Elton John was having a blast. He loved coming to Cannes in May. Not only could he watch numerous films from all around the world that featured many new and old music unknown to him previously, but the Cannes Film Festival was also a gathering point for the elite. Don't get him wrong, he loved interacting with his fans, but sometimes, some fanatic experiences of people can be too much. A little escape with like-minded people can be a great thing for the middle of the summer.
So that's how he ended up at the premiere of [Billy Elliot], a British film by an old acquaintance of his, Stephen Daldry. Elton hadn't even known that Stephen was directing a film; it was only luck that David Furnish, the love of his life, dragged Elton to the premiere. Something that Elton was a little miffed about.
That was until the movie started.
As soon as Elton watched the first scene, he was hooked. The film was set in 1984, in Durham, England, and was about a young boy of 11 who wanted more than anything to become a dancer. Only, his family with a traditional outlook didn't want that for him; they wanted him to be something like a boxer. Billy was terrible at boxing, but due to pressure from his father, he agreed to box. Billy witnessed a ballet lesson from Mrs. Wilkinson and was instantly enamored with it, joining the lessons soon enough without telling his family about it.
As the film continued, Elton couldn't believe for a moment that the kid was the same who did [The Sixth Sense]. His accent, his posture, his attitude, everything was totally different from the kid who could see dead people. While Elton wasn't a filmmaker by any standards, being in the industry he had watched innumerable films in his life, and seeing this young boy transform so radically in a matter of less than a year was more than a little shocking for him. An ability that mostly older and very dedicated actors have shown till now.
The tenderness with which he cares for his grandma, the fierceness with which he argues with his brother or his dance teacher, the longing for the unreachable, be it ballet or his dead mother, the joy he felt when he could finally dance freely—every emotion, every dialogue was extremely poignant and deep.
As much as the acting was superb, the dance was nothing to scoff at. Elton had to give it to the director for shooting the whole sequence so cinematically in one take, giving it a theater-like feel. Also, the little boy did amazing dance sequences which seemed effortless. The acting of others, including Julie Walters, Gary Lewis, and Jamie Draven, couldn't be discounted here as they all did amazing jobs with the film.
As the film continued, Billy was caught in a moral dilemma whether to support his family in their strike or continue with his ballet. He chooses the former against advice from his teacher, only for his father to catch him dancing in the gymnasium later on. Guilty of suppressing his son's future prospects, the father decides to support him in a very emotional scene where he breaks the strike for his son.
Eventually, they give an audition at the Royal Ballet School, but Billy almost blows his chance when he hits a kid in frustration, feeling judged. So when he got a positive letter of acceptance from the Royal Ballet School, Elton wasn't the only one in the theater to clap loudly or whoop in joy.
Troy Armitage, who played Billy, made almost everyone in the theater cry when he gave the news of his acceptance to his family. Bidding farewell to his family was another emotional scene well done when his father hugged him tightly and his brother showed some emotion for the first time that wasn't anger at the news of his brother's departure.
Fourteen years later, Billy has become the lead performer in [Swan Lake]. His father becomes emotional as Billy takes the stage and the credit rolls.
What a marvelous performance! One of the best films Elton had ever seen, let alone this year. Elton couldn't help but feel touched, emotional, and happy all at once. He stood up along with so many other people and began clapping for such a wondrous film. Stephen Daldry had outdone himself with this film. What a wonder!
When the applause died down and people started leaving, Elton stayed behind in the back, waiting for the team to be done with the interviews. As soon as they were, Elton made a beeline for Stephen, who was talking to Troy, the lead actor.
"Stephen," Elton decided to interrupt their conversation. "What a wonderful film! I loved it more than words can express."
"Elton!" Stephen grinned after turning to him. "Thank you so much! Have you met Troy Armitage? He gave me my film. I couldn't have made it with this precision without him."
Elton turned to the little boy and offered him a hand, "Who wouldn't recognize this young man? A pleasure to meet you, Troy. I must say, it was an amazing performance. And that song you wrote for your friend was better than anything I could write at your age."
