Troy Armitage Creates History! Matches Walt Disney's Record of Oscar Wins

  Troy Armitage, the boy who needs no introdu, has created history once again. At the tender age of 11, Troy became the you male ever to win an Oscar, but now, at 17, the young man has stepped into the big leagues by winning three more Oscars in one night iegories of Best inal Song, Best inal Score, a Picture (the former two for [Echoes of You] and the tter for [The Perks of Being a Wallflower]).

  With these three Oscars, Troy now has four, all in different categories, tying him with Walt Disney as the person with the most wins in different categories. Walt Disill holds the record for the most petitive Oscars—a staggering 22 awards, which he won in four different categories. Until retly, it seemed an impossible goal to surpass, but if anyone do it, it will be her than Troy Armitage, who has already bee a legend at such a young age.

  He will be seen in [Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix] ter this year. Up until now, most of Troy's films have been released by Warner Bros., but retly, inside sources at Paramount have revealed news about an exclusive three-picture deal Troy's produ house has signed with them, starting with [Little Miss Sunshihe film, which impressed everyo the Berlin Film Festival with its heartwarming story and characters, is also expected to release this year.

  The article went on to eborate on my performa the Oscars and people's reas to it, but it felt like I was reading a puff piece written by my PR manager. I put down the neer on the coffee table in front of me and looked up at Dad. "This headline is very misleading."

  Dad nodded in agreement. "True. I guess that's how they sell news nowadays. But the information inside isn't so bad."

  "Does it really matter?" I asked.

  "If you'd read further, you'd know that this year's Oscars were a big success, with 53.65 million viewers," Dad noted idly. "Do you know this is the sed-best rating the show has ever received in its history? The best was in 1998, during the [Titanic] year. And as per the Nielsen data mentioned in the paper, there was a huge spike in viewers during your performance."

  I shrugged nonittally, not knowing what to say about that. Then there was the little fact that I knew a rebuke was ing my way sooner or ter.

  "Though you could have hahe after-party a little more tactfully," Dad said, disappointed. "It's ohing to ignore Barry passively; it's entirely ao skip Warner's post-Oscar party and instead decide to go to Paramount."

  Every year after the Oscars, all the major studiaravagant parties to celebrate their annual wins. Although Paramount didn't have any wins this year—especially pared to Warner, who had es best awards season in quite some time, thanks to me—I still made a calcuted decision to attend theirs. While I inteo finish the [Harry Potter] series, I had no pns to work with Warner in the near future if I could help it.

  "Warner's usefulness has ended," I said defensively. "We all know, including Warhemselves, that we won't make any future films with them. Why try to save a sinking ship when a perfectly good alternative called Paramount is right there in the same water?"

  Dad was silent for a few moments, taking in my appearah a ptive look before saying, "People are talking, you know. Until now, your tiff with Warner was known only to Barry and An, but now the upper ma has also noticed it."

  "Upper ma?" I asked curiously.

  "Time Warner," Dad said suctly.

  "Ah," I said in uanding. "Makes sense."

  Warner Bros. Pictures was a subsidiary of Time Warner, which operated under entirely different ma. Time Warner's leadership obviously outranked Warner Bros.' ma. The parent pany was a behemoth, overseeing subsidiaries like HBO, Time Magazine, Cartoowork, , TNT, and more. My issue was solely with WB for now.

  "Of course it does," Dad tinued. "Dick Parsons, the CEO of Time Warner, personally accosted me and asked about your absence."

  "Please tell me you made some excuse for it."

  "I tried to," Dad said, "but he saw right through it. True to his name, he's a dick who won't eveend to act politely. He called me out on it."

  I leaned back against the couch, raising an eyebrow. "What exactly do you want to say with this? You wouldn't have eveio if it was just a versation."

  "Dick wants to meet you personally," Dad finally said. "He didn't get anything crete from me. I told him clearly that your matters were your own, and I didn't dictate them. Since you weren't at the party, he pns to fly here to London to have an in-persoing in a few days. I'd guess he wants to know why you left Warner behind and sighat three-picture deal with Paramount."

  That news had been cirg in the media for a few days, and ah even a basiderstanding of Hollywood's inner ws could easily deduce that something was amiss between Warner and me. So, it made sehat the CEO of Time Warner would want to uand why Warner Bros. would let go of the actor/producer who had collectively grossed over 1.1 billion in a year with three non-franchise films.

  "Do I have to meet him?" I asked.

  "If we dee him a meeting, he could show up o. After all, he trols Time Warner."

  "Ugh," I groaned. "Fine. Let him e then."

  Dad nodded before steering the versation elsewhere. "So, I've been thinking about your career step after [Harry Potter]. Have you pnned anything?"

