DOS Ch-350

December 2010, USA

Patty stared at her screen restlessly, refreshing the page every few seconds.

“You know, refreshing the page won’t change the timer,” Claire commented idly from behind her. “The video will still be released in ten minutes. No need to keep refreshing it.”

Patty turned to her friend, a little incensed. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since one of Troy’s songs was released? And this time it’s with Rihanna. ‘Closer’ and ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’ are some of my favorite songs of all time. Heck, even for ‘We Found Love’, I love the fan edit more, the one that blends their voices into one song. Romantically, they may not be compatible, but phonetically, they’re a match made in heaven.”

Claire couldn’t deny that. “It’s so terrible what happened between them. And reading their emails after all this time made their relationship feel even worse. I still find it hard to believe they started their relationship on a lie, only to actually fall in love later. Rihanna really did him dirty, and that too because of Jay-Z.”

That was another explosive revelation uncovered in the email leaks: Rihanna and Troy had started their relationship for publicity. Later emails confirmed that it had turned real somewhere along the way, only for their work lives and colleagues, especially Jay-Z, to get in the way of their happiness.

Patty nodded. “The revelations about his life are unending. The more you read his emails, the more you learn about him. Like the fact that he has a little half-sister who’s a cutie. I consider myself a big fan of his, but even I didn’t know that.”

Claire winced. “What happened to her was terrible. Paparazzi actually circled her school to get photos of her. She’s not even ten, and she’s not a celebrity. That’s barbaric.”

Troy’s security team was quick to shut out the paparazzi, threatening them with legal action, but it still told the world that she was indeed his sister. Her life of anonymity away from the spotlight was finally gone.

“More than this song, I’m waiting for the TV show, [Game of Thrones],” Claire added after a few moments. “If the emails between Troy and James Cameron are true, Troy’s finally getting fully naked for the show, including a frontal scene. God, I’ve wanted to see him so badly for so long.”

Patty rubbed her hands together excitedly. “You don’t have to tell me. I’ve read those books cover to cover multiple times, and I didn’t think I’d be this excited about seeing Viserys Targaryen of all people.”

“Is he a bad character?” Claire asked curiously, having not read the books.

“In a way, I’d say he’s more traumatized than anything, but he does have his bouts of madness every now and then. Then there’s that crown scene with Drogo and Daenerys that is just…” She stopped herself mid-sentence. “I won’t give you more spoilers. Watch it yourself, or read the books. That series is my favorite since Harry Potter, and I want everyone to experience it fresh without knowing what happens next.”

Patty then decided to change the subject. “By the way, did you notice something? After the leaks, more and more celebrities are using Android phones over iPhones. I saw Emma Stone, Robert Pattinson, Selena Gomez, and Drake all using Pixel phones.”

Claire laughed. “Of course they are. Apple is as good as dead, at least for celebrities and ultra-rich folk. Phoenix made it a point to make sure everyone knew that if Scarlett hadn’t been using an iPhone, the leaks wouldn’t have happened. Troy is likely pushing Pixel phones to his friends in the industry, and to be honest, I like them much better than iPhones. The price may be comparable, but Pixel offers much better specs, features, and it guarantees our privacy. I saw a video from a tech enthusiast on YouTube where he compared the privacy policies of Android and iOS. Phoenix basically stores only the minimal data required to operate the phone, while Apple stores everything.”

“I’m buying the next Pixel model as soon as it comes out next year and saying goodbye to my iPhone forever,” Patty said confidently.

Before their conversation could continue, the timer on the video finally ticked down to zero, and the video went live.

Troy Armitage – Love the Way You Lie ft. Rihanna

Patty excitedly clicked the link, and it opened to show Troy and an eerily familiar girl sleeping on a bed, cuddled together. Troy was shirtless, showing off his chiseled physique, while the girl wore a t-shirt and a pair of short shorts.

Rihanna’s vocals opened the beautiful song.

~Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?
Well, that’s all right because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?
Well, that’s all right because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie~

The girl raised Troy’s hand in front of her, only to see the phone number of another girl written there. The moment she saw that, she flipped out and started attacking Troy, who had just woken up from a deep sleep. It quickly escalated into a very physical altercation between the two, and finally, Troy began his vocals.

