Thrust into the Limelight.
The court date for the review of Seth's grandmother's will was finally set for the middle of November, and Grace was still confident that it would be an open and shut case. The evidence was clear, and the secretly shot video footage, along with the confession of the lawyer involved, made it nothing short of damning. The fact that Seth's parents were not facing criminal charges was solely down to the fact that nobody wanted to be the ones to instigate them.
However, she was still not counting her chickens just yet, as some judges in the past had thrown out similar cases on the grounds that too much time had elapsed since the events took place. Once she had submitted her papers, she returned her thoughts to the usual cases that filled her docket, with just a few brief notes on how they would set up a trust for Seth's child, a legally binding way of ensuring that the money they should inherit would be protected for them until they came of age.
The conversation about Seth's paternity amongst the circle of friends turned out to be relatively short-lived too, as thoughts turned to a more immediate issue; the presidential election. The media was now dominated by the event, and every sphere of life seemed to be touched by it. Just days after the reveal, the Republican candidate made what some called the gaffe of the century so far by saying that were they elected, their first priority in January 2025 would be to secure the release of former President Trump, exonerated with a free pardon. That might have been popular with the man's diminishing group of disciples, those that still saw the man as a God like figure, but for the vast majority of the population, the very idea was repellent, and it made a massive dent in the party's standing in the polls.
On hearing the statement, Trent had sat down and written a short speech in response for President Kennedy; it took him only ten minutes, and was delivered almost at once. In it, the President promised to review the conviction if there were proven grounds for it to seem unsafe; however, there was no sign of such evidence and no sign of a mistrial. He also reminded the country that no person who committed a crime of any nature could be excused from justice, be they President or pauper. Trent had been careful as always not to make any personal attack on the Republican candidate, or even the party itself. That did not stop the constant stream of vitriol of a personal nature coming from the other side, and that harmed them even more…
October arrived, with all that the fall brought, but it also came with an event that none of them could have predicted. It had been a busy few months for Artie; the filming of the new Harry Potter film had started, and on the face of it, all was well. The old cast from the films had been reassembled, and indeed J.K. Rowling had even added some extra scenes to her play to ensure appearances by other classmates of Harry, Ron and Hermione, as well as an appearance by Mrs Weasley, a fan favourite. The crew had all bonded too after initial problems gelling the mix of new faces with those that had worked on the previous films. Artie had found the initial aloof treatment from some of those old timers had changed, and he was glad of that; he was still blissfully unaware of the events at the end of March and how Kitty had played a role in ensuring that change of attitude towards him. As for the director herself, she enjoyed both the confidence of the studio and the author…
So Artie did not expect that urgent early morning phone call in early October, the one in which he was asked to attend an emergency meeting at the studios over in Queens, and to get there as soon as he possibly could. He was already dressed, and had eaten, but had an issue in that Kitty was already out of the house at an early morning business meeting, and as he was supposed to be off that day, he was taking care of Meaghan. He panicked for a moment, then placed a call to Mike, and in less than five minutes the dancer was at the door, fortunately also on a day off. He arrived with his own son strapped to him in a papoose, carrying a packed travel bag of baby stuff.
"I am so very grateful to you for this, Mike. Kitty will be home by lunchtime, and I will send her a message on my way to the studio to let her know what is happening. I have a bad feeling about this, if I am being honest; there were some people in the crew that did not like me at first, and maybe they have been biding their time until they could find a legitimate way to get rid of me."
"I am equally certain that isn't the case. I know that you are good at what you do, and anyway, they've all met Kitty; they wouldn't be that stupid…" Artie smiled, then had to go as his cab pulled up. Mike waved him off, then crossed his fingers for good luck for the younger man…
Artie's journey was not a long one, the taxi driver using his knowledge and skills to get them round the traffic snarl-ups and to the studios in half the usual time that the official car that brought him to work every day did. As he headed in through the gates, Artie still wondered if this would be the last time he passed through them. The place was deserted, as there was no shooting scheduled that day, and he did not see anyone related to the production until he arrived at the conference room he knew so well. Heading in, he saw all of the main members of the crew, the producers, and even J.K. herself; then he realised that there was one significant person absent…
"Ah, Mr Abrams, you have made it here in record time, which is proof again of your dedication to this project. That bodes well for all of us," said the producer with a smile.
