Ch-40

When the mic was set up, I turned to Oprah, "The song I'm playing is one that I wrote when I had a fight with my best friend. We haven't talked in a while because I was busy shooting, so Evan, consider this an apology from me. This is the first time I'm playing it in front of anyone, so don't be too harsh on me."

Oprah's eyes widened slightly as I announced that. Like any good songwriter, I needed a backstory to write a song. Adults write songs about heartbreak, or their romantic relationships and such, but it would be weird for everyone if I sang an original song about such a topic. After much brainstorming, I couldn't help but think back about people in my life, and one person that I hadn't talked to in such a long time. Evan. I never told anyone, but deep down I felt very guilty for what I did to him. Not initially, but when I thought about it more, I realized that the fault lay at my feet equally as it did at Evan's. So here was my small attempt to mend that friendship.

I began strumming the tunes softly.

('Count on Me' by Bruno Mars)

~: "Oh-huh-huh…

If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea

I'll sail the world to find you

If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see

I'll be the light to guide you

Find out what we're made of

When we are called to help our friends in need

You can count on me like 1, 2, 3

I'll be there

And I know when I need it

I can count on you like 4, 3, 2

And you'll be there

'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Ooh, yeah, yeah"

I wanted to sing the full song, but I decided to leave a part of it out for the studio version, so I omitted that. When I ended the song, there was a stunned silence in the crowd for a few moments. I was damn sure I messed up because no one clapped or anything at first.

Then suddenly, huge applause erupted from the audience all at once. A feeling of elation filled me at the loudness of the claps and seeing most of the people standing. Witnessing that, I bent down at the waist and bowed to their appreciation.

"What a wonderful surprise!" Oprah exclaimed after giving me her own fair share of applause. "Not only are you a great actor, but a great singer and now a songwriter as well. Next, you'll tell me you are a master dancer and competing in the Olympics as well!"

"Hate to disappoint, but no Olympics for me," I waved off casually, "but I did learn some dancing for my next movie where I play an aspiring dancer."

Oprah looked at me gobsmacked for a moment before grinning again.

I shut her down before she got any more funny ideas. "No, Oprah. Save that one for later. I won't dance."

"But people would love to see that, right?" Her question was met with thunderous applause and a bout of cheering from the audience.

I shook my head resolutely. "We can make a deal: call me back on the show when my dance movie is released, and I'll dance with you then."

"You drive a hard bargain, young man. But you got yourself a deal." She put her hand forth, and we shook dramatically.

We talked some more about the movie and my life before and after the movie. Finally, Oprah announced, "Troy Armitage, everyone! [The Sixth Sense] will be in theaters near you this Friday. My personal advice: book a ticket before it is all sold out, it's that good!"

Then she got up and gave me a fierce hug, and I hugged her back. I waved to the crowd before the camera cut off.

As soon as the cameras were off, I heaved a sigh of relief. "Phew, finally that's done."

Oprah looked at me strangely. "But you were so calm and confident back then."

"I'm a good actor," I replied matter-of-factly.

She laughed again. "That you are. So, was that song really an original?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll have to sign some papers to allow us to air that since it is your creation. I would also suggest you go and record the song in a studio. It will become very popular, I can tell because the song is very good." Oprah emphasized the last part.

While she earlier said that she had watched the movie at the premiere, that was a lie. The premiere was yet to happen, and we were just recording the show in advance, but it would be telecasted after the premiere. That's showbiz for you.

"Thank you, Oprah. By the way, did you see the movie, or was it just for the cameras?" I asked curiously.

"I saw it," Oprah answered immediately. "I only praise a movie so much if I like it. They held a little screening here in Chicago for a few of the journalists, and they squeezed me in as well, in time for this interview. I fully intend to come to the premiere."

That made sense. Not every journalist from every city in the US could come and see [The Sixth Sense] in Philly.

After making some more small talk, I waved her goodbye and started walking away when I was joined by my mother.

"Troy," Mum called out as she came near me, "You never told me you wrote a song!" Her tone was accusatory.

