Chasing Stars (2024) Movie Script
(whoosh)
(no audio)
(city noises in the distance)
(poignant music)
I hear people saying it all the time.
Be yourself.
Be who you really are.
And I never really understood
what that meant.
At least not until this year.
No, no!
Global music.
For the last six months.
Basically my second home.
A heap of my favorite singers
are signed here.
Like Missy,
Seven sisters
and my number one, JXJ.
I've met her before.
A couple times, actually.
Her real name is Willow, and she's super
nice in real life.
Anyway,
they do this charity event
every year called Voices
for the Voiceless.
It's one of the biggest concerts
in the Southern hemisphere,
and it raises crazy money for animal
welfare charities.
I'm pretty sure it has a world record
or something.
My mom works
as an account administrator here.
Whatever that is.
And ever since she made friends with
a very helpful technician.
Just act natural.
No one will have any idea.
I now get to enjoy some family privileges.
Marama, I swear you're
so comfortable here.
More than anyone.
Thanks for being my mentor Willow,
I really don't know how I would
have got started here without you.
Perfect.
Only 25 minutes.
Thank you very much.
No worries.
Hey darling, look,
there's been some issues with the payroll,
so it'll be a late meeting tonight I think.
You'll either need to wait
here or catch the bus, okay?
Yeah, I'm happy here.
All right, but remember,
it's not your space.
You'll need to tidy all this up, please.
Yeah.
It's not just me, mum.
I swear you're going to get me fired
one of these days.
See you later.
(crowd noises)
All right, everyone, calm down.
All right. Thank you
so much for being here.
Congrats on being selected for
this afternoon's meet and greet.
And remember Grape Fun is great fun.
And please, make a whole bunch of
noise for the wonderful JXJ.
Hi, everybody.
Thank you so much for coming.
Okay, so remember that
life is too short for boring
drinks, so make it grape-tastic
with Grape Fun, because
Grape Fun is great fun.
All right, let's get started.
You're going to miss her when she's gone.
She's.
She's very talented.
We can't deny the talent.
Not the most compliant we've ever had.
You don't enjoy being challenged, do you?
Look, all I'm saying is no one is so good
they can't be replaced.
Hi. What's your name?
Don't you recognize me?
It's me.
Mele.
We used to sneak into the practice
rooms at lunchtime to
play guitar. Remember?
Oh, yeah.
Mele. Sorry. Long time ago.
Anyways, you know how you
always talk about the tavern?
Yeah. The tavern.
Well, this Friday, I'm
performing with a mate,
and I thought of you.
I was wondering if you
wanted to come along.
I'm sorry.
I have to get to the next person.
This was the only way I could contact you.
Maybe try through my agent. Agent?
I got you this.
For the memories.
This is a break room.
No-one really comes around
here often, but Willow does,
so you might need to be
a bit tactful around here.
Tactful? Aria?
Marama?
What are you doing?
Me? What are you doing here?
My mom works here, so I just sit
and do my homework after school.
Perks of having a mum in the industry.
Yeah, I guess so.
You look so grown up.
I mean, you must've been, like, 11
in my class or something like that.
Something like that.
Anyways, I have a meeting with
Mr. Andrews, so wish me good luck.
Yeah, good luck. Thanks.
Oh, hey, let him do the talking by the way.
What?
Mom said he hates it when new people come
and talk and talk and talk
because they're so nervous,
so just be comfortable in silence.
Noted, thanks for that,
I'll see you around.
Yeah. Bye. Bye Estella.
So, do you think she's going to sign?
Well yeah,
she's one of our largest deals yet.
That's so great, I'm so proud of her.
Big mistake if you ask me.
What?
Well, you know, obviously, Mr.
Andrews, I thought this was a big break.
Why wouldn't she sign?
Yeah. Soul's sell for the right price.
Why wouldn't she sell?
Sorry, I shouldn't have opened my mouth.
Aria will be great.
I mean, a dream come true.
For this one,
do you wanna do
TikTok, and I'll do it Insta?
Or you do Insta, and I'll do TikTok?
I can't believe how much they're going
to pay her! Who, the new girl?
Yeah. Aria.
All she has to do is perform, while
we're the ones doing all the actual work.
This is from before we started.
Look at this post.
You know what our problem is?
Our titles.
They say we're paid interns.
We're not paid interns.
That's just what they call us to
keep us on the minimum wage.
What are we then?
We're social media consultants.
Yeah!
If we could somehow prove ourselves to
Mr. Andrews.
We could ask him for more money!
This is not what we do here.
I'm sorry, we had a five
minute break, and I just.
It's not what we do here.
We're creative people.
We have our own ideas,
but we don't have any time...
There is a live stream on Thursday,
and the launch is next week.
That's a big deal.
Now you're paid to do a job.
So do your job.
Ah, and remember that point I gave to you?
Yeah, we've been working..
Ok. Ladies.
Five. Six. Seven.
Eight. One.
Two. Three...
Hello.
Are you experts actually watching?
Why are they so close together?
They're falling over each other.
I know I'm a little bit older,
but I'm not completely
ignorant about Tik Tok.
I know that people watch it
on their mobile phones, and these are long.
So everyone has to be in the same frame.
Don't they?
All right, ladies, let's try that again.
But let's do a wide version.
All right, ready?
Five. Six.
Seven. Eight.
One two.
(dance music)
Great.
Working, working.
This has to be finished
by the end of today.
And remember, people. Chop, chop.
We all have deadlines.
Even when you tune it, it still sounds...
It doesn't matter how it sounds..
Does it sound good to you?
It will be fixed in post. Okay.
We will get the
producers to take care of it.
You need to stop
thinking of it as a as a tool.
All right. This is a product.
It shouldn't be a product,
it should be more than that, it should
be something I connect with as an artist.
Well, that would be
lovely in a peachy world.
But this is the world..
You're not even listening to me!
I'm listening to you.
But what you're saying is nonsense.
What you're saying is nonsense!
Okay, well, I guess we're
both saying nonsense.
Ok, look, screw you, ok?
This again?
Every week.
Aria!
How lovely to meet you.
Welcome to Global Music.
All we need is your signature on each.
Your first rehearsal
starts in five minutes.
Right.
Any questions?
Well, I just.
I'm looking forward to working with you.
I think I'm going to
enjoy working with you.
Thank you sir.
Okay.
Vanessa.
Hey, Vanessa.
Yeah. Aria's launch.
Can we move that up by a week?
Thursday's live stream.
I'm thinking we get JXJ to introduce
the new face herself?
I agree.
All right.
I'll catch you at lunch.
No, I'll catch you at lunch.
Sorry if I was a little rude last time.
It wasn't personal, I just had a long day.
That's okay.
I didn't notice.
It's actually a really good idea.
I wish I'd had something
like that when I started.
I was kind of just thrown in the deep end.
I understand.
And I'm glad you think these
video calls are a good idea.
You can relax, you know,
we don't have to be
so formal, professional.
In this industry, there's a lot of masks.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
So maybe this could be a chance for us to,
you know, just hang out,
be a bit more real with each other.
I'd like that Willow.
I'd like that a lot.
You're more quiet than usual.
Something on your mind?
I saw Aria at GM today.
Aria, your old guitar teacher?
Wow. I thought she moved overseas.
Yeah, she did, but she's come back.
She's got a contract
with GM.
Wow. She was always so talented.
Yeah, I was real happy
for her, but Estella said
she shouldn't sign.
Right.
What do you mean, right?
Oh I don't know.
I've always felt people are
free to make their own decisions.
Why is everyone being so weird about this?
Why shouldn't she sign?
Well, you know, GM's a very big
and powerful company.
Sometimes that leads to
corruption.
It's just the way the world is.
What do you. What?
What are you talking about?
How would anyone just accept that?
Look, if this is your way,
just to distract me from remembering,
it's your turn to do the
dishes, it won't work.
Okay, but corruption. What do you..
What do you mean?
I don't know.
You know the fundraiser
they have every year,
supposedly for animal welfare.
Everyone with half a brain knows that's
not where the money's actually going.
What?
Well, I mean, everyone in
the office knows anyway.
What are you saying?
Look, Marama,
you can't just start chatting
about this to anyone.
If you start ruffling
feathers there, you'll lose
your privileges really quickly.
Why are you afraid of the truth?
You don't always have to save the world.
I'm serious mum.
Look, just forget about what I said.
I don't actually know anything for sure.
It's just office gossip. It's.
It's all complicated.
Anyway, you wouldn't understand. Mum!
No one understands.
