Dreams of Stardom (Hollywood SI)

AN: I strongly recommend you to watch [The Sixth Sense] before continuing the chapter. SPOILER ALERT.

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Christmas and New Year passed by quickly, along with my tenth birthday. I got some pretty good video games including Pokemon, Fallout 2, and Super Mario 64 with my own Nintendo 64. I knew of these games when I heard their names, especially Pokemon with their massive franchise beginning from the games and moving into anime. But for some reason, I have no memory of playing them in my past life. That's good because I would be bored out of my mind if that were the case.

Steve and Kathy had wanted to give me something physical like a bicycle or a trampoline (which wasn't the brightest idea considering we lived in an apartment) but seeing my situation, they decided to give me something I could take away with me to Philly and later on to London.

With that Kathy and I got on board for my very first shooting after [Sex-ed].

"You know, you don't have to stay on set all day, right?" I asked Kathy who was sitting beside me in the Business class.

She cocked her head slightly towards me and raised an eyebrow, "Are you so sick of your Mum that you want to get rid of her? What did I do to deserve such treatment?"

I rolled my eyes at her visibly, "Oh please, I am just saying that for your sake. I don't mind you being on set with me but remember you are not the producer this time. You will literally have nothing to do but wait for the full day."

"I've packed my laptop. Don't worry about me, I'll work on something. If that doesn't work, I've got a lot of books to read as well. Philly has some good bookstores where we can get as much reading material as we want."

She put out one hand and ruffled my hair gently, "Moreover, legally you must have a guardian or chaperone with you, on set. So instead of hiring an assistant or a manager, I will do the job for you. Steve is already very busy with the Harry Potter project so he would hardly feel our absence."

I nodded slightly in acceptance.

"If you are acting like my agent," I began with a grin, "Why don't you take a cut?"

"Hmm, maybe I should," She replied with a grin of her own before adopting a more somber face. "Are you okay leaving LA behind? We won't be going back there to stay any time soon."

I shrugged, "Does it matter? It's done now. Though it's a shame I won't be able to continue my martial arts. Maya has given me a booklet with images of all the forms and maneuvers for self-practice, but it is not the same as practicing with someone else."

She frowned visibly hearing my answer, "What about your friends?"

"Friends?" I asked rhetorically. "Evan needs to grow up a lot."

"Aww, Look who's talking," Mum made a cooing face before pulling my cheek.

"Mum!"

(Break)

Getting to our temporary residence in Philly was interesting. First, we were picked up from the airport by a guy holding a placard with my name on it. That just felt so great seeing my name written there when my mother, the adult, was standing right here beside me. The guy, who turned out to be our chauffeur, drove us to a large house that the crew was renting for our stay of two months. It did make a lot more sense than putting us in a hotel.

The house was located in the suburbs but was only a 10-minute drive away from our major filming locations depending upon the traffic and the said location. Because most of the film was being shot on location. The locations were mostly a public school, a church, my character's home, and Malcolm's house, the latter two locations were shot in a studio.

The reason the film may take even upwards of two months is that the number of hours I can shoot is limited as I still have to legally study during the shoot as well. The day when I am free from school cannot come fast enough. Only God knows why I hadn't always aimed to pass high school as soon as I could.

"So d'you like the place?" Came a distinctively feminine voice when I and Mum were admiring the view of the backyard. I turned towards the voice to find Toni Colette, who plays my mother in [The Sixth Sense], standing there with a grin.

"Yes, it's lovely," My mother, ever the polite person, beamed back at the younger woman, "I am Kathy Kloves and you must have already met my son, Troy."

"Toni Collette, just call me Toni, both of you. And I can't say I have had much talk with lil' Troy here," She bent down at the waist slightly to come eye level with me, "He was too busy fangirling over Bruce Willis."

"I was not. That's a lie! We had a perfectly civil conversation, I didn't even ask for his autograph!" Whoever said I was a grown man in some other life?

At my outburst, both my mother and Toni burst out in peals of laughter and my face colored. Showing my maturity I stuck a tongue out at them and turned away with a pout.

"Anyways," Mum began after calming herself down somewhat, "Toni will be staying with us for the duration of the filming, so Troy, behave."

I was informed about that beforehand. The house we were given was big enough to house a big family which was quite wasteful for just two people and a caretaker. So of course we were sharing it with Toni. The production team also believed that if Toni and I had a closer bond offshoot, we could portray a more honest mother-son relationship.

"Yes, Mum. I hope we can get along, Ms. Toni." I nodded my head at her respectfully.

Next thing I knew I was being suffocated between a pair of huge tits as Toni hugged the stuffing out of me, "Oh, he's such a lil' cutie! And an English gentleman at that!"

