Ch-76.1

The production of the third and fourth Potter films was finally underway with Alfonso Cuaron helming the joint project. I couldn't be happier with the turn of events because Cuaron was one of my favorite directors of all time. Each and every one of his movies is created with a passion that is rarely seen in filmmakers today, where more focus is placed on the commercial performance than the art. From what I could recall, my favorite film of his was [Children of Men]. The dystopian world he created was a marvel of modern filmmaking. It's such a shame that I won't be able to be a part of that film because of my age; otherwise, I would have loved to do it. Heck, I'd break my own rule and take up a small insignificant role in it if it was feasible.

One thing of significance happened this year for which I could not be more grateful. I was not nominated for any major movie awards. Despite many critics and industry insiders, including Steven Spielberg, calling my performance in [Artificial Intelligence] great, I was mostly ignored in the award conversations. Despite what most people might consider, I was happy with this development. Getting award focus means a lot of time and resources wasted on a trophy that I already had. Had I not received an Oscar already, I would definitely campaign for one. Seeing what happened last year when my personal life was brutally invaded, I decided to stay out of the conversation this time. Some obscure critics and media groups gave me some awards, but I never attended their events.

On the [Billy Elliot] front, there was one significant development. The Laurence Olivier Award was the premier award show of the UK as far as the West End was concerned. In the year 2002, the awards were held on Feb 15, with [Billy Elliot] receiving the most nominations at 10. I was invited to perform on stage at the Victoria Palace Theater where the awards were being held, but since I was performing on Broadway and would lose a week of performances to fly to London, perform, and return, I gave the honor to Ricky Thomas, one of the kids who had replaced me as Billy in the West End production. Nonetheless, I watched the live telecast from New York, and Ricky did a wonderful job performing 'Electricity' and promoting our show to the general audience. I didn't care that much about the award, but I would have loved to perform in Ricky's stead. Some things just aren't meant to be.

[Billy Elliot the Musical] won the awards for Best Sound Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Set Design, Best Choreography, and Best Director. I was very happy that Peter Darling and Stephen Daldry won awards for the show. They really deserved it with everything they had given to the movie and the musical.

When the category of Best Actor in a Musical or Entertainment was announced, I was sweating bullets. What the hell was I thinking not going to the awards in person? Now they would judge me harshly for my indifference to them and give the award to someone else. One big problem with theater award shows was that the voting pool was very limited. A very small number of people decide who will win the award, and they can be swayed easily. A single negative news article or opinion piece by a big publication can essentially kill your chances of winning an award. Some prominent theater newsgroups in London had already reported that I would not be present for the Olivier Awards.

"And the award goes to… Troy Armitage for [Billy Elliot the Musical]. Troy could not be here with us this evening, so we accept this award on his behalf and congratulate him for a deserved win."

All the worries left my body as that announcement was made. I knew that the original actors of [Billy Elliot] won the award in the original timeline. Had I lost it, I would feel as if I was inferior to them in some form. A normal person would think that I must be used to all the awards by now, but that wasn't the case. Each award represented a different performance and conveyed a different meaning in its entirety. The awards that I won for [The Sixth Sense] were for an entirely different thing than the awards for this musical. And it felt damn good to win this award.

(Break)

"Nervous?" Evan asked me while dressed in a tuxedo and sitting opposite me in our limousine.

"Not really," I replied confidently. "Worst case scenario, I won't win this award. Our show is already a superhit, and it has reached break-even, both in London and in New York. While I would love a Tony Award, I can always try for it again when I'm older."

Evan gave me a dubious look before saying, "I think you're lying. Because I'm nervous as hell, and I'm not even nominated."

I chuckled at that. Originally, both my parents were supposed to accompany me to the Tony Awards, which were being held on June 2, 2002, at Radio City Music Hall. The Tony Awards give out only two additional seats to the friends and family of the nominees. But Dad had to fly back to London because of the production of the next [Harry Potter] films, which had already begun production this week without me. So Evan and Mum were accompanying me to the award show. Evan being nervous was not surprising given this was the first time he was thrust into such a high-profile event. As soon as I finish up here today, I will fly directly to London, and hopefully, will stay there for a full year at least. That was the estimated time required for the back-to-back production of the third and the fourth films.

"Calm down, Evan," Mum said in a soothing voice. "As long as you don't join the industry, people won't care that much about you. You can walk the red carpet with Troy if you want to, but I will suggest you not to. Fame is overrated."

"She's correct," I agreed with Mum's advice. "If I had the option to teleport directly inside the theater without anyone seeing me, I would gladly take it."

Evan nodded slowly. "Okay, then I will not take the red carpet."

"Good decision," Mum nodded in satisfaction before silence ensued in the vehicle. Since the car was moving slowly because of the heavy traffic, she continued the conversation, "When are you planning to show me the film you two were shooting? It's been months since you began. Even Loki is much older now."

I scoffed, "Please. I wasn't shooting anything. It was all him. I barely have enough time to do anything recreational given my busy schedule. I sure as hell won't spend it doing the most boring job in the world by editing a video. He hasn't even shown me the video, and I was in it."

I was a little miffed with Evan given how secretive he was being about the short film we had shot months ago. Because I had a small role, all my scenes were shot quite early in the production. After that, he would spend all his time shooting with Loki. I felt a little left out that Evan was spending all that quality time with MY dog when I was out working my ass off. I know it's not his fault, and it was better that Loki had someone to play with when I was not home. Still, I felt a little jealous of Evan. The only saving grace was that whenever I had time, I would shower Loki with affection, and he loved that. So as soon as I would come home, he would greet me enthusiastically. He didn't do that for Evan.

And I loved that.

"'M still working on it," Evan said evasively. "It's difficult to finish a film that you have to edit as well. Moreover, I was waiting for Loki to grow up some so I could shoot some scenes over months and show the passage of time through Loki aging into an older dog. I'm done with the principal shoot now, and hopefully, I will be done with my film within a week after going back to London."

Mum nodded in understanding. "Makes sense."

Before we knew it, the car had stopped in front of the Radio City Music Hall where this year's Tony Awards were being held. I took a deep breath before fixing a fake smile on my face and exiting the car to a plethora of camera flashes.