I haven't forgotten about the dishes.
Do them now, please. Fine.
(door opening)
Hi. I'm Will..
Well, you probably know me as JXJ.
Yeah, I know who you are.
So I'm doing the launch with you.
Introducing the new face.
Yeah, I swore to myself
I wouldn't do this, but
I'm such a huge fan.
I can't believe I'm
getting to work with you.
Thanks, that'll wear off once
you see behind the curtain.
We're probably more similar than you think.
Is that yours?
Yeah.
You want to borrow it?
Ah, yeah!
Oh Marama!
Back again?
You haven't seen a travel brochure
for Europe, have you?
I think I left it in here yesterday.
No sorry.
It's free to dream, isn't it?
Always wanted to go and
see the music halls over there.
I'll let you know if I see it.
You're all good by the way.
My advice, don't worry
about the complaints.
Just hang out, you're practically family.
Complaints?
Has someone complained about me?
Nope.
Nobody's made any formal complaints.
Just don't worry about it.
You're all good.
Hey Birdie?
Yeah.
You were at last year's
fundraiser, right? Yep.
One of my top three performances
of my entire career.
You don't remember it?
No. I was just wondering..
Have you ever heard any rumors
about corruption?
Corruption?
Where's this coming from?
I don't know, it's just
like apparently, almost
none of that money even
went to animal welfare.
Oh, we bringing out the
serious questions today.
Yeah, and apparently almost all the money
has found its way back into GM!
Woah, if this is true, then...
Exactly!
It's not the sort of thing that
should be kept a secret is it.
That's what I've been saying.
But Marama, you know that
none of us can speak out
about this sort of stuff, right?
They won't let us., and it's not worth it.
This sort of stuff?
What else have you heard?
You know what?
I don't want to get into any trouble, but
I just prefer to smile and do my job.
I could speak out.
What?
I can actually do something about this.
Hey, but before you post anything,
you have to make sure it's all true, okay?
Talk to Estella.
She knows way more than I do.
She loves that sort of stuff anyway,
and if it's all true,
just know that I'm your biggest supporter.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
It's still not working. Just take five.
I'll be honest.
I'm not sure how they let me get this far.
I'm not a good dancer.
You're a lead, you don't
even have to dance that much,
just know where the camera is,
and let the crew dance around you.
That's what they're paid for.
Wearing the costumes and
lip syncing to a voice
that used to be yours -
that's what we're paid for.
But luckily enough it pays well.
I don't think I ever
heard you play like that.
What? Real music you mean?
Yeah.
Not very common around here.
(playing guitar)
Okay.
We're going to go again.
Oh I'll take care of that, thank you.
Mr. Andrews doesn't like those on set.
But it's going to my dressing room, right?
We'll look after it for you.
It's not GM branded.
So you can't be seen with that.
Right, we're going to take it
from the start of the second set.
That's what I was trying to tell you.
Look, if you're going to survive here,
there's one thing you need.
Coffee.
This is going to sound a little crazy, but
this is kind of like my good luck charm.
I got given it on my first day here.
Here, take it. Seriously? Yeah.
The best coffee is on the
seventh floor with Estella.
So if you have that, and
a good amount of caffeine,
there is nothing they can throw
at you that you can't handle.
Thank you.
This is amazing.
Welcome to behind the curtain.
Not really your problem,
how is this not everybody's problem.
Everybody needs work.
We just don't have time
for these lofty principles.
Lofty? I just.
I don't understand.
Look, can you keep a secret?
I've been offered another job,
so I'll do some digging for you.
But you cannot tell anybody.
No, no, I won't.
You know those old guys in marketing? Yeah.
They had so much tech, they didn't know
what to do, so they dumped it all on me.
I have access to everything.
Email attachments, meeting transcripts.
If there's something
there, I'll find it for you.
That's great!
But you got to promise me one thing.
You can not tell anybody.
I won't.
And I mean it, not anyone.
No, I won't, I won't.
I don't have enough data
on the financial records, but
I think we both know someone who does.
Marama?
Are you allowed out here?
Wearing this, no-one seems to notice.
How was rehearsal?
It was amazing.
She's amazing.
I'm so excited I get to work with her.
You haven't seen my mum have you?
I'm trying to find her.
No. Is everything all right?
I kind of promised I wouldn't say anything.
That's okay, I respect that.
No, it's like a really big deal,
but I can't tell anyone.
It's fine, really.
It's not though!
What do you mean?
They're lying to you
Aria, they're lying to everyone.
You can't sign with them. What?
It's true.
They're totally corrupt.
What?
What are you talking about?
So it's just.
Okay, so we're still looking
into it, but Estella said.
Well, my mum thinks that.
Well, I just really have to find my mum.
Hey. Calm down.
It's okay.
It's not though, you don't understand.
You can't sign with them.
It won't be good for your career.
It won't be good for you in the long run.
Look, Marama, I appreciate
what you're trying to do here.
And it's going to be all right, okay.
You were happy for me yesterday,
can we just go back to that?
No. You have to trust me on this.
Don't sign anything.
It's too late.
I'm already signed up. Sorry.
Look, this is a really big deal for me.
And I've been working so hard
for so long to get here,
and I'm not about to let that go.
Okay, if I see your mum,
I'll tell her you came by.
(door shutting)
It's all here now.
Are you going to post it online?
Are you crazy?
I could post it, I've got nothing to lose.
There's always something to lose.
Even if you wanted to,
you can't just post it anywhere.
Firstly, no one will notice if it
comes from a nobody like you.
No offense.
Okay.
Secondly, if they figure out what you're
trying to do, they will shut it
down and then they'll shut you down.
They have their ways.
But we have to do something.
We can't just let them get away with this.
I can only think of one way
we'll get through to them. How?
It has to come from JXJ.
What? I can't speak to her.
You've got to convince her.
She's their poster child right now.
The public face.
This will hurt them.
I just can't speak to
her. She's too famous.
I get starstruck.
Last time she was in the rehearsal room.
I just I froze up.
I can't talk to her.
Well, you're going to
have to get over that.
She's the hype right now.
If it comes from her social
media, people will notice.
Okay, let me organize everything
and you go convince her.
If you want this to mean anything.
You've got to get JXJ on board.
You have to talk to Willow.
Talofa lava, my name is Bridget Moore.
And today I'm going to be singing Lascia
ch'io pianga
That is not what we do here.
I don't want to go back to class.
I just want to stay out here forever.
Tomorrow.
When I grow up, I want to
play at the tavern every day
and every night, and I won't
ever have to do anything else.
Come on.
Just filming
a sneaky little self-tape for an audition.
Educational concerts.
I just don't think I'm good enough.
The money doesn't pay much, but
it's in Vienna,
it's opera.
It's in Europe, that's
the main thing, right?
This could totally change my life.
Yeah. I'm really excited for you. Hey.
I spoke to Estella. And?
And we found so much, like, hard evidence.
Well, it doesn't surprise me.
You're one brave girl aren't you.
Just, promise me you'll be careful.
Okay?
Yeah, of course.
Now I really hope I get this job.
Oh, yeah, sorry to interrupt.
Good luck with the the self-tape.
Have you seen Willow?
She's next door.
Thanks.
Cool, that's great Willow,
thanks, just one more of those.
Oh. You all right?
Yeah.
I was just waiting to see Willow.
Okay.
Yup, when you're ready.
I never knew I needed you so bad.
I've never had a feeling like this before.
I never knew I loved you so.
But my summer begins with you.
You all right?
Yeah. I just can't do this right now.
Maybe after lunch.
All right then, we'll take a breather.
Have some lunch.
20 minutes, yeah?
Hi. Shocking isn't it.
I think it sounds nice.
You're Caitlin's daughter.
Yeah, I was just wondering...
And you think that sounded good?
Yeah. I'm like a really big fan.
I love all the stuff you do.
Especially like your old stuff on YouTube.
It's really cool.
Really?
Like, do you like that better
than what I've done at GM?
Am I allowed to say yes?
I got your email.
Yeah.
On the internal system.
How did you get my address?
Mum leaves her laptop open all the time.
She uses the same
password for, like, everything.
Risky. Yeah, I'll let her know.
It's just I really had to contact you.
This is quite important.
Have you ever heard of the
Willow's Grove Tavern?
No. It's a really small place
and my dad used to take us there
all the time.
It's where my name comes from.
My real name.
It's got great food.
I mean, there's this garlic bread
that literally falls apart in your mouth.
And the music as well,
I mean, they do live stuff every weekend,
and it's just so real, you know?
