Steven Spielberg was quite a busy man whenever he was w on a film, which was usually the case. People called him a workaholic; he called himself motivated—something that most people owadays, especially the younger geion who has never seen the difficulties the eion had to face. Many people ask him why there aren’t as many young visionary directors as there were in Steven’s time. The answer is simple. People are tent with their lives of mediocrity. They don’t strive to be better.

  Stevehat his children would never work as much as he did. Even if they bee filmmakers, they won’t make as many films as he did. It isn’t their fault necessarily. Times are ging. Filmmaking, which was once sidered an art, has today bee a manufacturing unit. Innovation in scripts is being disced in the name of the studios ‘knowing audieastes,’ which essentially means copying off the same basic premise again and again after ging the vilin. Today, it is being increasingly difficult for filmmakers to get entirely new ideas funded. What Gee Lucas did in [Star Wars] or even Steven himself did on [Jaws] or [E.T.] is being disced today to py safe by the studios.

  This was a big reason he was fag so much difficulty in finang [A.I.] while Gee Lucas had no problem whatsoever with the [Star Wars] prequel.

  But still, every on a while, there es a film like [The Sixth Sehat pletely shakes the market, critics, everyohat film gave two big discoveries to Hollywood: M. Night Shyaman and Troy Armitage. Although the kid was falsely nominated in the supp actor category when he should have been the lead, he fully deserved that Oscar. It was the best child performaeven had ever seeer tha.], [Home Alone], and even [The Wizard of Oz].

  The deft skill with which the kid hahe film—Steven just khat he would make an excellent David. He went back to the kid’s first film, [Sex Education], only to get his mind blown again. No doubt they gave him an Emmy for that. If he still had any doubt about his talent, the kid proved his mettle again in his third film, [Billy Elliot]. Even if Steve Kloves hadn’t pulled that little tri Steven, it would have been difficult for him to get others to not vote in Troy’s favor for Best Actor. He was that good. Three master-level performances in two years just told everyone how good of an actor Troy is.

  So of course, Steven wahe kid to py David in his film. He hadn’t even thought of an alternative. The kid shocked him once again by saying that he would be pleting his GCSE exams just a week before the shooting was to begin. Steven allowed him begrudgingly because he khe importance of education.

  Of course, it had to e off with a little snag. Even if the kid was good, he wasn’t a reination of the god of ag. Because of the less time for pre-produ the kid had with Steven, he couldn’t perform very well.

  Steve like pulling his hair out in frustratioroy started showing utter inpetence while doing the ses. Then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and paused the produ before pulling Troy aside.

  The first thing Steven noticed while pointing out his fws was that Troy was very mature. Despite being told bluntly by Steven why the produ couldn’t move on, he accepted his mistakes and asked how to correct them. And correct he did.

  It was as if a switch had been turned on, from mediocre performao beast mode. A beast mode that left everyone o stunned. Steven’s long-time colborator, ematographer Janusz Kaminski, turo him, “What the fuck did you just say to him? He’s like another person out there.”

  “I just showed him his performance,” Steven fessed. “I didn’t give him any tips.”

  “Just another child prodigy,” Kaminski noted.

  “It would seem so,” Steven agreed.

  Steven could immediately uand why the kid was sidered so good. He had a talent to adjust his performance very minutely, something that takes veteran actors years, if not more, to perfect. And Steven couldn’t be happier at making this discovery.

  It’s better if they shoot as many ses as possible today only. Steven didn't know how much lohe kid would be able to retain this state of mind. Giving the actors some time off, Steven quickly barked instrus to the crew members to prepare the se, which was dohin half an hour.

  “A!”

  “Mommy?” David whispered to Monica, “Will you die?” His eyes showed the vulnerability that his monotonous voice couldn’t.

  “Well, one day, David, yes, I will,” she answered softly while w over the empty perfume bottle in her hand that David had emptied on himself in his immaturity.

  “I’ll be alone.”

  “Don’t worry yourself so.”

  David stepped forward and put his head on Monica’s p while staring at her eyes with great longing, “How long will you live?”

  “Fes,” Monica lightly rubbed David’s back. “For fifty years.”

  “I love you, Mommy,” David whispered with all his heart without blinking even a siime. “I hope you never die. Never.”

  Steven couldn’t help himself at that moment as his eyes watered. The se was too heart-wreng not to cry over.

