
Insta Empire EPISODE 1100: TWO THUMBS DOWN
In the heart of Hollywood, Kevin Williams prepares for a triumphant test screening of Chains of Desire. But beneath the glitz, a sinister plot unfolds. Hollywood elites fill the seats, but the applause falls flat, as a mysterious sabotage orchestrated by Helen O’Day of Eminent Studios threatens to crush Kevin’s dream. With harsh reviews and shattered confidence, Kevin vows to uncover the truth behind the sabotage. As tension simmers, one thing is clear: in this town, not all that glitters is gold, and not everyone plays fair.
Full Episode: Insta Empire Episode 1100
After settling things with Jericho Freeman, the stuntman who helped steal the Lumiere brothers’ film reel and deliver it to Eminent Studios, Kevin left the set of the Viking movie and was quickly called back to the Beverly Hills Hotel to review the final cut of Chains of Desire. Complete with the music, color grading, and special effects, Madame Spatzel was sure they had a winner on their hands, but Adriana suggested they do a test screening to garner any feedback that might help with the finishing touches. Silas suggested they host the screening at the Soho House, an exclusive club for high-ranking Hollywood elites, but Kevin still needed one other person to vouch for his admission.
Milo laughed at Kevin and said, I wouldn’t recommend you to the Soho House if my life depended on it. Unless, Milo continued, I would do this favor if you’re willing to do something for me. Kevin sighed.
There’s always a catch to these Hollywood favors, he thought to himself. Then he sat down on his bed and asked, What kind of favor do you need from me, Milo? A simple one, Milo replied. I have to say, Kevin, that short film you had me working on was much more creatively fulfilling than I expected.
It makes me think that maybe I was wrong about you when we first met. Anyway, if you want my help, you have to promise me a leading role in your next movie. I’m sick of only starring in things produced by my father.
Fine, Kevin replied. Whatever I end up doing next, I promise you can be a part of it. So will you get me into the Soho House now? After a long pause, Milo let out a deep breath and said, I’ll see what I can do, after which Milo hung up abruptly.
Now that Kevin had Silas and Milo to vouch for him, he submitted an application to join the Soho House and was made a member without a problem. After that, he booked the screening room for the upcoming Saturday night and, with help from Adriana and Sandra, posted flyers all around town encouraging people to come to the test screening. Just like when he retrieved the Lumiere Brothers film from the hidden vault buried underneath the Hollywood sign, word of the upcoming screening traveled fast, until eventually even his enemies heard about it.
Sitting in her office at Eminent Studios, Helen O’Day had a copy of Kevin’s flyer sitting on her desk. At the same time, she was composing a memo to send out to her most trusted employees. As she typed the message, she read her own words out loud, saying, Hello everyone.
It’s come to my attention that a new player in town is hosting a test screening at the Soho House this Saturday night. Some of you might have heard of this person before. His name is Kevin Williams and apparently, he thinks he can just show up and start producing films without going through the established channels.
It’s very important we put this amateur in his place, so I want everyone to go to this test screening and give it the review it truly deserves. Two thumbs down. After hitting the send button, Helen leaned back in her chair and smiled.
You don’t seem to get how show business works yet, Mr. Williams. Soon you’ll understand the truth, that this whole town and everyone in it belongs to me and me alone. Then, after a sip of liquor, Helen threw back her head and started laughing.
Later that week, Kevin, Madam Spatzel, Adriana, Emo, and Sandra arrived at the Soho House about one hour before the screening was scheduled to begin. In order to have a view of the crowd’s reaction, they sat in the very back and patiently waited for people to arrive. The first person to show up was Silas Reynolds, to whom Kevin waved over to have a seat with them.
Hey, Silas, thanks for coming. Come on back here and sit with us. As Silas shuffled up to the top row, Kevin smirked at the fact that he was still wearing his sunglasses, which he never seemed to be without.
Hey, look at this, Silas said. The star of the film herself. How’s it going, Madam? Would it be too forward of me to ask for an autograph? Madam Spatzel chuckled.
Let’s at least see how you’d like the movie first, she replied with a smile and a rare bit of humility. When Silas spoke, his hands gestured all over the place, as if they had a mind of their own. Trust me, Madam.
I’m going to love it. In fact, I already do love it. Seeing it is just a formality, really.
A few moments later, people began to fill up the theater, all holding questionnaires they were given at the entrance. They were told to use the questionnaires to record their opinions and questions about the film. As he sat in the back and studied their faces, Kevin had no idea that almost every single one of them was an employee from Eminence Studio, sent by the studio’s president, Helen O’Day.