"I would have been here sooner, but I was supposed to be taking care of my daughter this morning whilst my wife was at a meeting, and I had to organise emergency child care," Artie replied.
"Well, now that you are here we can make a start," came his reply, and Artie moved to join them all at the table. "Last night I received a call from a source in our business, a columnist, who told me they had had been hearing a rumour, and asking if I could confirm that it was true. I instantly denied it, as it was the truth to my knowledge at that exact moment in time. However, first thing this morning I received another phone call, and what had been rumour was confirmed as truth. So, Ms Gerwig has resigned as director, with immediate effect, for what she claims are 'personal' reasons. We believe however that she has accepted an offer to direct another project which is going to pay her more. We wish her all the best, but it leaves us in a situation. Half of the movie is already in the can, and we need a new director that will take the production on in a similar vein, and can start at once. We are all agreed that the obvious person to take over as director is you, Artie…"
Artie sat in silence for a moment, then blinked his eyes, before giving his head a good shake. "I'm sorry," he said, "I don't think I heard you properly just then. I thought that you just asked me to take over as the director of the film, which given my relative inexperience working on big budget productions, has to be a mistake."
"No mistake," replied the producer. "We have been keeping a close eye on the progress of the picture over the last few weeks, and what we all saw was that Ms Gerwig was spending a considerable amount of time on her phone, taking a lot of personal calls throughout the day when she should have been working. When she did, she asked you to cover for her. The crew inform me that in those instances she never left you any kind of instruction, just told you to use your own eye and judgement in the filming process. She rarely asked for the scenes that you shot to be filmed again, which suggests that she was more than happy with what you produced. What else they told me was that the scenes that you directed were completed in, at most, two takes; when she was directing, then often five or six takes were necessary, as the instructions she gave often contradicted each other."
Artie shrugged, and said, "Well, I guess that much is true, but the results were flawless."
"Sometimes that was because you made a suggestion before the final take; I have been watching too, and I noticed that," said J.K., breaking her silence. "In my opinion, you just seem to have a better handle on how the film should be; your method and the scenes it creates are more in the style of the other films, and that will sit well with an audience that are coming back to see the next instalment of the story. This film should be the natural continuation of that series. I am 100% behind you taking over as the director, and if that necessitates that I have to babysit for you at times, then I will do so happily."
"Incidentally, I also had a chat with the cast," the producer added. "You have the backing of the principals as one, and that includes Daniel, Rupert and Emma. Rupert was the one that summed it up best when he said that you had been one of the target audience for the original films, so you know what you want to see, and how you expect to see things play out. Now obviously, all this will have come as a shock to you, so we fully understand if you need some time to think…"
Back in Manhattan, Kitty had been held up a little at her meeting; as she had left, she had called Mike on her phone, full of apologies, but the dancer quickly shrugged the need for them off. "It is no problem at all; your daughter is behaving beautifully, and we are all enjoying each other's company. I have nowhere that I need to be today, so take as long as you need. In any case, the way I see it, you and Artie owe me and Tina at some point in the future…"
Despite his words, Kitty still felt very guilty when it was nearly 2pm when she walked back into the street. She was also beginning to wonder what was going on with her husband, as he had not been back in contact with her since the initial message. She had to admit that he had looked tired lately, and much as she admired Greta as a woman that had made a name for herself in a male dominated arena, if she was treating her husband badly, or worse, had got him the sack, then she would go full scale Santana Lopez on her sorry ass…
As she reached her front car, a town car glided to a halt next to her; the driver stepped out and opened the back door, allowing her husband to wheel himself out, thanking the driver as he did so. His face betrayed no real emotion, and so Kitty was left to just stand and stare at him, before his lack of speech made her say "Well?" in the most tetchy of tones…
"We should discuss this inside, and not on the sidewalk. All I will say just now is that I am no longer the assistant director to Greta Gerwig," Artie replied as he wheeled himself across to the gate, and then descended the ramp to the front door slowly.
Kitty followed, saying nothing, until they were both inside their apartment and the front door was closed behind them. "If they have fired you, then I am going to call Grace up right now, and see who she recommends as an employment lawyer in this city," she said, failing to notice that Mike had come to stand in the kitchen doorway, and was being silent.
Artie however did notice Mike, and nodded to him, before he replied to his wife. "There will be no need for you to do that. I am no longer the assistant to Greta as she has resigned from her role."
