<🎧 Song Recommendation: Houdini by Eminem>

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The next few days felt like a fever dream.

It was as if the world had collectively held its breath for an entire year, and now, finally, everyone could exhale.

The news of the H-19 vaccine completely dominated every single screen on the planet.

But the most incredible part wasn’t just the rollout speed; it was the effectiveness.

The Panacea Formula didn’t just prevent the virus, it also cured the active cases within a matter of days.

Hospitals that had been overflowing were suddenly emptying. The dark cloud that had hung over humanity was gone. The entire world was sunshine and roses once again.

People flooded the streets. Bars, clubs, and restaurants reopened with lines wrapping around the blocks.

Meanwhile, the industry elite who had already gotten the insider information about the vaccine days before the press conference were already moving their chess pieces to take maximum advantage of the reopening.

That shift in global momentum transformed the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

It was no longer just an indie movie showcase; it was viewed as the Global Reopening Celebration.

Every major studio scrambled to get their delayed blockbusters into the festival lineup. Right now, TIFF was bigger than it had ever been in its history.

And at the exact same time, as if guided by destiny, One Dance finally dethroned the viral TikTok tracks and claimed the Number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

It happened on the literal eve of the festival. There couldn’t have been any better news for the Perfect Ruins team!

Click! Click! Flash!

The private FBO terminal at Toronto Pearson Airport was blindingly bright.

Dozens of camera flashes went off in rapid succession like a strobe light.

A massive, chaotic sea of paparazzi, entertainment journalists, and screaming fans completely flooded the arrival area. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

It was to be expected, this was the official arrival day for the festival, and the airport was not lacking in big names.

"Thank God we’re dressed to be unseen. This must be hell to deal with."

Von remarked while watching the chaotic scene from a safe distance near the baggage carousel.

He was dressed in a simple, oversized black hoodie, dark sunglasses, and a medical face mask.

Even though H-19 was no longer a fatal threat, some paranoid people still wore masks in crowded airports.

For Von, it was the perfect, unquestionable disguise.

"You can’t hide from them forever, man," Zack commented from Von’s left side with a smirk.

"You’re lucky you got to stay locked in your mansion during the peak of your career explosion. But now that the world is open, being mobbed like that is going to be your new normal."

"Yep, he’s totally right," Emily added. She had a lollipop in her mouth and was also wearing dark designer shades.

In fact, all three of them had dark shades on. They looked more like a secret service team than a Hollywood entourage.

"And I’m even more glad we’re staying low-profile right now. That might just make the official reveal more hyped... hopefully," she added.

Von narrowed his eyes, observing the massive divide in the crowd outside the glass doors.

"Okay, so there’s Leviathan and the crew on the left. That’s Rayan West looking like a mob boss in the middle. But what’s the third group on the far right?"

The crowd was clearly split into three major factions, each swarmed by a dense pack of reporters shouting questions over each other.

Most of the journalists surrounding the Perfect Ruins crew were simply there for Leviathan.

Toronto was his home turf, and they treated him like royalty. There was barely any focus on the movie itself; instead, the reporters were shouting questions about One Dance going Number 1.

But it was a vastly different case with Rayan West. Both he and Sammy Howkins had commanded a dense, aggressive group of film critics.

The questions there were entirely focused on Blood Money and their Oscar campaigns.

"That third group is Pixar," Emily explained. "They’re premiering their massive new animated feature here. It’s a huge deal. They have millions of die-hard fans, so it’s only natural they have so much paparazzi."

"Pixar?" Von blinked in surprise. "Wow, I never knew the competition would be this high at a film festival."

"It actually is," Zack explained. "It isn’t just you three, either. There are several other massive films, mostly high-budget animated features and a few foreign live-action that were shot and delayed because of the pandemic. They’re all dumping their projects here now to secure holiday theatrical releases."

That led Von to ask about something he had read online during his flight.

"Do you guys think we actually have a chance? At the People’s Choice Award?"

The People’s Choice Award was the most prestigious prize at TIFF. Even though Toronto didn’t have the long, historic legacy of Cannes or Venice, it was heavily respected.

More importantly, it was the ultimate predictor of commercial success. Movies that won the People’s Choice Award almost always went on to get Oscar nominations, or even win them.

Both Emily and Zack turned toward him when they heard the question.

"I don’t think so, Von," Emily said honestly. "I don’t really know how good of an actor you actually are yet. But realistically, the movie’s current hype won’t even place it in the Top 5, even with the song attached. The book fans are even campaigning against it online."

"But who knows? If I were you, I’d advise you to focus your hopes on the Tribute Award for Emerging Talent. They love rewarding artists who transition from music to acting."

Zack was intrigued by what Emily had just said. "Wait, they do a breakthrough artist award now? I never knew that."

"Yup, it’s one of the new awards."

It took them a few more moments of navigating through the parking garage to finally find the Uber that Emily had booked to take them to their hotel.

But meanwhile, the drama outside the terminal was only getting spicier.

The massive crowd surrounding Leviathan and the equally massive crowd surrounding Rayan West had accidentally merged near the main exit doors.

Leviathan and Rayan West were currently locked in a tense, highly public face-off.

Even though they had absolutely no reason to confront each other in public for everyone to see, they were both incredibly smart businessmen with massive egos.

They knew exactly how the media game worked. It wouldn’t make sense if they didn’t use their long-standing, bitter feud to increase their popularity and make themselves the center of attention among the countless movies debuting this week.

Rayan West stood tall, flanked by bodyguards that looked more like gangsters.

He wore a suit, but his posture and sneer still carried the weight of an old-school, hardened thug.

"Look who it is," Rayan West projected his voice, making sure the dozens of microphones shoved in their faces picked up every single sound.

"The boy trying to play Hollywood. What are you doing out of your league, Levy? You running here to beg for indie distributors because no real studio wanted to fund your little pet project? It’s fucking embarrassing, man. You should stick to making club beats for teenagers."

Several people gasped at his comments.

Leviathan didn’t even flinch. He casually adjusted his diamond-encrusted watch and let out a condescending laugh.

"Says the washed-up old head who ran to Hollywood because I schooled your ass in hip-hop a decade ago."

"OOOH!" There was a loud gasp in the crowd, but he wasn’t done.

"Now I’m here to make you run once again. And if there’s someone that needs to pack up and leave right now, it’s you. Don’t forget, West... Toronto is my turf."

The crowd of locals and fans immediately erupted.

"Leviathan! Leviathan! Leviathan!"

The deafening chants echoed everywhere. Hearing the entire crowd instantly side with his rival caused a flash of visible anger to appear on Rayan West’s face.

Rayan took a half-step forward, but he stopped himself from doing something that would get him arrested.

"You talk too much, white boy," Rayan sneered. "But I’ll make you eat your words when the party dies."

He didn’t have to say anything else. Rayan spun around and walked away in absolute anger with his escorts plowing a path through the crowd. Multiple paparazzi scrambled to follow him, shouting questions about the confrontation.

A few of his die-hard fans were trying to hail his name from the sidelines, but they were completely drowned out by the overwhelming, booming chants of Leviathan’s hometown supporters.

Von watched the entire exchange from the windows of the Uber, wishing he had a popcorn to go with it.

This confrontation was instantly going to be one of the biggest highlights of the Toronto International Film Festival.

It already showed that this year had the potential to be one of the best ones to be hosted in the city. The war lines were officially drawn.

In the same vein, less than thirty minutes after the airport clash, a massive entertainment blog known as The Green Screen Insider had already composed a headline article about the rivalry.

Thanks to the end of the global lockdown and the absolute thirst for celebrity drama, the article was currently getting a wild number of reads.