The word of mouth for [Billy Elliot] was extremely strong. Not to mention, Troy's Golden Globe win and the subsequent interviews put him in a lot of positive limelight. People loved him. Despite being a small-budget R-rated British indie film, it received a very strong opening because of the involvement of a movie giant like Universal.

  The film had already grossed 52m in the UK by the time Troy won his Golden Globe, which was a marketing point used by Universal to attract Ameri audiences. bined with Troy's fame from [Harry Potter], the film was off to a det start, colleg 3.4m on the first day of its wide release. This amount increased on Saturday due to Golden Globe publicity, bringing in a further 6.7m. It fis weekend with a colle of 5.3m on Sunday, bringing the weekend total to a staggering 15.4m. Additionally, the film had already been running successfully in a limited release, colleg 3.7m, bringing the total to date to 19.1m.

  In the sed week of its release, the colle went up from 15.4m to 24.3m, an anomaly of sorts for an R-rated film. Ihird week, the film collected another 18.5m. In its fourth weekend sihe wide release, something magical happehe Osominations came out.

  The most nominated film of the year was [Gdiator] with 12 nominations. It was followed by [Croug Tiger, Hidden Dragon] with 10 nominations. In third pce, with 9 nominations, was [Billy Elliot], bagging nominations iegories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best inal Spy, Best ematography, Best Sound, Best Sound Mixing, Best Supp Actor (fary Lewis), Best Supp Actress (for Julie Walters), a Actor (for Troy Armitage).

  Seeing that the Best Picture Award was just within their grasp, Universal unched a massive FYC (For Your sideration) campaign, rivaling the iy of Miramax and DreamWorks from the previous year. This increased advertisements for the film, leading to another surge in audiehe fourth-week colle, instead of falling, increased to 18.7m.

  Owing t reception in the US and the UK, the distributors released the film iernational market as well. France became the film's biggest non-English market, closely followed by Germany, Italy, and Spain. Even Asian markets like South Korea and Japan embraced the film due to the popurity of Troy and the reputation of the Osominations.

  By the time the award season was ending, the film had grossed a massive 295m iionally, making it a bonafide blockbuster, earning more than 50 times its budget. A report by the Hollywood Enquirer listed the most profitable films of the year. At the top of the list was [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone] with estimated profits of 465m. In sed pce was [Billy Elliot] with estimated profits of 120m, which was more than what [Gdiator] and [Mission Impossible 2] made.

  The same report also issued the list of highest-earning actors in the world. On top of the list was Tom Cruise with earnings of 75m from [MI2]. In sed pce was Tom Hanks, for his participation in [Cast Away]. The third pce, to everyone's surprise, was bagged by a 12-year-old Troy Armitage, who earned an eye-popping 44m from his three films (one of which was yet to be released), and his iments in Yahoo derivatives.

  This was the first time that a kid had appeared in the list of the highest-earning actors of the year. If anyone had any doubts about Troy's superstardom, they were all quashed with the release of that report.

  (Break)

  (Troy POV)

  Sometimes I feel like all my efforts iock market were for naught. Sure, I earned a signifit amount from my iments there, but what was the point of it all when I ended up making muoney from a small-budget indie film like [Billy Elliot]? It's crazy how people ge when they know how much money you have. I hadn't even thought about it until now. And now, with the article about my earnings made public, I couldn't help but think I o add a cuse of sary fidentiality to all my future tracts.

  "It won't matter," Mum said when I voiced my opinion to her. "In the UK, where your pany is registered, anyone get financial information. So everyone would know how much money you have."

  "That's bad," I muttered. " we shift the pany to the US?"

  "The British won't like that," she ented. "They think of you as theirs. If you shift your funds to the US, it could be seen as...betrayal."

  "Let them see it however they want," I waved off. "We 't please everyone."

  "True," Dad agreed with me. "So you want all your future funds from [Harry Potter] in dolrs?"

  "Yes," I nodded. Although I khat the Pound is a strong currency at the moment, and will remain so for years to e, I also knew of many Ameri panies where I could i my money. I didn't kly how mu numerical terms those panies would profit iure, but because of my meta knowledge, I knew of many that were safe bets to put my money in.

  We had arrived ba London after our exteay iates for [Billy Elliot's] Oscar campaign. Meanwhile, the crew of [Harry Potter] had finished all the ses that didn't require me, and now I could focus on the remainder of my ses, which were dialogue-heavy or required practical effects because most of the CGI ses had already been done.