"Thanks, Mr. John," Troy replied politely while shaking his hand. "I can't tell you how much I love your music which served as an inspiration for me. Especially [Rocketman], my favorite song of yours."
"Oh?" Elton grinned at that. "I didn't know kids still listen to that old song?"
"It's a classic," Troy shot back. "And the [Lion King] songs were just great. I love musicals."
"Now that one I can believe is coming from you," Elton replied before turning again to Stephen Daldry. "That reminds me. Stephen, I want to make this film into a stage musical."
"Let's talk afterward," Stephen said. "How about later this evening? I'll be free by then."
"Sure."
(Break)
Hearing Stephen and Elton John talk about what would turn out to be [Billy Elliot the Musical] was nothing short of a coincidence. In my past life, I was one of the rarities who had watched [Billy Elliot the Musical] before watching the actual film. I loved the musical so much that I watched the movie only afterward to compare the two versions. Both of them were undoubtedly good on their own, but the thing you watch first is undoubtedly what remains with you for the longest of times.
If they are making a stage adaptation, then I'd love to reprise my role there. Why should I let anyone else play Billy when I'm the perfect age?
"I'll finance the whole thing if you prepare everything within a year and let me play Billy," I offered unconsciously.
Both of the older men turned to me in unison with raised eyebrows before Stephen spoke up, "Are you sure about that, Troy? I don't think you should be too hasty in saying that without your parents' approval."
Of course, they'd think I'm being a greedy kid at the moment.
"Alright, I'll let my father hash out the details with you too later on and about securing the adaptation rights. But I really, really want to act in it. If you delay it too much, I'd be too old to play Billy and my voice will crack. That's why I'm saying a year," I gave out my reasoned response.
"You have a lot of stuff to do here," Elton John waved his hands towards the many reporters who were waiting for the cast and crew for individual interviews. "Why don't you finish up here and we'll talk later on?"
I nodded reluctantly before going for more interviews. As soon as I was done with that formality after an hour or so, the first thing I did was make a beeline for Dad, who was thankfully alone at the moment, probably waiting for me to be done with it all so we could go back to our hotel.
"Dad," I said in a serious tone, getting his immediate attention. "I know I had promised you that I wouldn't talk business on this trip, but something has come up that is time-sensitive, so I need to."
Dad sighed audibly, "Go on. I know you can't help yourself sometimes."
"Please buy the adaptation rights of [Billy Elliot] for a stage musical," I implored.
"Why so?"
"Okay, listen to me fully before making a judgment, okay?" At his nod, I continued, "Elton John just said that he was interested in making a musical out of [Billy Elliot]. Stephen Daldry also seemed quite enthusiastic about it, given his theatrical roots. But I don't want anyone else to originate the role of Billy. If you buy the adaptation rights, we can do the adaptation before I turn 13, so I can play the role of Billy convincingly before my voice breaks. You can discuss the topic further with both of them. They didn't take my proposition very seriously."
Dad closed his eyes and thought it out for a few moments before saying, "You know, kids your age ask for things like expensive toys, video games, and as they grow up, motorbikes and cars. You have extremely weird demands."
"It's not a demand," I countered. "It's a request. You can always deduct the amount from my next [Harry Potter] salary. If I were 18, I wouldn't be coming to you for this. Since I'm not, please help me out."
Dad rubbed his forehead in contemplation before saying, "Fine. I'll call my lawyer to strike up a conversation with the producers. How much maximum are you willing to pay from your salary for the rights?"
"$1 million."
The surprised look on Dad's face was enough to tell me that that was too much for the rights, so obviously I raised the amount, "Fine, $1.5 million."
"It's a stage musical," Dad cut me off. "More often than not, they don't earn money. While your involvement may change things owing to your popularity, the rights shouldn't be more than half a million dollars in the worst-case scenario. At most, they can ask for a cut in profits in place of a lower price upfront."
"No," I replied resolutely. "Buy all the rights upfront. No profit sharing."
