Tuesday, November 29, 2022
At 2:30 p.m., Owen was already at The Conrad Midtown, a five-star hotel where a standard room cost around $550 per night or more and which was located less than ten minutes from Rockefeller Center.
Rockefeller Center was not a hotel, but a massive complex of corporate and commercial buildings in Manhattan. Inside were NBC Studios, the offices of The Tonight Show, shops, restaurants, and more.
Owen was scheduled to head there around 3:00 p.m. He had taken a long flight from Los Angeles, several hours of travel, and barely had any time to rest before his appearance.
He hadn't come alone. His family was traveling with him and would be part of the audience: his parents, his older brother, his younger sister, and Emily, his brother's wife.
Sophie and Matt were there as well, of course. Larry, his agent, was also present, when Owen asked if he wanted to come, he accepted without hesitation, excited to see the show live.
Owen wouldn't be on the program for long. Jimmy Fallon's interviews aren't lengthy, between five and ten minutes, depending on the guest's relevance and how much material there is to discuss. And Owen wasn't the main guest, he was second on the day's lineup.
Owen's room had been paid for by NBC, and he was sharing it with Sophie.
Edward and the rest weren't so lucky. Although his father had no problem paying for his own room, which he shared with Elizabeth, plus a single room for Sarah. Money wasn't a concern for them, even though Owen offered to cover the expenses, Edward calmly declined. James and Emily also booked their own room.
Larry paid out of pocket as well, refusing Owen's offer, though he appreciated it. With the commissions he'd earned from Owen, he could afford to pay more than five hundred dollars for one night. It stung a bit, but it wasn't unbearable.
The one who did accept Owen's offer was Matt. He had enough savings to cover the five hundred dollars, but it would have taken a serious hit out of them.
Unlike Sophie, who had landed roles such as The Boogeyman, where she earned over $120,000, Matt had worked exclusively on Owen's projects, all of them very low-budget productions, with pay that matched their scale.
But Owen had no intention of leaving things that way.
Matt had directed all of Second Take Film's short movies, as well as Paranormal Activity. And it wasn't just Paranormal Activity that would make him a millionaire, on YouTube alone, in barely two months, the shorts had generated more than $200,000 in revenue. When Owen received his share of the box office, he planned to give Matt a substantial, unofficial bonus.
Matt had never asked for it, nor even hinted at it. He was the kind of person who worked out of passion, not for money. But Owen knew exactly how much he owed him, and he wasn't going to be stingy.
"Nervous?" Sophie asked Owen.
They were in the hotel room. Sophie was smoothing the white shirt Owen had already put on for the interview.
Owen looked up. His voice sounded calm, almost unconcerned. "A little."
Sophie raised an eyebrow. "You don't look nervous at all."
She was already used to that calm of his, that way Owen seemed to disconnect from stress when others would be restless, shaking, or buzzing with energy.
The truth was that he wasn't nervous at all.
Not after having been on that very same show in his other life, when he had been nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Owen gave a faint smile. "A tiny bit, then."
Sophie studied him closely, as if assessing him, and shook her head. "Not even that. I've seen you more nervous facing a boss in a video game."
Owen let out a brief laugh, and when it faded, his expression shifted to a mix of sincerity and frustration.
"It's a shame you and Matt won't be on the interview," he murmured. "You both should be there."
Matt, as the director, and Sophie as the female lead, the emotional core of Paranormal Activity, the one who carried the film's ending. Both of them had been essential.
But Sophie shook her head with a calm smile. "Owen, it makes sense that it's you," she said without hesitation. "You created this project. You wrote it, acted in it, submitted it to the festival. You were the one who negotiated to keep the IP and secure a percentage of the box office. It's your story."
She made a small gesture with her hand. "And besides… this show almost never invites more than one person from the same project. That's how late-night shows usually work."
Owen lowered his gaze for a moment, accepting the logic. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I always am," Sophie replied with mock arrogance.
"That's debatable," Owen said, and Sophie nudged him with her elbow.
Sophie checked the time on her phone and said, "We need to hurry."
She crossed the room, picked up the black blazer perfectly folded over the chair, and handed it to him. "Put it on, it's cold in New York."
Owen didn't argue. It was true. The temperature was only 4 degrees, far lower than Los Angeles, which was hovering around 14-16°C.
As Owen adjusted his sleeve, Sophie opened the suitcase on the bed, grabbed one of her perfumes, and gently shook it.
"A little of this," Sophie said as she stepped closer. "You can't smell bad standing next to Jimmy Fallon."
Owen laughed. "That would be tragic."
Sophie sprayed him twice on the neck and once on each wrist. "There."
Just then, two soft knocks sounded at the door. They looked at each other and walked over.
When Owen opened the door, he found Matt, wearing a wide smile, Larry, serious but visibly excited, and Sarah, who could barely contain her enthusiasm. All three were dressed neatly, nothing overly formal, appropriate for audience members. Owen, by contrast, was wearing a shirt, blazer, and dress pants. He was the one who would be in front of the cameras.
