Teen heart-throb, martial arts master...
paragon of masculinity, these are just a few titles...
bestowed upon what used to be known as the most promising action hero...
of the next generation.
A man known around the world as Johnny Cage.
But before becoming a world-wide sensation...
John Carlton was just a small boy with big dreams.
Everyone loved John.
They gravitated towards him.
We used to, uh, used to go to martial arts tournaments together.
Guy would win, like, every category.
He was a total rock star.
Growing up I was shy. I was weak.
I actually got my ass kicked a lot.
But martial ans changed all that.
And I was reborn. And that gave the world Johnny Cage.
In the next hour of Faded Star...
we'll explore the rise and fall of Johnny Cage.
From his worldwide fame to his many arrests.
His ego just took over.
He started picking fights with random people in clubs.
I couldn't protect him any more. Nobody could.
And a string of failed attempts to transition from the small screen to the big screen...
left the troubled actor frustrated.
Fans couldn't adjust to the fact that Johnny was getting older.
To them he would be that ass-kicking teen heart-throb from Power Rangers.
This is the story of a faded star.
This is the story of Johnny Cage.
Piracy.
Burning more than just DVDS.
- I'm not loving it. - Me neither. Sorry, Johnny.
What are you talking about? This is what you asked for.
To be frank, I was bored off my ass ten seconds into the thing.
I was getting more and more pissed the longer it went on.
Look, the reality is this is just not something we're looking for.
It skews too old for our demographic.
Yeah, and honestly, we're not gonna win any Emmys with this kind of stuff.
Trying to get out of the reality business.
Not to mention the fact that martial arts is not hot right now.
And you'll be competing against, what? Lawman and Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Have you guys seen those shows? Nothing happens.
In my show I'm actually gonna be fighting.
Yes. Well, that's also a problem.
The actual fighting you do in this is pretty weak.
- Quite obviously staged. - That's a big hurdle.
Audiences already think all the fighting you do in your movies is fake.
Well, no shit the fighting's fake. It's a fucking movie.
I don't know what to say.
Look, we're gonna have to cut this short.
We gotta get on set. Nice to see you, Johnny. I'll be right there.
Johnny, I'm gonna be honest with you, okay?
I don't think TV's the right move right now.
Well, what is the right move for me right now, Lance?
I haven't worked since Power Rangers went off the air.
Look, I need something big, Lance.
I know that this show can be a hit.
All right, well, look...
we'll bring it up at our next development meeting, see what everybody says.
All right? Maybe we can, I don't know.
Maybe we can put it on one of our cable slates.
Okay. That's all I'm asking.
Yeah, all right. Regardless, you gotta re-shoot this, okay?
Really make it sing. Fuck, add some stakes, man.
Pirated DVDS? We're not fucking Hallmark.
Hey, it's no problem. I'll get you what you want.
All right.
- Whoa, whoa, what are you doing? - Seen enough, John.
But there's a whole another action sequence.
I'm not gonna drag this out any longer. I should have just told you on the phone.
I talked to everyone at network and they all feel the same.
This project is simply never gonna work for us, John.
Do you know how much work it took to put this presentation together?
Heh, I spent 50 fucking grand.
You won't do me the courtesy to watch the...
John, John, you're not listening to me.
We're not renewing your development deal.
You're dropping me?
After all the fucking money I made you?
Now, look, it was a tough decision, all right?
- But this is a business... - We can't sell anything with you attached.
Audiences wanna see more than what you do.
Action star is dead, John.
They're asking for you on set.
- Come on, John, I'll walk you out. - Fuck you.
- Take care, John. - Bye, John.
How many times do I have to tell you, it's a hot set, so stay out.
You know we love you.
So we've come up with something to put you in the spotlight where you belong.
This one's right up your alley, Erica.
Okay, let's here it.
All right, we're looking at next year's slate...
and were wrecking our brains to find something to compete with Lawman.
So we thought, why don't we do, like, a sexy version of Dog the Bounty Hunter...
something with a strong female lead.
- You don't see that out there. - Not since Buffy.
Right, so we thought, let's do a half-hour action reality thing...
where you find people at the wrong place at the wrong time.
And you come in, hoo-ah, and you save the day like a super hero.
- Everybody loves superheroes. - Yeah.
We'll shoot it really gritty, you know, kind of slice of life, reality style.
We're thinking about calling it You Got Saved.
Okay, guys, this is, uh, great.
- Right? - It's great. Okay. Ha, ha, I'm in.
Fantastic. Ha, ha.
You know, we couldn't think of anyone better.
This'll be a nice bit of business for all of us.
- Hey. Hold up, Johnny. - What the hell's going on?
They pitched you my fucking show.
- Security. Security! - Get over here, you son of a bitch.
Does that look fucking fake to you?
Agh! Aah!
You guys sure know how to pitch a show.
You're a real piece of shit, you know that, Johnny?
I'm gonna make sure you never work again you motherfuck...
What the fuck is this?
Johnny Cage.
Who are you?
I've come here to make you an offer.
How did you just do that?
What if what I could offer you, Mr. Cage...
a way out of everything?