Hearing him rap instead of sing was a little different from his usual style, but it was beautiful nonetheless, made even more impactful by the striking visuals of the fight between him and the girl. They pushed each other around, hit, and even spat at one another. The girl even got up to leave, but Troy held her back, which sparked another altercation between them.

Patty tensed for a moment, thinking the fight would intensify even further, but then Troy began kissing the girl passionately, and within moments, it turned into a heated makeout session.

For the next four and a half minutes, Patty stared at her computer screen, not blinking unless she absolutely had to. The song was an absolute gem, but the video was even more so. It perfectly showed how a normal-looking relationship could be so toxic behind the scenes.

Troy played the part of the abuser perfectly, not worrying about his image at all as he hit the girl, threw her around, and even threatened her. He started a bar fight with another man who hit on his girl, and later, when she packed her bags, he threw her clothes all around the room to prevent her from leaving.

Troy’s lyrics and intent took a dramatic turn towards the end, where he gave her an ultimatum.

~If she ever tries to fuckin’ leave again, I’ma tie her
To the bed and set this house on fire~

When she finally broke down, he engulfed her in a hug, swept her off her feet, and gently placed her on the bed. But the way she trembled showed everyone that this wasn’t love, but fear. Troy spooned her from behind, the same position they had been in at the start of the video. The camera lingered on their seemingly peaceful position, when in reality, nothing about that relationship was peaceful.

When the video ended, Patty kept staring silently at the screen for a few seconds. The message wasn’t subtle at all. Rihanna had suffered something similar at the hands of her ex, Chris Brown, and now Troy was helping her bring that story to light, despite the fact that she had once tried to slander him.

If that doesn’t prove Troy’s goodness, nothing will.

“Who was that girl?” Patty finally asked. “She looked like Mary-Kate and Ashley.”

Claire shrugged, not having an answer, so Patty opened the description of the video, and true enough, the girl was Elizabeth Olsen, with the same surname as Mary-Kate and Ashley.

“She might be a nepo-baby, but she’s good,” Patty noted.

“She is,” Claire nodded. “Everything about this video is good. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better one in a while.” Claire said.

“I haven’t either,” Patty agreed. “Damn, Troy went all out for this song. The vocals, the lyrics, the music, and most of all, the visuals, everything was top-notch. And it talks about such an important issue that isn’t discussed enough. I’ll be surprised if Troy and Rihanna don’t take home a bunch of Grammys for this as well.”

“Yeah,” Claire nodded. “It’s definitely my new favorite song that I’m gonna be blasting for months to come, but it’ll be more than a year before we see it win any awards. This came out after the Grammy cutoff, remember?”

Patty groaned. “I hate the Grammy system. Why can’t they follow the calendar year, like the Oscars?”

Claire shrugged. “Of the EGOT awards, only the Oscars follow the calendar year.”

“True. At least Troy has ‘Sign of the Times’ competing at the Grammys, and possibly at the Oscars as well.”

That seemed to brighten Claire’s mood. “Of course! I had almost forgotten! Deathly Hallows is gonna rule the Oscars this year. It’s even dominating the Golden Globes nominations.”

That was true. [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] had beaten all expectations and been nominated for eight Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture Drama, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and two nominations for Best Supporting Actor, one for Alan Rickman as Severus Snape and one for Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort.

Seeing the explosive response to the movie at a major award ceremony, fans of the series had actively started campaigning for the Oscars. Every blog and community centered around Harry Potter was talking about the Oscars and how Deathly Hallows could repeat the feat of [The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King] by sweeping all the major awards. All that remained to be seen was whether the Academy would embrace the film or sideline it as just a kids’ movie.

(Break)

“Believe me, sir,” I said, my charming smile in place. “You must see the film even if you haven’t seen the six movies that precede it. I don’t think I’ve made a better movie in my career so far. It’s the one I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life, and I’ve made Oscar-winning films like [The Perks of Being a Wallflower], [Little Miss Sunshine], [The Sixth Sense], and [The Dark Knight].”

The old man leaned toward me eagerly. “Is it true that you’re giving out free Netflix subscriptions to all the Academy members?”

