Seeing the audience’s reas during the premiere of any of my movies is always a treat. Of course, it helped that all my films were carefully chosen from my meta-knowledge, as they were already destio be critical darlings. [Echoes of You] might have been an exception to that rule, but I k would succeed thanks to its chartbuster songs.

  “It was a great movie,” Roger Ebert said enthusiastically at the party we had anized afterward for promi critics, cast members, business associates, friends, and family.

  “Thank yer,” I replied with a smile. “I’m gd you liked it.”

  We made some small talk before I moved on to meet the guest.

  Usually, at these parties, distribution deals are struck for the showcased movie. However, I already had that covered, thanks to my three-picture deal with Paramount in exge for the [Twilight] rights. A week before the premiere, an internal sing was held for Paramount's top executives, and they had responded very positively. After intense discussions with my wyer and Dad, Paramount agreed to give me a modified version of my Warner deal.

  I took on all the financial risk for the movie while Paramount took 15% of the profits. This deal was far better than Warner’s, where I had to give up a 10% of the gross reveher than the profits. With Paramount, their share came only after dedug theater earnings and marketing expenses.

  For instance, if the movie made 100 million iers, I’d owe Warner 10 million uheir deal. But under Paramount’s terms, 50% would go to theater shares, and roughly 20 million to marketing, redug Paramount’s share to 4.5 million. This structure was much more favorable to me, and as long as Paramount tihis arra, I had no iion of returning to Warner Bros.

  Speaking of the devil...

  “Troy!” An Horn, the COO of Warner Bros., greeted me with ahusiastidshake. “What an amazing film you’ve made!”

  “Thank you!” I ined my head politely. “Although I didn’t make it—I just ied in it. The real producers are around here somewhere. I introduce you if you’d like?”

  “No, that won’t be necessary,” An said, shaking his head. “I just wao talk to you about the film’s distribution. I know you and Barry have had a teionship retly, but that doesn’t mean you should so btantly go over to one of our rivals. If there was an issue, we could have resolved it peacefully.”

  I resisted the urge to punch him in the jaw. An liked to py the good cop, but I knew he was just as plicit in Warner’s underhaactics.

  “It’s nothing personal, An. They simply offered me a better deal. I’ve learned from the mistake of making all my films under Warner. You and Barry taught me a valuable business lesson.”

  An looked intrigued. “And ray tell, is that lesson?”

  “Never put all ys in one basket,” I said. “Because all of my movies were under you, that gave you the leverage to extort me for more money, even when we already had agreements in pot once—you did it multiple times, knowing full well that I was in the right. I could have dragged you to court to settle it, but I khat would only dey the films unnecessarily, so I didn’t.”

  I shook my head. “Never again. As long as [Harry Potter] isn’t over, I won’t produy other film with Warner.”

  I had no real iion of w with them even after [Harry Potter] ended, but it’s wise not to burn all bridges. Keeping some sembnce of hope alive could be useful if I ever o return to them for an unforeseen reason.

  After a few moments of silence, An said quietly, “It wasortion.”

  “It may as well have been,” I retorted. “Because that’s exactly how it felt at the time. Whatever, let’s just leave it at that. We still have four more films to release together.”

  An hough I wasn’t sure he fully grasped the underlying meaning of my words. If he were smart, he’d tread carefully moving forward. If not—as I suspected—he’d try to pull the same tricks during the [Harry Potter] film. This time, though, I wouldn’t back down. I was fully prepared to stall the franchise if necessary. The real problem for Warner was that they had already signed over all creative trol of [Harry Potter] in exge fher profits from [Echoes of You]. Let’s see whigle they choose o extort me.

  Suddenly, I spotted someone in the crowd whom I had specifically iurning back to An, I said, “If you’ll excuse me.” Without waiting for his reply, I walked over to the woman in her early thirties who had shaken the world with her below-average books.

  To this day, I couldn’t uand why the series was such a global phenomenon. The age differeween Bel and Edward alone roblematiough, not to mention the glorified toxicity between Edward, Bel, and Jacob introduced in New Moon. I wasn’t opposed to toxic retionships in books or films, provided they weren’t framed as aspirational, which this series clearly did. That was the primary reason I refused to a the franchise myself.