  “Cut!” Kaminski called out wheiced that Steven was in no dition to make that call. That did bring Steven out of his emotional state enough to wipe his eyes off discreetly and give a nod to his assistant, telling him that the shot was good enough to pass.

  Steven slowly turo the two actors, mostly to the younger one, before walking over to him and engulfing him in a hug. “That was marvelous, Troy.”

  “Thanks,” Troy whispered shyly.

  “If you keep that performance up, your third Osomination might just happen.”

  “Don’t you mean sed?” Troy asked in a genuinely curious tone.

  Steven suppressed the urge to ugh at the kid’s ignorance, “Defihird. The sed would be [Billy Elliot], and we’re releasing this film year. Just imagihree secutive Osominations and at least one win at ye.”

  “I’m not so sure about it,” the kid argued weakly. “Maybe we should talk about it year when the film releases.”

  Steven chuckled but didn’t tihe argument. “Sure. Just keep doing what we’re doing, and we’ll be doh the film before we even know it.”

  “I will,” Troy gave an ear smile to Steven, who could only ruffle his hair, much to Troy’s irritation.

  (Break)

  W with Steven Spielberg was an experien itself, and not just because he’s famous and super rich, but because he makes the whole process very simple. On my first day o, I thought he’d yell at me when I kept bungling the se. He didn’t so much as raise his void calmly expined everything. As the days passed and we shot more and more ses, we came to an unspoken uanding of sorts. It could be because I had already seen the film and I uood Steven’s vision perfectly, or it could be because of how easy he made the whole ag process.

  If I had to learn diving for the film, he hired the best professionals in California to teach me that. The most eborate sets had been built on different sound stages with impeccable details. One couldn’t help but be in awe of the sets I was witnessing. Advanced animatronics were used to make a walking-talking Teddy bear and different robots with multiple facial emotions. Not just the teological factor, the whole crew sisted of some of the best people I had met in Hollywood. Not even once did I feel that a person was being mean or making fun of me.

  Apart from the actors who pyed my parents, I had a great experience w with Jude Law. I met him for the first time on the day of the Oscars as we were nominated in the same category. Then again at the BAFTAs, where I won in the Best Leading Actor category while Jude won in the Best Supp Actor category. I never k that point that we would go on to do this movie together.

  In this great camaraderie of ours, we had a lot of fun o of [A.I.].

  “Exactly what name do you give this woman?” Jude asked haughtily as we walked together, with his arm draped over my shoulder.

  “She is just Blue Fairy,” I replied softly in that David-esque tone I had almost mastered by now.

  “Blue Fairy,” Jude tested out the words in his mouth silkily while walking forward with a swagger. “In the world a, blue is the color of mencholy. Yet the services I provide will put a blush ba anyone’s cheek. I will ge the color of your fairy for you.” He poi me dramatically. “She will scream out in the moonlight. Ohh yes. Oh, God! Oh yes! Oh God! Oh God!” I ged internally at the crude jokes Jude was making because I didn’t find it o funny. Yet my face was as bnk as could be owing to me being in character.

  Jude then stopped walking and poi me again, “She will make you a real boy, for I will make her a real woman and all will be right with the world because you held my hand and saved my brain so that once again my ers may ask for me by name: Gigolo Joe, what do you know?” Here Jude performed a little dan the puddle he was standing on.

  “Why do you do that?” I asked curiously while walking over to him.

  “That’s just what I do,” he said, turning around. “Now follow me and don’t fall behind. All roads lead te!”

  “Cut!” Steven’s voice echoed across the studio. “Good job, boys. Let me see the clip again and we’ll see if we need a retake.”

  “How am I doing?” Jude asked me as the two of us were standing quite some distance away from the other crew members.

  “Just like a sex-crazed maniac robot?” I half asked.

  “Oh e on,” he waved me off. “I’m not that bad.”

  “That was a pliment,” I corrected his assumptions. “That’s your character of Gigolo Jht?”

  Jude looked at me skeptically, “Do you even know what a Gigolo is?”

  “A man-whore,” I replied nontly. The gaping maw of Jude was enough to make me ugh out loud. “Oh e on, grow up! I am taking high school csses now. Do you think I wouldn’t have read up on sex and prostitution?”

  Yeah, you heard it right. I had cleared my GCSE with all A’s except Biology and Calculus where I got B’s. (I fug hate Calculus.)

