Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 140: In the Spotlight Again

"Thank you, thank you for your help." Renly patted Elliot on the shoulder, flashing a bright smile. "Actually, you're a nice guy." With that, Renly opened the car door, got out, and headed towards the mansion not far away.

Elliot was stunned in his seat, his mind unable to process it for a moment: Nice? Hell no, he wasn't nice! He was just... he was just here for the story, for the after-party. Yes, he came here with Renly just for the after-party. He had to get out of the car now, ride Renly's coattails, and sneak into the party!

Once inside, Pandora's box would be wide open for him tonight.

Elliot immediately sprang into action, ready to get out of the car, but he paused—someone was coming out to greet Renly. Was that... Andy Rogers? Harrison Ford's agent?

The private villa's entrance was heavily guarded, with at least twelve men in black suits visible. To get inside, one had to pass through multiple security checks. Andy nodded at the security personnel, and he and Renly were soon greeted with open arms, quickly disappearing through a dark brown door.

Frustrated, Elliot leaned back, feeling a wave of irritation.

"Buddy, are you getting out or leaving?" the driver's voice interrupted Elliot's thoughts. "Getting out, getting out," Elliot replied reflexively. He opened the car door and got out quickly, but the taxi didn't leave. He leaned down to look into the front seat and saw the driver rolling his eyes. "The fare, aren't you going to pay?"

Damn.

Elliot nearly swore out loud—Renly hadn't paid the fare. Hastily, he pulled out his wallet, paid the fare and a tip, and the taxi promptly turned and left.

Elliot looked up at the mansion in front of him, feeling the intense pressure from all the security personnel's eyes on him. He cleared his throat, realizing that getting in directly was impossible. He needed another plan.

Standing straight, he turned around and walked away from the entrance. After a dozen steps, he glanced back to see all the security personnel still watching him. He even made eye contact with one of them, which startled him. Quickly, he turned his head back and ran down the hill, taking a side path without hesitation. Finally, the intense scrutiny disappeared.

Leaning against a wall, breathing heavily, Elliot's mind was still filled with unanswered questions: How did he end up like this?

Unfortunately, Elliot never got his answer that night. With the tight security, he never managed to get into the party. After wandering around for two hours, nearly getting caught four times, he gave up and decided to call it a night. Worse yet, his car was parked in the underground lot at the Nokia Theatre, and to top it all off, his phone was dead—both of them.

So, Elliot walked for an hour and ten minutes back to the base of Beverly Hills, luckily flagging down a taxi, ending his disastrous night.

However, the night wasn't a total loss. He did get an exclusive—Renly's street performance exclusive. Thinking of this gave Elliot some comfort. Though Renly wasn't a big star, an exclusive was still worth something.

Three hours later, "US Weekly" website published a breaking exclusive: "New Emmy Winner's Unique Celebration—Street Performance."

"As the most watched newcomer tonight, Renly Hall undeniably achieved an incredible feat, beating Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges to win his first Emmy. This twenty-year-old actor's future in Hollywood looks bright.

However, while everyone else was basking in the limelight, receiving flowers and applause, Hall chose a different way to celebrate his breakout success.

In a street far from the spotlight, Hall joined a street performer, delivering an extraordinary performance."

The "US Weekly" reporter quickly posted a video and a brief review, praising the stunning performance of "Ophelia." The audience's wild reaction confirmed this. The reporter was amazed by Renly's displayed talent. Just as everyone was focused on the actor's night's glory, he revealed his musical gift.

If Elliot hadn't triple-checked, and considering that the industry had no prior whispers—strictly speaking, no one even knew if Renly had an agent yet—"US Weekly" might have thought it was a staged setup.

"Reportedly, this isn't Hall's first display of musical talent. In March, Hall's debut single 'Cleopatra' was officially released on iTunes. Despite not being signed to any agency, the independent single garnered considerable attention. Four months later, in the first week of July, it broke into the Billboard singles chart, becoming the only entirely independent track without any label or agency support.

The song remains on the chart to this day.

Last night, Hall once again showcased a new song 'Ophelia,' sparking curiosity about what other talents this new Emmy winner might have waiting to be discovered."

The news was published at 2 a.m.—"US Weekly" was determined to get the scoop. Given the Emmy Awards' Saturday night ceremony, many teenagers weren't asleep yet. Two hours later, the article had 160,000 hits, a staggering number for that hour.

In the glitzy world of Hollywood, actors freshly awarded an Emmy are usually basking in glamour, surrounded by praise. But this new star chose to perform on the street, an almost unimaginable scenario—

Even without "The Pacific," even without the Emmy, even without any additional accolades, even if this was a stunt, people's curiosity was inevitably piqued. They wondered what was going on, if it was staged, what kind of performance it was...

Compared to Jim's heartfelt confession, Bryan's three consecutive wins, Hugh and Steven's five losses, or Renly's upset win over Al and Jeff, this gossip was clearly more attention-grabbing. This was a rare, mask-off moment in Hollywood. How could people not be excited?

Two hours and 160,000 hits was just the beginning. As time passed, the hit rate not only didn't decline but started to soar.

Meanwhile, it sparked a series of related discussions, such as about "The Pacific" and the Emmy winners. The most direct impact was the renewed interest in "Cleopatra" YouTube video.

Recently, "Cleopatra" YouTube video views had averaged 100,000 per day—not top-tier hot, but steady and impressive for a stagnant account. After "US Weekly" news, "Cleopatra's" real-time hits surged past 30,000, with 24-hour views reaching 500,000—matching its peak when it was most popular and still rising. Searching for "Renly Hall" on YouTube now revealed not just "Cleopatra," but also "Ophelia!"

Everyone was ecstatic.

The "US Weekly" video of Renly and Ed's performance was less than 60 seconds long, with some footage obscured by the dancing crowd. But now, YouTube had the full version, much to everyone's delight.

The new video, from a private account, was clearly shot by an ordinary person. It was three minutes long, capturing the entire performance, including "Ophelia" and 20 seconds of "Cleopatra."

The video's quality wasn't great—worse than "US Weekly"—clearly shot on a smartphone, with pixelation affected by night settings, poor lighting, and focus. Yet the performance was clear and complete.

In less than eight hours, "Ophelia" video reached a staggering 800,000 views, with over 50,000 likes, and the numbers were still climbing. The comments were overwhelming but shared a common sentiment:

The song was amazing. Why wasn't it on iTunes? Why wasn't it on Spotify?

Then someone revealed the truth: "'US Weekly' article mentioned: this song was improvised by Renly Hall, so there isn't any recorded version." The internet erupted with groans.

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