Beyond the Lights Page #2

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And you were screaming,

"I see you".

So... just what do you see?

Nothing.

OK. All right?

Thanks very much.

Can you make me understand, Noni?

- I told you, I was drunk.

- You don't drink.

Now we know why.

Is this some, uh...

some sort of cry for help?

- No.

- Good. 'Cause look around you.

- You ain't got nothing to cry about.

- I know. It was stupid.

You can't afford to be stupid!

You just tell me it was a mistake.

It was a mistake.

Promise me it'll never happen again.

OK.

I want to hear you say it.

I promise,

it will never happen again.

Yeah, that's our guy.

- Try and get a quote.

Officer Nicol?

Officer Nicol, over here?

- One shot, please?

This way, sir.

Officer Nicol?

Steve Sams with the National Enquirer.

You're trespassing.

I already said everything

I have to say.

I'll pay you 20,000

off the record.

Fifty for an exclusive.

You hit the lottery, man.

No shame in that.

The offer is good

until the truth comes out.

And it always comes out.

Hey.

Yup, yup, yup, yup-

You have

37 new messages. First new message:

Hi, this is Nina Grimes-Stuart. I'm a

producer with Entertainment Tonight.

I'm trying to reach Officer Nicol.

We're doing a piece on Noni and what

happened to her earlier this evening.

Next message.

This is Emery Holmes with the LA Times.

One of us didn't show up...

The number one...

She's on a roll with three

number one hits with rapper Kid Culprit,

and a Billboard Award

tonight for top song.

But is Noni a casualty

of her own success?

Earlier this evening,

witnesses report she was hanging

off the balcony of her luxury suite

at the Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Following the incident,

Noni made a statement

at a press conference at the hotel.

I was celebrating

and things got a little out of hand.

So, let this be a lesson to all of you.

Never mix champagne,

a balcony and five-inch stilettos.

Excessive drinking is no joke and I just

wanna apologize to ail my young fans.

I hear you,

and they're listening to you.

So, how are things otherwise?

You're a Billboard winner.

- I know, right?

- Right.

My first album drops in a couple

of weeks, and it's bananas.

I can't wait for the world to hear it.

And rumor has it that it could be

the biggest debut by a female artist,

even with the decline of album sales.

You know, that would be amazing,

but really, I just wanna sing.

Well, good luck with everything.

Very scary stuff.

We're glad it all

turned out OK for you.

- Thanks.

And we're clear.

Great.

- Have you seen the hashtags?

- Oh, yeah, stay off Twitter.

Just wanna push mainstream media

and stay out in front of that.

Right, we've got Ellen

in 45 minutes.

Hello?

Yeah.

No, I mean, if you...

If you just do

what I told you...

No. No.

You're making it seem like

I'm asking you to split the atom.

Just don't use that word.

What'd they offer you?

What do you mean?

Autographed picture? Porsche?

Whatever it is, I get half,

seeing how it is my gig.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Wait a minute. Turn around.

Come on, take a picture.

Come on, smile for the camera.

There we go.

Hey, come on, guys.

Let's show a little respect.

Thank you. Thank you.

- All right.

Hey! Whoa!

Come on, don't you like that?

- This is you?

- Man...

- You know.

- OK, OK, enough. Thank you.

How did you do that?

Hello, ladies.

Liam, we've been waiting

for 40 minutes.

I apologize.

This is supposed to be

a strategy meeting. Where's everyone?

We're holding off

on releasing the album.

- What?

- Why?

I didn't snow you,

so don't snow me, all right?

She got drunk.

She did something stupid.

So did Britney, so did Kanye.

You want me to give you a list?

The blogs are all saying

"suicide attempt".

Of course they are. So?

So?

Noni is supposed to be the girl

that every guy wants,

and every girl wants to be.

We're selling fantasy here,

and suicide ain't sexy.

No, this is ridiculous.

Where's Trey?

- He's in New York.

- She put this bloody label in the game,

- and this is how it's gonna treat her?

- We... put her on Kid Culprit's

- three number one records.

- Saying I had nothing to do with that?

Macy, you are her mother.

That is the single qualification

you have for sitting in this room.

Trey gave Noni a million dollar

signing bonus.

You add to that the cost of recording,

mixing, mastering, marketing, promotion,

he's in it for about two mil.

He's not gonna see any of that money

back without album sales.

In a couple of weeks,

she's performing at the BET Awards

and millions of eyes

are gonna be on her.

And I'm telling you,

by the end of that night,

no one's gonna be

talking about a balcony.

- So you say.

- Oh, no, I guarantee it.

Her album's gonna break records.

You know that.

Be the hero.

Tell Trey to keep the release date.

If she doesn't kick ass at that show,

if she doesn't change

this conversation,

I will personally drop her

from this label.

It's the lead story

at every local affiliate.

Top of the hour broadcast,

at a national level.

Plus, it's gone viral online.

That's 100 percent saturation.

So how do we build on this?

Councilwoman Russell is going before

the grand jury in a couple of weeks.

Word in the room is

she will be indicted.

And when that happens,

we go after her seat.

Isn't all this a couple of years

ahead of schedule?

Opportunity can't tell time.

Politics wants fresh faces.

They're looking for stars,

and you, Kaz, are a star.

You could do some big things.

A lot bigger than your old man.

Now we need to hone your message,

and we need to get some funds, fast.

Let me introduce you

to Mark Ridley Thomas,

- Los Angeles County Supervisor.

- How are you, sir?

Pleased to make your acquaintance,

young man.

- It's a pleasure.

- Pastor Marks,

I would love for you to meet

Officer Kaz Nicol,

the son of Captain Nicol.

Kaz, let's cut right to the chase.

We live in a whole different era now,

where you can take advantage

of social media,

you can take advantage of what's

happening when it comes to YouTube.

But you gotta take advantage

of this hot media moment,

because it may not ever come back

the way it is right now.

Doesn't have a chance, right?

I'll be right back.

Hey, what can I get you?

- Guinness, please.

- You got it.

Various news outlets have reported

that on the night of

the Billboard Music Awards

she got drunk and fell off the balcony

of her luxury hotel in Los Angeles.

Her publicist just released

a statement, and it says,

"Noni loves life and music.

She simply had too many

celebratory drinks

- after winning her Billboard Award. "

Get you anything else?

- Says, "Noni apologizes to her fans... "

- Excuse me.

"... and will continue to be

a positive role model. "

"Positive role model,"

ladies and gentlemen. That's a quote.

What the hell are you doing here, man?

You know I love you

like a step-nephew, right?

Good, 'cause I need a favor.

Oh, man. Come on.

She is out of your league.

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