"You're being greedy," Dad said pointedly. "I'll try. Just don't get too hung up on it if they don't sell the rights or decide to hold on to the rights until the film's release to ask for a higher fee."
"It's unlikely," I replied. "If the film's a flop, we won't buy the rights at all. If they sell them right now, they can easily recover a good portion of the production budget already."
Dad conceded that point with a nod. "Alright, I'll do it. But the production will be entirely financed by you out of your own money, not just the adaptation right. Don't complain to me later on if you lose millions and have nothing left to your name when you grow up."
"I won't," I promised sincerely.
And that was that. I even forgot about the issue for the next couple of days, spending my time enjoying the sights of Cannes and what few little films Mum allowed me to watch. More often than not, adult-oriented films are featured in Cannes and if I wasn't the lead in [Billy Elliot], I wouldn't be allowed to watch even that. It's unfair, I know, but that's life for you.
One of the two major films that I was surprisingly allowed to watch was [Dancer in the Dark], by Lars Von Trier starring Björk. The film, because of which we had to change our title from [Dancer] to [Billy Elliot]. The other was [O Brother, Where Art Thou?] by the Coen Brothers starring George Clooney. Both were very good movies. The former was a star-making vehicle for Björk where she gave a wonderful performance. One of my favorite female performances of the year. The latter was a very good comedy film that I was amazed to know was PG-13. I didn't know that the Coen Brothers were capable of making a PG-13 film.
It was at the premiere of [O Brother, Where Art Thou?] that I met a person I had wanted to for a long time. Even before I was reborn.
"Steven," Dad made the introductions. "Meet my son Troy. Troy, you already know of Mr. Spielberg. He's serving as the president of the Cannes Jury this year."
"Whoa," I let out unconsciously while he offered me a hand, which I shook. "It's an honor to meet you, sir. I just love your works entirely too much."
"Believe me, son," Spielberg said. "The honor is all mine. It's always heartwarming to meet up-and-coming actors like you. And no 'sir,' call me Steven."
"Thank you, Steven," I nodded back with a grin.
"So if you are the president, did you see my movie [Billy Elliot]?" I know I shouldn't have asked, but as they say, curiosity killed the cat, and my current body had loads of that.
"I did," Steven said evenly. "It's a good film. Will definitely be a hit with the masses. Critics, I'm not so sure about."
What the heck is he on about? I knew for sure that critics loved [Billy Elliot] even in my past life. With my involvement and the hype Universal was already creating about my performance, people's expectations would surely rise, but the quality of this film isn't inferior to the one in my past life by any means.
"Come now, Steven," Dad butted in. "Critics have nothing but praises for [Billy Elliot] and Troy's performance. I talked to many of them personally at the premiere; I would know."
"That's what art is, I guess?" Steven commented with a smile. "Everyone watches it with a different tint of lens."
Did Steven Spielberg not like [Billy Elliot] or my performance? Self-doubt crept up inside me upon hearing the words of highest highest-grossing film director of all time. The rational part of me should have told myself that something was amiss and that a man like Steven Spielberg would be cruel enough to say to a kid's face that the film they did was bad. But I wasn't listening to that rational part. Despite having heard and read innumerable people commenting upon the film and my performance in the last two days, and most of them were good reviews, I couldn't help but feel inadequate.
"Sure, but you could be kinder with your words given who you're talking to," Dad complained to Steven, who just shook his head.
Seeing that Dad and Steven were disagreeing so openly, I tried to stop the situation before it got any worse. "It's alright, Dad. I'm not a perfect actor. I'm still learning. I'll improve in my next film."
"That's the spirit, young man." Steven smiled. "Keep improving. If you stop, you'll become complacent." He then looked at his wristwatch. "Oh my, it's getting late. I must go back to the jury to discuss tonight's film. All the best for this film and of course [Harry Potter]."
When Steven had departed, Dad silently placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.
I turned to face him and asked, "What was that?"
"That, my dear son, was a power play," Dad replied.
Seeing the confused expression on my face, he shook his head. "We'll talk about it later in our hotel suite."
"Alright," I conceded.
___________________________________
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