  “Hi, Stephenie!” I greeted the author politely. “I’m gd you could make it.”

  She ined her head slightly. “It’s difficult to dee an offer as generous as yours. Private jet travel, a deluxe suite for my family and me in a five star—if I didn’t know better, I’d think you had ulterior motives, Mr. Armitage.”

  I gri her unabashedly. “Guilty. I don’t even have to tell you my ‘ulterior motives.’” I made air quotes with my fingers. “A woman as intelligent as you would easily guess them.”

  She seemed oddly satisfied by the praise as she replied, “Of course, it’s obvious. But I’m still hesitant. You know, when I started writing this story, I always envisioned you as the lead actor. It’s every author’s dream to get a top actor attached to their project. I know I could get you to do the film if I pushed just a little harder.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You’re not subtle at all.”

  “I was raised Mormon,” she said, whiehow expined everything. Certain groups, like those following Mormonism and Stology, had reputations for f a ck of subtlety in their followers, ofteing people who were easy to influence.

  Let’s see how much I influeepheo do my bidding.

  “I won’t ever do [Twilight],” I said bluntly. “If you had another actor in mind for the lead or any other role, we could sider them. But it won’t be me. I don’t want to do it because it’s just not who I am. I like the story, but I ’t rete to the character of Edward at all. Eveing that aside, I don’t want to take on another fantasy franchise while [Harry Potter] is still ongoing.”

  Stephenie looked ready tue, so before she could, I made her another offer. “I already have the rights to the first book. I’ll pay you 1 million each for the remaining books, plus a 10% cut of whatever I earn. The financial terms are noiable because you know as well as I do that this is more than fair. Additionally, the actors I sign will have exclusivity tracts, meaning they won’t be able to portray the same roles for other producers.”

  Finally, the reality of the situation seemed to dawn oo sweete, I added, “I heard you had creative differences with Paramount because they wao pletely ge your characters and storyline. How about I give you the role of script advisor? Any major ges to the storyline could be vetoed by you. What do you say?”

  She thought silently, so I pressed on. “Work on the script for [Twilight] has already started. If you want that position, it will only be avaible until we begin shootihis year.”

  I had pyed my trump card—the ohat could strike fear into any author: the possibility of their work being butchered by someone else. Having Stephenie involved in the produ would ehe film stayed true to her vision, something she’d undoubtedly prefer over the alternative.

  “Okay,” she said after a few moments. “I’ll sell you the rights to the other three books.”

  I resisted the urge to whoop in joy and simply smiled and offered her a handshake. “Thank you, Stephenie. I have a feeling we’ll have a very fruitful retionship going forward.”

  “I hope so,” she shook my haantly. “I don’t really have a choice here. If the audience sees the first movie with a particur group of actors, and then none of them return for the sed ohat would be a disaster for the future films.”

  “I’m taking a big gamble here,” I said in a serious tone. “While we all hope that the first film does well enough to warrant sequels, it’s just specution at this point.”

  Of course, I khe most likely oute of the film, but my presence had already caused signifit ges. For instance, [Crash] had released a year early, despite no direvolvement from me. This butterfly effect could extend to [Twilight], turning it into a failure for all I knew. It was better to tread carefully.

  (Break)

  The Berlin Iional Film Festival takes pce every year in mid-February, strategically scheduled between Sundand the Oscars. In 2006, it marked the 56th year of the festival, with many great films peting for the Golden Bear, including [Little Miss Sunshine].

  The movie was a sensation. Both critid audiences showered it with praise, with one of the most glowing reviews ing frer Ebert, the most renowned reviewer in the Uates:

  “You just won’t see a better acted aer cast movie than [Little Miss Sunshihese actors (and their directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris) grasp how unspokeions be fuhan dialogue or punes, and how pain be the source of the most satisfying edy.

  Every acts a unique addition to the movie, making it almost impossible to imagine anyone else in their roles. Be it Greg Kinnear’s unlikable character, Toni Collette’s tenacity, An Arkin’s foul-mouthed wit, Abigail Breslin’s innoce, Steve Carell’s impeccable ic timing, or Troy Armitage’s sheer versatility.