"She's resigned… Why? Was someone bullying her, because if they were…"
"Again, she left as she has a new job, one that she chose over her current one, much to my disgust. Anyway, that means that there is a new director, and he will have to hire an assistant director of his own choice. Apparently they have a name in mind already…" Artie replied with a wink and a smile.
Mike saw that, and gasped as he realised what Artie was saying so cryptically. Kitty, however, shook her head in disbelief, and snarled, "Well I am going to tell them that the only name for the position of assistant director on this film is Artie Abrams!"
"Oh, but that would be so confusing, having two of us…" quipped her husband.
Kitty looked at him as if she was about to explode at how he could be so laissez faire and calm, when Mike said, "If you think about it, he is right… In any case, finding another director called Artie Abrams to be the assistant might be an impossible task…"
Suddenly it all clicked in Kitty's head, and her eyes widened for a moment, and then in a quiet, almost reverential tone, she said, "Are you trying to tell me that…"
"I am Greta's replacement?" Artie answered. "I am, and yes, it is wonderful, but it is scary as well. This isn't a short, or a documentary with a low budget. This is a film that will potentially pack out cinemas. It will only do that though if I get it right, and I am terrified that I will miss this opportunity up…"
"Well, thinking like that is a load of nonsense! They would not have made the decision to hire you, husband of mine, if you weren't more than capable of the task. You are the director of one of the biggest film releases of 2025 now, and I am certain that you will produce a film that is better than one that any other director could make. Now, when can we go public with this, because I think that this definitely requires a soiree to show off the next great American film director to the world…"
Mike and Artie looked at each other and smiled. "I believe that they will be releasing a statement at 4pm; they wanted to give me time to inform my family and close friends before they let the news out to the media, as this will be a big deal. For a minor director like me, with little experience, to be parachuted in as the director of a film that is, as you said, expected to be a box office smash, and one of the most anticipated movies of the decade, well that is unprecedented. On the few occasions when something like this has happened before, it is usually the case that if the director goes, the assistant goes with them."
"In this case, that was never going to happen," exclaimed Kitty proudly. "Now, I suggest that you call your mom, whilst I call my folks, and then we can call the people that we are closest to after that. We don't have long to get it done…" Kitty promptly headed out of the room with her phone, already having pressed the number that dialled her parents.
"I am genuinely beyond excited for you, Artie," said Mike now they were alone. "Kitty is right in saying that you deserve this, and I expect the film will succeed everyone's expectations. Admittedly, that does raise the spectre of Kitty being at the Oscars, and that might be a bit too much for the world to handle…"
"Now that is highly unlikely," replied Artie modestly. "Would you mind staying around whilst I call my mom, and then I will make a call to Tina personally to let her know. We both know she will be made up for me, and the personal call will make her even happier." Mike nodded, knowing how close his wife was to Artie; had life been different, she could easily have ended up being Mrs Abrams instead of Kitty…
The phone calls that they made that afternoon were short and to the point; the news was greeted with a mix of surprise and awe. Artie's mom burst into tears the moment that he told her about the unexpected boost to his career, as it was proof that his disability would not stop him from achieving everything he dreamed of. That reaction had made Artie cry a little too, and he promised her that he would call back for a longer chat after he had made his other calls. When he made the next one, Mike was able to hear Tina's squeal of excitement down the line in the next room, and he could only wonder how that had gone down with her colleagues at the vet practice. His next call was to Jeff, and the blond was every bit as pleased, agreeing with the general sentiment that it would be the film of the year, at the very least… Then he had moved on to Sam, and was delighted to discover that he was at home with Rachel, as that meant he killed two birds with one theoretical stone…
For her part, after her parents, Kitty called Santana, Brittany and Quinn, the latter promising to pass on the news to Puck as soon as he was back on the base. She then called Marley, grateful that it was not a matinee day, and she offered to call Ryder and pass on the news, an offer Kitty accepted as it saved her a call. Artie joined her then, and as she called Unique, her husband called Jake, and for the first time, the call was unanswered by the recipient. Artie was disappointed, but he left a message after the tone anyway so that he would know what was going on, and that he had been called before word came out.
