The Movie that Changed Our Lives (Elijah Wood/LOTR FanFic)

Difficulty Bouncing Back

The reception for the Lord of the Rings movie was amazing! People praised the beautiful cinematography and our heartfelt performances, and we're excited for the next two movies. I went on another couple talk shows and did some more magazine interviews to promote the movie even more. Everyone was saying how I was stunning in my role, and did a wonderful job balancing both sides of Liliana while making it look so effortless and real. I would blush and praise the other actors' performances instead of mine, causing me to seem humble in the eyes of the public.

I laughed uncontrollably when a person told me I'd win an Oscar from my performance. They gave me a shocked look as I controlled myself and wiped my eyes from laughter. I don't know, it just all seemed really funny to me. Almost three years ago, I would have never imagined living this crazy movie star life and getting awards, let alone nominations. It was surreal for me. Even Elijah, who had been doing modeling and movies for most of his life, couldn't grasp my charging fame.

Once everything began to die down a bit, I missed making movies. I missed the feeling of waking up in a different place and working with extraordinary actors and crew members. I missed costumes and makeup. Elijah smiled to himself as I vented my troubles. Unlike me, he was good with movies. He had just returned from New York from filming a small movie he was sure nobody would really see, and had just gotten the part for a small comedy where he was going to be doing a lot of kissing scenes. I scowled when he mentioned it to me, and he laughed. "Oh don't worry, Kitty Kat," he slurred, leaning in for a kiss, "I'll still love you the most." I snorted and batted his head away, ending the conversation between us.

Elijah must have told Mr. Jameson about my desire to start filming again, because he started bringing me scripts for auditions. I immediately discarded the ones where my role would be a typecast, where there wasn't any deep emotion beneath the character's exterior surface. He grumbled at how picky I was of my roles, which was true. I didn't want people to mock me or my character in any way, and set me as an actress who only did certain types of roles. Elijah and I both had the same desire to pick diverse roles after Lord of the Rings, and he was having far better luck than me. I just had no idea what I was going to do.

One day in February, Mr. Jameson tossed me another script. "I think this one you'll like," he smiled at me. It was for a movie adaptation of the musical Chicago. Oh god, I loved that musical. In the high school version, I played Roxie. I just loved her greedy, unsteady, and desperate road to fame, and I loved the 20's. Our play wasn't as massive as the actual musical though, and probably nothing compared to the potential movie. I still wanted to audition anyway. When I returned home, I ran up to my room, locking my door shut behind me as I sat on my bed, reading through the script. This was going to be very interesting. The movie would basically be through Roxie's eyes, and show that she thought of every event as a musical. It seemed even better than the original. I couldn't wait for my audition. Mr. Jameson gave a sigh of relief when I finally agreed to one script out of the million he had been sending in the past couple months, and scheduled it.

For days on end, I practiced the song I had to audition for: Roxie (the Name on Everyone's Lips). I downloaded the song from the computer and lip synced in my room, dancing and creating facial expressions that showed Roxie's true colors. I had to do a lot more than what I did in high school if I wanted the part. This movie was on a whole different scale than a silly high school musical. Despite the high stakes, I believed that it was going to be fun to display my singing and dancing for people to see; that is, if I got the part. Elijah taught me not to get my hopes up too fast, because later on it could bite you in the back. I did not want that to happen to me.

Elijah was certain that I'd get the part, and I laughed. This movie would be very different than Lord of the Rings and Gangs of New York. He thought I was the best part of our high school production, and I had laughed then. Elijah had a habit of saying I was spectacular at everything I did. Eventually, I learned to never really listen to his biased praises, even though I still welcomed them.

On the day of the audition, I flew over to Chicago. Instead of sleeping during the flight, I spent the time going through the script again, and thinking of what I would say and do. I really wanted to work hard and do my best with this audition. I also found myself remembering the overall details Mr. Jameson told me about the movie. Filming was mostly to be done in Canada, and if I got the part, I had to do vigorous dance classes every day for a couple hours. That wasn't even for filming! In addition to that, I had to learn the routines with the other actors and actresses before we began filming. I was already getting overwhelmed by all the dancing. It was a good thing I didn't mind doing it. It would be torture if I didn't.

