Dreams of Stardom (Hollywood SI)

October 2004, Kloves Residence, London

"Are you absolutely sure about your decision, Alfonso?" Steve asked the Mexican director he had worked with over the past few years. He had grown to respect and admire his craft a lot, so his decision pained him a little.

"Yes," Alfonso nodded. "As much as I loved working on these two films, I had already given my word, and I'm contractually bound to do that other film. I agreed with you to do the fifth and the sixth films initially because they hadn't approached me again in a year, but now they have."

"I can buy out the contract for you," Steve offered. "I'm serious."

Alfonso smiled, then shook his head. "No, thanks. We have been working on that film for years, and finally, we have a good script. I wouldn't mind coming back to direct [Harry Potter], but only after I'm done with [Children of Men]."

"I can't do anything to change your mind?" Steve offered as a last resort. "I can offer you higher pay."

"No," Alfonso said resolutely. "I really want to make [Children of Men]."

Steve steepled his fingers as he carefully thought about what to do about this issue. He didn't want to delay the joint production of [HP 5 & 6], but he would be forced to do so now. As per the original plan, they would begin shooting [HP 5] as soon as [HP 4] had been released. But that was only possible if Alfonso were to continue his work. Any new director would require at least six months in pre-production to get on the same page as Alfonso.

There was another little issue of the sixth book not hitting the shelves for another year, but ever since Steve paid her $10m, Rowling had been very compliant with the production and had even given him a manuscript of the sixth book in advance.

"You will guide your replacement for the fifth film, right?" Steve asked Alfonso.

"Of course," Alfonso smiled reassuringly. "You didn't even have to ask me about that."

"Alright then." Steve got up and shook hands with Alfonso. "It was great working with you, and I hope we will be able to work on the seventh movie again."

Alfonso left Steve's office shortly after, leaving a frustrated American behind. Steve didn't like when things didn't go his way, but he didn't have a choice in this matter.

He left his home office and walked over to the living room, where Kathy and Evan were watching an old movie on the TV. The scene saddened him once more because of the absence of their last family member. It had already been a month since Troy came back from Pittsburgh, and he had yet to go out of the house even once. He stayed holed up in his room most of the time and had even canceled his sessions with his tutors. The only time he would go out was to swim in their pool occasionally, but that didn't mean this isolation was healthy in any way.

"So you're done with your meeting with Alfonso?" Kathy asked as her eyes met Steve's.

"Yeah," Steve sighed as he sat down beside his wife. "We'll have to find a new director for the next two films."

"How about Chris Columbus?" Evan suggested.

Steve could only shake his head. "He's too expensive. Also, I don't think he's suitable for making the dark film we want. Warner would prefer searching for a low-key, non-popular director for this purpose. Like Alfonso was before [Harry Potter]."

A dark film was just an excuse; the only real reason was money. Chris had taken a huge upfront salary of $10 million each for the first two films, in addition to a box office cut. The first two films had taken $225 million to make jointly, while the third and the fourth were wrapped up at $200 million, despite the higher salaries of the cast, because Alfonso's salary for the two films was negligible compared to Chris'. Sure, Alfonso would have charged a higher amount for the fifth and sixth films, but even then his salary would be lower than Chris'.

The joint production had helped save a lot of CGI shots as well, which had saved them a lot of money. If Warner could do it, they would make all the movies back-to-back, until the seventh one—the cast was old enough to do it after all. Unfortunately, the last two books were not out yet, and despite Rowling's compliance, it would be difficult to wrap up the series faithfully to the source material without the books as a reference for everyone involved in the process.

"Has he come out of his room today?" Steve asked.

"That depends on your definition of his room," Evan replied. "He's been using his music room."

Kathy sighed audibly. "This is getting too much. I've had breakups in my life as well, but I didn't mope in my room for a whole month because of them."

"Cut him some slack, love," Steve chided her gently. "He's not even 16 yet, and this was his first relationship."

"I can't help but worry," Kathy retorted. "Doesn't he have to go on a world tour soon for promotions of [Goblet of Fire]? That too with Emma? Do you think this moping would help him when he's face to face with her again?"

Steve didn't say anything because that was his biggest worry. Not to mention, the media would eat them alive in the interviews if either of them showed even a hint of vulnerability.