  Breslin and Arkin steal every se they’re in with their wonderfully written characters, but the real revetion of the movie is Troy Armitage, who pys a b, unlikable character so effortlessly that, by the end, you ’t help but shed a tear or two for the boy.

  Troy, who is used to leading movies, has taken a step back to allow his fellow actors equal s space. Initially, I was surprised by this move, but as the story progressed, there’s one se that made me uand erstar like Troy would do this movie. I won’t spoil it for the sake of your viewing pleasure, but I say with utmost fidehat that se showcases some of Troy’s fi ag capabilities. While reviewing A.I. Artificial Intelligence, I had said that he’s one of the best actors w in the industry today, and that fact still hold true.”

  —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

  Rating: 4/4

  And it wasn’t just Roger Ebert. Critics across the board heaped praise on [Little Miss Sunshine], ting its pce as one of the most beloved films of the year.

  “This indie, a sweet, tart, and smart satire about a family of losers in a world obsessed with winning, is an authentic crowd-pleaser. There's been no more satisfying Ameri edy this year. Troy Armitage shows his magice more.”—David Ansen, Newsweek

  “A brainy blend of fard heart, this is one of those movies that veteran moviegoers pin they don't make anymore. Troy may be the reason many younger viewers will see this movie, and initially, they may be a little disappointed because of his limited role, but they won’t be by the time the story ends.”—Duane Byrg, The Hollywood Reporter

  “A quietly antic dysfunal family road trip edy that shoots down the all-Ameri culture of the winner and offers sweet redemption for losers—or at least the ordinary folks often branded as such. Armitage, Arkin, and Breslihe best casting decision of the movie.”—David Rooney, Variety

  “[Little Miss Sunshine] is an enting ao loserdom—a dark edy that piles oback after setbad yet never loses its helium.”—David Edelstein, Vulture

  The movie received a staggering Rotten Tomatoes rating of 95%, with an average score of 8.2. As the years passed, that sight fall, but at that moment, the film was certified fresh. Oacritic, it earned a rating of 84/100, indig universal accim. The praise the film received made it a strong tender for the Golden Bear.

  Usually, film festivals distribute awards across several films rather than giving everything to ohe aim is to celebrate ema as a whole, encing various filmmakers. That’s why it was such a great surprise for me when the Silver Bear for Best Actor was announced.

  “The Silver Bear goes to…” Charlotte Rampling, the jury president, built suspense. “An Arkin, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, and Troy Armitage, jointly, for their roles in [Little Miss Sunshine].”

  I turo my fellow winners, and we immediately huddled together froup hug. I pulled Toni and Abigail into the embrace as well, because this was a joint win for the entire cast. They had given us all this award, even if it was not meant for the girls.

  I hugged Jonathan and Valerie as well before making my to the stage, following my three cast mates, Steve, An, and Greg.

  After receiving the shining silver trophy shaped like a bear, the four of us stood in front of a single misure of who should go first. An Arkin, the most experienced aong us, took a step forward for what I was hoping would be the start of a speech, only to shock me when he pushed me to the front.

  The audience chuckled at An’s a, and I couldn’t help but join in. Now that I was here, I had to say something.

  “Thank you, Berlin, for this amazing honor,” I began. “And the jury members for seleg us. To start, I think this award is collectively for the eeam that worked on this film—Jonathan and Valerie, Michael, our producers, and the entire creorked tirelessly to make this film a success. Our two co-stars, Toni and Abigail, who I daresay were eveer than the four of us bihank you fiving some of the fi performances, you guys. These three gentlemen standing beside me taught me so much about ag and life in general, I couldn’t be mrateful for being a part of this team. Also, a big thank you to my family for supp my career even when I’m taking on more films than I probably should.”

  I then hahe trophy over to Steve and said, “Your turn.”

  The best part about European film festivals was that they don’t cut off speeches like the Oscars or the Globes do if you go over a time limit, so all four of us would get a ce to speak.

  As the other three fiheir speeches one by one, I couldn't help but think that the big ceremony for me would be the Oscars. My biggest worry isn’t getting the award, but my live performahat will be seen by hundreds of millions (probably billions) of people across the world.

  ___________________________________

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