“To watch the Phoenix films nominated this year, yes,” I said with a smile.

“Great! I’ve always wanted to try it out. I’ll definitely watch your film.”

My smile vanished the moment the old man left me alone. I was seriously getting tired of all the schmoozing I had to do just to get [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] nominated. In the old days, producers used to gift things like DVD players and other similar items to Academy members to get them to watch their movies, but this year, I had decided to do something different. All the Phoenix films competing for the Oscars had been released on Netflix, exclusively for Academy members. Each member was given a special access code to watch the films on Netflix, along with a free six-month subscription.

Most Academy voters hadn’t really transitioned from traditional DVDs to streaming because they were older. Giving them free access for a few months would help them accept Netflix as a legitimate way to watch movies. Not to mention, people do like receiving gifts, and it didn’t really cost us a lot to provide that access.

“How is it going?”

I turned around to look at my beautiful fiancée, who looked especially stunning today.

“I just want to go home and let Ace and Ian sleep on my chest like they always do,” I said honestly.

Scarlett pouted. “It’s so unfair that they want to snuggle with you even when I’m right there!”

I shrugged innocently and wrapped an arm around her waist. “They know who’s the daddy.”

She pushed me away, laughing. “Go talk to some more people. The sooner we’re done here, the sooner we can go home.”

“Do I have to?” I complained. “I’m wasting precious time here when I could be shooting my next film or playing with the twins.”

“Remember what you told me about award campaigns for actors,” she reminded me.

I sighed. “That they’re for the entire crew of the movie. Makeup, VFX, and other background artists don’t have as much visibility as we do. We campaign so their work can get recognized as well. There are rarely any major movies where no actors campaign and still get into multiple major categories.”

[Return of the King] was a rare case where no actor was nominated but still managed to get such a major award sweep.

“Exactly.” Scarlett patted my shoulder. “Now go use your charm to make them eat out of your hands. I know you’re capable of that. I’ll talk to that group over there about [Black Swan].”

I nodded dutifully and did as she asked.

“Hello!” I greeted a group of older actresses, among whom I recognized only one, Diane Keaton. “Wow, you have to tell me what you eat. You look amazing. If I weren’t with Scarlett, I’d totally hit on you right now.”

As Ms Keaton and her group of friends blushed and giggled, I maintained my easygoing grin.

‘Just a few more days of this campaign,’ I chanted repeatedly in my head.

(Break)

I arrived on set a little later than I should have, but in my defense, I’d been really busy these past few days. Military training, the Oscar campaign, and parenting duties had been eating into my schedule like crazy. I barely had any time left to do things for fun.

So I was really surprised when I arrived on set and saw that everything was in place and ready to go. It felt as if I had been transported back to the 1940s. The hospital set was incredibly intricate, and unlike the original, which was shot in Australia, this time it was actually being filmed in the States. That gave it a bit more authenticity, especially since most of the actors were American.

What surprised me the most wasn’t the set design, but the fact that everyone was already ready to shoot.

“I’m here,” I said to Evan as soon as I got within earshot.

“Good.” Evan nodded once. “Get dressed. Everyone else is ready and already prepped for the scene. We’ve had a few rehearsals as well, and I even filmed the establishing shots. We just need you to complete the scene.”

I felt terrible. He didn’t rebuke me, no one did, but I knew I had to do better. I hated wasting everyone’s time like that. I might be a billionaire, but that doesn’t make my time more valuable than anyone else’s. Keeping that in mind, I quickly rushed to my trailer, where my costume for the day was already waiting, along with the makeup team, ready to get me prepared in record time.

“All right, everyone,” I said, clapping my hands to get their attention. “Let’s do this quickly.”

[Hacksaw Ridge] was finally beginning production, and I was already excited. It was undoubtedly one of my favorite war films of the 21st century, and I couldn’t wait to dive headfirst into my character.

After all these years of acting, one thing hadn’t changed about me. I loved the feeling of portraying someone else. Non-actors like Benji or Evan didn’t get it, and they probably never would, but Scarlett did. That’s why we got along so well.

Now, let’s make this movie better than the original and make her regret not being a part of it.