He was so focused on his new mission that he didn’t even hear the news that he had been invited to screen his movie at four film festivals around the world. His publicist finally got hold of him, but the news fell on deaf ears. His brain was on a “take her down” mission. His publicist was confused; he had thought that Danny was retiring, but now it seemed that he was out to take revenge on some mysterious somebody, for some mysterious reason.

A month went by and the computer screen was still blank. On the other hand, Kathy’s career was a story that could be told on endless pages. Danny and Kathy went to the film festivals and scooped a few awards: Best Movie, and Kathy won Best Actress. At these festivals, as with at the premiere, people couldn’t get enough of Kathy’s stunning performance. This stressed Danny out, but one thing he liked about himself was that he was not a quitter.

A few months went by and Danny had still not produced anything. The hype around the movie was starting to die down, but Kathy was getting movie and television roles all over. Danny’s energy was starting to wear out, and he felt that his age was indeed kicking in. He was not as active as he used to be. Even his brain was starting to get a bit rusty, and his creative juices were starting to run dry. He kept on, however, as he was determined to come up with something new. He wanted to do it for his legacy.

A month later, he received an email:

Dear Mr Appiah,
We would like to congratulate you and inform you that your film ”The End” has been nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Best Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film at the Film Academy Awards (Oscars) 2015. We will contact you shortly with further details.

Matt Miller (Film Academy Awards Organiser)

Danny couldn’t believe his eyes. He read the email over and over again. He felt himself shaking with excitement. After he had gotten over the shock, he gave it another thought. These were just nominations; it didn’t mean that he had won yet. He decided to act naturally, as if nothing had happened, but deep inside he was hoping that he would get the Oscars. Even one Oscar would be fine. But he couldn’t possibly act naturally, when the news of his nominations was all over the TV and magazines, and he got endless calls for interviews and comments.

Danny was on cloud nine. Sure, he hadn’t won an Oscar, but everyone’s eyes were on him now, and it would be the perfect opportunity to make his glory exit out of the film world. He imagined himself making an emotional acceptance speech that would touch the whole world and inspire future filmmakers.

Finally, the big day was near. Danny and some of the film’s cast members flew to LA. They attended the pre-Oscar parties, mingling with Hollywood giants. The big night came and everyone in South Africa was glued to their screens in the early hours of the morning, just to see their local stars claiming glory.

Danny was nervous as hell, and didn’t even pay attention to the entertainment and all those who tried to make small talk with him. The awards ceremony started and it was time for the “Best Screenplay” category, which Danny did not win. Still, he had hope, and this kept him on the edge of his seat, which he almost fell off when his movie was called out as the winner for “Best Foreign Language Film”. When he got to the podium he forgot all about the “inspiring” speech he had wanted to make, and instead he simply thanked everyone and let the others talk.

He was over the moon, and was so much in his own world that he didn’t even hear when his movie was called again as the winner of the “Best Original Screenplay” category. He just saw people looking at him smiling and his cast was standing up, and he just knew. They went up again, and this time he simply said, “This is the best farewell gift ever, now all the years of hard work were worth it.”

The End

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