With great effort, I freed myself from suffocating between those melons and did the manly thing. I ran up to my room.

While I can't say with certainty, I suspect Toni was told to get closer to me. Not that I had a problem with that, but the efforts they made to make a child comfortable are beyond reasonable sometimes. Most child actors have difficulty getting in character and sometimes directors even make up lies. Like Steven Spielberg told Drew Barrymore while filming E.T. that E.T. really died, just to get real tears from her.

This was as close to method acting as you could get with kids. While such a trick is much too circumstantial to give a perfect performance for the entire duration of a movie, it can be used to deliver a particularly shocking scene.

That's too many wild thoughts for the moment, so I decided to stow them away for the moment and check out my new room which had, to my utter glee, a brand new PC and a Television with an accompanying gaming console, all for myself.

Yes!

Now just hoping against hope that Mum doesn't object to me having this stuff with me in my private room.

(Break)

A few days later, it was finally my first day on the set of [The Sixth Sense]. I was almost giddy to begin work again. Being in the presence of the camera and the crew is like a euphoric high for me.

To be honest, I love being the center of attention, just not with kids. On a film set, everyone is focused on me, to make sure I look good and that I am in my best form to deliver a good performance.

Is it narcissistic of me to want attention in such a way? I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. I just know that I like being on the set. Acting gives meaning to this otherwise boring life of mine.

"Troy, you're here!" My musings were interrupted by the exclamation of our Assistant Director, Josh, "Good, Night wanted to talk to you first before you go to your trailer for makeup and costumes."

I was taken aback by his statement.

"A trailer?" I voiced my thoughts out, "I have a trailer?"

"Of course you do," Kathy placed a hand on my shoulder, coming behind me. "All actors have one, especially the young ones. They need space to study."

That made a surprising amount of sense. Shooting of [Sex-ed] took place during the summer break, so there was no need for any on-set tutor, and the set was built inside the Warner Studios, so there were plenty of rooms for the actors' R&R.

"Now," Kathy said, "I think we should go to the director before he gets angry at you for your tardiness."

I didn't complain about that and just followed the AD towards the director who was overseeing the set up of the scene around the church where the first meeting of Cole and Malcolm was to take place.

"Hello, Mr. Shyamalan," I took the initiative to greet the man who was too engrossed in his work, "I was told you were looking for me."

"Ahh, yes. Cole." He looked down at me with a smile, calling me by my character name, "Just call me Night, or if you really want to, Manoj. Mr. Shyamalan is my father."

That smile just put me at ease. Most directors are old. That's a fact. But the young director in front of me was only 28 at the moment and had this vibe around him that would just force you to relax in his presence.

"We have decided that everyone on set will call each other with their character names. So for the next two months, you are Cole for me. Alright?" He explained his logic for mixing up my name.

I shrugged, "That's okay. Was that all?"

"No," He chuckled, "We have changed the scene where you play King Arthur, we have decided to change it with a Talent show for your classmates, where Cole will sing a song. A song from the musical 'Les Miserables' like your audition. You impressed me a lot with your singing, and that just gave me an idea for your character. So I need you to practice the song in your free time or during your music lessons."

"Music lessons? Song?" I asked in confusion, taking in all the information thrown at me.

"Yes, music lessons," Kathy cut in, "Steve and I know how much you enjoy your time with that guitar or just singing a song. Along with your regular schoolwork, you'll have a dedicated music teacher. And now you even have motivation to get better."

"Yes," Night nodded along, "But don't put too much pressure on yourself, Cole. If you mess up during the shoot, it's fine, you don't have to be perfect, just good enough to make the performance believable for a 9-year-old."

What does this simpleton understand about an artist's need to do everything to perfection? I made a silent vow to myself right then and there that I would give my best effort while performing the song.

Then I realized one anomaly in the timeline. The original movie didn't have a song in it. I am already changing things around with my mere replacement of Haley Joel Osment in [The Sixth Sense].

"Is the song 'Empty chairs at empty tables' like my audition?" I asked because it didn't make much sense regarding the movie script.

Night shook his head, "No, it is 'Bring him home'."

My eyes widened in realization and slight shock. It was one of the biggest coincidences that I had prepared two Les Mis songs while tutoring under Mr. Tanner. One song got me the role, and I'll be performing the other in the film. I have practiced that song so many times that I know the emotion and the meaning behind the song quite well. Moreover, a thing just clicked in my mind.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed excitedly as I made the connection, "You will be hinting through the song that Cole is praying for Malcolm to be free!"

