Hi Troy,

  I hope this email finds you well! I'm not the best at writing emails, so apologies if this es across as a bit direct.

  I tried calling you but couldn't get through—did you happen to ge your phone number since we st spoke? When you have some time, please give me a call. I'd love to catch up and also discuss an idea for a potential project.

  Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

  Best regards

  Toni Collette

  XXXX-XXXX

  It had been years since I st met Toni face-to-face. After the awards buzz for [The Sixth Sense] faded, we went our separate ways, eaed by our careers. The st time we met was after [Billy Elliot], when I visited her home to thank her for teag me ballet. Seeing her email now filled me with excitement at the prospeeeting her again and reminisg about the good old days. Oh my God! I sound like an old geezer—and I'm only 16! I guess that's what happens when you start w at nine.

  I quickly dialed the oni had included in her email. It was an iional call to the U.S., which meant sky-high charges, but I'd stopped g about trivialities like that years ago.

  "Hello?" came Toni Collette's familiar voice.

  "Hey, Toni! It's me, Troy. I just got your email," I said enthusiastically.

  "Oh my God!" Toni excimed. "I sent that email, like, five minutes ago. I thought you'd probably be busy with something and wouldn't call back for days."

  "I just finished filming my test project yesterday, so I was free today," I replied.

  "It's so o hear from you, Troy," Toni said warmly. "Whenever I see you on TV or in one of your films, I 't believe how much you've grown up over the years."

  "Same here," I said with a ugh. "Whenever I look back at [The Sixth Sense], I 't believe that was me."

  A brief silence followed, but then inspiration struck. "Hey, Toni, if you're free, would you like to e over to London for a few weeks? Bring your family along—it could be a fun outing for them."

  "Ah," she hesitated. "Actually, that's one of the things I wao talk to you about. I'm not really free—or rather, I wasn't supposed to be. I was attached to this indie movie that was supposed to start shooting in a few weeks, but the producers pulled the funding at the st mihey think the film doesn't have a big enough o draw audience.

  "It's such a great script, about a dysfunal family. There's even a role for a teenage boy. The casting and pre-produ were all finalized—the director had even cast the teenage role—but if you were to join the cast, they're willing to recast because it would secure funding. They're the ones who suggested I reach out to you."

  I'd learned over the years that superstardom often carried more weight with producers than ag talent. Sometimes, they'd push a film with a particur star, even if the actor wasn't right for the role.

  "I join the cast only if they finish shooting by the end of June," I said. "The [Harry Potter] shoot begins in July, and I 't dey it under any circumstances."

  "That won't be an issue," Toni assured me. "They pn to everything up ihan a month. We'd just o start rehearsals with you as soon as possible. So, if you could e over..."

  "Woah," I interrupted. "I o know more about the film and my role first. I'll only do it if it's good."

  "Of course," Toni agreed easily. "The film is called [Little Miss Sunshine]. It's named after a fial beauty pageant that the you daughter of the family, Olive, is participating in. You'll py Dwayne, her brother and my son, who has taken a vow of sileil he bees a fighter pilot. Don't worry, he breaks his vow in the film, so you won't be silent throughout. It might sound like a supp role, but iy, there's no lead role. This is an ensemble film, and five of the six main characters have almost equal s time."

  I could tell Toni was overexpining about it being an ensemble film because actors at my level typically avoided supp roles. But it didn't matter. None of that mattered because I had to do this film. As soon as I heard the name [Little Miss Sunshine], I k could bee one of the best projey career. A feel-good, heartfelt movie that would go on to win a ton of awards. Not only that, it was a certified cssic, destio be cherished by audiences for decades to e.

  As much as I wao say yes immediately, I k wouldn't make sense for Toni if I said yes right now without giving it proper thought.

  "If you don't mind," Toni tinued, "I'll share your email with Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the co-directors. They'll send you the script."

  "Seheir phone oo," I said. "I want to talk to them if I'm going to work with them—but let them know I'll call only after reading the script."