"You should talk to him," Kathy suggested. "I've tried, but I wasn't able to get him to listen."

Steve nodded and got up. "You're right. No time like the present."

"Should I come along?" Evan offered.

Steve shook his head. "Let me see if I can talk to him first."

He left Kathy and Evan in the living room and walked up to Troy's music room, only to be left stunned by what he observed there. Troy was sitting in front of the piano, with a determined expression on his face. His fingers wafted across the piano keys as a sad tune played in the background of Troy's melodious voice. Over the years, Steve had heard many songs from Troy, but this one sounded special.

[Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi]

~: I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to save me

This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy :~

Hearing that hauntingly hollow melody coming from his son made Steve frown in worry once more.

~: I need somebody to heal

somebody to know

somebody to have

somebody to hold

It's easy to say

but it's never the same

I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain

Now the day bleeds, into nightfall

and you're not here, to get me through it all

I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved. :~

The beautiful lyrics and the piercing emotion behind the song hit Steve right in the chest. Combined with Troy's perfectly pitched vocals, the song felt heavenly. For a moment, he felt as if he was intruding on some private moment of Troy's.

When Troy didn't continue the song and heaved a big sigh instead, Steve started clapping. Troy turned toward the sound in surprise but quickly masked it.

"Holy shit!" Steve said with a huge grin on his face. "That was amazing."

"Thanks," Troy said more out of instinct, without even a hint of a smile. "How can I help you, Dad?"

Steve raised a challenging eyebrow. "Can I not even see what my son is doing in his free time?"

"Of course you can," Troy replied hastily. "It just felt as if you had to talk about something. My bad."

Steve changed the topic smartly. "Are you ready to start promoting [Goblet of Fire] in a few days?"

Troy shrugged. "I guess. Just make sure that Emma and I aren't together all the time. The rest should be fine."

"That's not possible," Steve replied. "We can't have the two lead actors avoiding each other that blatantly. Rumors and conspiracy theories will start if you interview separately. Ever since that photo of yours came out, you two have avoided the media, and the attention has died down a bit, but now they will definitely ask questions about it. It's unavoidable."

Troy sighed tiredly before looking up. "What do you think we should do then?"

"Pick a story and stick to it," Steve said. "Make up your mind whether you want to come out with the relationship or not. I think confessing about it is pointless since it's over now. Tell them it was a scene from the other film you shot and that Emma and you are good friends. Meanwhile, make sure you don't give off any reactions that might suggest there's anything wrong between you two."

Troy nodded slowly. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Steve knew he was hurting inside—his song was enough indication of that.

He stepped forward and lightly grabbed Troy's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to go through that so young, son, but that's life. It happens to everyone. Now is the time to move on. So many girls around the world would be dying to be with you. Don't get hung up on the first one who broke your heart."

Troy nodded again, still silent.

Sighing, Steve turned around and started walking back. Maybe Evan would get through to him better. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks as an idea came to mind. He turned back to Troy.

"How many songs have you written by now?"

Troy contemplated for a few moments before answering, "Around 20 or so. Why?"

Steve grinned. "As soon as the film promotions are over, I want you to record a full album of your 10–15 best songs. If you're writing these mopey heartbreak songs, the least you can do is profit from them."

Not to mention, it would be a great distraction for the teenager to do something productive with his free time especially when his next film has been postponed.

"They're not mopey," Troy mumbled, but Steve sensed he wasn't opposed to the idea. "Don't we start shooting [Order of the Phoenix] after the promotions end?"

"Alfonso backed out at the last minute," Steve replied. "We don't have a director anymore, so we can't move forward with filming."

"He did?" Troy hummed thoughtfully. "Do you have someone in mind as his replacement?"

"No," Steve replied honestly. "What about you? Any suggestions?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Troy smiled for the first time since their conversation began. "Come along. I have to show you something."

Steve followed his son curiously as Troy led him to their movie room, which was a small theater in itself with a top-of-the-line projector, Dolby surround sound system, and some very comfy seats.

Troy walked over to the projector and set up a film before turning to Steve.

