Ch 23: After Party

{1st Person POV}

'My hands hurt.' I thought while looking at my sore hands.

The Award ceremony had finally come to an end, and now was the time for the after party.

If I had to give my opinion on this year's Oscar, I'd say it was SIGNIFICANTLY better than the previous ones. 

In the last few years, the Oscars really seemed to have been becoming more self-deprecating, and not in a funny way, as well as just feeling boring as hell.

This one, however, was pretty fun, and the people who won actually expressed their gratitude instead of going on some unrelated tangent.

But back to the topic at hand: Oscar's after party.

It was, as the name suggested, a party held after the Academy Awards where celebrities eat, drink and talk with each other. This was also the only thing that made sitting through three and a half hours of speeches worth it. 

Not only because you get to eat good food (and drinks), but ALSO because you get to meet the winners and other big shots! 

Oh, and did I mention that the party is held and sponsored by corporations? Yeah, probably shouldn't have. That kinda ruins it.

The major one is Vanity Fair, which has been holding the largest parties since 1994. As the name suggests, Vanity Fair is a monthly magazine that focuses on fashion and pop culture. Their party was held before the Awards, but I wasn't invited to it, so I'll just skip that.

And because they were a fashion magazine, they took photographs of celebrities in weird as hell dresses. 

There are Pre-Oscar parties held throughout the week too. But I didn't go to any of them, mostly because I really saw no point in attending like three parties a day for a week straight.

And also because I was only invited to a few of them.

Back in my world, the 2008 Oscars didn't have a major party because Vanity Fair cancelled it.

Their reason? To sympathise with the people on strike, which is pretty nice, I guess. 

However, in this world, there hasn't been a strike since 1991, at least not yet, so the parties were still held. But the threat of a strike has been looming on the industry's head for quite a while.

I was currently on my way to the limousine I and Mr. Bird came here from. 

I comfortably sat inside, while Mr. Bird said to me. "Well, Oliver. I'll be going home, so take care of yourself."

I was a bit surprised at first, but I composed myself. "I see." I nodded. "I take it you've already been to several parties today?" I asked.

Mr. Bird nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I have. Truth be told, I really don't see any reason in going to more parties." He then looked me straight in the eye. "You haven't been to any, right? Enjoy yourself there." 

Oh wow, he really was acting like my father. Not like I was against it or anything. 

Soon, the car moved, and I arrived at the hotel the party was being held at. 

I got out of the limousine, and looked back at Mr. Bird. "The car will come back after I reach home, got it?" He explained.

"Yep." I gave a small and simple reply. 

With that, I walked up the stairs to this large and fancy looking hotel. Behind me, I heard several cars stopping near the gate.

'Guess the rest of them are here.' I thought as a sigh escaped my lips.

The party I was going to was being held by SkyMount, who were also celebrating their 90th anniversary this year. That's how I got an invitation, otherwise I might not have gotten the chance to go to any party. 

SkyMount was also the 2nd largest studio currently, so a lot of big celebrities were going to be here, which means I'll get to make more connections. 

And trust me, I really need those connections. I won't be doing John Wick for now. After all, I need Keanu to be well versed in martial arts, and that was going to take a while, trust me on that.

So, for the time being I'll be doing something else. 

I showed my invitation letter to the staff, and got to the third floor via the elevator.

As the door opened, I saw that a large number of people had gathered here. 

Many looked drunk as hell, some were eating and drinking, and others were flirting. 

Yeah, I'm gonna ignore those people. 

I looked around, trying to find someone I knew. Then, a familiar voice entered my ears. 

"Hey, Oliver!" Shouted someone. 

I turned in the direction the voice came from, and I found its source to be Scott Anderson. 

He looked just as gruffy and old as ever, but more professional this time.

I walked up to Mr. Anderson, who was talking with someone I didn't recognise.

"Hello, Mr. Anderson." I greeted him in a friendly manner and shook his hand. "I'm a bit surprised you're here. Thought you would've gotten bored of these parties and left after the award show." 

Seeing that Mr. Anderson wasn't going to stop talking to me soon, the other person left.