Then it was time for one last call, a long distance one, out to the far western parts of the country, to inform Joe and Sugar. The former was the one to answer, but they were both home, and Artie made his announcement on speaker phone. The good news was again warmly welcomed, and a promise made to call and speak longer later that day. By then it was almost time for the official word to come out, and as Artie switched over to the film's Twitter account, Kitty's phone buzzed with a text from Marley. It was to say that Mason and Cooper were also very pleased, and she hoped that they did not mind them finding out; they had walked in to her dressing room as she was telling Ryder…
Before Kitty could respond, Artie simply said, "And there it is." On the screen of his phone was the tweet, which was succinct and honest; Ms Gerwig had resigned, Artie was replacing her, and a new assistant director would be announced in due course…
Kitty logged onto the account on her own phone, and to the tweet, ready to monitor the responses. She knew that some of the replies would be negative, inevitable on a production of this kind of scale. The fully supportive tweets from the author and the main cast were the first to appear, and the presence of those words helped to diminish the level of nastiness and bile, but nonetheless her finger remained poised to report people…
The first tweet from an industry magazine stated 'Bold choice. Excellent filmmaker, and more than capable of giving fans the film they desire.' Kitty smiled at that, and kept monitoring, listening as Artie talked to his mom. Then she suddenly realised that Mike was still in the house, neither of them having sent him home and taken over in caring for their daughter. She got up and made her way to the kitchen, and found him looking at the contents of the fridge. She immediately guessed that he was trying to work out what he could prepare for an evening meal for his friends, which was just so typical and selfless of the man in question…
"Right, you can head off home now; I can monitor the situation, our daughter and prepare dinner too. I'm grateful for what you did today; we are lucky to have such good neighbours."
"It was my pleasure, and as I said to Artie earlier, it is one that you owe me and Tina now. She will probably come down tonight to see the pair of you…"
"There is no probably about it if I know her," laughed Kitty. "This is a big deal for all of us, not just me and Artie after all…"
"That is true," responded Mike, as he gathered up his things. "On the plus side, I am sure that Isabelle will be able to help you out with something from the Vogue closet to wear to the Oscars…"
Kitty's eyes widened at that word, and she pictured herself on the red carpet momentarily, before she shook her head. "I hadn't even considered that, and to be honest, it is way to soon to think about that…"
Mike nodded, not believing her for an iota, and with the baby bag now packed, and his son strapped in his papoose, he headed back upstairs. Meanwhile, Kitty began to prepare dinner, one eye staying on her phone to monitor the replies to the tweet. It didn't help that she was also wondering what style of dress and designer she would select for the Academy Awards in 2026. As far as she was concerned, the winner of the Oscar for Best Director that year was already a foregone conclusion….
Artie would take over officially on the lot the following morning, but he spent part of the evening going through what had already been shot on his laptop, and then revisited the shooting schedule for the next few days. He quickly concluded that he was going to need an assistant sooner rather than later if he was to keep the production on course, and he knew exactly who his first choice would be. In his class at film school there had been a young woman by the name of Leonie Sanmarco; she had shared the accolades with him on several occasions for the best direction in class exercises for their year group, and on graduating, had won a coveted role as a director with a media company with close ties to the eponymous Netflix.
She had excelled there, building up a good reputation amongst her peers and in the industry in general, rising up the ranks quickly. And then, she had fallen pregnant. The firm that she worked for had been careful not to break any laws, but it had nonetheless discriminated against her. She found herself removed from directing roles on shows with big name stars, and instead she found herself directing those with small audiences, and pilots that had little chance of going any further into production. Faced with that, she had in the end decided to resign, but not before one of the senior executives had been caught by her, on film, talking about her in a sexist and derogatory way. What made it worse was the fact that the executive in question was a female…
That was how she had come back into Artie's notice, as it happened; she had taken out an action against her erstwhile employers, and the law firm that she chose to represent her happened to be the one part owned by Grace. She had won, and he had passed on his support to her through Nick's sister, along with his number; she had sent him a text back, thanking him. Now, with no hesitation, Artie found that number and made the call. She was surprised to hear his voice, but she almost immediately congratulated him on his good fortune in securing his new role.
With a smile, Artie replied, "That is actually why I am calling you; you see, I need to find someone brilliant, sassy and focused to work with me on directing the picture, and honestly, the only person that I could think of that fit that description was you…"
There was silence then, then in a quiet voice came the words, "I hope that this isn't a prank call, because if it is, it is beyond cruel…"
"It's definitely not a prank; the producers have given me full authority to select the new assistant director, although I would see us as a partnership of equals. I know that you were as much of a fan of the original series of Potter films as me, so you know what the audience will want to see as well as I do. So, the question is, are you up to the challenge?"
