DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hollywood U. This amazing game belongs to Pixelberry! :)
My responses to your reviews:
100. (28/09/16) MiraMaria: That omake was fun to write! It's too bad that it wouldn't have made sense in my fanfic because I'm going for one hundred percent canon compliance, but it was still fun to imagine :D And as for the deleted scene about the pen, I'm actually planning to include it in the story again because I think it was a mistake on my part to delete that particular scene. I'll do that sometime in the future :)
99. (28/09/16) MiraMaria: He was sleepy but he had to go anyway :D
98. (28/09/16) MiraMaria: Mischief has good taste when it comes to food :P
97. (26/09/16) hp and stargirl: I agree; it wouldn't be like canon if Thomas fell in love with Marie Claire at first sight or something like that. I'm going to try to make the pacing of their story realistic so that the romance won't seem out-of-place when it DOES happen :)
96. (24/09/16) kuladekiwi: I'm glad you like my story! :D And thank you for the birthday wishes! :)
Chapter Twenty-Six: Day 22b (Monday) – Watching Films (Level 13)
From seeing her suitcase, Thomas concluded that Marie Claire and her entourage – most of whom where a few feet behind her, either on their phones or having conversations in low tones, had arrived in Utah sometime after he had, as they had not yet checked in their luggage.
Marie Claire herself looked a little tired from the short trip, but on the whole, she had a cheerful demeanor, no doubt looking forward to the experience of her first movie premiere. Considering that she was the only student at Hollywood U who was had produced a movie for this particular Sundance Festival, she really ought to have concluded that he was there for the purpose of seeing how the press and the public would react to her first movie.
Not knowing if her inability to reach the correct conclusion was due to her fatigue, her modesty, or her occasional lapse in reasonable judgment, he replied, "I'm here because you're my star pupil, Marie Claire! How could I possibly miss your first movie premiere?"
She brightened, her eyes shining as she opened her mouth to say something- and quite suddenly, her shoulders drooped and her lips formed an unhappy frown.
"You're being sarcastic, aren't you?" she asked sadly.
Truth be told, he was being sarcastic. Thomas had many, many students, and to single out a freshman in her first semester and call her his star pupil was a ridiculous notion because he had scores of students with more experience and bigger portfolios.
However, being his star pupil was not the same as being his most promising student. A star pupil could easily be eclipsed by another – it was all a matter of the completion of the right project – but to be promising meant to have untapped potential; to have the possibility of reaching untold heights. And Thomas, in the privacy of his journal, had already acknowledged to himself that the student two feet in front of him, who completed projects as quick as lightning while enhancing her natural skills through practice – was not only a promising student, but his most promising student.
She doesn't know that, though... and I'm not about to tell her anytime soon!
Therefore, instead of reassuring her, he instead raised his eyebrow. "Very astute."
He continued, "The university asked me to oversee your premiere to judge the reception of your second project. Furthermore, my secondary purpose is to remind you that you need to complete three projects and have endorsements from three Hollywood professionals."
She smiled confidently at him. "That's easy! The music video and the movie are both done, so I just have one more project to go!"
"True. And how will you procure your third high-profile project?"
Marie Claire looked towards the entrance of the hotel, outside of which movie posters on the other side of the street could be seen. "Well, I'm hoping that after our premiere, we could meet people who would want to collaborate on my third project. It's just going to be tricky finding people who are based in Los Angeles since people from all over have come here..."
That is a sound plan, but...
He nodded. "That is a possibility, but remember that there are several movies being shown at this festival. If your premiere coincides with another one that has more high-profile persons or has had more publicity, the audience you desire may choose to go to that movie premiere instead of yours. After all, there are many producers just like you who want to shine at Sundance."
She paused, considering his words. Taking her right hand and curling her fingers in front of her, she rested her chin on her knuckles as she thought of a response.
After a few moments, she looked up, letting her hand fall to the side as she spoke.
"While that is something we should keep in mind, I think that we have some advantages on our side. One of the stars of our movie, Lisa, already had an established career, and I know that her fanbase has been looking forward to his movie, so they've been spreading the word around. I've asked the rest of the cast and crew to be more involved as well. Together, we have a number of contacts in Los Angeles, so we're hopeful that some of them will be at our premiere tonight."
She knows that a producer's job doesn't stop after the filming of the last scene. Good.
"And do you have your endorsements from three major Hollywood professionals? Don't forget that part of your requirements!"
"No problem there!" Marie Claire grinned. "I know that Lisa will vouch for me, and depending on how the premiere goes, Anders Stone might vouch for me as well! In fact," she continued, "he's also contributed to making this premiere a success. Bianca-" she grimaced as she said her classmate's name, "is one of our main actors, so he's pulled out all the stops with the funding and publicity and everything."