  It was more like ing back to reality after taking a long diverging break. To be ho, I hate Oscar campaigns. This was the first ohat I actively participated in, and I already felt disho asking the Academy members to vote for me. Had I not won for [The Sixth Sense], I wouldn't have had to participate in this oher. My win solidified Universal's belief that I could get a nomination at the very least. Each Osomination increases the film's colle and further home sales as well. As much as I despise this meism of awards, I 't exactly wash my hands of it pletely. People who refuse to participate in campaigns are silently bcklisted by producers. Sure, it may not happen to me because of my age, but it does happen to older actors. Moreover, there may e a time when I'm in a film that needs awards sideration to bee a hit, but award v because I was dismissive of them earlier.

  I'm still ihat I won my sed Golden Globe for [Billy Elliot]. Dad had given me his theory as to why I won.

  "The Globes tend to overpensate for the past," he had theorized. "I talked to a few friends of mine, and we all agreed that this award is basically for your performan [The Sixth Sense], which was st year's best performance. But because the Globes didn't aowledge that, they are pensating with this award for [Billy Elliot]."

  I didn't fully believe him. I still felt as if someohe wrong name on the envelope and sooner or ter they would e to take back my trophy. But then I realized that this was just a Golden Globe, and no one really cared about it that much. And now that [Billy Elliot] is already a hit, I couldn't care less about it either.

  So I ignored all this award news and focused on the shooting of [The Chamber of Secrets].

  (Break)

  "Lockhart's memory charm backfired!" Jamie cried hysterically in his Ron Weasley getup. "He hasn't got a clue who he is!" His ag had improved tremendously from the st film.

  "What an odd sort of pce it is," Keh Branagh, who pyed Gilderoy Lockhart, noted idly with a dopey grin on his face as he tossed a ro the air. "Do you live here?"

  "Nope," Jamie noted before taking the rock from him and hitting him upside the head with it. Theuro me, "What do I do now?"

  "You wait here and try and clear some rocks so we get out. I'll try and find Ginny inside."

  Saying that I walked back over to the other side of the cave while gripping my wand tightly. A nervous tremble rocked my body as I moved forward. I had to do this for my best friend's sister. There was no way around it. As I reached my mark with determination, a cry of "Cut" rang out o.

  "Terrific job, everyone," Chris announced loudly over a loudspeaker. "Take ten before we set the se."

  I was getting tired of this se a little. It's good that we cleared it when we did.

  "How was I?" Jamie asked me hesitantly as he walked up to me.

  I looked at him in disbelief, "Really? Keh Branagh was right there with you, and you came all the way here to ask me?"

  "Yeah, but he hasn't won an Oscar," Jamie said matter-of-factly. "You have."

  I sighed, "These awards don't matter that much, Jamie. Mr. Branagh is a much better actor than me. I was just lucky to get nominated in a year where they liked my performance more than others. Don't ever say this to anyone else, or they may get offended."

  Jamie nodded resolutely as my words sank in for him.

  "You did great, by the way," I smiled at him. "Have you been taking ag csses?"

  "Yes," Jamie agreed enthusiastically. "I thought, I'm getting paid enough now that I afford to take some csses. Tell me holy, was I really good, or are you just saying that?"

  I uood why Jamie was so insistent to know about it. While most of the reviewers were pretty positive about everyone, a few pointed out that Emma and I outshined Jamie in the first movie. Ever sihen, he has grown a little plex about his performand has been trying to outdo himself. I had told him to ignore all these reviews, but he wouldn't listen to me.

  "e here," I motioned for him to follow me, which he did. I walked straight up to Keh Branagh, who was talking to an Assistant Director.

  "Mr. Branagh?" I called out. " we talk for a moment?"

  He turo me with a smile, "How many times have I told you to call me Ken, Troy? Or should I call you Mr. Armitage?"

  I ughed at the idea. Anyone calling me by my st name sounded so funny to me.

  "Alright, Ken," I ceded. "Jamie, here, had a question for you. He is trying to improve his ag, so he needed your feedba the st se we did. What do you think?"

  Ken made a thinking face before answering, "It erfect a performance as I could expect from someone ye."

  "That's the thing!" Jamie blurted out. "I don't want to be good for my age, I want to be good for someone ye. Troy won an Oscar, and may win his sed because he was good in general, not for his 'own age'."

