Ch-94

September 2003, Kloves Residence, London

I had thought that now that I was home, everything would be alright. But it wasn't. Just because I had returned home didn't mean the world would forget what happened. And the media was milking it for all it was worth.

"Today, we are here in the studio with Mrs. Chloe Vlahos," an American female reporter was saying. "Mother of Gia Vlahos, who has been apprehended for allegedly breaking and entering in the home of one Troy Armitage. Gia Vlahos has also been charged with attempted murder, sexual assault, and a litany of other charges. Troy is the superstar 14-year-old, famously known for portraying the role of [Harry Potter]. Welcome, Chloe, to the show. Can you tell us something about your daughter?"

"I'll be glad to," the middle-aged woman said while looking just one step away from breaking down in tears. "Gia is the light of my life. Not just mine—wherever she goes, whomever she meets, she lights up the entire room. She loves movies, and her favorite actor is…was Troy Armitage. Her room is full of all his posters. She got his email ID, and they started talking online."

The reporter looked happy with this sudden turn of events, "Even then, Troy Armitage is just 14. You know that such a relationship, even if it's true, would still be illegal."

"That's a different matter," The older woman said vehemently. "What I want to emphasize is that it wasn't a home invasion, but an affair gone wrong. She—"

I looked up to see that Mum had turned off the television.

"I told you not to watch that, didn't I?" she rebuked me harshly.

"I just wanted to know what they are saying about the incident," I defended weakly.

Mum sighed before sitting beside me on the couch. "Don't you understand, Troy? This is all just to gain some higher ratings for the news channel. That woman was probably paid a nice sum to appear on TV. Everyone knows that that girl committed a crime. All the evidence points to our story being true. There's nothing they can do to disprove it."

"But they are saying crap about me on TV," I argued back.

"I thought you would have gotten thicker skin by now," Mum said. "I'm not a lawyer, but I've seen and worked on enough legal shows to guess what will happen next. They will try to put some bogus claims on you and in worst case try to plead insanity to save themselves from excess punishment. Meanwhile, in front of the cameras, the mother will continue telling her sob story, as she's doing right now. Some celebrities want to avoid all that media attention and may pay off the attackers to quietly close the case so that the people will forget about it in a few months."

"Hell no!" I said adamantly. "I won't pay that cunt even a single cent when I have done nothing wrong."

"Good," Mum said firmly. "Never settle, or it will set a precedent. See what happened with Michael Jackson. To this day, people are not sure whether he did the crimes he was accused of or not. All because he agreed to pay off the accusers."

I chuckled as a realization hit me.

"What?" Mum asked in confusion.

"You didn't rebuke me for the c-word," I said in between my sniggers.

"Ah, well," Mum shrugged. "I have given up on correcting your language now. Just try to limit its usage." Mum paused for a moment before saying, "I just remembered why I came here. Two things, first, I wanted to tell you that we've let Roger go."

"Really?" I asked in bewilderment. I didn't need to ask why because it was obvious, but I didn't think he deserved it.

"I know you don't think he deserved it, but he should have known better before leaving you alone like that. Don't worry though, we referred him to someone else so he's not jobless."

I didn't like it, but some things I couldn't exactly argue with, so I nodded reluctantly.

Mum continued, "Also-"

Ring Ring

"Hold that thought," I said while taking out my phone from my pocket. Seeing that the caller was Tobias, I knew the conversation would be important. So I picked up the call.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Troy, I just got a call from Ron Meyer of Universal," Tobias said without beating around the bush. Just the way I like. "He said that he doesn't want unnecessary negative publicity for the film at the moment. So he will not go forward with you."

That news hit me like a speeding bullet train. I had a little trouble believing that I was rejected. This was the first time I had been rejected for a role in my short but extremely successful career. I still remember when I was doing [Billy Elliot The Musical], when I was offered as much as $15 million for a film. The script was terrible, that's why I didn't do it, but the offer was genuine. And here I am now, unable to score a role even when I was charging a paltry $1 million upfront for the film.

Unaware of my shock, Tobias continued, "Ron has expressed his desire to still distribute [Perks], but only if it is released after some time so that our controversy has died down a bit."

"I will not accept it," I said firmly. "You call him right now and tell him to give me that role. Make some promises or concessions. Whatever. I don't care. I won't accept a rejection like that. I—"

Before I could continue, Mum held my hand and shook her head. "Hear what I have to say first before making that decision."