"Ha! You don't say no to free alcohol, kiddo! I wouldn't go to any of these dumb parties if not for the food and drinks." Said Mr. Anderson with a light-hearted laugh.

'I guess I can relate to him.' I thought.

"I guess that makes two of us, huh?" I joked.

Mr. Anderson laughed again, and asked me.

"Anyways, where's Chris? Did he go home or something?" 

"Yeah. He went back. Told me he didn't see any reason to attend more parties." 

"Heh, he's always so predictable." I raised my eyebrows at his remark.

Really, just how far back did their relationship go? 

"Anyways, you should eat. You look like you're going to faint at any moment." 

"Well, I wanted to talk with you for a but longer, but yeah. I'll go and eat something." 

I left Mr. Anderson and got food items. Not sure what half the items were, but they were really delicious and that's all that matters.

I thought that I'd finally be able to eat in peace, but someone just HAD to interrupt.

"Hello there, Mr. Knight." 

I looked up to see who it was, and I was shocked.

Michael Young, one of the most popular film stars, was standing there.

I stared at him for a while without saying anything, and he stared right back at me.

Soon, I remembered something.

'Isn't this what happened last time?!' The last, and first time we met in the park back in May of last year, I wasn't able to say much, and probably came off as a bumbling idiot.

So, not wanting to repeat that embarrassing moment, I quickly replied.

"Ah, hello. What brings someone of such a high status like you to someone like me?" I asked.

"Hmm, let's see." Michael got in a thinking position, and then hit his palm with his hand. "I really liked 'Halloween'! I thought it was amazing and very entertaining." He explained.

Confused, I asked him again. "That's it?"

Now, Michael looked confused. "That's it? What do you mean that's it? I just wanted to express that I really liked your work, Mr. Director." He said, and sat on a chair beside me.

"Also," he began, and I intently listened. "Because of that film, I want to work with you. Think you can do that?" Michael asked me with a charismatic smile.

My jaw dropped.

'What. The. Fuck. Is this my luck?! Am I really that lucky?! Holy shit!' My mind became a clusterfuck.

Think about it: if one of the biggest stars in Hollywood said they wanted to work with you, what would be your thought process? Certainly not better than mine. 

Really though, who will reject an offer to work with one of the biggest stars in Hollywood? This really felt like a one-sided request I couldn't deny, not because I didn't want to, but because it was going to benefit me more than it would to Michael.

"A-uhm, I guess?" 

Then, my curiosity made me ask him a question. "But why though?"

"Hm?"

"I mean, why would you want to work with me?" I explained.

Michael sat silently for a while, and then sighed, and said. "Well, you see, I've gotten tired of working in blockbuster films, and now I want to work in auteur and experimental works. 'Halloween' tried to reinvigorate the slasher genre, and it worked. Now, your latest film is a mob flick, something which I'm a fan of. I also think you have potential." 

"I see." I muttered.

Suddenly, an idea popped into existence in my head.

"Alright, I agree to working with you. However, I want you to do one thing." I held out my index finger.

This got Michael interested, or at least I think it did.

"Promote 'The Departed' on social media and other places." 

If I had understood anything from 'The Flash', it was that getting huge stars to talk positively about your films would generate interest and hype among the audience.

In the case of 'The Flash', the hype was artificially generated; it was fake. The film wasn't as great as Warner Bros. Made it out to be, and so, the film crashed and burned at the box office.

But if I applied the same marketing tactic for 'The Departed', then I'm sure it would work because the film was actually as amazing as the marketing would be making it. 

"That's it? I agree, then. But, how am I supposed to promote the film if I haven't even watched it?" I smirked.

A valid question, and the answer to which both of us knew.

"Of course, I'll let you see the film in advance."

Michael smiled, and brought forth his hand. 

"Deal."

In return, I brought my hand forward and grabbed his.

Everything was going pretty smoothly for me. A bit too smoothly, infact.

~~~

A/N: Hoped you enjoyed this chapter!

Yeah, uh, somehow this chapter became as large as the last one. Don't ask me how.

Also, I've been averaging about 1.8k words for the last 6 chapters. Would be great if I could maintain this momentum.

Anyways, see ya later!