"I didn't know if it was any good." It was somewhat true for most songwriters. A song that has not been heard yet makes it difficult for the audience to connect with it immediately. "I was going to sing 'Bring Him Home' as planned but changed my mind at the last minute. If the reaction was bad, I could've always gone back and sung that one."

"Where did you even get the idea?"

That's the big question, isn't it? To be honest, I don't know exactly how. Normally, I get a flash of memories when I read, watch, or hear about some person, story, or something from the future. But this time, I was tinkering with the idea of writing an original song about friendship. When I began writing, these lyrics and tunes just flowed out onto a sheet. And only then did I remember the Bruno Mars song.

I felt a little guilty at first about stealing someone else's future muse. Soon, I curbed those thoughts. In this highly competitive industry, it doesn't matter what you do to get above others. What matters is that you win.

Obviously, I can't tell all this to Mum, so I just shrugged.

"Have you written any other songs that I should be aware of?" Mum asked.

"Not really, no. I didn't have much time, and as I told Oprah, this was meant to be an apology for Evan," I said.

Her eyes softened at that. "Sure, love. You should probably give him a heads up so he can watch the show when it airs."

I shook my head, "I haven't talked to him in months. Let him watch the show. He and his mother love Oprah, so I know he will watch it and I want this to be a surprise for him."

(Break)

The news of my original song reached the ears of Buena Vista (Disney) executives very fast. Within the day, probably after getting the recording of my interview from the Oprah Winfrey Show's producers, Mum was approached by [The Sixth Sense's] PR manager. And that's why we were having this meeting here in the middle of our press tour.

"We want to record your song 'Count on Me' as a single under Disney's record label and even shoot a video with Bruce Willis and you showing your 'friendship,'" Robert Lewis, an executive from Disney, said. "We can even use it as promotional material for the film. What do you say? It will be so good, I'm—"

"No," I cut him off mid-sentence. He looked between me and my mother helplessly, but Mum shook her head and tilted it toward me, silently telling him that I had all the power here.

"Why?" Lewis asked.

"I don't want people to think that Bruce had anything to do with this song or to associate it with the film directly. It is a positive, feel-good song about friendship, totally opposite from the film. Indirect promotion through association is fine."

Robert Lewis didn't look happy with my answer. "But I've talked to Bruce, and he'd be more than willing to shoot a video, that too for free. Getting such a superstar would skyrocket the visibility of your song."

While that was somewhat true, I didn't want that. So I shook my head. "No. Either drop the idea of Bruce Willis from the video entirely, or I won't do the song at all."

He seemed ready to protest, but Mum raised her hand. "I know my son, Robert. He won't change his mind so easily. So just tell us whether we'd be doing the song with this condition or not."

Before he could reply, I spoke again. "That's not the only condition I have. I also want to own the copyright of the song in its entirety. Also, I will have the final say in approving the song. The base tune and the lyrics will remain what I wrote; any modifications they make can be vetoed by me. This is also non-negotiable."

"The higher-ups at Disney won't agree to it," Robert pointed out.

"Then they can ask for someone else's song," I said with certainty. "Let me tell you something, Robert. I wrote that song for fun. Music is my hobby while acting is my true career. I can modify my career choices, but I won't compromise my hobby for some corporate clowns."

Mum sniggered before patting me on the back. "He's correct. I fully support my son." Then she turned more towards Robert. "I don't think the higher-ups would have any problem with this, Robert. This is just one little song. It won't matter that much to Disney. It shouldn't when it is being used to promote their film, even if indirectly."

Robert went silent for a few moments before nodding slowly. "Okay. I'll talk to them."

"Great!" I said excitedly. "I already have a few ideas for the video of the song. You can present it to them!"

(Break)

We didn't hear back from Disney for the next couple of days, during which I was busy touring around the US promoting The Sixth Sense with my fellow co-stars Bruce, Toni, and Olivia. I didn't have much interaction with Olivia before because we didn't share any scenes, but she was an alright lady.

Now I can understand why actors say that the worst part of being an actor is the movie promotions. I absolutely hate it. Unfortunately, it is a necessary evil. Even if you make the best movie in the world, it wouldn't matter if the promotion is bad or if people don't even know that the movie exists.