Seeing her determined face, I suspected I wouldn't like what she had to say next.

"Don't make that call yet, Tobias. I'll get back to you in a few." With that, I disconnected the call and turned to my mother, giving her my undivided attention.

"You are not shooting that zombie film in Canada. That's final."

"Why?" I asked calmly.

"Because it's a terrible idea. You—" She stopped herself from saying what she really wanted to say, but I guessed it nonetheless. 'You almost died.'

"You went through a big trauma," she said carefully. "Moreover, I want you here in London with me. I almost thought I lost you back there. At least stay here for the next few months. Please do it for me, son." When I didn't say anything for a few moments, she added, "Remember, I dropped everything here and went with you to New York for your ambition. Can't you do me a similar courtesy and do what I want for once? I can't let you go alone right now."

She knew just the buttons to push to make me feel guilty as hell.

"Fine!" I grounded out reluctantly. "I'll tell Tobias not to call Ron Meyer. But I won't give him the distribution of [Perks] either. I don't like fair weather friends."

I could see that she had relaxed a lot as soon as I agreed to her demand, but she didn't agree with my other step apparently. "I don't think it's a good idea. You should strive to maintain a cordial relationship with him. He's the studio head after all."

I didn't like it, but I couldn't deny that she had a point.

"I have a better idea," she continued. "Why don't you club together [The Perks of Being a Wallflower] with [Brick]? That way, you'll get assured distribution for both films. And since Universal is not giving you anything in return now, just hold an auction for this package deal inviting all the big distributors when the films have been shot. Your father has a few friends at Universal. We'll let them know indirectly why they are not getting the deal and will have to compete with others. That way they'll know that we are unhappy, and we won't burn any bridges. There would still be a scope to work with them in the future if needs arise."

I hummed audibly. "Not a bad idea, Mum. [Brick] will be a little difficult for most distributors to accept. [Perks] is easy. But if we group them together, we might just get it done."

"All my ideas are good," Mum boasted jokingly. "It's only you who don't care for them. Ask my writing team at BBC. Unlike someone, those guys value my ideas a lot."

I smiled at that reminder. Mum had gotten a new job at BBC, writing for some of their TV shows. The pay was horrible. We probably spent more money in a day in home than she would earn in a month, but it wasn't about the money at all. It was about her work, and I could see how happy she was whenever she talked about it.

"Yes, Mum, your ideas are the best," I said exaggeratedly. "But you're even better at convincing people to do things you want. Like me dropping this zombie film, or Evan finally going to school after such a long gap. How did you convince him of that?"

"That's between him and me." She smiled mysteriously. "All I can tell you is that his new school has the best filmmaking program in the country. For a school, that is."

That would do it. While Evan had learned a lot from Alfonso Cuarón while making the third and fourth [Harry Potter] films, he needed to work on the grassroots level with other aspiring filmmakers to know the hustle required to make an indie film from scratch.

"Come now," Mum said as she got up from the couch. "Dinner should be ready by now."

(Break)

Tobias was not a paranoid man at all—or at least he liked to think so. But he wasn't fully comfortable with staying at the same place where a crazy stalker had broken into just a few weeks ago. True, he wasn't a celebrity like Troy to warrant any stalkers, but the safety of the house was a little questionable. Given that Troy's family had decided to put the property on sale proved that his paranoia was warranted.

So Tobias was staying at a five-star hotel. It was in this hotel that he was meeting a man he would be working closely with for the next year or so at least.

"Hi, Tobias," Rian Johnson greeted enthusiastically as soon as he opened the door. "Nice meeting you, man." He offered Tobias a hand that the taller man shook firmly.

"You too, man. Come in." Tobias beckoned him in and offered him a seat on the couch. The working area of the room was enormous, for which Tobias was grateful.

"How is Troy doing?" Rian asked conversationally. "I see that the noise has died down a little."

"That's his PR team working overtime," Tobias replied. "Troy is mostly okay. It's just that his family is reluctant to let him travel for work at the moment. Are you sure we cannot shoot the film in London?"

"We can," Rian inclined his head in consideration. "But then I'll have to do the location scouting all over again. It will take me months to do it. Not to mention a lot of money. I'll also have to tweak the story to fit in with a British school environment rather than an American one which would be a hassle."