But I thought she already had funding. How did Anders Stone get into the picture?
"From what you told me after your tank incident," at that point, he leveled a mild glare at her, "the venture was already funded by your benefactor. I believe you said that you were given one million dollars to create Clash at Sunset. Did Anders give you that sum? Is he your benefactor?"
Marie Claire shook her head. "I really don't think he is. That one million dollars was from my benefactor, and after buying sets and props and equipment, we used most of the remaining money to... um... rent the tank."
She closed her eyes for a moment, a guilty expression flitting across her face for a few seconds, before she opened her eyes and continued.
"And after what happened... happened... we used the last of it to make reparations. Once we had done that, there was nothing left. We were desperate."
Things were suddenly much clearer to Thomas, including why Marie Claire had included her nemesis in her first movie. "And you had no choice, so you went to Anders Stone. He made you sign a contract full of legalese that would have confused most experienced agents – and an agent in his freshman year even more so."
Sighing, she said, "Anders actually offered us fifteen million dollars before. We didn't take it at the time because we didn't need it. But after we lost the rest of our money because of the tank, we went back to him-"
"-and he was all too happy to give you the fifteen million dollars, but only after he made significant changes to the original contract he offered," Thomas finished knowingly.
Marie Claire gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile. "And that's why you're the professor. That's exactly what happened."
She continued, "But Ethan and I knew that we had no choice. We had to make the movie. After our meeting in your office, I received a letter from my benefactor, saying that we didn't find a way to finish the movie, there would be consequences. And I didn't want to get expelled. And-"
"And what?" Thomas asked, though he suspected he knew exactly what Marie Claire was going to say.
It was her first movie. She couldn't give it up.
"And we had already put so much work into it. So much hope. I didn't want my first movie to fail. I know I came to Hollywood U to be a movie star, but producing Clash at Sunset was special to me. I had to save it any way I could."
Both of them were silent after that, no doubt both contemplating the difficulty of making decisions in the filmmaking industry. Thomas himself, in a very different way, had made a decision about his career that was intimately connected to the same secret society that he suspected had given Marie Claire the original one million dollars.
My last movie. Her first movie.
He was starting to see that they had no intention of stopping.
They had first taught Marie Claire to be grateful to them. Afterwards, to fear them. They were already threatening her with consequences. While Thomas himself had told her in his office that day that actions could have unforeseen consequences, he knew without a doubt that the consequences Marie Claire's benefactor had referred to were much more sinister. But she'd dodged that bullet by seeing the movie to completion, and after this movie, she would grow more indebted to them, accepting more projects and resources from them until they held her career in the palm of their hand.
But he wasn't sure. If he warned her, and if he turned out to be right, two things could happen.
While it was technically possible that she would distrust him and choose to side with them, perhaps even tell them everything Thomas told her about them, he thought it was unlikely. They may have provided the finances for her tuition and for her first movie, but they were not the ones who had guided them day in and day out, enabling Marie Claire to grow in her skills. That role of guide and teacher belonged to Thomas, and perhaps it was naive of him, but a part of him believed that she would value his contributions to her life over theirs.
Therefore, the more likely scenario was that she would believe what he told her, and side with him. And he could see the results of that decision in his mind – her name blacklisted, her skills ignored. And unlike himself, Marie Claire did not have an established career. To anger that society so early in her career would almost guarantee that she would have no career at all. Could he condemn her to such a fate?
Deep in his own thoughts, Thomas belatedly realized that Marie Claire was speaking again.
"-did end up finishing the movie, so all's well that ends well! Anders Stone is a jerk, but at least he was on our side this time, and if things go according to plan here at Sundance, he might even vouch for me at my hearing!"
Nodding, he replied, "As a very well-known producer, his stamp of approval would heavily sway the administration's opinion in your favor. But I would caution you to be careful in your dealings with him. What you experienced is only one of the tricks he has up his sleeve."
Marie Claire frowned in thought.
"Do you think he'll act that way towards us after this movie? After all, if Clash at Sunset is a success, we might work together in the future. Would he try the same thing on us?"
"It doesn't have to be the same thing," Thomas told her. "Producers like him are used to getting what they want. He may be working with you now, but if you don't maintain a good working relationship – which, to him, would entail your being pathetically grateful for his deigning to collaborate with you – he may impede your success in the industry in other ways. If you hadn't asked him for his fifteen million dollars, he could have sabotaged your movie even further to make you even more desperate."
She blinked at that. "What could he have done? Out funding was shot – the movie was finished. We couldn't have been any more desperate that that."
Thomas chuckled.
