Joey delivered her speech at the United Nations with this calm, dead-serious tone that somehow still lit the whole room on fire. When she hit the big moments, the passion just poured out of her. No screaming, no crying, just pure conviction. By the end, the entire hall was on its feet.
She dropped facts, real stories, hard numbers; no rage, no tears, just ice-cold clarity that somehow made everyone feel everything. What stuck with people most was her absolute confidence, like she knew exactly what needed to be said and exactly how the world should hear it.
That speech? It blew up. We're talking front-page, prime-time, trending-everywhere level impact.
The video went mega-viral, and within hours Joey was headline news across the planet (not just as a director this time, but as a straight-up global advocate).
The New York Times gave her the entire front page with the headline:
Her Fight for Equality Is Bigger Than Any Blockbuster
"Joey Grant, already a Hollywood heavyweight, stepped onto the world stage yesterday and earned a standing ovation from every corner of the globe."
"If you only know her from the movies, you're missing the real story. Her work for racial equality is more thrilling than anything she's ever put on screen."
The Chicago Tribune called her: A True Genius Doesn't Stop at Her Own Success
"We didn't just get a filmmaking prodigy or another rags-to-riches American Dream. We got someone who actually gives a damn about the rest of the world."
Every major paper (Wall Street Journal, Le Figaro, Asahi Shimbun, you name it) ran her photo. Even if she didn't make the cover, she was impossible to miss.
Love her or shrug her off, one thing was undeniable: Joey Grant was now a household name worldwide. People who'd never seen a single one of her movies still knew her face. "Hey, isn't that the girl who spoke at the UN?"
She'd become a symbol.
Her inbox exploded. In just days, Elizabeth got tens of thousands of emails. People from Greece offering help tracking missing persons, folks from wealthy countries ready to fund aid in Africa; the whole world wanted in.
Meanwhile, the woman who started the fire was chilling back home in L.A., eating snacks and answering emails with Elizabeth about what to do next.
Elizabeth suggested they set up a foundation. Joey would kick things off with a massive donation, then invite others who cared about human rights to chip in. The money would go straight to freeing persecuted minorities around the world.
Joey fired back an email:
"Go ahead and set up the Joey Grant Equality Fund. I'll lead with $20 million right now, and the second I have more liquid cash, I'll pour in even more. I'm not doing this for tax write-offs or good PR like half of Hollywood. I'm dead serious, and I'll keep giving as long as I'm breathing. I just want to actually help people who need it."
She closed her laptop, ready to grab some chips or something, when someone knocked.
She opened the door and there was Hughes, leaning against the frame, hands in his pockets, smirking like the cocky bastard he was. "Heyyyy."
Joey let out a little disappointed sigh. "Didn't think it'd be you."
He raised an eyebrow. "Who were you expecting?"
She didn't answer. Truth was, she half-hoped it was Tom. She still felt like he owed her an explanation or something.
She let Hughes in anyway. He strolled past her and said, "Man, that UN glow-up really went to your head, huh?"
She shot him a death glare. "Spit it out. Why are you here?"
He flashed that stupid, hormone-loaded grin. "Besides watching you dominate the planet, you might wanna check out another article."
He tossed her a magazine.
The Hollywood Reporter (their annual "Most Loved & Most Hated in America" issue).
Joey flipped it open and screamed.
She was #1 on the "America's Most Loved People" list.
"No freaking way. People actually love me that much?!"
Hughes snorted. "Hate to ruin your moment, princess…"
She glared harder. "You've got a problem with the entire country loving me?"
He smirked and tapped the page. "Turn the page."
She did.
America's Most Hated People of the Year
#1 – Joey Grant
She blinked. Then blinked again.
She read the little explainer out loud:
"Same woman, two opposite lists. Loved overwhelmingly by young women and older women. Hated overwhelmingly by young men."
"Many male moviegoers are terrified that if Joey Grant becomes the future of blockbuster filmmaking, Hollywood is doomed. Quotes from voters:"
- "She's talented, sure, but if every tentpole starts looking like her super-feminine, pastel-colored, slow-mo, emotional girl-fest… God help us."
- "Everything she shoots is chick-flick energy. Even Source Code (which had a killer concept) was drowning in pretty colors, slow-motion pretty people, and feelings. Sorry, that's not what dudes pay to see."
- "She only makes movies for women. Calling her a once-in-a-generation genius feels like a slap in the face."
Hughes whistled, clearly enjoying himself. "Congrats. Chicks worship you. Dudes want you canceled."
Joey chewed her gum, totally unfazed. "They're not wrong. I haven't really made a 'guy movie' yet. I don't do explosions and testosterone and slow-mo cars blowing up. My style's pretty feminine; Source Code included. If that's not their thing, cool. I get it."
Hughes kicked his feet up on her coffee table. "So what's the plan, Miracle Girl? You gonna let half the country hate you forever?"
She looked him dead in the eye and smiled. "You already know what I'm gonna do."
He tapped his temple. "Yeah. I do."
She was going to make a sports movie.
The kind that makes grown men cry in the theater, fist-pump during the games, and scream at the screen when the underdog finally wins.
Because nothing hits dudes in the soul like a great sports story: the grind, the brotherhood, the glory, the comeback. Doesn't matter if you've never touched a football or a basketball in your life; a perfect sports movie turns every guy in the audience into a kid chasing his dream again.
If Joey Grant wanted to win over every man in America, she had to give them the one thing that never fails:
A straight-up, no-apologies, heart-pounding, tear-jerking, crowd-roaring sports masterpiece.
On a playing field, every kid gets to dream (rich, poor, gifted or not).
And Joey was about to remind the whole country of that.