"You've done location scouting already?" Tobias asked, surprised.

"Oh, yes," Rian excitedly took out a folder from his bag, opening it to the first page, which had a photo of the mouth of a tunnel. "I didn't know if I'd get the chance to make this film at all, so I've done my homework. If you turn to the next page, you'll see perfect photos of the school setting. That's my school, San Clemente. I've talked to the principal, and they'd let us shoot the film on campus if we let older students work on the film with us. Just imagine—a free location and free support staff. All these costs would balloon up massively if we shift production to London."

Tobias nodded in acquiescence. What Rian was saying wasn't false. He didn't have a lot of experience with filming, but from what little he knew, location and crew make up a big chunk of the film costs, as long as CGI isn't involved.

"Okay," he agreed. "But Troy cannot come here before December. He is taking a break right now, and in November, he'll be promoting the third [Harry Potter] film."

Rian frowned a little but didn't voice his displeasure.

Seeing that, Tobias was quick to reassure him, "Don't worry, from December onwards, he won't start any other project until [Brick] is complete. That's my personal reassurance to you."

"Alright," Rian conceded. "I've waited years to make this film. What's a few more months, right?"

"It's good that we have an accord," Tobias said. "Now that we've established that, we need to begin the casting for the film. Troy has suggested a friend of his for the role of either Emily or Laura, as you see fit. Coincidentally, she's also named Emily."

Rian took that in for a few moments before saying, "But Troy said that I'd have complete autonomy on the casting."

"And you will," Tobias insisted. "Just audition her. If you like her for the role, perfect. If not, that's also fine."

"Okay," Rian agreed. "When can I audition her? Also, do you have a photo of her to see what she looks like?"

"She lives in Arizona," Tobias replied. "She'll come by next week for the audition. I don't have a photo of her, but Troy tells me she's a wonderful actress. She has another audition set for that week as well, so she'll do both of them together. Meanwhile, Troy has written me a check to release some initial funds to give out ads in newspapers and magazines to start recruiting actors and crew members for [Brick]. I'll stay here with you in LA until we have finalized the cast for the film."

"Let's get to it then," Rian nodded excitedly.

(Break)

The next few months flew by in what seemed like an instant. I spent the majority of my time at home. Even my martial arts, dance, and music instructors would come to me to give me lessons. As much as I would have liked to go out and practice the arts with real people, it's not very practical for someone as famous as me to do it in a semi-public setting. And when you have the money to spare, you can get the best of the best the world has to offer. The only thing I went out for was my therapy sessions. That too, because my therapist thought it was good for me to not be at home during that time. Apparently, people can suppress information they would otherwise freely share with their therapists if they think some family members are nearby.

The therapy sessions, in my opinion, were wasteful—not because the therapist was bad, far from it, but because I didn't think I was traumatized by what happened in September. Still, I knew my parents wouldn't like it if I skipped them, so I didn't.

Back to business, my presence had once again changed the release dates of several movies around me. Originally, Warner Bros wanted to release [The Matrix Revolutions] in the first week of November. But since [Harry Potter], which is a much bigger IP, was ready first, they decided to postpone [The Matrix Revolutions] to summer 2004, giving us a release date of November 5, 2003. This was better for them in many ways because they had already released [The Matrix Reloaded] in the summer of 2003, which was a success but received mixed reviews. In the original timeline, the close release between the two parts had hurt [The Matrix Trilogy's] box office potential.

As soon as the release date of [The Prisoner of Azkaban] was announced, every other studio vacated the slots for the two weeks after us. It felt a little good knowing that my presence could affect people's decisions to release their films. The only film released near mine was one that I very much wanted to compete against—[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]. Not that the film was terrible or anything, but the lead actor in it was none other than my sworn enemy, Russell Crowe. Okay, I know I'm being a little dramatic, but I hated that man with a passion, and no one would be happier than me to see him fall.

He had already lost his chance at the Oscars. His most acclaimed performance last year in [A Beautiful Mind] was also ignored by Academy voters. Some people were calling it a travesty that he didn't win an Oscar, but given what I know about him, he definitely deserved his loss. And now I will challenge him in the market.

But first, it's time for the premiere of [The Prisoner of Azkaban].

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