Night looked surprised for all of two seconds before he smiled widely put both his hands on my shoulders and said, "I knew I selected the right person for the job. Yes, that's exactly my intention. The lyrics will hint towards the climax and a very keen observer would be able to guess it. But normal viewers will get it only on the second viewing."

Although I didn't say it out loud, this man is a genius.

(Break)

Soon the shooting began in earnest. After I had time to get acquainted with our makeup artists and costume designers, that is. Mum chaperoned me all the way as I walked towards the church after getting ready.

For the first scene, I had to run and go into the church while Malcolm (Bruce Willis) observed me from a corner. While it may sound stalker-ish, he is actually Cole's psychologist who was late for his appointment and just came in to give him a home visit.

Currently, I was wearing an overcoat over my clothes with a pair of huge ass glasses, that couldn't be anything but funny. The makeup team had put up scratches on my forearms. Not real ones, mind you. More like detachable tattoos with a very realistic look to them.

"Alright everyone, pay attention," Night announced over a megaphone. "We are about to begin shooting the very first scene. Lights! Camera! Sound!" He paused for a few moments, waiting for confirmation from the respective technicians before shouting, "Action!" 

Hearing the magical word, I began running in the direction of the church and went inside, closing the gate behind me.

"Cut!" I poked my head out of the gate to gauge the reaction of Night and decide whether I'd have to reshoot the scene but was happy to see when he gave me a thumbs up with a smile.

I heaved out a sigh of relief. Some people in the industry believe in a superstition that if the first scene that you shoot for a film is done in one take, the film will be a hit. Many directors even go as far as setting up a very simple scene or a scene with no dialogue, just like Night did here so that the first scene can be done in the first take.

I know it's a load of bullcrap, but I didn't want people looming over me that I messed up the first scene. Now that it is done and over with, I can ease into the other scenes of the movie without worrying about the consequences too much.

As the next scene was connected to the first one, the set designers had already prepared the insides of the church and fitted it with appropriate lighting, and sound recorders. Just the camera had to be moved inside which shouldn't take more than 15 minutes.

So after shooting that tiny scene, I came to a rest area that was set up for the actors while they moved the camera.

Just then, Night decided to join me alongside my co-star Bruce Willis.

"Cole, that was a very good first shot," Night beamed down at me, still not using my real name.

"Thank you, Night." I smiled back at him.

"Now, for the next scene, do you remember your lines?" Night asked.

"Of course." I answered flippantly, "I have exactly 16 lines, the first one is, 'They're my dad's.' and the last one's, 'Next time I won't be scared of you.'"

"Wow!" Bruce exclaimed, "Did you write an essay on the script or something?"

"Or something," I smirked at the older man, "What about you Malcolm? Do you remember your lines? Or would I have to carry this film for you?"

Bruce gave me a pissed-off look, "Yes I do remember my lines, Cole. Who do you think you are to ask me that?"

Uh-oh, looks like Bruce got mad at me.

Oh God! I knew big stars like to throw around tantrums and can even get supporting actors fired if they somehow get offended. So in the next moment, I did my best to salvage the situation.

I raised my hands in surrender, "Why're you so serious? I was just joking around. I didn't mean anything by it. Please don't fire me!" Before I even said the last part, I knew I overdid it. No one would buy this naive-boy act of mine anymore.

Or so I had thought. Bruce and Night started laughing uproariously at me.

"You thought you'd get fired over that?" Night asked between his laughter, "You have some wild imagination."

"Hey! It's a perfectly valid reaction!" I tried to defend myself. Tried being the keyword.

"No, it isn't," Bruce retorted with a grin, "Do you think it is so simple to just fire a major character last minute over something trivial? Even if you had offended me?"

When he put it like that, I couldn't help but feel embarrassed at my outburst.

"Hey!" My lovely, amazing mother butted in, "Stop hazing my son!" She swatted Bruce across his arm and gave him a disappointed look. Bruce immediately looked away from her eyes.

I sniggered silently. I know that look. One gaze is enough to make you regret ever disappointing that woman.

Night was also cowed by Mum's gaze and cleared his throat to change the topic, "As I was saying, for the next scene, you have to channel your inner distrust over Malcolm. You have realized his truth, but you can't tell that to him because he won't believe it. With me so far?"

I nodded to show that I understood the scene that was tied closely to the climax of the movie.

"Good. Your emotions should be sad and feeling lonely and even a little afraid of Malcolm. Can you do that for me?" He asked softly.

"Yes."

"Superb. Why don't you and Malcolm practice your lines for the next few minutes? I'll call you over when we begin shooting." With that, Night made a quick retreat towards the church door while I faced Bruce who began with his first line.

"It's okay, Cole. My name is Dr. Malcolm Crowe."

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