Famous by Todd Strasser

wistful smile cross your lips. How poignantly ironic is this? On the MacBook screen, Avy will sit back and again prepare his answer. This time he will add gestures with his hands. “Honestly, it’s hard to say. Everyone knows it takes hard work and persistence. Youalways feel like the odds are against you. Luck definitely plays a part. You just have to be in the right place at the right time.”
    Again, he will appear pleased with his answer and will lean forward to ask, “Does it ever get easier?”
    He will answer, “Maybe when you go mega like Depp or Clooney. But for every Brad Pitt there are a ton of guys who had it in the palm of their hands and let it slip through their fingers. They had that one big hit. They made the cover of
People
. Maybe even an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. But two flops later they were done. Gone. Not bankable. That’s the scariest part.”
    You will pause the interview and wonder who Avy was practicing this for. Clearly someone had prepared questions ahead of time for him. But why ask Avy these questions? How would he know if it ever got any easier?

MARCH OF TENTH GRADE, THIRD DAY OF SPRING VACATION IN LA

    N,
    So good to get a reply!!! You’re right. You did tell me you’d be visiting friends of your parents’ yesterday. Sorry I forgot. Too much going on! Glad you had a nice time with them.
    So listen, what I’m going to tell you is top, Top, TOP secret. You can’t tell anyone. I know you don’t really care, which is why I can trust you ;-)
    Yesterday Willow and I had breakfast (at 2 in the afternoon!). Just the twoof us at a table beside the pool with fresh fruit and croissants! Willow’s totally jazzed about getting the role in The Pretenders . Everyone says it’s a phenomenal script. There’s going to be a soundtrack CD, but it’s not another bunch of her bubble-gum songs. She’ll sing three serious love ballads. The rest are songs from other bands. The movie is supposed to start shooting next month. Because of Willow’s visit to rehab, the film’s producers forced her manager, Aaron Ives, to renegotiate her deal. Any hint of drugs or alcohol and she’s gone. No ifs, ands, or buts. The producers can’t afford to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on this movie and then have Willow destroy it with bad publicity.
    N, she told me all of this herself! She really took me into her confidence! She said she hates going clubbing and not being able to have a drink, but all her friends have been totally supportive and won’t drink in front of her. The movie company actually has spies! They’ll know if she does anything she’s not supposed to do. She said that in just about everyrestaurant and club she goes to there’s someone being paid by the movie company to keep an eye on her. And plenty of actresses praying that she messes up so they can get her role.
    And the one she’s the most worried about? Alicia Howard. N, the things she said about Alicia, and how she got this far in her career, would make your face burn! Willow made me swear not to tell anyone. It would look really bad if people found out she was spreading rumors (even though she swears they’re true!) about Alicia.
    N, I know she has lots of friends she’s known much longer than me, but I wonder if they understand the “business” side of her life the way I do. I think that’s why she confided in me.
    She said she was glad I was there because I seemed like a nice person who wouldn’t stick a knife in her back. Not like so many other people who only want to be her friend because they think they can gain from it. She told me the pressure on her is huge. If The Pretenders is a success, she’ll be backon top. If it’s a flop, her career is toast. Then we talked about my photo assignment. She said it’s really hard to be perfect for a whole week, and she hopes I’ll understand. I