The morning of Day 1 in Park City didn't start with the gentle glow of a sunrise; it started with the aggressive rap of knuckles on the heavy timber door of their suite.
Daniel was already awake, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window with a cup of black coffee that had gone cold twenty minutes ago. He was dressed in the charcoal wool suit Elias had helped him pick out—a vintage piece that felt more like armor than attire. Behind him, Tom was frantically trying to organize a stack of digital press kits, while the three jurors—Elias, Victor, and Leo—sat on the leather sofas, looking like they were waiting for a sentencing hearing rather than a media tour.
The door opened, and a woman in her fifties who introduced herself Claire stepped in. In the hotel's warm light, the Moondance coordinator looked less like a stressed bureaucrat and more like a tactical commander. She was wearing a heavy Park City parka over a professional blazer, her eyes scanning the room with a practiced, clinical efficiency.
"Morning, gentlemen," Claire said, her voice cutting through the nervous tension. "The shuttle is downstairs. We've got twenty minutes before the first junket room opens at the Marriott. Are we ready?"
"Ready as we'll ever be," Tom muttered, grabbing his laptop bag.
As they began to file out, Claire caught Daniel's arm, pulling him back for a second as the others headed for the elevator. She looked at him, her professional mask slipping just enough to show a flicker of genuine warmth.
"Listen to me, Daniel," she said, her voice dropping an octave. "I've been doing this for twelve years. I've seen thousand-dollar indies and fifty-million-dollar 'passion projects' pass through these mountains. I watched the cut of your film four times before the committee voted. I'm a fan. A real one. What you did with those long lenses in the second act... it's the best piece of visual storytelling I've seen in a decade."
Daniel blinked, surprised by the sudden vulnerability. "Thank you, Claire."
"Don't thank me yet," she cautioned, her expression hardening again. "I'm rooting for you, but the people in those rooms downstairs? They aren't. The press has been tipped off. Julian Vane's PR team has been 'circulating' some very specific talking points about your history at UCLA. They're going to try to make you the 'Disgraced Director.' They're going to try to provoke a reaction because a breakdown makes for a better headline than a movie review."
She stepped closer, her gaze intense. "Don't give it to them. Sit through the sharp stuff. Don't act on those provocations. Humble, steady, and focused on the work. If you lose your cool, the movie dies before the premiere. Understood?"
"I've spent three years in the mountains, Claire," Daniel said, his voice grounded and terrifyingly calm. "I've forgotten how to lose my cool. I'm only here for the work."
"Good," she said, clicking her pen. "Then let's go into the lion's den."
---
The press junket location was a labyrinth of converted hotel suites and ballrooms, each filled with the rhythmic flash of cameras and the low hum of a hundred different conversations. The air smelled of expensive perfume, damp winter coats, and the electric ozone of high-end recording equipment.
Daniel and his team were ushered into a medium-sized conference room. A long table sat at the front, draped in a black cloth with the Moondance logo. In front of them sat rows of journalists, bloggers, and industry "paps," all of them clutching recorders and looking at Daniel like he was a specimen under a microscope.
The first few questions were standard—budgetary constraints, the choice of a single location, the casting of theater veterans. Daniel handled them with a quiet, humble grace, deferring to Elias and Leo to talk about the craft.
Then, the air changed.
A reporter from The Daily Frame—the same outlet that had heralded Julian Vane as a "Digital Da Vinci"—stood up. He was a young man with a sharp, preppy look and a smirk that suggested he already knew the answer to the question he was about to ask.
"Daniel," the reporter said, his voice carrying a practiced edge. "It's been three years since your... departure from the industry Most of your peers from UCLA remember you not for your directing, but for the plagiarism scandal involving Julian Vane. Given that Julian is currently the frontrunner for several Guild awards, some are calling your return with a 'low-budget, one-room' movie a desperate attempt to stay relevant. How do you respond to those who say this film is just a way to capitalize on a controversy you yourself started?"
The room went deathly silent. Tom, sitting at the far end of the table, turned pale. Elias's jaw tightened, his Juror Three fire simmering just beneath the surface.
Daniel didn't flinch. He didn't lean away from the microphone. Instead, he leaned forward, his hands resting flat on the table.
"It's an interesting narrative," Daniel began, his voice steady and devoid of any defensive heat. "The 'Disgrace' versus the 'Golden Boy.' It makes for a great clickbait headline, doesn't it?"
He paused, letting the silence hang until the reporter's smirk began to falter.
"But here's the thing about narratives: they're usually built by people who aren't in the room where the work happens," Daniel continued. "Julian Vane is a talented technician. He's very good at using software to create beautiful surfaces. I'm not here to talk about Julian, because I don't make movies about surfaces. I make movies about people."
"But the scandal—" the reporter tried to interrupt.
"The scandal is a footnote," Daniel cut him off, not with a shout, but with a firmness that commanded the space. "The film is the text. If you want to talk about UCLA, you're three years too late. If you want to talk about 12 Angry Men, you're exactly where you need to be. We shot this movie in thirteen days on a budget that wouldn't cover Julian's rendering electricity. We did it because we believe that a single human face, captured with the right lens and the right truth, is more powerful than a thousand CGI explosions."