"When do I start?" came his immediate response. Artie sighed in relief, one problem at work now solved, and an able and competent person that he trusted now in place at his side to help him through the rest…
His choice was approved the next day without question, as the producers were equally aware of Leonie's work. They welcomed his choice wholeheartedly, as it gave the film the cache of having two directors from a new generation. Artie was relieved that they had backed him, as he had told her to come to the studio for 10am the night before. He was at the gates at that exact time to welcome her; she had not changed at all since he had known her in college, and they fell back into the easy conversation they had enjoyed in those carefree days almost at once….
It was true that she was left tongue-tied and speechless when he introduced her to J.K., but the author had become used to that over the years; when Daniel and Emma then arrived and joined their conversation, Artie could see his friend's brain going into a minor overload. He let that pass, then moved on to the reason why he had asked the two actors to join them; they were due to be shooting a particular scene that morning, and Artie had made plans to change much of what his predecessor had intended. As he explained his new approach to both author and cast, he could see that they looked a bit sceptical.
That was where Leonie came into her own; she checked what he intended, and then visually described the effect from the point of view of the audience. The enthusiasm with which she embraced his ideas convinced the others that they could film the scene the new way Artie suggested, review it back, and see if the new plan was, in fact, better. At once, Leonie pulled out her phone, and suggested that rather than wasting film, they improvise it there and then. It was not usual, but they all agreed it would be worth trying…
The footage taken on her phone was enough to convince everyone that Artie was right, and in no time they were shooting the scene for real; it was done in one take, and looked even better when they watched it back on a film camera. Then Artie asked the crew to watch something else, and they all sat and watched the same part of the script, but filmed very differently. As it ended, people looked at each other in silence, before one of the junior members of the crew piped up, "That was the original shooting plan, I think. It looked absolutely awful compared to what you created with your shooting plan."
"It certainly did lack something," the producer said as Artie nodded.
"So my new ideas meet with the approval of everyone, and I am still the director?" he said in reply.
"No doubt about that, and with this young lady at your side, I am certain that we will be able to create the kind of cinematic experience that the audience desires and expects. We will need to do a press conference later on, by the way, as there have been a number of requests for an interview with you, Artie, and it will also be the ideal opportunity to announce that we have another brilliant young person on board to assist."
"I just hope that the press will be kind; some of the comments on Twitter were not wonderful. Plus, I would like Leonie announced as my co-director, rather than assistant. We will be a partnership of equals I think…"
"Well, that will be no issue, and as it should be these days. As for the Twitter comments, we are aware, and the two biggest offenders amongst the press will not be admitted. It's just as well, as it happens, because we were able to accommodate a request for a spot from Vogue magazine; it seems that Ms Wright is very eager to cover this story…"
Artie's promotion to be the co-director of the new Potter film would continue to occupy the conversations of all of them as the month of October drew to its close. It was a very welcome distraction, and it did make all of the immediate circle of friends a little more popular with other by mere association. Beats found himself being almost idolised by Matthew when he casually mentioned that Artie lived in the apartment two below his, and his cousins were little better; Hilary almost fainted when, whilst talking about the film quite casually, Brittany happened to mention that she and Artie had dated back in high school…
Lachlan found himself glaring at the throng of other students that were now surrounding Dante each morning; he saved his hardest stares and nastiest words for those that tried to invite themselves over to his place for a study session; he knew full well that they only wished to have his address, so that they could then go and stare through the windows of the lower apartment, in the hope of catching a glimpse of the famous director. Dante loved his handsome defender for his actions, but he was quietly confident that should anyone be caught trying to stare through those windows, Kitty would immediately turn them to stone with a look…
At Dalton, Peter found himself facing the same issue as the news spread; in his case, an intervention by Thad turned out to be of little help, as it only served to highlight the fact that he knew Artie as well. That lead to issues, as the current group of Warblers seemed much more interested in that connection than in learning the new songs for forthcoming competitions….
Even those on the stage were not immune, although Sebastian found Russell's minor moments easy to handle; it was much harder for those involved with the production of Mary Poppins. They quickly discovered that they had several very interested Michaels and Janes to contend with, alongside adult co-stars that were not ashamed to admit that they would love to get even an extra role in the production, just to say they had appeared. For all the hassles, though, none of them would have denied Artie his good fortune…