  Jude shook his head, “As long as you don’t go and tell others that I told you about that, you’re fine.”

  Hearing that, I couldn’t help but grin madly at Jude, “I definitely would.”

  Jude looked panic-stri for a moment before schooling his features, “Please don’t?”

  “Nope,” I shook my head. “I definitely will. How will an 11-year-old know about prostitution?” I happily tradicted my own earlier statement. Jude looked as if he’d burst a vein if I tihe versation so I gave him an out. “I fet about this entirely if you do me a favor.”

  “What favor?”

  “I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” I mumbled while scratg my . “How about…” Then suddenly an idea lit my face. “Yes! I want you to get me a DVD or a VHS of a film called [Sex Education]. It was released in 1998 by HBO.”

  “Noould I get you that?” Jude shook his head. “The self says it all: [Sex Education]. Why do you even want to see it?”

  “Because that’s my first film?” I half asked. “Listen, mate, you get me that film and I won’t tell anyone where I got it from. Or that you taught me all about prostitution.”

  “I didn’t tell you anything about that!” Jude excimed in e, but the amusemeh it all was not lost to either of us.

  “Don’t lie,” I shook my head in disappoi. “I expected better from a grown-up like you.”

  Jude looked flicted for a few moments before saying, “Fine.”

  “Fine as in you’ll get me the film?” I asked hopefully.

  “No, fine, as in you tell anyone whatever you want. I don’t care. I’m not getting you any film about sex.” His voice had a finality to it tellihat he won’t budge from his final decision.

  I sighed i, “You won man! I’m not saying anything to anyone. Just wao see my film.”

  “Then ask your parents, not me.”

  Before I could retort, Steven came back, “We’ll o redo the se boys. Your ag was good but it didn’t e out that good on reel. Cameraman’s fault.”

  “Okay,” Jude gave Steven a thumbs up before taking the starting position. I followed him silently as we redid the se.

  (Break)

  “Steven,” I called out to Spielberg as I approached him. “Do you have some time perhaps? I o speak with you about the film.”

  Steven, who was going through some storyboards, looked up at me and smiled, “Sure, Troy. What do you have to talk about? Something about your character?”

  I shook my head, “No. It’s the story in general. You know how I signed up for the film without reading the script because of your involvement? Now that I have, I have a few observations about the ending that I wao discuss with you.”

  “I’m listening,” He ined his head to show his attentiveness.

  “I don’t think the climax will nd with people,” I said with my utmost siy. “Don’t get me wrong, this is too good of a story in its ey, including the climax, but it is too far fetched for on people to digest. Maybe in hindsight, after 10-20 years, they will like it, but right now, from a ercial perspective, it is too seal for a sci-fi film.”

  Steven chuckled, “e on, Troy. People love seal movies. That’s why they loved E.T. so much. Or even your film [The Sixth Sense]. My favorite se was the one you shared with Toni Collette in the car. Probably why she got a nomination as well.”

  I ceded that point. Ses are important for films. But not all films are meant for the same audience.

  “I agree on that,” I nodded. “But your target audience for the film is not clear to me. Who are you making the film for? Kids my age? Their parents? Teenagers? Gigolo Joe’s character would aliehe child audience. Many parents would eveate t their child to see such a film. At the same time, the climax is something that a child would prefer. Not an adult.”

  “And do you know what an adult would like to see?” Steven asked rhetorically.

  Still I answered, “Some avante-garde bullshit that is too difficult to uand clearly, but pretty enough that everyone digest it and be happy about the end. And when they dive deep into the actual meaning behind it, they get their mind blown, and they’re like ‘Woah! It actually meant that? Steven Spielberg is a genius.’”

  Steven ughed heartily at that, “You’re not subtle at all.”

  “I try,” I said with humility. “So what do you think?”

  He went silent for a few moments, before saying, “I think that your idea has merit, but I’m making this for my mentor Stanley Kubrick. As a tribute to him. This climax was envisioned by him and I don’t want to ge it too much from his vision.”

  “Don’t you want to make the best film possible for your friend?” I asked rhetorically. When he didn’t say anything for a few moments, I added, “How about this, you shoot two climaxes for the film, one as envisioned by Kubrick, and one inal as per your vision. Then decide ter whie came out to be better.”

  “I’ll have to think about it.”

  I khat was the best I could get from him at the moment.

  ______________________________

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