Genuine.
Acoustic.
It's what got me into
music in the first place.
I mean, ever since I was
a kid, I just wanted to be
one of those singers at the tavern.
That's the crazy thing.
I mean I've got worldwide
hits now, I'm everywhere
on TV, social media.
But in reality,
I still don't think I'm good enough
to perform at the tavern.
Isn't that wild?
Of course you're good enough, you're JXJ!
I'm sure if you ask...
I can't.
It doesn't fit the brand.
I can't be doing things
that don't fit the brand.
Look,
I used to think that I could fight them.
That my little protests
would make a difference, but
they're too big.
My advice is give up now.
Save yourself the time and the torment.
Look, I
know you think it's important now, but
trust me, it's just not worth it.
(rhytmic music)
You seem sad.
Is everything okay?
Yeah. I'm okay.
I'm very comfortable here.
Maybe that's the problem.
You're too comfortable?
Well, I don't know.
This has all happened so fast.
I mean, do you think it's weird
that it's like
like, I can't remember who I was
before all this?
Who do you want to be?
That's a good question.
You don't have to answer.
I'm just making conversation.
Thanks for chatting, it's
nice not to be alone tonight.
Even though the whole world supposedly
loves me,
in a weird way,
it's like I have even less
friends then I had before.
You can always chat to me any time.
Do you feel guilty?
It's not our fault.
Well it's definitely not mine.
I was just spreading information.
I didn't know he was
going to react like, like that.
Whatever.
We just need to make sure
this doesn't come back to us.
Agreed.
What are you painting?
I don't know.
It's just my feelings.
Oh, well,
that's not what we're supposed to be doing.
Willow,
this is nice.
I love the color of the water.
But what are you hiding?
I don't know.
Can I have a look?
I think I like this one much more.
Never be afraid of your
own creative ideas, Willow.
Let people see who you are.
Mele, Mele! Willow!
I did this painting for you.
You made this for me?
Yeah.
My teacher said I was creative.
Thanks!
See you at lunch! Bye.
Hi Mom.
Independence, right?
What?
You're ready to be independent?
I don't know, why?
Because our household
income is back to zero.
That's why.
Because I no longer have a job.
That's why!
I've basically given up
any hope of ever getting any
child support, you know that.
And now, thanks to you,
I no longer have a job.
So, yeah, it's time to
start being independent.
What happened? You know what happened.
And someone, God knows who,
got suspicious enough
of you to mention it to Mr.
Andrews, and when he looked into it,
it turns out my account has signs of
unusual activity.
Mum I..
Sure, so I'm not the best with passwords
and security and all the rest of it.
But Marama, if there's one person,
one person in the world I could trust.
Why didn't you come
to me about any of this?
Mum, I'm sorry.
It's going to take a lot more than sorry!
Look, I'll.
I'll talk to them tomorrow,
and I'll tell them that...
You'll go back tomorrow?
How naive can you get?
Do you think that your security card
or mine is ever going to work again?
My job and your little side
project are over.
They have to understand
the truth that it isn't your fault.
No it's not!
And it's not mine either!
I'm exercising my right to have a voice.
I'm standing up for the victims of fraud.
Right, your principles, your ideals.,
meanwhile, you're
hurting the people you love!
I'm sorry, Mum.
Marama, I wouldn't put
it past them to send one
of their drivers over to
serve us both with a lawsuit.
You've got to learn
when it's time to speak up.
And time.
When it's time to shut your mouth.
Enough people already
keep their mouth shut.
Okay, maybe I was being naive,
but at least I'm not turning a blind eye
when I know full well what's going on.
I'm sorry, mum, but keeping my mouth
shut on issues like
this just isn't what I do!
It's not who I am!
I don't think you know who you are.
But if you're old enough
to start changing the world,
then you're old enough to
start paying your own way.
Enough's enough.
Tomorrow you're going out and
you're starting to look for a job.
I actually think,
despite these being terrible guitars,
they would make very pretty violins.
Do you play anything apart from guitar?
I mean, I play bits and pieces.
Drum kits as well.
They're all just like colors.
They should paint them.
If I was a drummer, I paint my drum kit.
I'd put butterflies on it.
Really?
Yeah,
butterflies are so peaceful.
Yeah.
You know when they just land, like, on you?
I remember when I was a kid,
I went to this, what do you call it?
Bird sanctuary, sort of thing,
and there was just this one area
and it was just full of butterflies.
It was like, the prettiest
thing I've ever seen.
And then.
And then when I was sitting down,
this one just...
It literally came and
landed on the tip of my nose.
Really?
Like, I kid you not, the best
thing I've ever experienced.
Real? Yeah.
Even better than like performing
in front of millions of people. Like
top notch.
I feel like those are always, like,
the best memories you have.
I reckon.
Hello.
Hello. Hello.
Does it work?
Oh, what was that?
(laughing)
Okay.
You ready?
Yeah.
Okay.
Oh, sorry.
My storage is full.
Is it okay if we use your phone?
Yeah.
Just give me a second.
Okay.
Hey, guys.
It's us. I'm Birdy.
I'm EJ.
And today we're at the beach!
You know what?
This water's made my lips
feel so dry and chapped.
Hence why I have this GM
lip balm that I always carry.
But, you know what's better?
The GM lip gloss.
I swear, it's just so life saving
and perfect for everything.
Like, it's so lip plumping.
Re: Application Congratulations!
We're delighted to offer you...
Congratulations! We're
delighted to offer you the
position of lunchtime
concert musician in Vienna...
Hi! You're really good, by the way.
And that's why I think we can
make this good for both of us.
Thank you so much.
This is incredible.
No. Of course you know, we want our
we want our artists to feel valued.
Thanks again.
One more thing.
Aria.
It's been dealt with now.
Learn the hard way, of course.
But over the last few days,
there's been some rumblings. Rumblings?
Some of your peers feel
that they can get away with telling lies
about the company.
I think they're just starved for attention.
Oh, Now,
you wouldn't be involved
in anything like that yourself?
No. No, I haven't heard anything.
Good, good.
Well, let's keep it that way, shall we?
Excellent.
Hi. Hey, can you check my schedule for me?
I thought I was doing promos, but
my calendar says I have the morning off.
Sure.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
Just didn't get much sleep last night.
Yeah.
They've taken you on promos.
You're free.
Have a coffee.
That's strange.
Yeah.
They're making Aria do it.
You know what that means, right?
Oh, yeah.
They're going to start promoting her.
No, not just promoting, like,
mega promotion.
Yeah, like they did with me.
No, like a yearly cost type of thing.
If she has your schedule,
you know, she's the
the new you.
Oh, so like her instead of me?
Are you okay?
I don't know.
Look, if it makes you feel any better,
I don't see her lasting a year.
Not with the new AI you've been training.
What AI?
You know, the mentoring program
or whatever they call it.
I haven't been doing anything with AI.
Yes, you have the girl, cadence.
She's AI.
She's not real.
Yes she is.
She's a real person.
I was just talking to her the other night.
No, no she isn't.
I mean, that's what
they want you to believe.
She works 24/7, you can
change how she looks,
how she acts, and the best part is,
she makes so much content
that you don't even have to pay her.
Bye bye. Artists.
I don't believe you.
Can you move the camera?
I want to see more of your room.
My camera is attached
to my desktop computer,
so it's not really possible
to move it right now.
What's on your desk?
There are several objects.
There's a pin and some paper.
Pick up the pen.
Pick up the pen.
Throw it in the air and catch it.
Do it again.
I am a trainee.
And you're my mentor.
I appreciate your guidance.
And you can talk to me anytime
if you have any thoughts
you'd like to share about
Global Music.
(tense music)
Happy birthday.
Oh my gosh.
Thanks.
It's for your new guitar.
I love them!
I put them on. Here!
I carved my initials,
now you carve yours.
That way, we'll always be together.
Do you think we'll still be
friends when you're world famous?
Well, I might still have time for you.
Hey, just gonna get in the...
Change of plans.
We're going to Helensville.
Well, I'm not authorized to take
you to Helensville, I'm authorized to...
It's okay.
I'm authorizing you.
No, it's your rehearsal for the launch, I..
Paul.
I'm not going.
Okay, okay.
Okay.
Hey, Paul.
I'm going to be a while, so if you
want to get a coffee or something.
I. Okay, okay.
Mom. Mom.
Typical.
(slow music)
One thing
after another makes me question,
where am I meant to be?
One thing
after another leaves me asking,
when can I breathe?