  "Definitely."

  We chatted briefly before Toni ehe call. It didn't take long for Jonathan Dayton to send me an email with the script attached as a PDF.

  Even though I teically didn't o read the script—I already knew how brilliant it was—I decided to gh it anyway. After all, this timeline could have some differences, and I wao see if anything had ged because of my presence here.

  For the few hours, I stayed glued to my puter, reading the script cover to cover. The dialogue was masterfully written, leaving no doubt in my mind that it would win serious awards. Everything more or less matched with what I remembered—except for one crucial part: the climax.

  The inal version of the movie had the iic se where the family pushes the honking van through the parking lot before smashing through the toll booth gate. That moment was quintessential [Little Miss Sunshine]—pure chaos and charm. Even though I hadn't wit firsthand in this life, just imagining it brought a smile to my face.

  But the version I was reading had a different ending. The family sat at a rest stop, having lund reminisg about Grandpa. It was... okay-ish, but definitely cked the magic of the inal se.

  I decided I'd this up with the swriter and directors. I didn't know if they'd even be open to ges in this timeline—or if Paul Dano, whinally pyed Dwayne, had influehe previous version somehow.

  Whatever the case may be, I would get them to ge it. I would also—

  A sudden kno the door interrupted my tration.

  "e in," I called out.

  Mum stepped in almost immediately, her curious gaze fixed on me as she approached and sat beside me. "What are you doing, Troy?" she asked. "Did you fet you were supposed to e with me to help with shopping?"

  I wi the reminder. For some reason, Mum had decided we o visit a luxury designer boutique in Paris, and she wanted my input to choose dresses. If there's ohing I'm terrible at, it's women's fashion. I holy 't tell the differeween a good dress and a better one.

  "I never said I'd go with you," I replied matter-of-factly. "Why don't you take Evan instead?"

  "Because he has his GCSEs to prepare for," she tered. "It's the whole reason we're not on our annual vacatiht now. Once his exams are over, you and your father will be busy with [Harry Potter]. He's already tied up with pre-produ. So, I thought this would be the perfect time for some mother-son bonding. We could eveend our trip to Paris for a few days and do some fun activities."

  Her hopeful glint almost made me cave. Almost.

  "Actually, I have work to do," I said, gesturing toward my s. "Toni Collette just sent me a script for a movie. I absolutely loved it, and they'll shooting before [Harry Potter] starts. I'm sidering going to L.A. to meet the producers. If you want mother-son time, you could e with me and we have it there."

  "I 't e with you," Mum replied, her expression falling slightly. "Because we weren't pnning a holiday, I took on ara writing project for the BBC, which starts week."

  "Then e for a week," I suggested. "You fly back ter. Whatever designer you're looking for probably has a bran L.A. end time together there while I work."

  "Why do you eveo take on another film so soon?" she asked, her voice tinged with . "You've already shot three films that are releasing this year. Eveween Perks and the musical, you worked nonstop on the songs and script. At this pace, yoing to burn yourself out, son."

  "I don't think so," I replied firmly. "I love making movies. This isn't about mo's a small-budget indie film. I'm doing it because I genuinely loved the script. If I passed on this and it turned out to be something big, I'd regret it forever. If we already had vacation pns, I wouldn't even sider it. But a few days in Paris isn't enough to make me abandon this opportunity."

  Mum closed her eyes for a moment, as if weighing her options, then opehem with a sigh. "Alright," she said. "Let's go to L.A."

  I cheered mentally, but before I could voice my excitement, she added something that stumped me.

  "But you have to promise me that you'll take at least a two-month break when filming of the wo [Harry Potter] movies is over."

  "I—"

  "I 't dictate what you do," Mum interrupted, cutting me off. "You're practically an adult now. Heck, you could eve emancipated since you're financially indepe, if it weren't for your Ameri citizenship that's under process. That said, you o take better care of yourself, son. You have your entire life ahead of you to a good films. Don't cram everything into just a few years."