  Now I uood what was troubling Jamie. parison with me. I thought we buried the hatchet about me bagging [Billy Elliot] when I got him the audition for Ron Weasley, but somewhere deep down he must be sed-guessing himself and trying to be as good as me. I felt a little bad about it. Yet, I didn't know what to do to make him fet all about it and move on.

  "Troy!" A set assistant came running up to me. "The se is ready."

  "Go," Ken said to me while draping an arm around Jamie's shoulders. "I'll talk to Jamie, and we'll hash out the best approach for his ag."

  I gave a nod to the duo before walking over to the set of the inside of the chamber. Jamie ah were done for the day because the se involved Ginny Weasley and Tom Riddle.

  (Break)

  Ken looked at Jamie as Troy walked away to shoot his se.

  "So?" Jamie asked hopefully.

  "You will never be as good an actor as Troy," Ken said bluntly. Seeing the crestfallen expression on Jamie's face, Ken quickly expined, "As long as you pare yourself to anyone, be it Troy, me, Jaicholson, or even Laurence Olivier, you'll always be inferior to them. Not for anyone else, but for yourself. Try to be the best version of yourself, and stop reading the reviews they print. They are all bull crap."

  Jamie was silent for a moment before asking, "Did Troy tell you about the reviews?"

  Ken shook his head, "He didn't have to. I have worked in the industry long enough to guess reasons for an actor feeling ie. Don't. You are doing a phenomenal job. Not just today, even in the first film. But you won't for long if you doubt yourself. Be free. All your poraries and fellow actors are there for you to learn from, not pete against. As long as you remember that, you'll do good. Great even."

  Keh's words brought a smile to Jamie's face, as he said, "Thanks, Ken."

  "Don't worry about it," the older actor waved off his gratitude. "e, let's see Troy's performand see how he is doing in the se, and maybe you get some inspiration from there."

  Jamie apanied Keh Branagh to the set, which was the inside of the chamber. Jamie was awed by the set that had been intricately created by the set designers and the level of thought that went into creating each little detail of the se. From the statues of so Sazar Slytherin, to the wet floor, everything looked perfectly creepy, as it was meant to be.

  As soon as Chris shouted 'A', Troy, who was fitted to some wires, started climbing the statue of Slytherin with the sword of Gryffindor in his hands. A huge animatroniake slithered up to him and attacked the pce where Troy was just a moment ago. He ducked carefully, as a portion of the statue was blown up using some pre-installed mini explosives. They were so small that it was safe for actors to be near when they went off, so Troy remained mostly unharmed. He climbed to the top of the statue and tinued fighting the animal that was being trolled by a full team of animators. They would employ some CGI ter to make the snake more menag, but for now, this was it.

  As the sacked him one more time, Troy fell on his behind, befetting up and attag it again with the sword. What followed was a full-blown a se as Troy fought the beast valiantly and in the end killed it by driving the bde through the roof of its mouth, only to get a fang embedded in his arm.

  In the following se, Troy es dowatue, stabs the evil diary of Tom Riddle, and wakes up Imogen Poots, the girl who ying Ginny Weasley. Jamie thought that the girl was cute, but she was too reclusive. She barely talked to anyone o whenever she resent. Luckily for her, she was a good actress.

  "Oh, Harry!" Imogen sobbed as she saw Troy's bleeding arm. "It was me! It was me all along. Tom R-R-Riddle told me *hibsp;things. He taught me spells that I shouldn't know. About how to move around the school. I told him, I didn't o move around ued, but I would wake up suddenly, not knowing how I got there, or what I did a few ho."

  She the forward and hugged Troy, sobbing on his chest. "Please, don't die. I'll do anything. Please."

  "It's alright, Ginny," Troy reassured the girl weakly. "You have to get out of here. Get Ron. He's just outside." His voice grew weaker and weaker as he talked, which made Ginny sob harder.

  Just then, a bird came into view aled beside Troy.

  "Cut!" It would be perfectly normal to hear that word on a film set, but not so much when a perfect se was going on and the words were uttered by someone who was not the director.

  "Dad?" Troy asked hesitantly as he looked up at the producer and his father, who had yelled 'Cut' just now and a huge frown on his visage. Jamie probably shouldn't have, yet for some reason he walked towards Troy to know what was happening.

  "We o go home now, Troy," Steve Kloves said urgently.

  Sensing the urgen his father's toroy asked in an equally grave tone, "What happened?"

  Steve looked unfortable with all the attention on him, but eventually, he sighed, "It doesn't matter if everyone knows. It's out in the media already. Your birth mother has sued us for your custody, alleging your endangerment."

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