My feet are on the ground,
but my head is in the clouds
My feet are on the ground,
but my head
is in the clouds,
'cause I'm chasing stars.
Do I embrace the unknown?
No longer
confined to paths I've outgrown.
Can I find myself
where there's no more bounds left to
hold me down.
No more shadows,
no more doubt in my head.
Running in circles,
I can't fathom the let go of this life.
One thing
after another drives me
to fight.
My feet on the ground
but my head is in the clouds.
My feet are on the ground,
but my head is in the clouds,
'cause I'm chasing stars.
I'll embrace the unknown.
No longer confined to paths I've outgrown.
And I will find myself
where there's no more
bounds left to hold me down
No more shadows,
no more doubt
in my head.
The light in my head
is still on.
The fire in my heart
is burning bright.
Oh this time
I feel like myself
'cos there's nowhere to hide.
My feet are on the ground,
but my head is in the clouds.
My feet are on the ground,
but my head is in the clouds.
'Cause I'm chasing stars.
I'll embrace the unknown.
No longer confined to paths I've outgrown.
And I will find myself
where there's no more bounds
left to hold me down.
No more shadows,
no more doubt
in my head.
(birds chirping)
(car pulling up outside)
If someone told me six weeks ago
that JXJ would be in my room,
I think I would have had a heart attack.
Never meet your heroes.
Did I ruin it for you?
I did, everyone was right.
I was just being a
self-important little brat,
getting carried away with
an issue like I always do.
So embarrassing.
If that's what I thought do
you think I'd have come here?
Look, you're the one who was right.
All those things you
were saying, they're true.
People don't think it is,
but it is they're true.
And if you give up on it now,
just because it's getting a bit hard,
then you will be a little brat.
Okay. Come on.
Here's what I think we can do.
Okay.
Okay.
Oh, sorry.
Oh it's okay, come in.
I don't want to interrupt.
Don't worry about it, I
was just about to leave.
Oh, wait,
is that the wig?
Yeah.
You want to take a selfie? Yes!
I started here last week,
and every day my friends would ask me
if I've met JXJ yet.
They're going to lose it once I tell them.
Do you want to try it on?
Are you serious?
Yeah. For sure. Oh,
I don't want to damage it.
You're fine.
Just don't let it damage you.
Thank you so much.
You're so amazing.
All good.
'Cause I've just tuned it so good.
I'm so sick of being
what you wanted me to be.
You don't know me at all.
You don't know me at all.
I don't know me.
That's crazy.
That's pretty deep right there.
You can't say that to win.
You are actually going through with this?
Yes. I mean, I know it's scary.
I'm scared too, but it's the right thing.
This is my career we're talking about.
You're gonna be fine.
Nobody's going to blame you for this.
These people are corrupt.
According to who? Marama?
She's a kid, Willow.
It's not just her, okay?
Estella backs her up, and
what they're saying checks out.
Okay, but you're telling
me this, like, what?
Two hours before?
You're going to be fine, okay?
I promise.
And if you change your mind, you can always
join us. No.
Okay, there's an audience of
people waiting for us, right?
I can't just leave.
Not when my career is about to start.
Look,
I know it seems like there's
nothing else out there for us apart
from GM, but
that song that we wrote together
the other day,
that was the most fun I've had in years.
Years!
I already love working with you.
It just doesn't have to be here.
I love working with you too.
I'm sorry.
Me too.
Hi, everyone.
Me again?
I just wrote a little song, and
I hope you enjoy.
(audience cheering)
[Singing]
Honey.
If you keep scowling like that: one,
you will get wrinkles, and two,
I can't finish my work!
So let's turn that frown upside down.
This is where we are if you
change your mind after the madness
You must be Birdie?
Yes. And I'm so pleased to..
You are singing tomorrow?
You stand...
Stand here, perfect!
The piano, the audience there, perfect!
We are singing for the university students
so, it needs to be...
You sing now.
You want me to sing now?
Yes. Sing now.
Lascia..
How do you feel?
Oh, I'm feeling really excited.
Oh, no no no no. The aria.
Oh, the aria!
The emotion, the feeling, how you feel.
Well, Almirena is longing
for freedom, and it's quite sad.
Yes, the feeling, now
you must find the feeling.
You must sing the feeling.
You must feel the feeling..
My gosh!
I can't believe you came!
That was amazing, you were amazing.
Thank you.
It feels so good to be a human again.
Well you'd better hide or put on a mustache
or something.
You need to come and have a look at this.
Yeah, I'm just finishing up with this.
No, you need to see this now.
Okay.
What's so urgent?
Those rats.
Their rats. This is...
Okay, okay, I know how this is going to go.
Right!
Okay, so I intend
that the position of the company
is going to be that you acted alone.
I believe I warned you
about this at the time.
Funny how these things
sometimes come back to bite you.
You shut up. Shut up.
Just shut up!
How dare you!
I am still the CEO of this company, Rob.
I would be very careful
with what comes out of
your mouth right about now.
No way.
Clem! I know!
We have to find a way
to get ahead of this. How?
What's your plan?
Pass me the laptop.
Teenage pop, star JXJ
has today released what she claims
is evidence of fraudulent practice
by Global Music in relation
to 'Voices for the Voiceless',
a fundraising concert
for animal welfare, according to JXJ.
Most of the money doesn't
make it to the charity,
but rather to the back pockets
of Global Music executives.
In a series of social media
posts, she specifically mentioned
Robert Andrews, claiming he
was the one behind the big idea.
As employers of Global Music,
we're shocked and saddened... No!
What?
We're employees.
What?
Never mind.
Keep going, I'll edit it. Okay.
Hi. It's us.
Clem and Ruru.
And today we are obviously
shocked and saddened
by the news of what our
employees have done.
No! What!
They're our employers, we're employees.
You just said to say employees. Never mind.
I'm going to speak. Okay.
Ready? Three. Two. One.
Hi, guys.
It's us.
Clem and Ruru.
Obviously, we're shocked
and saddened by the news of...
Hold on, I've got an eyelash in my eye.
Are you serious? Yes.
But this was such a good take. Oh, come on!
You weren't even crying in that one.
Okay, fine. Wait. Let's redo.
Where's the menthol?
(opera singing)
Made you lunch
(From my savings, to
help with the groceries:)
All better than GM
(audience clapping)
Hi, everyone
I'm Willow. JXJ!
Well, I might not actually
be going by that name
anymore, but,
it's really nice to be back here and,
you know, seeing some familiar faces.
This tavern is actually
what I was named after.
Not all of you knew
that, but some of you did.
Hi Jane.
So before I do
anything, the main reason I came here
tonight was to support my good
friend Mele who you just saw perform.
So how about another hand for her?
So, anyways, I don't know how many of you
would have seen my social media lately.
But, there's
actually another reason
why I came here tonight.
And that's to experience something real.
I feel like
when music is really doing its job,
it reminds us of what it's like
to be really human. So,
I feel like that's something
I was in danger of forgetting.
So, yeah,
the song is just a little bit about that.
Aria?
I couldn't do it,
I couldn't go through with it.
Hey, you know I don't
have to stay here right?
If you want to go somewhere else, we can.
No, no, you stay here.
You go do your thing.
I can talk after.
Do you want to join me?
Really?
Well, yeah.
I mean, it's super casual.
We can basically just do whatever.
What about that song
that we wrote together?
That's what I was thinking.
Yeah.
Okay.
Let's go!
So, sorry about that everybody,
but this is my other good friend, Aria.
She is Global Music's latest signing.
And also their latest resignation.
So this is a song
that we wrote together
not all that long ago.
So it is a little bit rough, but,
hopefully you'll all
still enjoy it anyways.
Day after day went by,
I let you take away my pride.
I changed my look for you,
my hair, my face, even my eyes.
You tried to take away
the people that I loved in life.
I guess I had a part to play
because I let it slide.
I let it slide.
I'm so sick of
being what you wanted me to be.
I don't want to live a life
hanging by your strings.
Originality feels like a distant memory.
Feels like forever since
I have just been me.
I always wondered what
it means to be yourself.
Your true self.
And I hear people saying it all the time:
'Be who you really are.'
But I never
really understood what that meant
until this year.
I'm so sick of being
what you wanted me to be.
I don't wanna live a life
hanging by your strings.
Originality feels like a distant memory.
Feels like forever
since I have just been me.
They don't know me at all.
I don't know me at all.
That song ended up being quite popular.
And that night
Tonight.
I wouldn't want to be anyone else.