  Mum wouldn't uand, but I had to do as many good films as possible before the series was over if I wao step out of Harry Potter's shadow. I pletely got why actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew Maughey avoided sequels. No fan ran up to either of them ting their character names because their diverse filmographies made it hard to associate them with just one role.

  That was also why I'd agreed to fake-date Rihanna. If the media linked my h hers, the public would start reiziher than just thinking of me as Harry Potter.

  Ever siobias had backed out of being my manager, I'd had to be proactive and hahese things myself which may seem easy given my future knowledge, but it was a difficult job. The worst part was that I couldn't tell Mum any of this—she'd absolutely insist I drop the film.

  On sed thought, taking a break year might not be so bad.

  "Okay," I relented. "I promise I'll take at least a break after I'm doh the sixth [Harry Potter] film."

  "Good," Mum said, nodding with approval as she stood up and pyfully ruffled my hair. "I guess I'd better start pag if we're heading to L.A.?"

  "Wait, I haven't even talked to the directors yet."

  Mum gave me a bewildered look. "And you've already made pns to go to L.A.? What if they don't give you the role?"

  I ughed at her insinuation. "As if! They need me to get the funding for the movie. From the script, I tell they've probably seen my work in [The Perks of Being a Wallflower], which is why they're this role to me. But I still o firm everything."

  "Whatever you say, love. Just don't get too cocky that you'll get this role at all costs."

  "Okay."

  (Break)

  Los Angeles, May 2005

  Two days ter, I sat across from Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the joint directors of [Little Miss Sunshine], along with Michael Arndt, the swriter. Jonathan and Valerie were in their mid-to-te forties, while Arndt seemed slightly younger.

  Tobias sat beside me, strictly in the capacity of an assistant this time, diligently taking notes about the meeting.

  "It's so good to see you, Troy," Valerie said excitedly. "I'm a big fan of your work."

  I ined my head politely. "Thanks. Before we get into things, I o ask—did you decide to cast me on your own, or is someone pushing you into this? Because if you're being forced, I'll gdly step bad let you cast your inal choice."

  The st thing I wanted was to be in a positiohe directors didn't truly want me in the role. A film like that was doomed to fail from the start, with a toxic atmosphere o.

  "No," Jonathan said quickly, shaking his head. "We genuinely want you for this role. Ever since my wife and I saw your test film, we haven't been able to stop thinking about how perfect you'd be for it."

  "I agree pletely," Michael Arndt added.

  "Which film was that? [The Perks of Being a Wallflower]?" I asked, a bit skeptical. As much as I loved [Perks], the character of Charlie was the por opposite of Dwayne in [Little Miss Sunshine].

  "No," Valerie replied, shaking her head. "It was [Brick]. We were at Sundan January, and your performance blew us away. The energy and grit yht to that film are exactly what we're looking for in Dwayne."

  That made much more sense. I nodded, feeling reassured. "Alright, let's talk more about the film before I meet with the producers."

  "We'd love that," Jonathan said eagerly.

  "To start with," I began, "I think we should have an alternate climax ready. Have you thought about that, Michael?"

  For a moment, Arndt's expression faltered, betraying a flicker of displeasure. He quickly posed himself. "Why do you feel that's necessary?"

  "Don't get me wrong," I said carefully. "I love the script, and I'll still do the film even if the ending stays the same. But everything else iory feels so iic that the family having a meal together doesn't quite match up for me. It's too subdued. I'm not asking you to scrap the inal ending—just write an alternative as well. We film both and decide ter which works best."

  The more I spoke, the more I could see Michael warming up to the idea, his initial resistance giving way to thoughtful sideration.

  "I agree with Troy," Valerie chimed in suddenly. "I've had my own reservations about the climax, but everyone else seemed fident it was good so I didn't voice my thoughts."

  "Fine," Michael relented. "I'll think up some alternatives."

  "I already have a few ideas," I said with a grin.

  _____________________________________________

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