That's the biggest problem with some of the indie movies. Unless they receive some Oscar or other major awards nominations, or somehow find a distributor ready to invest a ton of money in their promotion, they usually fail. That could be the case with [Billy Elliot]. Hopefully, it will get as many nominations in the award season as the last time.

As I was saying, it was on the second day after giving out my conditions to Mum that I got a shocking reply from Disney. Somehow, Disney assented to my terms and agreed to give me all future rights and creative liberties while creating the song.

"But why?" I asked Mum incredulously, "What do they gain out of it?" I hadn't expected them to agree to record the song at all. Why would they when my terms were so outrageous? Even I wouldn't agree to it if I were in Disney management.

"Recording a song and a video would cost them up to $50-60k. That $60k would be easily recovered from current market royalties and the remuneration from the song video broadcast on music channels. From a marketing perspective, it's a win-win situation. Sure they won't get future royalties if you sell the song to someone else, but they agreed to sign the deal for five years, so you cannot sell the song for five years straight. During that time you'll get 15% of the total royalties. After that, it's all yours. Do you agree with that?"

I thought about the proposal in detail, and truly it was a good one. When I grow up, I can always create my own label to produce my own music and get a major share of my music royalties. If I want to go in that direction, that is.

"Yeah, it's a good one. Let's do it." I replied.

"Good, we'll sign the contract and tomorrow we'll be recording the song in New York. The day after that will be the video shoot, also in New York. Disney arranged it like this because New York has a longer promotional period. We'll fly back to Philly in the morning, the day after for the premiere." She explained my itinerary.

I sighed internally, "It's going to be a long week."

I just knew it.

(Break)

Everything was done in such a hurry, that I couldn't believe the results myself. Over one weekend, Disney not only set up a recording session for me in a studio, but they also arranged a full film crew and even cast members to shoot the video. I had to give it to the efficiency of these guys.

The final product in front of me was as good as the original, perhaps even better. The video was a montage of clips from the perspective of two kids. A boy and a girl. I was tempted to make it a video of two male best friends because supposedly I wrote the song for Evan, but I knew that everyone loves seeing kids of opposite genders together so they can squeal things like 'Awww!' or 'So cute!' so we made the video, which was essentially a montage of clips through the lives of two kids.

The camera follows, a boy and a girl, around eight years old, running through a park, playing tag. Let's call them Troy and Robin. (After the real name of the actors who played the roles.) They laugh and shout, full of joy. Troy, climbs a tree while the girl, Robin, stands below, cheering him on.

Troy sits alone on a bench, looking sad. A group of bullies approach him, sneering. Robin steps in front of him, hands on her hips, staring down the bullies. They back off, and Troy smiles gratefully.

Troy and Robin sit on a blanket, surrounded by toys and snacks. They share a secret handshake, laughing as they finish it.

Troy sets up a projector while Robin prepares a makeshift screen. They watch an old movie together, the flickering light illuminating their happy faces.

Troy and Robin riding bikes through the neighborhood.

Troy helps Robin with her homework, both of them giggling at their own silly mistakes.

Robin teaches Troy how to dance, their moves are awkward but filled with joy.

But then one day, Troy had to go away because his father found a job elsewhere. They hugged and cried but promised to meet again someday.

The song went silent for a moment as screen turns to black, but soon it restarts but now the kids aren't kids anymore. Troy and Robin as teenagers walk down the hallway together. Troy carries Robin's books, and Robin playfully messes with his hair.

Troy is playing in a football game. He looks to the stands and sees Robin cheering loudly, waving a homemade sign with his name on it.

Troy and Robin, now a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman, dance together. Their eyes lock, filled with unspoken promises.

Troy and Robin, now in their twenties, sit on a bench. Robin rests her head on Troy's shoulder as Troy plays a guitar. They watch the sunset together, content as Troy finishes the last note of the song.

~: You can count on me, cause I can count on you:~

As the song ends, Troy and Robin, are back to being kids, sitting on a bench, their younger selves having replaced the older ones, holding hands.

______________________________

AN: Song: 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars

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