"The director I worked with earlier this year, Rian Johnson, made a very good film. I think he'd make a wonderful [Harry Potter] film too. Just see for yourself and decide." With that, Troy hit the play button on the remote and took a seat beside Steve.

As the film started playing, Steve looked sideways at his son who seemed excited to show the movie to Steve. Maybe he will get normal soon enough.

(Break)

I took a deep breath before fixing a fake smile on my face. Jamie was sitting on my immediate left, while Emma sat beside him. I had sworn to myself that I wouldn't let this get any more uncomfortable than it had to.

"Troy, Emma, and Jamie, congratulations on your upcoming film, [Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]," Megan, the reporter interviewing us, said cheerfully. "The first three films of the series have grossed more than $3 billion, which makes [Harry Potter] the second highest-grossing film series of all time after [Star Wars]. How do you feel about that?"

"Thank you for that warm welcome," I said on behalf of the three of us. "I feel that we are extremely lucky to be a part of this series."

"Definitely," Jamie chimed in.

"Emma," Megan said, noticing that Emma was awfully quiet. "How do you think your acting has changed from the first movie till now?"

Emma, ever the professional, kept an innocent smile fixed on her face. "Every film I've done has been the biggest learning experience for me. In the first one, I didn't even know how a film was shot. Now, I feel much more confident that even if I have to shoot something other than [Harry Potter], I can do it."

"Speaking of other films," Megan said with a huge grin on her face, "I've heard a rumor about the two of you doing another film together."

I suppressed a groan. I knew this question was coming sooner or later. Thankfully, Emma and I had prepared for it extensively beforehand.

"Yes," I answered for Emma. "It's a small indie film that I'm personally producing. The actress who was meant to play the lead role got injured in an accident, so I called Emma to play the part, and she is fabulous in it."

Megan hummed audibly before taking out a photo from beside her. I didn't even have to look to guess which photo it was. I really hated this kind of ambush behavior from these so-called journalists where they asked questions that weren't in their pre-approved list.

This would be the last interview Megan would ever do with me.

"As per this photo," she raised the blasted photo for the camera to see, "which was published on TMZ, you two have been dating. How long has it been going on? Who asked whom first? Give me all the juicy details." She looked pointedly between Emma and me, leaving poor Jamie feeling like a third wheel in the interview.

Emma turned to me and laughed, a sentiment echoed by both Jamie and me.

"We're not dating," Emma answered with utmost conviction after the three of us controlled our laughter somewhat. "Troy and I were rehearsing a scene from the movie [The Perks of Being a Wallflower]. Both Troy and Jamie are like brothers to me."

Megan looked as if she didn't believe Emma, so she turned to me. "You practice kissing scenes?"

"He practices everything," Jamie said with a grin. "Troy is a perfectionist if I've ever met one. I remember this one scene we were shooting for [Goblet of Fire] where he and I fight, and he made me practice that as well—repeatedly. For hours, we were just hitting each other."

Bless Jamie for carefully diverting the topic back to the film. Megan got the hint, and this time focused on questions about the movie.

"The film has a lot more action scenes. Did you enjoy doing them, Troy?"

I made a thinking face. "I didn't like that underwater stuff all that much. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the end product, but it was very taxing on my body."

"Don't forget the multiple ear infections you got because of it," Emma reminded me.

I nodded along. "As I said, very taxing."

The interview went on for a while before it was time to wrap up. The photographer asked the three of us to pose for a photo. Because of her height, Emma was made to stand between Jamie and me. I put a hand around her waist, just like I used to before. My heart was in turmoil, but I kept an easygoing smile on my face.

As soon as the photo session was over, I disentangled from her and took a few steps back. The three of us retook our seats as Megan and her team exited the room.

"Troy," Emma addressed me directly for the first time since we broke up, "can we talk after this is over?"

Jamie was looking everywhere but at us after hearing that question. I wasn't very happy with it either. I had tried calling her a few times after returning to London, but she hadn't picked up even once. Had it been a month ago, I would've killed to talk to her. But not now. Right now, I was far too angry to be rational. I knew my anger would subside in a few months, but for now, I needed space.

"Not today, Emma," I said, with forced calm in my voice.

She looked like she wanted to argue, but thankfully, the next journalist came in for our interview just then, so she could only nod in acceptance.

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