The Greatest Showman

“Wait, what did I just miss? Why wasn’t the Best Actor award winner Al Pacino? Who is that guy who won the award?”

“Renly Hall? Who is that? I didn’t see him in The ‘Pacific’.”

“I thought it would be Jeff Bridges. What happened?”

“Is there some kind of inside story? How did this newcomer suddenly win an award? He’s so annoying, even mocking Pacino in his acceptance speech. It’s disgusting.”

“Deserved! Absolutely deserved! His acting in ‘The Pacific’ was phenomenal. I rewatched the entire series just because of him! He completely outshone all the other actors!”

“Ahhh! Renly Hall! Ahhh! He finally won! I knew it! I knew it!”

“Are you an idiot? He’s the guy who played a rich young boy in ‘The Pacific’! His acting was incredible. While beating Al Pacino was unexpected, this result is well-deserved.”

“You fool, did you even watch ‘The Pacific’? He’s a rich young boy. If you didn’t watch it, stop talking nonsense.”

“Wow, ‘The Pacific’ actually won the Best Actor award? I haven’t seen it yet. Looks like I need to catch up. Is the DVD out yet?”

“I haven’t had the chance to watch it either. I wasn’t interested before, but now it seems like it should be pretty good. Was this newcomer the lead actor?”

“Renly Hall’s performance was indeed brilliant. When the series aired, I remember discussing it in a thread, saying his acting deserved an Emmy. I didn’t expect him actually to win. Thumbs up!”

“Does anyone know who Renly Hall is? He’s so charming I can’t handle it. I searched on Facebook, but he’s not there. Does anyone know how to find his page?”

“Same here, same here! He’s so handsome! What should I do? I want to scream!”

“We’re discussing acting here; stop fangirling, okay? I think Hall’s win was well-deserved.”

“Huh? Was Al Pacino nominated? I didn’t know!”

Amidst the heated debate, such clueless responses quickly attracted attacks from the crowd, who shouted, “Are you an alien?” The innocent commenter promptly disappeared, and after the thread went off-topic for a bit, the discussion resumed…

The Yahoo community was buzzing with activity, with users voicing their opinions. Some were outraged, finding it unbelievable that a newcomer could beat Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges. Others were full of praise, not necessarily fans of Renly, but they were deeply impressed after watching ‘The Pacific’. Then there were those who had no clue what was going on but were happily chatting about other topics in the thread.

Soon, someone started a new thread on the Yahoo community: “62nd Emmy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Winner, Renly Hall – Informative Post.”

The post provided detailed information about Renly’s role in ‘The Pacific’, even sharing some media reviews. It also mentioned the buzz generated in the Yahoo community at the time – those high-traffic threads were no longer active, but they still held the record for the most-discussed topic of 2010.

Additionally, the post included a link to a YouTube video and information about Renly’s off-Broadway rehearsals.

The post concluded with:

“This is a complete newcomer. British, twenty years old. Beyond that, there’s no additional information. It’s clear that he’s a typical British academy-trained actor, fully dedicated to honing his craft and uninterested in social media or self-promotion. Tonight, the Emmy award is undoubtedly the best recognition for him. I genuinely hope that actors who work so diligently on their craft can gain more fans.”

P.S. “His single is amazing; I’ve been listening to it on repeat lately.”

The post was written by none other than “BrandoMania,” who was a very active member of the Yahoo community back then. It seemed they were also watching the Emmy Awards live broadcast.

After the post was published, its click rate skyrocketed, surpassing 30,000 views in less than 30 minutes. The number of replies also surged, quickly exceeding 2,000, clearly reflecting how interest in the live broadcast had exploded.

For the online community, they were essentially outsiders looking in, enjoying the spectacle. Whether it was ‘The Pacific’ winning an acting award or the surprising defeats of Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges, these were jaw-dropping moments. Even those who weren’t fans of TV series or didn’t follow the Emmys found themselves joining the discussion.

Before the Emmy Awards ceremony concluded, “BrandoMania” updated their post once again:

“P.S. According to the reply on Floor 314 by ‘Sledge Young Heir,’ I found Renly Hall’s latest project. He’s starring in a small-budget Spanish indie film called ‘Buried’. Information about the director and cast is already available on IMDb. Excited!”

According to incomplete statistics, within 24 hours of the Emmy Awards ending, the IMDb page for ‘Buried’ received 63,000 views, unexpectedly breaking into the top 50 on the 24-hour trending chart. This was truly astonishing for a project that no one had even heard of before. Even more surprising, the IMDb page didn’t even have a poster updated yet.

