with a budget, detailing everything we’d need for the film. All the steps I, as a producer, would need to fulfill before shooting could begin—like location scouting, casting, costume designing, and so on—had been meticulously listed, making my work a lot easier. This was the biggest reason I found Tobias to be an invaluable employee and why I had told Mum in no uncertain terms that I wouldn't fire Tobias after his one-month probation was over.

After exchanging pleasantries, Chbosky didn’t waste much time before leading us to his study. As soon as I entered the room, I knew I had stepped into the space of a madman. Everywhere I looked, I saw scenes cut out from a comic book stuck on the walls. Not just that, these scenes were strikingly similar to what I remembered seeing in [The Perks of Being a Wallflower]. I walked over to the nearest sketch and pulled it off the wall. It was the scene where the three main characters, Charlie, Sam, and Patrick, were going through a tunnel in their pickup truck, with Sam standing in the back, her arms outstretched, the wind ruffling through her hair, her face full of bliss.

“Wow,” I whispered unknowingly. I picked up the sheet next to the one I had just seen. It was the scene from the climax where Charlie is doing the same, feeling the wind in his hair, but then crouches down to give his girlfriend, Sam, a kiss through the pickup truck window. Right at that moment, I knew this film would turn out great.

“This is perfect,” I said to Chbosky. “Exactly what I wanted in the film.”

“You can show your appreciation by increasing my salary,” he quipped cheekily.

“Ha! Nice try,” I grinned back at him. “Don’t worry, though. If you make a good film that earns well, I’ll make sure to compensate you accordingly. But for now, let’s focus on making a great film. Have you given some thought to actors other than me?”

We talked for quite some time, discussing various aspects of the film. The bad news was that it would take Stephen a good part of the year to perfect the script. The good news was that it didn’t bother me much, as I planned to shoot two films between now and then—films whose scripts were almost complete and just needed some minor tweaking.

I was ready to go home, but there was just one little problem. Where the fuck was Roger? He was not answering his phone.

(Break)

She just knew she was on the verge of a breakthrough. Most people think A-list celebrities are beyond their reach, but that’s not true at all. You just have to be proactive and know when to strike while the iron is hot.

Calling her a stalker was a bit insulting, in her opinion, but she had the skill set of one. She had been part of all the paparazzi circles long enough to know when and where a star would be in LA. She wasn’t a paparazzo herself, but no one could stop her from joining their online group. For months, she waited and waited for her one true love to come to LA. He had been in London mostly, but she knew he would come to LA eventually. At one point, she even contemplated flying to London, but she didn’t have enough cash.

Now, it seemed her good day had finally arrived. Troy was here in Los Angeles and had been spotted outside the Universal office. Rumors were flying wild about his next film, but she didn’t care about that. What did it matter what film he did next? If her plan was successful...

It hadn’t been too difficult to get the number plates of Troy’s car. He mostly used just one Mercedes while in LA, and once she had the number, all it took was planting a tracker on the car. It may sound easy, but that was the toughest part. The car was rarely parked outside. It was only luck that this one time, the car was being driven by someone else. She didn’t know who it was, but she had seen Troy’s driver before, and this wasn’t him. Whatever the case, she took advantage of the situation when she saw the car parked a little away from a famous club.

Then all it took was tracking where the car went. She was hiding behind a bush when she saw Troy’s car speeding past her. Luckily for her, the window was open, and she caught a glimpse of Troy inside. Just what she had been waiting for. She had done extensive research on similar properties of celebs and their security systems, and she knew just the flaws to exploit.

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