Introduction: What if long after TDI, the cast had made their way out into the world, not only choosing unlikely career choices, but excelling in them?
Disclaimer: I don't own TDI or any of its affiliations. This is my first fic, so constructive criticism is welcome.
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Chapter 1 : Ezekiel.
He wasn't sure how it came to be.
He, some home-schooled prairie boy, became one of the most critically acclaimed directors in the history of Canadian cinema.
Maybe it all started with that damned reality show, total drama something, he couldn't remember. Why would he? It was almost 10 years ago, and he was kicked off too early to feel any emotion other than initial disappointment.
Not that he minded all that much.
No, what interested him more were the film crew, how choreographed and precise it all was, despite it being a reality show. Everything had a place, no matter how natural it looked; he knew that every single detail was meticulously planned from the beginning to the end.
When he got home, he started going through his parent's home movies, taking notes on just about everything, from lighting to angles to sound.
He never cared much for movies before, but found himself watching old classic romance movies his mother was fond of.
Casablanca.
My Fair Lady.
The King and I.
He wasn't just getting a new hobby, he was getting a new lease on life!
Before, he was just going to take over the farm, get married and have fourteen (home schooled) children. But now, there was a whole world outside waiting to be captured through the eyes of a camera lens!
He researched, bought the books, joined forums and did everything he could to engross himself in the art.
One fateful morning, after doing his chores, he found out about a short film contest on the forums.
Nothing big, really, but to him, it was the biggest opportunity he'd get since signing up for TDI. Formulating plots in his head, he shut himself in his room for 36 hours straight, writing a script nonstop until his hand ached and he'd snapped about a dozen pencils in half from gripping them too hard. His parents were worried, they'd never seen their quiet homely Ezekiel this intense, but they let it slide, thinking that their boy simply wasn't capable of trouble.
That part was true, at least, but they hadn't anticipated he'd manage to make a movie behind their backs!
For all his social awkwardness, Ezekiel excelled in other things. He'd been able to foresee any hitches along the way and took utmost measures to avoid them. His budget for this movie was a whole year's allowance (which was quite a substantial amount. It wasn't as if he frequented malls or anything) and his leading actress was a girl-cousin of his who lived a few miles away. His location would be his very own backyard, amongst the golden fields and apple trees and his film equipment was an ancient bulky museum piece, last used at his seventh birthday, but at least it was in working condition. In fact, the only thing he had to go out of his way for was some new computer stuff so he'd be able to make any changes or add sound effects to his budding project.
No project goes off perfectly though. He managed to make his cousin cry a few times with his misogynistic comments while she delivered her lines with little to no emotion, but soon he learnt that sexist comments weren't particularly helpful when one was trying to get the point across, having remembered his painful experience at Camp Wawanakwa where he was nearly choked to death by a burly East European woman, something he'd like to forget. But soon, his cousin Millicent delivered her lines as well as any season actress and he wrapped up his first film, feeling for the first time in his life, truly accomplished.
He mailed his entry the next morning, having stayed up all night editing and was left waiting for a response.
Days turned into weeks and Ezekiel began to lose hope. He started to resign himself to his fate. After all, how could he, some farmer, still naïve about the outside world, hope to compare with other more experienced directors who'd been making movies since they were children, when all he'd been doing was sitting around waiting for opportunity?
That's where he was wrong.
He woke up one morning and decided to check his e-mail one last time, just to see if anyone at all cared about his movie. If nobody at all cared about a movie made by a simple young man who dreamed, then that young man would simply resign himself to his fate, and go back to the rural agricultural lifestyle he'd known all his life.
He stared at the screen, stunned at the single word that changed his life forever.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Not only did the judges like his movie, they declared it was the best entry they received, hands-down, and that he was to attend the prize-giving ceremony, to receive not only a sum of prize money, but a scholarship to any film school of his choice!
His parents were so proud, his father polished their truck until it shone and his mother pressed his church clothes so he'd look smart at his first big function. They clambered into the truck in their Sunday best, Cousin Millie wearing her mother's lipstick, his mother wearing jewelry that she saved only for Christmas while his father wore his fine grey hat and drove to the city.
They were barely acknowledged as soon as they stepped in the building. He'd hardly ever seen so many people under one roof, milling around here and there, everyone knowing someone here. Except for him, of course. Suddenly shy, he kept his head down and made a beeline for his seat, suddenly feeling more nervous than ever before.
The lights dimmed and people took their seats.
A young lady appeared on the screen, her fair hair blowing about her face, looking like a halo in the sunlight, the camera zoomed in on her delicate features, capturing every freckle sprinkled across her dainty nose.
She ran through the golden fields of barley, her dialogue soft, yet meaningful, her face expressing every emotion flawlessly, as if she had been there on stage herself, pouring her heart out to an awestruck audience, silenced by the raw talent of the director and the young ingénue.
By the end of the movie, where she blew a kiss to the camera, there was not a dry eye in the room. The credits gave way to thunderous applause, standing ovations as Ezekiel ran onstage and was awarded his prize.
That was 8 years, 6 months and 29 days ago.
Not that he'd been counting, of course.
He graduated as one of the best of his class and was taken under the wing of Vere Gorbinski, acclaimed director of the "Buccaneers!" franchise to be assistant director of his next epic, a wildly exaggerated comedic drama about a group of teenagers stuck on a deserted island with a sadistic host of a reality show putting them through grueling challenges.
It was a hit, obviously.
That marked the beginning of his career. His first of choice leading ladies was obviously his cousin for his first few movies, the same girl who starred in his very first movie, before she was offered other roles and soon moved to Los Angeles to embark on a singing career, becoming a Hollywood sweetheart, hounded by paparazzi, all dying for an interview with the former farm girl who made it big, living the dream of many out there.
By comparison, he mostly stayed out of the spotlight, preferring to be behind the cameras instead of in front of them, making hit after hit each time.
Now with four Oscar nominations and one Emmy award under his belt, maybe that reality show from his younger days really did help after all.
After all, he'd gotten more than just some Vitamin D in his diet, he'd gotten inspiration.
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