After the Emmys ended, Yahoo Community released a report on the most-discussed topics during the ceremony. Unsurprisingly, ‘Glee’ claimed the top spot. What was surprising, however, was that ‘The Pacific’ came in second, sparking widespread discussion among community members. Third place went to Jim Parsons, who won Best Actor in a Comedy Series award—beating even the buzz surrounding ‘The Big Bang Theory’.

From this detail alone, it’s evident that the ripple effects brought by the Emmy Awards are immeasurable. And this is only within the first forty hours. In the coming days, this impact will continue to ferment and evolve. This is truly a meteoric rise.

However, the Emmys are still the Emmys. The attention and appeal of the Miniseries and Movie category pale in comparison to Drama or Comedy. Even with the buzz created by ‘The Pacific’, which momentarily brought Lanly Hall into the spotlight across major media outlets, Hollywood has never been short of geniuses, has it?

For Renly, this was a major breakthrough in his career. The Emmy Award not only validated his acting but also spread his name, making industry insiders truly take notice of this newcomer named “Renly Hall” for the first time.

But for Hollywood, this is just the beginning. The Emmy Award may have opened the doors to Hollywood, but the road ahead remains long, winding, and filled with thorns and challenges.

Hollywood lacks many things, but it has never lacked geniuses.

In the glamorous and cutthroat world of Hollywood, a sudden rise to fame and overnight stardom is not unusual for geniuses. They seem to effortlessly capture the public’s attention. But most geniuses are eventually drowned out by the tides of time. The relentless waves of history erode their edges, their brilliance, and their talent, leaving them forgotten in the blink of an eye.

The problem is that these geniuses start at such high points. Once the public’s expectations peak, people begin to demand that they climb even higher. Yet the outcome is often disappointing—steep declines and irreparable falls, never again reaching the heights of Everest. They fade away, lost and adrift. Orson Welles is a classic example.

So, what about Renly?

Will he continue scaling new heights, delivering masterpiece after masterpiece, and become an actor like Al Pacino, whose name is etched into history? Or will he gradually fade, lose his spark and intuition, and become a fleeting comet-like Rosanna Arquette? How much of his potential will he actualize, and what heights will he reach? These are the real questions people are curious about.

The honour of winning an Emmy award for Best Actor is just one star in a vast galaxy. After the moment of brilliance, after the awe and praise, everything will settle back into calm.

Media outlets, including The New York Times and Vanity Fair, fervently pushed Renly to the peak of attention. But after the dust settles, they too will return to a state of calm, waiting for Renly’s next project to arrive.

If his next work is terrible, they will have no hesitation in tearing him down, as if today’s praise and recognition had never happened. What’s even scarier is the scenario where, after ‘The Pacific’, Renly doesn’t produce another work for one, two, or three years—or worse, he releases a new project so lacklustre that the media won’t even bother criticizing it. In such cases, Renly will quickly vanish into Hollywood’s bustling crowds, lost in the fleeting glimmers of fame and fortune.

Currently, thanks to the powerful reach of Yahoo Community members, information about ‘Buried’ is starting to surface. This is unexpected yet somewhat logical. Unexpected, because despite having the support of two top-tier producers, Renly didn’t land a better role. Logical, because before winning the Emmy, Renly was just an ordinary newcomer, and appearing in an indie film was a natural career move.

Hollywood, however, hasn’t paid much attention to this. Every year, hundreds, if not thousands, of indie films are made. A Spanish-funded indie film? That’s even further removed from the centre of the film industry. To garner attention, it would first need to make waves at a festival like Sundance. Until then, no one will care about such a film—even if it stars the newly crowned Emmy Outstanding Lead Actor.

To be more precise, no one expects much from this film. Some even expressed regret, believing Renly had made a decision that could derail his career. Of course, it’s still too early to say for sure. Most people, however, have their eyes set on Renly’s next project—a Hollywood-produced work.

This is the true rule by which Hollywood operates: glamorous media attention? Heated online discussions? Red-hot buzz and focus? These are merely the first stepping stones to opening the doors of Hollywood.

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T/N – I took a little bit of a break but now I am here, are you ready for my road to 300 chapters of The Greatest Showman this year? Can I do it, we will see…

T/N – BTW, recently I created a list of my favorite 50 web novels that I read, the list is on this site so please check it out, who knows maybe you will get another novel to your to-read list, the link for the list – https://hereticnovels.com/my-top-50-web-novels/

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