(audience singing along)
(audience cheering)
(upbeat music)
(music fades)
(no audio)
(city noises in the distance)
(poignant music)
I hear people saying it all the time.
Be yourself.
Be who you really are.
And I never really understood
what that meant.
At least not until this year.
No, no!
Global music.
For the last six months.
Basically my second home.
A heap of my favorite singers
are signed here.
Like Missy,
Seven sisters
and my number one, JXJ.
I've met her before.
A couple times, actually.
Her real name is Willow, and she's super
nice in real life.
Anyway,
they do this charity event
every year called Voices
for the Voiceless.
It's one of the biggest concerts
in the Southern hemisphere,
and it raises crazy money for animal
welfare charities.
I'm pretty sure it has a world record
or something.
My mom works
as an account administrator here.
Whatever that is.
And ever since she made friends with
a very helpful technician.
Just act natural.
No one will have any idea.
I now get to enjoy some family privileges.
Marama, I swear you're
so comfortable here.
More than anyone.
Thanks for being my mentor Willow,
I really don't know how I would
have got started here without you.
Perfect.
Only 25 minutes.
Thank you very much.
No worries.
Hey darling, look,
there's been some issues with the payroll,
so it'll be a late meeting tonight I think.
You'll either need to wait
here or catch the bus, okay?
Yeah, I'm happy here.
All right, but remember,
it's not your space.
You'll need to tidy all this up, please.
Yeah.
It's not just me, mum.
I swear you're going to get me fired
one of these days.
See you later.
(crowd noises)
All right, everyone, calm down.
All right. Thank you
so much for being here.
Congrats on being selected for
this afternoon's meet and greet.
And remember Grape Fun is great fun.
And please, make a whole bunch of
noise for the wonderful JXJ.
Hi, everybody.
Thank you so much for coming.
Okay, so remember that
life is too short for boring
drinks, so make it grape-tastic
with Grape Fun, because
Grape Fun is great fun.
All right, let's get started.
You're going to miss her when she's gone.
She's.
She's very talented.
We can't deny the talent.
Not the most compliant we've ever had.
You don't enjoy being challenged, do you?
Look, all I'm saying is no one is so good
they can't be replaced.
Hi. What's your name?
Don't you recognize me?
It's me.
Mele.
We used to sneak into the practice
rooms at lunchtime to
play guitar. Remember?
Oh, yeah.
Mele. Sorry. Long time ago.
Anyways, you know how you
always talk about the tavern?
Yeah. The tavern.
Well, this Friday, I'm
performing with a mate,
and I thought of you.
I was wondering if you
wanted to come along.
I'm sorry.
I have to get to the next person.
This was the only way I could contact you.
Maybe try through my agent. Agent?
I got you this.
For the memories.
This is a break room.
No-one really comes around
here often, but Willow does,
so you might need to be
a bit tactful around here.
Tactful? Aria?
Marama?
What are you doing?
Me? What are you doing here?
My mom works here, so I just sit
and do my homework after school.
Perks of having a mum in the industry.
Yeah, I guess so.
You look so grown up.
I mean, you must've been, like, 11
in my class or something like that.
Something like that.
Anyways, I have a meeting with
Mr. Andrews, so wish me good luck.
Yeah, good luck. Thanks.
Oh, hey, let him do the talking by the way.
What?
Mom said he hates it when new people come
and talk and talk and talk
because they're so nervous,
so just be comfortable in silence.
Noted, thanks for that,
I'll see you around.
Yeah. Bye. Bye Estella.
So, do you think she's going to sign?
Well yeah,
she's one of our largest deals yet.
That's so great, I'm so proud of her.
Big mistake if you ask me.
What?
Well, you know, obviously, Mr.
Andrews, I thought this was a big break.
Why wouldn't she sign?
Yeah. Soul's sell for the right price.
Why wouldn't she sell?
Sorry, I shouldn't have opened my mouth.
Aria will be great.
I mean, a dream come true.
For this one,
do you wanna do
TikTok, and I'll do it Insta?
Or you do Insta, and I'll do TikTok?
I can't believe how much they're going
to pay her! Who, the new girl?
Yeah. Aria.
All she has to do is perform, while
we're the ones doing all the actual work.
This is from before we started.
Look at this post.
You know what our problem is?
Our titles.
They say we're paid interns.
We're not paid interns.
That's just what they call us to
keep us on the minimum wage.
What are we then?
We're social media consultants.
Yeah!
If we could somehow prove ourselves to
Mr. Andrews.
We could ask him for more money!
This is not what we do here.
I'm sorry, we had a five
minute break, and I just.
It's not what we do here.
We're creative people.
We have our own ideas,
but we don't have any time...
There is a live stream on Thursday,
and the launch is next week.
That's a big deal.
Now you're paid to do a job.
So do your job.
Ah, and remember that point I gave to you?
Yeah, we've been working..
Ok. Ladies.
Five. Six. Seven.
Eight. One.
Two. Three...
Hello.
Are you experts actually watching?
Why are they so close together?
They're falling over each other.
I know I'm a little bit older,
but I'm not completely
ignorant about Tik Tok.
I know that people watch it
on their mobile phones, and these are long.
So everyone has to be in the same frame.
Don't they?
All right, ladies, let's try that again.
But let's do a wide version.
All right, ready?
Five. Six.
Seven. Eight.
One two.
(dance music)
Great.
Working, working.
This has to be finished
by the end of today.
And remember, people. Chop, chop.
We all have deadlines.
Even when you tune it, it still sounds...
It doesn't matter how it sounds..
Does it sound good to you?
It will be fixed in post. Okay.
We will get the
producers to take care of it.
You need to stop
thinking of it as a as a tool.
All right. This is a product.
It shouldn't be a product,
it should be more than that, it should
be something I connect with as an artist.
Well, that would be
lovely in a peachy world.
But this is the world..
You're not even listening to me!
I'm listening to you.
But what you're saying is nonsense.
What you're saying is nonsense!
Okay, well, I guess we're
both saying nonsense.
Ok, look, screw you, ok?
This again?
Every week.
Aria!
How lovely to meet you.
Welcome to Global Music.
All we need is your signature on each.
Your first rehearsal
starts in five minutes.
Right.
Any questions?
Well, I just.
I'm looking forward to working with you.
I think I'm going to
enjoy working with you.
Thank you sir.
Okay.
Vanessa.
Hey, Vanessa.
Yeah. Aria's launch.
Can we move that up by a week?
Thursday's live stream.
I'm thinking we get JXJ to introduce
the new face herself?
I agree.
All right.
I'll catch you at lunch.
No, I'll catch you at lunch.
Sorry if I was a little rude last time.
It wasn't personal, I just had a long day.
That's okay.
I didn't notice.
It's actually a really good idea.
I wish I'd had something
like that when I started.
I was kind of just thrown in the deep end.
I understand.
And I'm glad you think these
video calls are a good idea.
You can relax, you know,
we don't have to be
so formal, professional.
In this industry, there's a lot of masks.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
So maybe this could be a chance for us to,
you know, just hang out,
be a bit more real with each other.
I'd like that Willow.
I'd like that a lot.
You're more quiet than usual.
Something on your mind?
I saw Aria at GM today.
Aria, your old guitar teacher?
Wow. I thought she moved overseas.
Yeah, she did, but she's come back.
She's got a contract
with GM.
Wow. She was always so talented.
Yeah, I was real happy
for her, but Estella said
she shouldn't sign.
Right.
What do you mean, right?
Oh I don't know.
I've always felt people are
free to make their own decisions.
Why is everyone being so weird about this?
Why shouldn't she sign?
Well, you know, GM's a very big
and powerful company.
Sometimes that leads to
corruption.
It's just the way the world is.
What do you. What?
What are you talking about?
How would anyone just accept that?
Look, if this is your way,
just to distract me from remembering,
it's your turn to do the
dishes, it won't work.
Okay, but corruption. What do you..
What do you mean?
I don't know.
You know the fundraiser
they have every year,
supposedly for animal welfare.
Everyone with half a brain knows that's
not where the money's actually going.
What?
Well, I mean, everyone in
the office knows anyway.
What are you saying?
Look, Marama,
you can't just start chatting
about this to anyone.
If you start ruffling
feathers there, you'll lose
your privileges really quickly.
Why are you afraid of the truth?
You don't always have to save the world.
I'm serious mum.
Look, just forget about what I said.
I don't actually know anything for sure.
It's just office gossip. It's.
It's all complicated.
Anyway, you wouldn't understand. Mum!
No one understands.
I haven't forgotten about the dishes.
