Danny welcomed the success and publicity for the movie, but it seemed as if his big exit wasn’t noticed at all. His shine was overshadowed by the rising star’s striking lightning bolt. As much as he was happy for Kathy, he didn’t like that she had stolen the spotlight from him. He became even more enraged after he saw a comment on an online news site that described Kathy’s performance as an “Oscar-worthy performance”.

Danny, however, told himself that this was just a hype that would fade in a few months.

“Kathy’s a baby in this industry and I’m a legend. People will soon realise that again and praise me for my dedication to the art of motion picture production,” he convinced himself. The press also couldn’t get over Kathy’s modesty. In every interview, she always said: “I’m not such a good actress. Danny made me look good. He is the visionary and knows how to bring out the star in an actress. It was an honour working with him and I’m thankful to him.”

To Danny, this “good girl from the south” attitude was just a put on. He was convinced that Kathy loved having the attention on her. Danny felt that all the years he had invested into this industry were a waste, if some Hollywood-star-wannabe could just whisk away his moment of glory, just like that. He regretted the day he had cast her. He should have gone with someone else.

Although it was too late to change things now, Danny was sure that he could get the spotlight back. At that very moment, he decided to make one last movie to regain his glory. This time, he swore to himself that he wouldn’t cast anyone with potential, so as not to disrupt his stunning career. He wouldn’t take a completely talentless airhead, but whoever it was would have to know how to obey the king.

He took his laptop out and stared at it for a few minutes. Nothing came to him. He looked online and through newspapers to try to find inspiration. The minute he found something odd and unusual he would try to immediately convert it to a story, but he would get stuck half way through a sentence. He hit backspace immediately and stared at the blank page again. He gave up and decided to take a walk around the estate he lived in.

He walked along the road. On every electricity pole there was a poster with the headlines, and of course they were about Kathy. He felt that the walk was a total waste, as it just heated him up instead of cooling him down. But somehow, it intensified his mission in his mind. “I’ve always made hits and there won’t be any difference this time,” he said to himself.

He was more determined than ever to make a movie bigger than the one he had just made. This was his new mission. “I am going to dethrone the reigning queen and claim my position in the kingdom,” he said to himself. He locked himself in the house. For days, his publicist tried to contact him, but to no avail. He kept staring at his computer, and for days nothing came to him. The page was as blank as his creative juices.

He threw out all types of emotions: rage, sadness and excitement. This was more of a traumatic and therapeutic healing process, rather than a blockbuster-brainstorming session. In one moment, he would feel as if it were all over. He would think that he should just give up and admit defeat. In the next moment, however, he would feel as if he was on top of the world, and was about to create a screenplay that would take the world by storm. This became a cycle that repeated itself for days.

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