  "Not really," I admitted. "Mum wants me to take a few months off and do something fun. Maybe that's what I'll do."

  Dad gave me a skeptical look before saying, "I've noticed you've beeing very close to Rihanna. Are you pnning that vacation with her? Because if you are, you 't go. It'll create an unnecessary sdal because of ye. If you have to go, wait until you're 18."

  "Not until now," I replied evasively. "I was thinking of a family trip. I miss those days we'd spend on that remote isnd, away from everything."

  "That sounds like a pn," Dad said with a smile, clearly dropping the Rihanna topic.

  I hadn't told my family yet about the ged status of Rihanna and me because even I wasn't sure where we stood. She had suggested su unventional idea for a retionship that most girls with a shred of self-respect wouldn't eveertain. In the moment, I'd agreed, but after some refle, I realized it wasn't for me. If I itted to someone, I wa to be fully.

  Still, I didn't want to have that versatiohe phone. We hadn't talked much during or after the Oscars. I had flown in on the day of the ceremony ahe m. With my family around, we'd had ime alone. Until I could clear the air face-to-face, I didn't want to define our retionship.

  "But you still must have sidered some film offers?" Dad steered the topic bay career. "Because seriously, I'm tired of film studios sending me offers, some of which are literally saying that you have as much money as you want for being the lead of their film. The highest offer I saw oable front 25 million, which is not a small amount. You should strike when the iron is hot and take full advantage of this opportunity. Even if you want to take a break after [Harry Potter], you must decide your film in advance because it takes time to get it ready for filming."

  "My study is full of at least a hundred scripts," I said matter-of-factly. "I'll set Tobias to reading them to find the good ones from the bad, and then decide about it."

  "Alright," Dad agreed.

  For now, though, my focus was on finishing [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince], so I could finally take a year or two off from the Wizarding World.

  (Break)

  "If only we had a bit of luck," I whispered dejectedly.

  "Luck!" Jamie said excitedly, as if he had just solved a puzzle. "That's exactly what we need, Harry. Felix Felicis."

  "You're a genius, Ron," Emma beamed before turning to me expetly.

  I was hesitant to agree with Jamie's suggestion immediately. "I was kind of saving Felix Felicis for something else," I said evasively.

  "And ray tell, is more important thaing that memory from Slughorn?" Jamie asked pointedly.

  Just then, Imogen Poots as Ginny walked past, hand in hand with Alfred Enoch, who pyed Dean Thomas. My gaze followed their interlocked hands as they moved toward the exit of the on room, but her Ron nor Hermione seemed to notice. Shaking my head quickly, I nodded.

  "You're right, of course. That's most important."

  In the se, I lifted the small vial taining the clear liquid and drank it all in one go. I looked across the room where Emma and Jamie were sitting and smiled.

  "Wow. I feel excellent," I said happily. "I've never felt this good before."

  Emma looked at me dubiously before nodding. "Good. Now remember, Slughorn is usually in his office at this time."

  "Right," I nodded in agreement. "I'm going down to Hagrid's."

  "No, Harry!" Emma groaned. "We have a pn, remember?"

  "I know, but I've got a feeling about going to Hagrid's. Like it's the pce to be tonight. You know what I mean?"

  "No," Emma and Jamie said in unison.

  "Trust me, I know what I'm doing—or at least Felix does." With that, I pulled out my invisibility cloak and do in one smooth motion.

  As I moved forward, I passed between Imogen and Alfred, who were an item in this part of the story.

  "Don't push me, Dean!" Ginny turo the only person beside her. "You're always doing that."

  "Oh yeah? If you used your button-like eyes carefully, you'd know I didn't push you."

  Imogen's eyes wide that before she fired something furious back at her on-s boyfriend.

  I exited the room happily, fident that the potion had an unintended side effect of solving another of my problems. Walking out of that particur set, I tinued until I reached the one where I was supposed to be, guided by the potion I had ied. Somehow knowing that I couldn't be hidden for this part of the story, I removed my cloak.

  "Hi, sir!" I chirped happily to the aging man eared to be w on a magical pnt. The pnt, which was moving through advanced animatronics, looked quite lifelike.

  "Merlin's beard!" Jim Broadbent, the seasoned actor pying Professor Horace Slughorn, jumped nearly a foot in the air. "You scared me, Harry!"

  "Sorry, sir," I gri him easily, "You probably thought I rofessor Sprout."

  "Yes, I did, actually," he chuckled.

  After hearing some fial facts about the leaves that the older man was stealing, I turned around. "Anyway, I'll be on my way to see my dear friend Hagrid."

  He stared at me in shock for a few seds before saying, "Harry!"

  "Sir!" I mimicked his tone.