"Hey, man! Ready? Nervous?" Matt asked with his usual energy.
Before Owen could answer, Sophie spoke from behind him. "He gets more nervous when he plays video games."
Matt, Sarah, and Larry paused for a second, studying Owen's expression.
Then, almost in sync, they let out a soft sigh. Nothing. Not a single sign of nerves.
'Why do they want me to be nervous?' Owen thought with an inward grimace. It wasn't that he was made of stone, it was just that this kind of situation didn't affect him. He had shown emotions plenty of times, nerves were rarely one of them.
"Wrong question," Matt said, correcting himself with a wave of his hand. "The real one is: are you happy to be on The Tonight Show? Tons of people are going to get to know you!"
"Yes," Owen nodded with a genuine smile. He couldn't deny it. Being on a show of that caliber was a huge step for his acting career. It would give him massive visibility.
"Mom and the others?" Owen asked as the group headed toward the elevator.
"In the lobby, waiting for us," Sarah replied.
As they walked, Sarah's excitement finally burst out. "Evan Peters is going to be the first guest!"
Matt whistled. "His performance in Monster was incredible."
Sophie nodded with respect. "They say he could win another Emmy. Or a Golden Globe."
"Whoa… that would make two Emmys," Larry commented.
Evan Thomas Peters was a well-known name: American Horror Story, Quicksilver in X-Men with that iconic slow-motion scene, Mare of Easttown, where he won his Emmy, and now his most recent series:
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, released on September 21, 2022.
In its first week, the series surpassed 196 million hours watched. By the second week, it had accumulated more than 400 million. It became the most-watched series of 2022 during its premiere week.
Now, two months and one week later, Netflix's official metric for its first 28 days showed:
➡️ 856 million hours watched.
It was the second most-watched series in the platform's history.
Who held the number one spot?
In Owen's first life, that place belonged to Squid Game, with 1,650,450,000 hours. But here, Squid Game had never existed. He had seen it in his other life, so in this reality it was never created.
As a result, the top spot belonged to another series: Shadow Fall. A title Owen didn't recognize from his first life, but which here was Netflix's flagship series.
Much darker than Stranger Things, it didn't begin with children, but with seventeen-year-old teenagers. An aesthetic closer to Dark, filled with mystery, science fiction, and a deeply unsettling undertone.
The first season had reached 520 million hours. The second, released in May of this same year, shattered all records with 1.11 billion hours, becoming the number-one series on the platform. A third season had already been confirmed.
The Top 10 most-watched series on Netflix in this reality was as follows:
1. Shadow Fall – Season 2
📌 1,290,090,000 hours
2. Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
📌 856,220,000 hours
3. Bridgerton – Season 2
📌 656,260,000 hours
4. Bridgerton – Season 1
📌 625,490,000 hours
5. Money Heist / La Casa de Papel (Part 4 — Spain)
📌 619,000,000 hours
6. Lucifer – Season 5
📌 569,480,000 hours
7. The Witcher – Season 1
📌 541,010,000 hours
8. Inventing Anna
📌 511,920,000 hours
9. Ozark – Season 4
📌 491,090,000 hours
10. The Watcher
📌 395,000,000 hours
Thinking about all this, Owen couldn't help but reflect on the projects that had never existed and the others that had emerged in their place.
Projects that, had Stranger Things existed, might never have had room to breathe. Netflix would have poured its budget, marketing, and energy into the flagship series it already knew, rather than into these new stories that filled the void left by its absence.
And it wasn't just television.
The pattern repeated itself in film: new book adaptations, movies that in his first life had never been greenlit, had been produced here. Some succeeded. Others failed. But they existed. They had their chance.
Returning to the series starring Evan, it had been an overwhelming success. Top 2 on Netflix. It became a global talking point, trended multiple times, and sparked criminology analyses and ethical debates.
Without a doubt, alongside Shadow Fall, Season 2, it ranked among the Top 3 most successful series of the year, and of the platform as a whole.
And Evan Peters had gone from being a respected, well-known actor to an elite figure in mainstream drama. His popularity had exploded. Even without using social media, his visibility and prestige grew every day.
"I didn't know you were a fan of his," Owen said, glancing at his sister with a faint smile. "I could try to get you a greeting or a photo. What do you say?"
Sarah hesitated for a second, then firmly shook her head. "No. I don't want to look like a crazy fangirl."
"It would just be a photo. I don't think he'd mind," Owen insisted.
"Psycho killer, fa-fa-fa…" Matt sang, humming a song he'd heard in a Dahmer edit. "So you like bad boys, Sarah?"
Owen shook his head. "Crushes on dark and disturbed guys, huh? What would our parents think…"
Sarah was already opening her mouth to start an argument, but Sophie beat her to it. "Hey, it's not that weird. Evan's fandom is really strong. And became a massive crush when he played Tate Langdon in American Horror Story."
