u/MildlyUnhinged (OP):
BLIND ITEM: A very famous A-list actor, who recently proposed to his girlfriend, who's another A-lister, did it because the girlfriend is pregnant. I work with the girl, and the entire crew saw her puking her guts out. The actor's team came to our workplace not long after that and threatened all the crew members not to spread any rumors. So, of course, I had to make this post.
u/throwaway_echo_21: Holy moly! Is that Troy and Scarlett??!!! Now it makes so much sense why he proposed when he did.
u/curious_crow_404: I suspected something was fishy. Who marries in their early 20s? It's almost unheard of, especially in celebrity circles.
u/Late_night_scroll_13: It could be someone else as well. I mean, sure, Troy and Scarlett announced their engagement recently, but it's not like they're the only famous couple to get engaged lately.
u/silentreader_808: If this post is true, it's most likely them. My cousin works as a nurse in the Ob-Gyn department at one of the most premium hospitals in NYC. She told me about seeing some big-shot celebs recently. She didn't say who because of privacy laws, but she did say that if the news ever came out, it'd cause a massive stir in the media. Troy and Scarlett are both in NYC right now, working on their respective plays. And reading OP's other posts, I can deduce they also work at a Broadway theater in NYC. Everything checks out. As far as I'm concerned, Scarlett is definitely pregnant.
u/wandering_mind_92: It's a little odd that he's marrying her because she's pregnant, but I can't help thinking it's actually very romantic of Troy to stand by Scarlett.
As I continued scrolling through the Reddit post, my thumb slowed, then stopped. Comment after comment piled on, each one more confident than the last, until it felt like a verdict had already been passed. Almost everyone seemed convinced that Scarlett was pregnant, and worse, that they knew the reasons behind our engagement better than we did.
"Everyone knows," Scarlett said anxiously, her voice tight as I put her phone down. "You know I usually don't use social media, but my publicist sent me this and asked what I want to do about it."
I sighed and rubbed my temples, leaning back against the couch cushions. The living room felt unusually quiet today for some reason. Calling this a shit show felt like an understatement. Still, deep down, I'd always known this day would come sooner or later.
"Does it matter if they know?" I asked gently. "It's the truth, isn't it?"
"We're not marrying because of this baby!" she exclaimed, frustration bleeding into her voice.
"I know," I said, pulling her into my arms and holding her close. "You know. Our families and close friends know. That's all that matters. People will always find something to say about us or judge us. You just have to learn how to ignore the irrelevant background noise. I thought you'd know that by now, with how much experience you've had navigating fame."
She slowly relaxed against me, her head resting on my chest as we sat together on the couch. Her breathing evened out, though I could still feel the tension lingering beneath the surface.
"It was so much easier when I was just starting out," Scarlett murmured. "No social media, no anonymous forums, and so few internet users that it didn't matter if someone said something about me online. The only thing to worry about was the paparazzi. They never went away, but now there's this whole new level of online scrutiny too."
I tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "It's just a couple more months, babe. You can take an extended break once you're done with this play. Heck, you can step aside right now if you want. I won't hold it against you."
"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm helpless," she shot back, narrowing her eyes at me even as her lips twitched with annoyance.
"I know," I said, raising my hands in a placating gesture. "That's why I asked you. The choice is yours. And the first trimester is usually the safer one. It's the second onward when things get trickier."
"And I'll start showing," Scarlett grumbled, absently rubbing her stomach. "It's such a coincidence that my second trimester will begin right around the time the play is set to end."
Unlike [The Book of Mormon], [The View from the Bridge], the play Scarlett was doing, was always meant to be a limited production. Plays like that were never expected to run indefinitely the way blockbuster musicals did. While I planned to leave by the summer as well, I could theoretically keep playing my character for as long as I wanted.
I gave her a small nod. "True."
"By the way," she asked casually, "did you tell your security team to actually threaten my colleagues?"
I snorted. "Of course not. I just asked them to remind your colleagues that it'd be bad for the show if the news leaked. More like a reminder that if you leave, everyone could lose their jobs too, since you're the biggest draw of that play. I don't know how the conversation actually went down, but I'm damn sure nobody started handing out threats right from the get-go. You know how people love to exaggerate."
I slipped out of her embrace and stood up, stretching my arms over my head as my joints cracked slightly.
"As much as I'd love to spend the next nine months and beyond snuggled up with you, I've got a job to do. And so do you."
She groaned as the reality of it set in. It was almost time for her to head to the theater. Before she could get up, I reached for a bottle of pills from the coffee table and held it out to her.
"Come on. Time for your pills."
She didn't complain, just took one and swallowed it obediently, exactly as her doctor had instructed.
"I have a feeling you're going to be an excellent father," she murmured.
I laughed but didn't disagree as I walked toward our room to get ready for the day ahead.
(Break)
I opened the envelope in my hands slowly. "And the Oscar goes to… Mo'Nique for [Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire]."
As was tradition, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress was presented by the previous year's Best Supporting Actor winner, which happened to be me. Mo'Nique rose from her seat as the audience erupted into applause. She was wearing a very unique, and dare I say bold, dress as she made her way to the stage. Bold not because of how much skin it showed, but because of what it represented. It was the same dress worn by Hattie McDaniel, the first Black woman to ever win an Oscar.
There'd been plenty of controversy in elite Hollywood circles surrounding Mo'Nique, largely because she'd refused to campaign for her film. Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry had promoted the movie relentlessly and were reportedly furious with Mo'Nique for refusing to play along. In a way, I understood their frustration. At the same time, as an actor, I also understood how exhausting and demoralizing Oscar campaigns could be. All things considered, I remained neutral about her stance.