Once the theater was full, it was time for Kevin to introduce the film. With a microphone in his hand, Kevin stepped in front of the crowd and said, Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Kevin Williams, and I’m so excited to show you the short film I produced, Chains of Desire.
Kevin held for applause, but the only people who clapped were his friends in the back row. Already he could sense that something was wrong. Anyway, he continued, Without any further ado, I present to you, Chains of Desire.
Then the lights dimmed and the short film began to play. When Kevin saw his name in the opening credits, his heart swelled with excitement. Wow, there it is, he thought to himself.
My name on the big screen. I admit it’s a pretty incredible feeling. Just then Kevin noticed someone a few rows in front of him pull out his questionnaire and start filling in comments.
Much to his surprise, the whole crowd seemed to be filling out their questionnaires before the opening credits even ended. What’s going on, Kevin thought. The movie hasn’t even started yet.
I sense something suspicious is going on here. For the next 30 minutes, the short film unfolded exactly as it did in real life. The story begins with Madame Spatzel’s performance in a Berlin nightclub and after that, it transitions into the scene where she gets kidnapped by her stalkers, Rolf and Sven.
As the short film continued, Kevin was shocked by the audience’s lukewarm reactions. Not once did they laugh, cry or gasp in the places where they were supposed to. When he saw someone yawning in an exaggerated manner in the front row, he became especially worried.
When the credits started rolling, once again, Kevin and his team were the only ones to applaud. The rest of the audience simply stood up and shuffled out of the theater without a word. Right outside the theater, there was a ballot box for them to drop their questionnaires in and as soon as everyone was gone, Kevin was eager to read their comments.
As he approached the box, Madame Spatzel followed closely behind him. Is it just me or did that not go very well? Trailing behind her, Silas was the first one to interject. Nonsense, my dear.
It was an absolute knockout. Someday people will look back on the short film and say, wow, that’s how the greatest star in the world, Madame Spatzel, got her start. Madame Spatzel blushed.
Thank you, Silas. Then Kevin hesitated before he emptied the box. Um, Madame, are you sure you want to be here when I read these comments? I don’t want you to take anything personally.
Madame Spatzel shook her head. No, Kevin, I can handle it. I want to see what people think.
Kevin nodded and after a deep breath, started pulling questionnaires out of the box. As he flipped through more and more of them, his face started to drop. Sensing his shock, Madame Spatzel asked, well, what did they say, Kevin? Kevin didn’t know what to say.
He didn’t have the heart to tell Madame Spatzel the truth. So instead he just stammered. I, um, well.
Fed up with waiting for an answer, Madame Spatzel snatched the questionnaires out of his hands and started reading them. As she flipped through more and more, her face began to drop too. Questionnaire after questionnaire, the comments were universally negative, saying things like the movie was boring, offensive, poorly made and pretentious.
When Madame Spatzel found a comment about her specifically, she read it out loud saying, perhaps the worst part of this dumpster fire disguised as a film is the lead performance given by newcomer, the self-proclaimed Madame Spatzel. When she is not derivative, she is boring. And when she is not boring, she is obvious.
Why anyone in their right mind would ever decide to cast her in a movie is beyond my level of comprehension. When she finished reading the comment, Madame Spatzel broke out into tears. Was I really that bad? She asked.
I thought we had something truly special on our hands here. Kevin patted Madame Spatzel’s back You were great, Madame Spatzel. Don’t let these questionnaires get you down.
Something’s fishy about all of this, and I’m going to find out what. There’s no way that many people didn’t like the film. It seems like a hatchet job to me.
Adriana stepped forward and nodded. Definitely, she said. The movie is way too open to interpretation for everyone to have the same exact reaction.
If you ask me, this was a coordinated attack. Madame Spatzel did her best to wipe the tears away from her face. But who would be so cruel as to want to ruin our short film’s reception? Silas was an expert in this department.
With a sympathetic look in his eyes, he said. The whole town is like a giant crab pod, Madame. It’s chock full of people trying to tear each other apart.
Don’t worry. We’ll move past this somehow. Just then, Kevin reached for his cell phone but didn’t find it in his pocket.
Sorry guys. My cell phone must have slipped out of my pocket in the theater. I’ll be right back, he said.
As Silas and the others continued to comfort Madame Spatzel, Kevin went back into the screening room and returned to the top row. Luckily, he found his phone tucked in between the seats and on his way back down the stairs, he saw something else in the corner of his eye. As he swept through the middle row, he saw a blue pen lying on the floor.
With a closer inspection, he noticed some writing on the side of it that read, Eminence Studios. Kevin shook his head and put the pen in his pocket. So, Eminence Studios is behind all this, huh? I should have known.
FULL EPISODE ON SELAR: https://selar.co/insta-empire-full-episode/