"See?! I'm not the only one!" Sarah said, finding an ally.
Matt and Owen immediately turned to look at Sophie.
"Whoa, Sophie… I didn't know you were one of those girls who fall for disturbed, murderous types," Matt said with an incredulous laugh.
"It's fiction, genius," Sophie replied, rolling her eyes.
"You even know the character's name and everything: Tate Langdon…" Owen added, half surprised, half teasing.
Sophie raised an eyebrow, unfazed. "What? Are you jealous?"
"Not at all," Owen said with a shrug. "He's like thirty-five. I'm young… and I've got a percentage of the box office from a movie that made over one hundred and forty million, plus an IP valued at millions of dollars."
Matt burst out laughing and patted his friend on the back like, that's the spirit, man! Sarah's eyes widened as if she couldn't believe the level of audacity.
Evan Peters was, without a doubt, the main star of the night. He was already a well-established actor with prestigious awards, a long and solid career, and major global impact.
Owen, on the other hand, didn't have that level of fame or recognition as an actor.
Not yet.
But Owen had something that 90% of Hollywood stars didn't: A multimillion-dollar intellectual property made with $20,000 that belonged entirely to him.
A film that had surpassed $140 million at the box office, with a direct percentage of that revenue going to him.
His success was different, more disruptive, improbable because of its speed, and narratively more spectacular.
And financially, that was where his advantage lay. When he received his share from Paranormal Activity, plus streaming revenue, international rights, and licensing deals, his net worth would surpass that of many actors with decades-long careers.
More than $10 million from box office revenue alone. Not counting the true value of the IP, or what still remained to be exploited.
"You might be a millionaire, but you don't have an Emmy like Evan," Sarah said, crossing her arms with a defiant air.
Owen turned his head toward her with a calm, almost innocent smile, "For now…"
Sarah snorted. "Arrogant," she muttered, though a faint smile betrayed her.
The comment made Larry laugh from behind them, he'd been walking along and had heard everything. Sophie was smiling too, shaking her head. Matt was outright laughing, not caring at all that they were in a five-star hotel.
"Come on, millionaire genius," Sophie murmured, gently pushing him forward. "We can't be late."
When they reached the lobby, they found Elizabeth, Edward, James, and Emily sitting on the sofas, chatting among themselves. But when they saw the group approach, they all stood up almost at the same time.
Elizabeth didn't hesitate for a second and went straight to Owen. "You look amazing!" she exclaimed, excited.
James nodded in approval, appraising the suit with a professional eye. He himself had recommended the tailor, as a renowned lawyer, he owned an extensive collection of impeccable suits. The blazer, white shirt, trousers, and shoes were all high quality.
A flash of pride crossed Edward's eyes, one he hadn't thought he would ever feel for Owen just a year earlier.
But it was clear that Owen had surprised him, and in a good way.
Emily greeted everyone with a warm smile.
"It's just a suit, Mom…" Owen murmured.
Elizabeth gave him a light tap on the arm. "It's your first appearance on The Tonight Show. You have to look good. Not too formal, which is why it's great that you're not wearing a tie."
"Let's head to Rockefeller," James said, checking the time. "The vans should already be outside."
The group began walking toward the hotel doors, where the NBC vehicles were waiting for them.
Before they stepped out, Elizabeth approached Owen, visibly more nervous than he was. "Son, just… act naturally, okay? Be yourself. You've always been authentic."
"Don't worry, Mom. Everything will be fine," Owen said with a reassuring smile.
Matt immediately shook his head, raising his hands. "No, no, no. If he acts exactly like himself, he'll get canceled on Twitter."
Sophie nodded with exaggerated seriousness. "It's true. With your sense of humor… you'd better keep it under control. No sarcastic comments or dark humor. Remember, you're on national television."
Larry chuckled under his breath, "They have a point. Just… be a little more diplomatic than usual. Just a little."
James backed them up. "Speak carefully, don't say anything too controversial. Try to keep it simple."
Owen looked at all of them, amused. "We're in a free country. Freedom of speech is key. I'll be the same as always."
Sophie, Matt, and Sarah all said at once, "That's the problem!"
Owen rolled his eyes, still smiling. "Trust me. I'm not going to say anything that ruins my career, probably."
"That last word doesn't help," Sarah said.
"And besides," Owen continued, elegantly ignoring her, "it's not like I depend on outside studios to hire me. I make my own productions. And what if I get canceled? It's a ten-minute interview at most. What could possibly go wrong?"
Matt, Larry, Sarah, and the others exchanged the exact same look. 'You're not reassuring us at all…'
Only Elizabeth seemed calm. She recognized the joking tone in her son's voice. She knew that even being authentic, Owen would never say anything offensive or something that would put his image at risk.
They reached the hotel's main doors. They opened automatically, letting in the cold New York breeze. Outside, two black vans waited with their engines running, ready to take them to Rockefeller Center.
They left the hotel, heading toward The Tonight Show.
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