Rise To Stardom - Chapter 185

Chapter 185: How I Met Your Mother
An end credits scene…

One that most of the audience, stayed seated to watch.

–

“So what you’re saying here, is that, you want to go for a Double Major in the Culinary Arts and Dance?” the college’s Dean, asked of the young man before him.

“Yes.” Lance nodded in response.

“It won’t be easy I know, but I want to do it… I can do it… and, I will do it. If I’m granted the permission to.” he added confidently, a light smile nestling on his lips.

Seemingly contemplating over his proposal for a few more minutes, the Dean then spoke with an extended handshake;

“Well then, you’d be the first. Welcome on board Mr. Knight.”

–

No sooner had that happened, the rest of the movies’ actual credits, finally rolled.

To that, everyone in the theatre, slowly began to head out, some of them meeting up with those whom had gone to watch [Prom Perfect 3].

What they saw though, were frustrated and annoyed couples beyond measure, all of whom felt bitter that an already terrible movie had ended on a nonsensically atrocious cliffhanger that honestly, didn’t make any sense.

However, without even entertaining their concerns, those whom had gone to watch [Level Up 2], were still feeling the adrenaline coursing through their veins.

And the character that left an indelible mark on their minds, had undoubtedly being, Lance Knight.

Added to that, there was a glint of excitement in a lot of people’s eyes as they kept filing out the theatre, excited at the possibility of Lance, being a protagonist of his own in a possible sequel.

As for Gwen, no sooner had she gotten out of the theatre, she instantly whipped out her phone and made a simple TweetTalk post;

KYLE KESTIS, IS AN ONION. #Level Up 2.

It took only an hour.

The post went fucking viral.

* * *

(The next day…)

As the Execs at Lighthouse Studios got together at a club to celebrate the successful launch of [Prom Perfect 3]’s first day returns of $7 million at the Box Office, one of them spoke;

“It’s all going according to predictions Victor!”

The mid-heighted Exec was quite drunk as he laughed in excitement, his clothing disheveled and a few lipstick marks on his neck and the collar of his formal shirt as a few escorts, snuggled up to him on the plush couch.

All were currently in the VIP section, getting wasted yet also excited about the bag of cash that would soon be coming their way.

“Walter. Take it easy on the alcohol.” one of the other Execs, equally surrounded by his own escorts, laughed in response to his words as he fondled the boobs of one of the escorts.

“No! I’m gonna get wasted like there’s no tomorrow!” Walter cheered in disagreement, his fellow Execs in the VIP lounge similarly cheering in approval.

“Fuck the critics and their less than three-star ratings! Fuck the audience and their high expectations! And fuck those stupid teens for throwing their cash at us!” Walter riled up his buddies even more!

In response, the cheers of agreement were even louder.

As Victor watched all these, he popped open another bottle of vodka with a slight grin of victory, his gaze flicking over to the paid stripper who was doing some unholy things to the pole before him.

Sure enough, just as the CEO of the mid-sized film studio had expected, the reviews for the teen rom com had been disastrous to say the least, some of which he was even reading through at the moment.

–

Teen Savy – ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

If you’re planning to watch [Prom Perfect 3], you’re honestly better off searching for some, off-brand, porn website and jerking off to their best videos since that would honestly, keep you engaged at least. And WTF is with that atrocious cliffhanger?!

–

Rotten Potatoes – ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Honestly, if I could give this movie no stars at all, I most definitely would. The plot twists in the movie are so obvious, you can see them coming from the opening credits. Oh and as if that wasn’t bad enough, the characters, have the emotional depth of a puddle. Hollow beyond measure.

­-

Daily Burglar – ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

[Prom Perfect 3], is as predictable as teen movies come. Every overused trope in the genre gets stuffed into 90 minutes, with dialogue so cringe-worthy, it feels AI-generated. Seriously, even Oscar winners couldn’t save this script. It’s bland, predictable, and painfully unfunny.

–

Critic Times – ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

It’s like Lighthouse Studios, eagled ‘teen rom-com clichés’ and turned it into a script. Nothing new, nothing funny, and definitely nothing memorable. If you’ve ever watched a teen movie, congratulations—you’ve already seen this one. The most exciting part was the credits rolling.

–

“Doesn’t change anything though…” Victor tapped on his smartphone’s power button and placed it aside, not the least bit perturbed by the brutality of each article.

He was here to enjoy himself after all and for the most part, judging by how their Studio’s Marketing and Analytics’ Team had accurately predicted their $20 million returns for opening week, with the first day returns even exceeding the proposed $6 million, Victor was confident [Prom Perfect 3] was going to be an absolute, box-office hit.

Relaxing onto his couch as the rest of the Execs all around him cheered happily in vulgar excitement, Victor simply focused his attention on the stripper before him with sultry interest, his hands throwing a few thousand dollars at her as he simultaneously lit up a cigarette.