When she reached the stage, I hugged her and said quietly, "Congratulations. You deserve this."
She mouthed a quick "thank you" before turning to accept the trophy. As she began her speech, her opening line caught me a little off guard.
"Thank you to the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics."
Damn. She was on a crusade.
She wasn't wrong. I genuinely believed that award campaigning shouldn't exist at all. Still, tearing down a deeply entrenched system that benefited so many powerful people would be a nightmare, especially when it'd been functioning that way for decades.
Maybe that was why she hadn't appeared in any major films after winning an Oscar in the original timeline. The industry favored actors who cooperated.
Once her speech ended, we walked backstage together. I couldn't help myself.
"You know you just made enemies out of Oprah and Tyler, right?" I said quietly.
"But I thanked them in my speech," she shot back.
"It doesn't matter," I replied. "You called out their politics. Everyone knows exactly who you meant. I've got a feeling the Oscar curse is about to hit you very soon, thanks to those two."
She looked visibly angry at my words, but I didn't bother explaining the inner politics of Hollywood any further. In Black Hollywood circles, Oprah might as well have been a goddess. Tyler Perry was undoubtedly a king. Together, they held enough influence to quietly shut doors across the industry for someone if they wanted to.
"I don't blacklist anyone at Phoenix just because someone else tells me to," I said bluntly. "But others do. Keep that in mind."
We went our separate ways after that. Still, I couldn't help thinking about her future. Years later, there was a news story about her suing Netflix over pay disparity with other comedians. At the time, I fully supported her right to be paid what she deserved. That support didn't last long, though. I watched her comedy special afterward, and it was neither funny nor special in any meaningful way.
People like her felt they'd been wronged, when in reality, the problem was often that they simply weren't deserving of the money they believed they were owed. To be honest, I agreed with Netflix's position. I wouldn't have even watched her show if she hadn't sued them in the first place.
I shook my head to clear that errant thought and made my way toward the waiting area. People everywhere silently turned towards me, giving me their attention, yet no one approached me immediately. This year's Academy Awards were unique for me. Four films produced or distributed by my company had been nominated for Best Picture, along with one where I'd played the lead role.
The latter was, of course, [Avatar], which had been nominated largely because of its groundbreaking visuals. Despite critics praising my performance, I hadn't even been considered for an acting nomination, mostly because half of my role relied on motion capture.
In a strange way, I was relieved. It meant I was free from attending endless award shows for no real reason. The Oscars were the only ceremony I'd bothered showing up to this year. Even the Grammys had asked me to open their show again, and I'd declined without much hesitation.
"Troy! So good to see you, man!"
I turned just in time to be pulled into a tight hug. "Good to see you too, Steve. How's the family?"
Steve Carell had a wide grin on his face as he replied, "All good, man. I've been meaning to come see your show for a while, but somehow it's always sold out."
It'd been more than two months since [The Book of Mormon] had opened on Broadway, and every performance had sold out months in advance, so I didn't doubt him.
"You should've told me sooner," I said. "Anytime you want to come see it, just text or email me, and I'll get tickets sent over."
"I'll do that," he said, nodding. A brief lull followed as we both waited for the ad break to begin so we could head back to our seats.
After a moment, he spoke again. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something else too."
"Yes?"
"I'm producing a film, and I was hoping you might be interested, if you've got the time."
I tilted my head thoughtfully. "I'm booked on Broadway until May."
"No problem at all," he said quickly. "We'll start shooting your part after that."
"Alright," I said. "What's it about?"
His eyes lit up as he launched into the pitch. "It's about a married couple who've lost the spark in their love life. The woman sleeps with someone else and wants a divorce. The man has never really slept with anyone else in his life, because the girl was his high school sweetheart, and is mostly a loser now. That is, until he meets his wingman, which would be you. It's kind of like [Hitch], but different and more about family."
As he continued explaining the plot, it clicked almost immediately. He was talking about [Crazy, Stupid, Love]. One of my favorite romcoms of all time. Under normal circumstances, I would've agreed to do the film in a heartbeat, but there was just one small problem.
Ryan Gosling, who originally played the character, was a good friend. I didn't want to take an iconic role away from him.
"Am I the first person you approached for the role?" I asked.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I went to Ryan Gosling first, but he wasn't interested in the project. My assistant told me he's being considered for a big franchise role at Phoenix, so he's not looking at anything else right now."
That caught me off guard. I had no idea Ryan was being considered for any role at my company. For most actors, I wouldn't have been surprised. I wasn't deeply involved in the day-to-day inner workings of Phoenix. But if a close friend was in talks for something that big, I'd have expected at least a heads-up.
I didn't let any of that show on my face. Keeping my voice flat, I said, "So you decided to approach the owner of Phoenix instead and offer him the role."
Steve laughed and nodded. "Guilty. So what do you say?"
"Phoenix gets the distribution rights," I said, laying out my first condition.
"Of course," he replied without hesitation.
"Send me the script," I said. "I'll read it and then decide. I have a few projects lined up already."
As the ad break ended and we headed back to our respective seats, my thoughts drifted to the future. At the moment, I already have two projects lined up: [Game of Thrones] and [Hacksaw Ridge]. If Ryan truly wasn't available, I'd need to see whether I even had the time to commit to another film. A romcom usually didn't take long to shoot, but you could never be sure.
More importantly, my physique would have to change drastically. I'd be going from the muscular, polished look required for [Crazy, Stupid, Love] to a thin, underweight medic in [Hacksaw Ridge].
As much as I wanted to push myself with varied roles, I wasn't willing to do it at the expense of my health.
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AN: Check out my second story, 'Swimmer to Superstar (A Hollywood SI)'.
Link: www(dot)fablefic(dot)com