Do them now, please. Fine.
(door opening)
Hi. I'm Will..
Well, you probably know me as JXJ.
Yeah, I know who you are.
So I'm doing the launch with you.
Introducing the new face.
Yeah, I swore to myself
I wouldn't do this, but
I'm such a huge fan.
I can't believe I'm
getting to work with you.
Thanks, that'll wear off once
you see behind the curtain.
We're probably more similar than you think.
Is that yours?
Yeah.
You want to borrow it?
Ah, yeah!
Oh Marama!
Back again?
You haven't seen a travel brochure
for Europe, have you?
I think I left it in here yesterday.
No sorry.
It's free to dream, isn't it?
Always wanted to go and
see the music halls over there.
I'll let you know if I see it.
You're all good by the way.
My advice, don't worry
about the complaints.
Just hang out, you're practically family.
Complaints?
Has someone complained about me?
Nope.
Nobody's made any formal complaints.
Just don't worry about it.
You're all good.
Hey Birdie?
Yeah.
You were at last year's
fundraiser, right? Yep.
One of my top three performances
of my entire career.
You don't remember it?
No. I was just wondering..
Have you ever heard any rumors
about corruption?
Corruption?
Where's this coming from?
I don't know, it's just
like apparently, almost
none of that money even
went to animal welfare.
Oh, we bringing out the
serious questions today.
Yeah, and apparently almost all the money
has found its way back into GM!
Woah, if this is true, then...
Exactly!
It's not the sort of thing that
should be kept a secret is it.
That's what I've been saying.
But Marama, you know that
none of us can speak out
about this sort of stuff, right?
They won't let us., and it's not worth it.
This sort of stuff?
What else have you heard?
You know what?
I don't want to get into any trouble, but
I just prefer to smile and do my job.
I could speak out.
What?
I can actually do something about this.
Hey, but before you post anything,
you have to make sure it's all true, okay?
Talk to Estella.
She knows way more than I do.
She loves that sort of stuff anyway,
and if it's all true,
just know that I'm your biggest supporter.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
It's still not working. Just take five.
I'll be honest.
I'm not sure how they let me get this far.
I'm not a good dancer.
You're a lead, you don't
even have to dance that much,
just know where the camera is,
and let the crew dance around you.
That's what they're paid for.
Wearing the costumes and
lip syncing to a voice
that used to be yours -
that's what we're paid for.
But luckily enough it pays well.
I don't think I ever
heard you play like that.
What? Real music you mean?
Yeah.
Not very common around here.
(playing guitar)
Okay.
We're going to go again.
Oh I'll take care of that, thank you.
Mr. Andrews doesn't like those on set.
But it's going to my dressing room, right?
We'll look after it for you.
It's not GM branded.
So you can't be seen with that.
Right, we're going to take it
from the start of the second set.
That's what I was trying to tell you.
Look, if you're going to survive here,
there's one thing you need.
Coffee.
This is going to sound a little crazy, but
this is kind of like my good luck charm.
I got given it on my first day here.
Here, take it. Seriously? Yeah.
The best coffee is on the
seventh floor with Estella.
So if you have that, and
a good amount of caffeine,
there is nothing they can throw
at you that you can't handle.
Thank you.
This is amazing.
Welcome to behind the curtain.
Not really your problem,
how is this not everybody's problem.
Everybody needs work.
We just don't have time
for these lofty principles.
Lofty? I just.
I don't understand.
Look, can you keep a secret?
I've been offered another job,
so I'll do some digging for you.
But you cannot tell anybody.
No, no, I won't.
You know those old guys in marketing? Yeah.
They had so much tech, they didn't know
what to do, so they dumped it all on me.
I have access to everything.
Email attachments, meeting transcripts.
If there's something
there, I'll find it for you.
That's great!
But you got to promise me one thing.
You can not tell anybody.
I won't.
And I mean it, not anyone.
No, I won't, I won't.
I don't have enough data
on the financial records, but
I think we both know someone who does.
Marama?
Are you allowed out here?
Wearing this, no-one seems to notice.
How was rehearsal?
It was amazing.
She's amazing.
I'm so excited I get to work with her.
You haven't seen my mum have you?
I'm trying to find her.
No. Is everything all right?
I kind of promised I wouldn't say anything.
That's okay, I respect that.
No, it's like a really big deal,
but I can't tell anyone.
It's fine, really.
It's not though!
What do you mean?
They're lying to you
Aria, they're lying to everyone.
You can't sign with them. What?
It's true.
They're totally corrupt.
What?
What are you talking about?
So it's just.
Okay, so we're still looking
into it, but Estella said.
Well, my mum thinks that.
Well, I just really have to find my mum.
Hey. Calm down.
It's okay.
It's not though, you don't understand.
You can't sign with them.
It won't be good for your career.
It won't be good for you in the long run.
Look, Marama, I appreciate
what you're trying to do here.
And it's going to be all right, okay.
You were happy for me yesterday,
can we just go back to that?
No. You have to trust me on this.
Don't sign anything.
It's too late.
I'm already signed up. Sorry.
Look, this is a really big deal for me.
And I've been working so hard
for so long to get here,
and I'm not about to let that go.
Okay, if I see your mum,
I'll tell her you came by.
(door shutting)
It's all here now.
Are you going to post it online?
Are you crazy?
I could post it, I've got nothing to lose.
There's always something to lose.
Even if you wanted to,
you can't just post it anywhere.
Firstly, no one will notice if it
comes from a nobody like you.
No offense.
Okay.
Secondly, if they figure out what you're
trying to do, they will shut it
down and then they'll shut you down.
They have their ways.
But we have to do something.
We can't just let them get away with this.
I can only think of one way
we'll get through to them. How?
It has to come from JXJ.
What? I can't speak to her.
You've got to convince her.
She's their poster child right now.
The public face.
This will hurt them.
I just can't speak to
her. She's too famous.
I get starstruck.
Last time she was in the rehearsal room.
I just I froze up.
I can't talk to her.
Well, you're going to
have to get over that.
She's the hype right now.
If it comes from her social
media, people will notice.
Okay, let me organize everything
and you go convince her.
If you want this to mean anything.
You've got to get JXJ on board.
You have to talk to Willow.
Talofa lava, my name is Bridget Moore.
And today I'm going to be singing Lascia
ch'io pianga
That is not what we do here.
I don't want to go back to class.
I just want to stay out here forever.
Tomorrow.
When I grow up, I want to
play at the tavern every day
and every night, and I won't
ever have to do anything else.
Come on.
Just filming
a sneaky little self-tape for an audition.
Educational concerts.
I just don't think I'm good enough.
The money doesn't pay much, but
it's in Vienna,
it's opera.
It's in Europe, that's
the main thing, right?
This could totally change my life.
Yeah. I'm really excited for you. Hey.
I spoke to Estella. And?
And we found so much, like, hard evidence.
Well, it doesn't surprise me.
You're one brave girl aren't you.
Just, promise me you'll be careful.
Okay?
Yeah, of course.
Now I really hope I get this job.
Oh, yeah, sorry to interrupt.
Good luck with the the self-tape.
Have you seen Willow?
She's next door.
Thanks.
Cool, that's great Willow,
thanks, just one more of those.
Oh. You all right?
Yeah.
I was just waiting to see Willow.
Okay.
Yup, when you're ready.
I never knew I needed you so bad.
I've never had a feeling like this before.
I never knew I loved you so.
But my summer begins with you.
You all right?
Yeah. I just can't do this right now.
Maybe after lunch.
All right then, we'll take a breather.
Have some lunch.
20 minutes, yeah?
Hi. Shocking isn't it.
I think it sounds nice.
You're Caitlin's daughter.
Yeah, I was just wondering...
And you think that sounded good?
Yeah. I'm like a really big fan.
I love all the stuff you do.
Especially like your old stuff on YouTube.
It's really cool.
Really?
Like, do you like that better
than what I've done at GM?
Am I allowed to say yes?
I got your email.
Yeah.
On the internal system.
How did you get my address?
Mum leaves her laptop open all the time.
She uses the same
password for, like, everything.
Risky. Yeah, I'll let her know.
It's just I really had to contact you.
This is quite important.
Have you ever heard of the
Willow's Grove Tavern?
No. It's a really small place
and my dad used to take us there
all the time.
It's where my name comes from.
My real name.
It's got great food.
I mean, there's this garlic bread
that literally falls apart in your mouth.
And the music as well,
I mean, they do live stuff every weekend,
and it's just so real, you know?
Genuine.