He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of every skeptical journalist.
"I'm not a 'disgraced director' or a 'comeback kid.' I'm a filmmaker who had something to say. If you want to know if I'm relevant, don't look at my history. Look at the screen on Saturday night."
He stood up, adjusted his tie, and offered a small, humble nod.
"I hope you all enjoy the movie," Daniel said. "It's better than the gossip."
With that, he turned and walked off the podium, his crew following him in a stunned, silent file.
---
As soon as they cleared the heavy doors of the press room and entered the "Rest Lounge"—a quiet, plushly carpeted area reserved for filmmakers—the facade crumbled.
Daniel leaned against a walnut pillar, his chest heaving as he let out a long, ragged sigh. He reached up, yanking his tie loose with a trembling hand. The adrenaline that had been holding him upright for the last hour was suddenly evaporating, leaving a hollow, cold ache in its wake.
"Jesus, Dan," Tom whispered, leaning against the wall next to him. "I thought you were going to punch that guy. I thought I was going to punch that guy."
"You did well, kid," Elias said, placing a heavy, grounding hand on Daniel's shoulder. "You stood your ground. You didn't give them the 'victim' act. That's what they wanted."
"I had to," Daniel muttered, his eyes closed. "If I looked weak, they'd think the movie was weak. I can't be the guy who's just 'happy to be here.' We're the underdogs, but we have to act like the favorites."
"You looked like a shark, Dan," Victor said, a rare note of genuine respect in his voice. "I've seen A-listers fold under half that pressure."
The door to the lounge opened, and Claire walked in. She was carrying a cold can of cola. She walked straight to Daniel and handed it to him, her eyes shining with approval.
"Drink this," she said. "Your blood sugar is probably in the basement."
Daniel took the can, the condensation chilling his palm. "Thanks, Claire."
"You did exceptionally well," she said, leaning against the table beside them. "Most first-time directors—even the ones with studio backing—get absolutely steamed by that kind of questioning. They either start crying or they start shouting. You shut them down and pivoted back to the art in under sixty seconds. That's a veteran move."
"I just wanted them to stop talking about Julian," Daniel said, taking a long sip of the soda.
"They will," Claire promised. "Once the first reviews hit the wire after the premiere, Julian Vane will be the last thing they ask you about. You've given them a reason to actually watch the movie now. They're curious. They want to see if the 'Disgraced Director' actually has the goods."
"I have to have them," Daniel said, looking at his crew. "I have to do at least this much for them. They put their lives on hold for thirteen days in a sweatbox. I'm not letting a tabloid reporter ruin that."
Claire smiled, a genuine, soft expression that made her look years younger. "You're a good captain, Daniel. Stay in here for a while. Decompress. You've got the 'Director's Brunch' in two hours."
As she turned to leave, a man walked into the lounge from the far side. He was wearing a casual flannel shirt, a baseball cap pulled low, and carried an aura of effortless, high-frequency charm.
It was Ryan Reynolds.
He stopped, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on Daniel and his crew. He let out a low whistle, a grin spreading across his face.
"Yo, dude," Ryan said, walking over with a casual, easy gait. "I caught the tail end of that junket on the monitor in the hall. You did well there. Seriously."
Daniel froze for a second, the [TALENT HUNT] ability flaring briefly in the back of his mind. He saw the "potential" again—the iconic "Deadpool" energy that was currently being channeled into mid-tier rom-coms.
"Thanks," Daniel said, his voice returning to its professional steadiness.
"No, really," Ryan continued, leaning against the back of a chair. "These press guys... they need to be smoked occasionally. They get too comfortable thinking they're the ones in charge of the story. You basically told that guy his entire career was a footnote. It was beautiful. I may or may not have applauded."
He chuckled, then tilted his head, looking at Daniel with a genuine curiosity.
"I'm sorry, I'm blanking on the name. I've been through six of these rooms today and my brain is basically mashed potatoes."
Daniel stepped forward, extending a hand. "Daniel Miller. I'm the director of 12 Angry Men."
Ryan shook his hand, his grip firm and friendly. "Ryan Reynolds. But you probably knew that, or you're the most centered person in Utah."
"I knew," Daniel said with a small smile.
"Daniel Miller," Ryan repeated, testing the name. "Interesting. You've got a hell of a backbone, Daniel. And if the movie is even half as sharp as that rebuttal, I think I'm going to be very annoyed that I didn't get an audition."
He winked, then clapped Daniel on the shoulder.
"I'm looking forward to the premiere. Don't let the bastards get you down, kid. I'll see you at the Eccles."
As Ryan walked away, his hands in his pockets, the room felt suddenly quiet. Tom looked at Daniel, his eyes wide enough to pop.
"Did... did Ryan Reynolds just tell you he was looking forward to our movie?" Tom whispered.
Daniel looked at his hand, then back at the door where the star had exited. The System pulsed once, a low, golden hum of confirmation.
"He did," Daniel said, his exhaustion replaced by a new, cold fire. "And we're going to make sure he's not disappointed."
Daniel turned back to his team, yanking his tie completely off and stuffing it into his pocket.
"Let's get some lunch."
*-----*-----*----*
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