Change My Mind (Liam Payne Fiction)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Yes, special.  That’s the word for this experience,” Liam Payne told a gaggle of reporters and photographers waiting for him outside the restaurant where he just finished dining with his agent, Joel Horner, and his manager, Matthew Chandler.  Someone from the sea of flashes and microphones asked about what it felt like to have worked in a movie that just became the highest-grossing film of 2012, beating The Hunger Games and The Avengers. 

“Working with the director, cast, and crew of that movie changed my life.”  And with that, Liam gave them a final wave and stepped into his chauffeured black Escalade, but not before somebody's bra hit the back of his head.  

“Wow!”  Joel Horner exclaimed.  “I thought I’d seen it all when people started going crazy over the band, but this is taking it to a whole ‘nother level.”

“I know!  I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,” Liam said, traces of his Wolverhampton accent starting to appear again.  He had to lose the accent and use an American one for the movie.  He wanted to be believable as an American so he worked with a dialect coach to perfect his American accent until there wasn’t a shred of British to it.  Critics said he played the role with a faultless American accent, and it earned him not only a Golden Globe, but an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.  Not bad for a boy from West Midlands. 

“Here!” Manager Matthew Chandler tossed a magazine at Liam, who caught it him on the face.  “Read the article about you.”

Despite his announcement in 2011 that his role in “Unspeakable Truth” would be his last one as an actor-director, Robert Redford came out of his semi-retirement to produce and direct the remake of the classic Christopher Reeve/Jane Seymour movie “Somewhere in Time” that hit cinemas December of last year.  The film’s cast includes Ashley Greene, John Goodman, Kathy Bates, William H. Macy, Matt Le Blanc, Dylan Sprouse, Alfre Woodard, and troublingly also features One Direction’s Liam Payne in the lead role.  I believe it is safe to say that nobody ever thought it a good idea to feature a boy band member, and a British one at that, in a movie directed by a powerhouse such as Robert Redford, but doubling as the film’s producer, Redford proves why he is legendary.  He made an excellent call casting young Payne as Richard Collier opposite Greene’s McKenna.  Critics found Payne captivating, and his ability to balance vulnerability and strength spectacular.  Not to say that he’s a much better actor than Reeve was, but the One Directioner gave a whole new dimension to Collier’s character pulling off that tortured look without losing the boyish charm that sends females of all ages all over the world over the edge.   

Successful musicians attempting to crossover to the acting side is not new, but some would argue that hundreds, if not thousands of struggling actors fight hard to get roles, while celebrated musicians often get handed them based solely on how many people buy their albums and go to their concerts, rather than their ability to act.  Musicians turning actors has become even more common in the last ten years or so as flocks of pop artists and rappers are cast in numerous big budget films.   Some have failed like 50 cent, Madonna, and Mick Jagger, but some made great choices like Ice-T, LL Cool J, Tupac Shakur, and Will Smith. 

Payne belongs to the latter group whose stars in Hollywood just shone a lot brighter than it already is.  He is one of the musicians that made such a smooth transition from singing to acting, and based on his performance in this remake, he is set to join the ranks of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Tom Waits, David Bowie, and Roger Daltrey. 

Liam let out a low whistle.  “Wow.”  He couldn’t believe it.  From being deemed not interesting enough to advance as a solo artist in X-Factor, which is why the band was formed in the first place, to movie offers coming at him from all directions.  It had been one heck of a roller coaster ride for Liam.  After their last world tour at the beginning of this year, One Direction decided to take somewhat of a break from working almost nonstop. 

Louis Tomlinson tied the knot with Eleanor Calder in February, after being secretly engaged for almost a year; Zayn Malik proposed to Perrie Edwards at the end of the last leg of the tour at Madison Square Garden, in front of hundreds of thousands of screaming fans; Harry Styles had been the subject of the most recent Taylor Swift number 1 single on Billboard’s country, adult/pop, hot 100, thanks to their very public break up; Niall Horan signed on to sit next to Simon Cowell as a judge on the latest season of X-Factor; and Liam Payne found himself playing a role that Daniel Radcliffe, Darren Criss, and Nick Jonas played before – J. Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway musical hit How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. 

After critics raved about his performance, Robert Redford personally invited him to read for the role of Richard Collier in the remake of Somewhere in Time, and the rest, as they say, is history.