Acoustic.
It's what got me into
music in the first place.
I mean, ever since I was
a kid, I just wanted to be
one of those singers at the tavern.
That's the crazy thing.
I mean I've got worldwide
hits now, I'm everywhere
on TV, social media.
But in reality,
I still don't think I'm good enough
to perform at the tavern.
Isn't that wild?
Of course you're good enough, you're JXJ!
I'm sure if you ask...
I can't.
It doesn't fit the brand.
I can't be doing things
that don't fit the brand.
Look,
I used to think that I could fight them.
That my little protests
would make a difference, but
they're too big.
My advice is give up now.
Save yourself the time and the torment.
Look, I
know you think it's important now, but
trust me, it's just not worth it.
(rhytmic music)
You seem sad.
Is everything okay?
Yeah. I'm okay.
I'm very comfortable here.
Maybe that's the problem.
You're too comfortable?
Well, I don't know.
This has all happened so fast.
I mean, do you think it's weird
that it's like
like, I can't remember who I was
before all this?
Who do you want to be?
That's a good question.
You don't have to answer.
I'm just making conversation.
Thanks for chatting, it's
nice not to be alone tonight.
Even though the whole world supposedly
loves me,
in a weird way,
it's like I have even less
friends then I had before.
You can always chat to me any time.
Do you feel guilty?
It's not our fault.
Well it's definitely not mine.
I was just spreading information.
I didn't know he was
going to react like, like that.
Whatever.
We just need to make sure
this doesn't come back to us.
Agreed.
What are you painting?
I don't know.
It's just my feelings.
Oh, well,
that's not what we're supposed to be doing.
Willow,
this is nice.
I love the color of the water.
But what are you hiding?
I don't know.
Can I have a look?
I think I like this one much more.
Never be afraid of your
own creative ideas, Willow.
Let people see who you are.
Mele, Mele! Willow!
I did this painting for you.
You made this for me?
Yeah.
My teacher said I was creative.
Thanks!
See you at lunch! Bye.
Hi Mom.
Independence, right?
What?
You're ready to be independent?
I don't know, why?
Because our household
income is back to zero.
That's why.
Because I no longer have a job.
That's why!
I've basically given up
any hope of ever getting any
child support, you know that.
And now, thanks to you,
I no longer have a job.
So, yeah, it's time to
start being independent.
What happened? You know what happened.
And someone, God knows who,
got suspicious enough
of you to mention it to Mr.
Andrews, and when he looked into it,
it turns out my account has signs of
unusual activity.
Mum I..
Sure, so I'm not the best with passwords
and security and all the rest of it.
But Marama, if there's one person,
one person in the world I could trust.
Why didn't you come
to me about any of this?
Mum, I'm sorry.
It's going to take a lot more than sorry!
Look, I'll.
I'll talk to them tomorrow,
and I'll tell them that...
You'll go back tomorrow?
How naive can you get?
Do you think that your security card
or mine is ever going to work again?
My job and your little side
project are over.
They have to understand
the truth that it isn't your fault.
No it's not!
And it's not mine either!
I'm exercising my right to have a voice.
I'm standing up for the victims of fraud.
Right, your principles, your ideals.,
meanwhile, you're
hurting the people you love!
I'm sorry, Mum.
Marama, I wouldn't put
it past them to send one
of their drivers over to
serve us both with a lawsuit.
You've got to learn
when it's time to speak up.
And time.
When it's time to shut your mouth.
Enough people already
keep their mouth shut.
Okay, maybe I was being naive,
but at least I'm not turning a blind eye
when I know full well what's going on.
I'm sorry, mum, but keeping my mouth
shut on issues like
this just isn't what I do!
It's not who I am!
I don't think you know who you are.
But if you're old enough
to start changing the world,
then you're old enough to
start paying your own way.
Enough's enough.
Tomorrow you're going out and
you're starting to look for a job.
I actually think,
despite these being terrible guitars,
they would make very pretty violins.
Do you play anything apart from guitar?
I mean, I play bits and pieces.
Drum kits as well.
They're all just like colors.
They should paint them.
If I was a drummer, I paint my drum kit.
I'd put butterflies on it.
Really?
Yeah,
butterflies are so peaceful.
Yeah.
You know when they just land, like, on you?
I remember when I was a kid,
I went to this, what do you call it?
Bird sanctuary, sort of thing,
and there was just this one area
and it was just full of butterflies.
It was like, the prettiest
thing I've ever seen.
And then.
And then when I was sitting down,
this one just...
It literally came and
landed on the tip of my nose.
Really?
Like, I kid you not, the best
thing I've ever experienced.
Real? Yeah.
Even better than like performing
in front of millions of people. Like
top notch.
I feel like those are always, like,
the best memories you have.
I reckon.
Hello.
Hello. Hello.
Does it work?
Oh, what was that?
(laughing)
Okay.
You ready?
Yeah.
Okay.
Oh, sorry.
My storage is full.
Is it okay if we use your phone?
Yeah.
Just give me a second.
Okay.
Hey, guys.
It's us. I'm Birdy.
I'm EJ.
And today we're at the beach!
You know what?
This water's made my lips
feel so dry and chapped.
Hence why I have this GM
lip balm that I always carry.
But, you know what's better?
The GM lip gloss.
I swear, it's just so life saving
and perfect for everything.
Like, it's so lip plumping.
Re: Application Congratulations!
We're delighted to offer you...
Congratulations! We're
delighted to offer you the
position of lunchtime
concert musician in Vienna...
Hi! You're really good, by the way.
And that's why I think we can
make this good for both of us.
Thank you so much.
This is incredible.
No. Of course you know, we want our
we want our artists to feel valued.
Thanks again.
One more thing.
Aria.
It's been dealt with now.
Learn the hard way, of course.
But over the last few days,
there's been some rumblings. Rumblings?
Some of your peers feel
that they can get away with telling lies
about the company.
I think they're just starved for attention.
Oh, Now,
you wouldn't be involved
in anything like that yourself?
No. No, I haven't heard anything.
Good, good.
Well, let's keep it that way, shall we?
Excellent.
Hi. Hey, can you check my schedule for me?
I thought I was doing promos, but
my calendar says I have the morning off.
Sure.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
Just didn't get much sleep last night.
Yeah.
They've taken you on promos.
You're free.
Have a coffee.
That's strange.
Yeah.
They're making Aria do it.
You know what that means, right?
Oh, yeah.
They're going to start promoting her.
No, not just promoting, like,
mega promotion.
Yeah, like they did with me.
No, like a yearly cost type of thing.
If she has your schedule,
you know, she's the
the new you.
Oh, so like her instead of me?
Are you okay?
I don't know.
Look, if it makes you feel any better,
I don't see her lasting a year.
Not with the new AI you've been training.
What AI?
You know, the mentoring program
or whatever they call it.
I haven't been doing anything with AI.
Yes, you have the girl, cadence.
She's AI.
She's not real.
Yes she is.
She's a real person.
I was just talking to her the other night.
No, no she isn't.
I mean, that's what
they want you to believe.
She works 24/7, you can
change how she looks,
how she acts, and the best part is,
she makes so much content
that you don't even have to pay her.
Bye bye. Artists.
I don't believe you.
Can you move the camera?
I want to see more of your room.
My camera is attached
to my desktop computer,
so it's not really possible
to move it right now.
What's on your desk?
There are several objects.
There's a pin and some paper.
Pick up the pen.
Pick up the pen.
Throw it in the air and catch it.
Do it again.
I am a trainee.
And you're my mentor.
I appreciate your guidance.
And you can talk to me anytime
if you have any thoughts
you'd like to share about
Global Music.
(tense music)
Happy birthday.
Oh my gosh.
Thanks.
It's for your new guitar.
I love them!
I put them on. Here!
I carved my initials,
now you carve yours.
That way, we'll always be together.
Do you think we'll still be
friends when you're world famous?
Well, I might still have time for you.
Hey, just gonna get in the...
Change of plans.
We're going to Helensville.
Well, I'm not authorized to take
you to Helensville, I'm authorized to...
It's okay.
I'm authorizing you.
No, it's your rehearsal for the launch, I..
Paul.
I'm not going.
Okay, okay.
Okay.
Hey, Paul.
I'm going to be a while, so if you
want to get a coffee or something.
I. Okay, okay.
Mom. Mom.
Typical.
(slow music)
One thing
after another makes me question,
where am I meant to be?
One thing
after another leaves me asking,
when can I breathe?