  "I 't let you go alone in times like these."

  "Then by all means, sir, e along," I said as if it were the most obvious solution.

  "Cut!" Rian Johnson called out excitedly. "That erfect, Troy, Jim. Let me review the footage, and I'll get back to you."

  I him before turning to my fellow actor. "You, sir, are very good at your job."

  "Thank you," he nodded back graciously. "You were pretty good yourself. Your ic timing is impeccable. I daresay, you should try your hand at edy."

  "I io," I replied early. "Pure edy and horror are two genres I've wao try for a long time."

  "That se erfect!" Rian called out, interrupting our versation. "It's already te enough; let's shoot the se tomorrow."

  The se was a stark trast to the st. It required me to abandon all humor and delve into a more serious tone as Harry fronted Slughorn. So in a way it was better we were shooting it the day because by then I would be ready for a more serious se.

  (Break)

  "I don't suppose you remember it, Harry? That night?" Slughorn said with slurred words, having drunk quite a bit with Hagrid.

  I took a deep breath to steel my nerves before beginning my story.

  "I didn't," I fessed. "But over the years, I've put that night together almost entirely."

  Slughor staring at me, his expression shiftiween fasated horror and sadness as I tinued.

  "He killed my father first," I said, my voice heavy with emotion. "And theepped over his body to reach my mother and me. He wao show my mother he could be merciful, asked her to step aside so he could kill me. But she didn't. She couldn't let her so the hands of a madman. She stayed brave, resilient, steadfast—something that led to her death at the hands of Voldemort."

  "Don't say his name," Slughorn interrupted, his voice a sharp whisper.

  "I'm not afraid of a name," I replied, rising from my seat and walking closer to him. "If you've read the Prophet retly, you must have seen the rumors about me being the Chosen One. Well, they're not just rumors, sir. I've beeio face him ever since I was a baby. That's why he wao kill me even then."

  Slughorn's face drained of color, the full weight of my words crashing down on him. "But that means…"

  "Yes," I said, stepping closer and pg both hands firmly on his shoulders. "If you valued my mother as much as you cim, the least you do is help her son with the information he needs. Information only you have—but refuse to give."

  "It'll ruin me," he whispered, his voice trembling with fear.

  "You're afraid he'll find out you helped me," I stated, my tone calm yet resolute. When Slughorn looked away, avoiding my gaze, I tightened my grip on his shoulders, f him to face me.

  "Be brave like my mother, Professor."

  He kept staring at me for a few more seds before slowly taking out his wand from his robes. I stepped back, giving him the time he needed as he extracted the silvery, ethereal memory from his temple. His hands wobbled as he tried to pce it into ay vial, but I reached out, holding the vial steady to give him some support.

  "I'm ashamed of this memory," Slughorn said, his voice tinged with regret, a lost look in his eyes as I took the vial from him. "Don't think too badly of me when you've seen it."

  "Cut!" Rian Johnson's voice rang out. "That erfect—Jim, Robbie, Troy, great work. Let's me just review the footage before we move on."

  As Rian turned his attention to s repying the se, Robbie Coltrane, who had been passed out drunk as Hagrid for most of the se, suddenly sat up with a jovial grin. I had almost fotten he was even there, given his minimal lines in this part.

  "Goddamn," Robbie said with a ugh. "What the fuck were you two smoking? Because that was some of the fi ag I've seen in quite a while."

  "Thanks, Robbie," I replied with a smile, though inwardly, I didn't quite agree with him. By now, I'd done so many ses more challenging than this one. Mild drama came easily to me at this point, and even intense dramatic ses with lots and p your heart out for the world to see were also manageable with some preparation. But I had done all of that already. That's exactly why I wao push myself into different geo see just how far I could stretch my range.

  "Troy," a voiterrupted my thoughts. Josh, the first assistant director, came jogging up to me, looking unusually anxious.

  "There's someoo meet you," he said, a nervous edge to his tone. "He says that he's from Warner's ma. I haven't seen him before, but he had the clearao e here, so he would be legit I guess. He insists that he o speak with yently."

  I had a strong suspi about who it was—Dad had warned me. Dick Parsons, the CEO of Time Warner. If it were indeed him, the only thing surprising about this visit would be how quickly he'd flown across the Atntic for this meeting. Dad had mentioned him to me just two days ago. He must really be desperate to have this versation.

  I turo Rian Johnson, who was just done reviewing the footage. "All's good. We begin the se in an hour. Need some time for preparation."

  Unfortunately, that was the life of an actor o. Sometimes, you have to wait a long time between takes.

  "Alright," I said to the AD, rising from my seat. "I'm going to my trailer. Give me a ten-minute headstart to ge out of these clothes before esc him to me."

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