Drawing in a deep swig, the CEO had a few escorts walk over to entertain him, their intentions crystal clear.

Not minding that he’d be taking both escorts and the stripper herself home with him tonight, Victor comfortably indulged in the sultry ambiance.

However, the next few minutes later, much to his annoyance, his phoned buzzed loudly amidst the reverie, earning a slight frown of disapproval from him.

Still, he ended up picking up the phone call, already expecting his trophy wife to begin requesting for something expensive again.

His expectations however, were shattered in the worst way possible when he heard from his secretary that [Level Up 2], also earned $7 million dollars for their first day returns!

* * *

Just as the reviews for [Prom Perfect 3] had started to dissuade people from watching the movie, that of [Level Up 2], was doing the exact opposite.

–

Thief In The Night – ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[Level Up 2], is the kind of movie that makes you want to get up and dance even after a second viewing (Yes, you can bet I did)! No romance whatsoever in sight and yet, Danny Rock made a banger of a sequel to his previous work! One that’s bold, creative, and utterly unforgettable. The last scenes especially, perfection! Big props to Reggie and Maya Lopez, Tyler Reeds, Sharon Winters and especially, Kyle Kestis for absolutely owning their characters!

­-

Critic Eye – ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The energy in this movie, is unmatched! From the dynamic dance battles to the heartfelt moments that made it clear that the cast and crew, loved every minute of filming this movie, [Level Up 2] is everything you’d want in a dance movie and more. Also, may I just say, Kyle Kestis’s portrayal as Lance Knight especially, is a standout!

–

Shooting Stars – ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Although not completely unpredictable, it’s the refreshing execution of the plot that really sells [Level Up 2]. Still, I can confidently say, that a new standard for dance films has been set, one that a lot of other movies in this genre have been severely lacking as of recent. Listen, it’s not just about the moves, Hollywood—it’s about passion, resilience, and the power of teamwork. Great movie. Will be going for a second viewing.

–

Holly Waves – ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The characters have depth, the music slaps, the dance choreography is eclectic and the final showdown is pure cinematic magic. [Level Up 2] is the definition of a perfect sequel. That said, there’s no denying it anymore! Kyle Kestis, straight off his Grammy Nods, has proved why he’s a Rising Star in the industry. A quadruple threat, so to speak!

–

As Andrew read through a mix of critic and audience reviews for [Level Up 2], he couldn’t help but smile a bit.

Against all odds, the dance movie, despite releasing on the same day as [Prom Perfect 3], on Valentines for that matter, was easily holding its ground, at least by what he had gathered from various social media platforms.

In fact, some analysts had predicted it to have launched with the same opening returns as the distasteful teen rom com, a feat that was really surprising, considering peoples’ interest, typically veered towards romance movies on the Red Day.

‘Still… it’s been quite a journey, hasn’t it?’ the young man muttered to himself as he navigated over to a certain group chat which was exploding, even by the minute with more and more swarms of messages.

Every single message, was talking about how Kyle was the most talented Hollywood Star they had ever seen in recent memory, with layers to him they never thought possible.

Just like an onion.

Casually dropping a message of his own, the young man soon pocketed his phone and stared out the window to gaze at the bustling, snowy streets.

Honestly, watching Kyle’s journey for Andrew had been one of the more interesting things in his life for the past two years now.

Considering how stressful both final year and his residency program had been, Andrew had been looking for a way to vent out his frustrations and had taken on a pretty interesting moniker on an alt account to do so.

One that went by the name, ‘WeDoABitOfTrolling’.

Still, even he himself, couldn’t have expected to go from absolute troll, to absolute fan boy for the dude that was Kyle Kestis.

From there, Andrew had found a very fun and positive community, one that got him through a lot of tough times, although he’d never explicitly stated it on the fan group.

The job of a troll after all, was to make everyone believe he was a fairly jobless gremlin that lingered on the internet for way longer than he should.

However, even Andrew, couldn’t have expected, that his parasocial relationship with a celebrity whom he would probably never meet in his entire life, would also, in an interesting kind of way, bring him a potential partner after such a long time of him, staying off dating.

“Hey!” Andrew whom had noticed Sarah walking into the restaurant, waved over, the pretty lady beaming brightly as she made her way over.

After the movie had ended yesterday, the young man had asked of the lady, if she would possibly, like to grab lunch sometime… one that Sarah had happily obliged to.

Having planned a date for the very next day, both had decided to meet at a restaurant that was close-by to the cinema where they had watched [Level Up 2].

And just like that, a few years later down the line, Andrew would be asked by his kids, just how he and their mother met.

To that, he’d end the sweet, meet cute story by saying;

And that kids, is how I met your mother.

But for Kyle whom was all the rage presently, he was currently welcoming Tyler Reeds at the airport, the popular dancer having accepted his request to help with the music video for his fourth song.