My feet are on the ground,
but my head is in the clouds
My feet are on the ground,
but my head
is in the clouds,
'cause I'm chasing stars.
Do I embrace the unknown?
No longer
confined to paths I've outgrown.
Can I find myself
where there's no more bounds left to
hold me down.
No more shadows,
no more doubt in my head.
Running in circles,
I can't fathom the let go of this life.
One thing
after another drives me
to fight.
My feet on the ground
but my head is in the clouds.
My feet are on the ground,
but my head is in the clouds,
'cause I'm chasing stars.
I'll embrace the unknown.
No longer confined to paths I've outgrown.
And I will find myself
where there's no more
bounds left to hold me down
No more shadows,
no more doubt
in my head.
The light in my head
is still on.
The fire in my heart
is burning bright.
Oh this time
I feel like myself
'cos there's nowhere to hide.
My feet are on the ground,
but my head is in the clouds.
My feet are on the ground,
but my head is in the clouds.
'Cause I'm chasing stars.
I'll embrace the unknown.
No longer confined to paths I've outgrown.
And I will find myself
where there's no more bounds
left to hold me down.
No more shadows,
no more doubt
in my head.
(birds chirping)
(car pulling up outside)
If someone told me six weeks ago
that JXJ would be in my room,
I think I would have had a heart attack.
Never meet your heroes.
Did I ruin it for you?
I did, everyone was right.
I was just being a
self-important little brat,
getting carried away with
an issue like I always do.
So embarrassing.
If that's what I thought do
you think I'd have come here?
Look, you're the one who was right.
All those things you
were saying, they're true.
People don't think it is,
but it is they're true.
And if you give up on it now,
just because it's getting a bit hard,
then you will be a little brat.
Okay. Come on.
Here's what I think we can do.
Okay.
Okay.
Oh, sorry.
Oh it's okay, come in.
I don't want to interrupt.
Don't worry about it, I
was just about to leave.
Oh, wait,
is that the wig?
Yeah.
You want to take a selfie? Yes!
I started here last week,
and every day my friends would ask me
if I've met JXJ yet.
They're going to lose it once I tell them.
Do you want to try it on?
Are you serious?
Yeah. For sure. Oh,
I don't want to damage it.
You're fine.
Just don't let it damage you.
Thank you so much.
You're so amazing.
All good.
'Cause I've just tuned it so good.
I'm so sick of being
what you wanted me to be.
You don't know me at all.
You don't know me at all.
I don't know me.
That's crazy.
That's pretty deep right there.
You can't say that to win.
You are actually going through with this?
Yes. I mean, I know it's scary.
I'm scared too, but it's the right thing.
This is my career we're talking about.
You're gonna be fine.
Nobody's going to blame you for this.
These people are corrupt.
According to who? Marama?
She's a kid, Willow.
It's not just her, okay?
Estella backs her up, and
what they're saying checks out.
Okay, but you're telling
me this, like, what?
Two hours before?
You're going to be fine, okay?
I promise.
And if you change your mind, you can always
join us. No.
Okay, there's an audience of
people waiting for us, right?
I can't just leave.
Not when my career is about to start.
Look,
I know it seems like there's
nothing else out there for us apart
from GM, but
that song that we wrote together
the other day,
that was the most fun I've had in years.
Years!
I already love working with you.
It just doesn't have to be here.
I love working with you too.
I'm sorry.
Me too.
Hi, everyone.
Me again?
I just wrote a little song, and
I hope you enjoy.
(audience cheering)
[Singing]
Honey.
If you keep scowling like that: one,
you will get wrinkles, and two,
I can't finish my work!
So let's turn that frown upside down.
This is where we are if you
change your mind after the madness
You must be Birdie?
Yes. And I'm so pleased to..
You are singing tomorrow?
You stand...
Stand here, perfect!
The piano, the audience there, perfect!
We are singing for the university students
so, it needs to be...
You sing now.
You want me to sing now?
Yes. Sing now.
Lascia..
How do you feel?
Oh, I'm feeling really excited.
Oh, no no no no. The aria.
Oh, the aria!
The emotion, the feeling, how you feel.
Well, Almirena is longing
for freedom, and it's quite sad.
Yes, the feeling, now
you must find the feeling.
You must sing the feeling.
You must feel the feeling..
My gosh!
I can't believe you came!
That was amazing, you were amazing.
Thank you.
It feels so good to be a human again.
Well you'd better hide or put on a mustache
or something.
You need to come and have a look at this.
Yeah, I'm just finishing up with this.
No, you need to see this now.
Okay.
What's so urgent?
Those rats.
Their rats. This is...
Okay, okay, I know how this is going to go.
Right!
Okay, so I intend
that the position of the company
is going to be that you acted alone.
I believe I warned you
about this at the time.
Funny how these things
sometimes come back to bite you.
You shut up. Shut up.
Just shut up!
How dare you!
I am still the CEO of this company, Rob.
I would be very careful
with what comes out of
your mouth right about now.
No way.
Clem! I know!
We have to find a way
to get ahead of this. How?
What's your plan?
Pass me the laptop.
Teenage pop, star JXJ
has today released what she claims
is evidence of fraudulent practice
by Global Music in relation
to 'Voices for the Voiceless',
a fundraising concert
for animal welfare, according to JXJ.
Most of the money doesn't
make it to the charity,
but rather to the back pockets
of Global Music executives.
In a series of social media
posts, she specifically mentioned
Robert Andrews, claiming he
was the one behind the big idea.
As employers of Global Music,
we're shocked and saddened... No!
What?
We're employees.
What?
Never mind.
Keep going, I'll edit it. Okay.
Hi. It's us.
Clem and Ruru.
And today we are obviously
shocked and saddened
by the news of what our
employees have done.
No! What!
They're our employers, we're employees.
You just said to say employees. Never mind.
I'm going to speak. Okay.
Ready? Three. Two. One.
Hi, guys.
It's us.
Clem and Ruru.
Obviously, we're shocked
and saddened by the news of...
Hold on, I've got an eyelash in my eye.
Are you serious? Yes.
But this was such a good take. Oh, come on!
You weren't even crying in that one.
Okay, fine. Wait. Let's redo.
Where's the menthol?
(opera singing)
Made you lunch
(From my savings, to
help with the groceries:)
All better than GM
(audience clapping)
Hi, everyone
I'm Willow. JXJ!
Well, I might not actually
be going by that name
anymore, but,
it's really nice to be back here and,
you know, seeing some familiar faces.
This tavern is actually
what I was named after.
Not all of you knew
that, but some of you did.
Hi Jane.
So before I do
anything, the main reason I came here
tonight was to support my good
friend Mele who you just saw perform.
So how about another hand for her?
So, anyways, I don't know how many of you
would have seen my social media lately.
But, there's
actually another reason
why I came here tonight.
And that's to experience something real.
I feel like
when music is really doing its job,
it reminds us of what it's like
to be really human. So,
I feel like that's something
I was in danger of forgetting.
So, yeah,
the song is just a little bit about that.
Aria?
I couldn't do it,
I couldn't go through with it.
Hey, you know I don't
have to stay here right?
If you want to go somewhere else, we can.
No, no, you stay here.
You go do your thing.
I can talk after.
Do you want to join me?
Really?
Well, yeah.
I mean, it's super casual.
We can basically just do whatever.
What about that song
that we wrote together?
That's what I was thinking.
Yeah.
Okay.
Let's go!
So, sorry about that everybody,
but this is my other good friend, Aria.
She is Global Music's latest signing.
And also their latest resignation.
So this is a song
that we wrote together
not all that long ago.
So it is a little bit rough, but,
hopefully you'll all
still enjoy it anyways.
Day after day went by,
I let you take away my pride.
I changed my look for you,
my hair, my face, even my eyes.
You tried to take away
the people that I loved in life.
I guess I had a part to play
because I let it slide.
I let it slide.
I'm so sick of
being what you wanted me to be.
I don't want to live a life
hanging by your strings.
Originality feels like a distant memory.
Feels like forever since
I have just been me.
I always wondered what
it means to be yourself.
Your true self.
And I hear people saying it all the time:
'Be who you really are.'
But I never
really understood what that meant
until this year.
I'm so sick of being
what you wanted me to be.
I don't wanna live a life
hanging by your strings.
Originality feels like a distant memory.
Feels like forever
since I have just been me.
They don't know me at all.
I don't know me at all.
That song ended up being quite popular.
And that night
Tonight.
I wouldn't want to be anyone else.
(audience singing along)
(audience cheering)
(upbeat music)
(music fades)