I nervously sat in the room with a bunch of other actresses, just like with Lord of the Rings and Gangs of New York. This audition had a lot of famous actresses I recognized, though. It made the stakes even higher, and made me even more uneasy. One actress, Charlize Theron, sat at the front of the room, her back stiff and her chin up as she waited for her turn. Apparently, she originally nailed the part of Roxie, but when the director changed, she needed to audition again. I bit my nails as her name was called, and watched her coldly get up and scan the crowd before disappearing in the audition room.

"Can you believe her," scoffed the actress next to me. It was Renee Zellweger, Bridget Jones herself! God, I loved that movie. Starstruck, I only leaned in to hear her better, trying not to squeal over her presence. I don't think she noticed.

"Just because she got the role doesn't mean she'll get it again," she furiously whispered, "I mean, people are just so egotistical."

I only nodded my head. "And believe me, kid," she pointed at me, "that gets you nowhere in show business." I nodded again, and we sat the rest of the time in silence. I was just freaking out that Bridget Jones just gave me advice on movies. I happily waved at her as her name was called, and she smiled back as she left. God, sometimes I forgot that I was going to constantly be around famous people. I seriously had to learn to control myself around them, so that I wouldn't seem foolish.

Once my name was announced, I gave a deep breath as I stood up and walked in the room, ready and scared about my audition. Slowly panting, I flashed a grin at the casting directors and responded to their waves. "Hello, Katherine O'Hara," one of them replied at me.

"Oh, you can call me Kat," I kindly said to him.

He smiled. "Okay, Kat then. Let's get this audition started."

************************************************************************

After an anxious few weeks and a couple callbacks, I got my results. I screamed during my phone call, and Mr. Jameson grumpily instructed me to settle down. "You leave next week to start your lessons," he gruffly told me before hanging up. I sprinted over to Elijah's house, an astounded Hannah opening the door.

"I'm going to be Roxie in Chicago!" I exclaimed.

Hannah just blinked, staring at my shinning face. "Wait," she slowly began, "weren't you Roxie in high school?" I hugged her in excitement and ran upstairs to Elijah's room, not paying the slightest attention to Hannah's bewildered expression.

As soon as I saw Elijah's lean frame in his bedroom, I pounced on him in a fit of giggles. Elijah didn't even get a chance to respond to my clutches, and only squeezed my hand as I squeezed him. "I take it you got the part," he chuckled, and I kissed his face.

"I leave next week for training," I bit my lip and played with his fingers.

"How long are you gone?"

I shrugged. "Until July or August I believe."

Elijah was speechless. I think I felt his heart sink a bit. "That's so long."

"Well, Roxie's the main actress," I uneasily smiled, "so I'm there for a very long time, you know. Y-You okay, Elijah?" I didn't like the tone of sadness in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he sighed, "I'll just miss you. That's all."

"Well we can call," I reminded him, "it's not as bad in Canada as it is in New Zealand and Rome."

"I-I guess."

"What, you don't want me to go?"

Elijah eyes flashed in guilt. "No, Kitty Kat!" he cried, grabbing my face and rubbing his thumbs on my cheeks. "I'm so proud of you, and so excited for you. You have no idea, Kitty Kat. You're gonna nail Roxie and wow the world even more. I just know it."

I intently gazed in his eyes, finding worry and sincere love. I touched his hands and squeezed them, smiling at him. "It's okay, Elijah. I'm not going to be too far away. Don't worry."

"Okay, Kitty Kat," he softly smiled at me, leaning in to press his lips to mine. For a second there, he almost made me regret my audition for Roxie. Almost.

Someone cleared their throat, making us both jump and reluctantly separate our lips. We turned to face Elijah's mom, who actually wasn't tapping her foot in annoyance or impatience. Instead, she was casually leaning against the door frame, watching us with an amused look in her eyes. "Your mom wants you home, Kat," she sweetly smiled at me.

I nodded, and let go of Elijah's hands, unable to look him in the eyes. "Good job, Kitty Kat," he murmured with a quick kiss, and I blushed as I exited the room. It was so embarrassing to show any sort of affection in front of our moms, especially when they were so calculating and judgmental. I couldn't stand it one bit.

Ms. Debra still looked at me funny as we quietly went down the stairs. "Congrats on your new role," she finally spoke and I thanked her. I darted my eyes away from her constant stare and ran out the house to my own. That was just so awkward and weird. I had no idea why she was acting that way, and I didn't want to know what was going through her head at that point. It was just too weird for me to handle.