"That was a low point, but imagine if he had convinced the producers of the Lisa Mermaid show to create a movie for the series. Faced with conflicting schedules and uneven loyalties, Lisa Valentine would have had to leave your project for his, especially if there was a clause in her original Lisa Mermaid contract stating that she would have to cooperate in all spin-off projects."
"But- but she would have refused!"
"Maybe she would have," he agreed, "but if I remember correctly, Lisa Valentine was a minor at the time, so she would have had no control in reneging on the original contract. She would have been obligated to participate in the Lisa Mermaid movie by the person who had signed the contract in her place-"
"-Carlotta!" Marie Claire hissed, her eyes narrowed.
Who's Carlotta? Lisa's mother? Her manager?
"And if that had happened," Thomas continued, "all footage with her would have been unusable, her fanbase would shift from promoting your movie to promoting Anders Stone's movie, and you would have no funding to hire anybody else to re-shoot all of Lisa's scenes. And if you had gone to Anders Stone after that, he would have been open to giving Lisa Valentine back to you, in exchange for concessions... for example, he might have asked for co-producing rights to your next five movies. And you-"
"-would have agreed," Marie Claire resignedly finished for him. "If that had happened, if we had lost Lisa, Ethan and I would have agreed to anything."
He nodded. "He is successful for a reason. Work with him and learn from him, but I would be careful around him if I were you."
Marie Claire tilted her head as she studied him intently. "You know what..."
Why is she looking at me like that?
"...we should hang out more often," she finished, grinning at him.
Thomas' eyes widened. Feeling extremely indignant, he exclaimed, "What are you talking about?! I don't hang out with students! I-"
"I was just kidding! Well, mostly," she said cheekily, sticking her tongue out at him. "If I thought you would say yes, I would totally invite you to hang out with us! But," Marie Claire said very sincerely, "I really appreciate your advice. I know you didn't come here because I was your star pupil, but I hope I make you proud anyway."
He could see that she was a little embarrassed to say something so heartfelt, but she steadfastly met his gaze, not looking away as she smiled at him.
But never mind her embarrassment! He was embarrassed at hearing something like that from her, considering that he had pushed for her expulsion himself immediately after the tank incident. Not knowing what to do, Thomas pretended to give a cough so that he could use his hand to cover what he was sure was a slight blush on his cheeks.
A second later, when he was sure he looked sufficiently composed, he lowered his hand as he put on a neutral expression.
"As it seems that you are occasionally capable of acting like a professional, I have some hope that your first movie will not be a complete disaster. Do not prove me wrong. And remember – do not give your trust out freely. Keep your guard up."
Having given Marie Claire his particular brand of pseudo-encouragement, Thomas nodded at her before turning his back and walking to the elevator of the hotel.
There was no point in guessing what Marie Claire's movie would be like, because in Sundance, watching films was quite a selective thing, and the applause at the end of a movie premiere determined its fate...
...and determine fate it did, because that night, after the stunning last scene of Clash at Sunset, the credits rolled as most of the audience stood on their feet, their thunderous applause making it clear to everybody there that Clash at Sunset was, without question, one of the most successful films at the festival.
Thomas clapped with the rest of them. While he himself did not give it a standing ovation, he nevertheless clapped hard because the movie deserved his applause – and from his vantage point, he could see Marie Claire and the rest of the Clash at Sunset cast and crew beaming happily, looking like they were on top of the world.
(End of Chapter Twenty-Six.) (08/10/16.)
01. Canon compliance:
The only HWU quest that took place in this chapter was Sundance (L13).
02. A tiny request:
Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Twenty-Six ("Watching Films")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer because I get to hear your thoughts on something I worked really hard on ^_^ Even if it's the year 2075 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D
03. Two interesting HWU things:
One, the HWU online television series! :D Did you know that a fellow HWU fan, Zoe (her username on Tumblr is "dizzyclueless"), is diligently working on HWU: The Series? It's a fan-made online television series based on Thomas Hunt and other characters from Hollywood U! ^_^ (At the moment, I'm just a very enthusiastic supporter... but I would LOVE to be involved in HWU: The Series someday! :D) You can find out more about this AMAZING television project on Tumblr (their official Tumblr blog is "hwutheseries"). I just LOVE how Pixelberry and Hollywood U have inspired SO many of us fans! ^_^
And two, my second HWU fanfic! :D If you're interested in reading Marie Claire's perspective of this chapter (Chapter Twenty-Six), then I encourage you to read "NYTMC 2: Marie Claire's Interlude" ^_^ Here's the summary: "(Part two of the NYTMC series.) (Midquel.) How did Marie Claire Hart fall in love with her most dashing, yet most cantankerous, professor? A retelling of my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute" from Marie Claire's perspective, in 100-word drabbles."