“Fame by Frame”

Breeze is out to dinner with his friend Pulse, another big time urban producer. As the champagne flows and the attractive waitresses cater to every detail, Pulse challenges Breeze. Pulse says that he is so good, he can take the most pathetic rapper and turn him into an overnight success. Breeze laughs, then thinks for a minute, he has the perfect specimen. He reaches for his iPhone and pulls up a Krispy music video. Pulse puts his headphones on and listens…he cannot believe his eyes. Pulse tries to stop laughing and collects himself, he then accepts Breeze’s close to impossible challenge.

Kris is in bad shape from the beating. He is listening to Heather’s awful voicemail. Heather is completely done with their relationship and is moving on. Larry finds Kris in the hotel room, Kris gets emotional while explaining the situation to his best friend. Just then, at his lowest point…a sign of hope, Breeze gives Kris a call. Breeze tells Krispy to come to his office when he gets back into town.

When Kris gets back to NYC he isn’t in a good place. He knew his wife left with the kids, but didn’t know that Heather was sleeping with one of his closest friends. When Kris finds out that Derek betrayed him, he loses it. Derek was plotting all of the late night ‘business meetings’ in order to sabotage Kris’s marriage all along.

Kris needs to take care of Dom asap. Dom thinks he has a good idea, a way Kris can possibly work off some of his debt to him. He offers Kris to perform at his daughters Sweet 16 in Staten Island. A magical night filled with Cadillac Escalades, ice sculptures, fake nails and hair extensions has arrived. Everyone from the neighborhood and all 5 borrows will be there. Kris starts off performing well, but then gets stage fright. He flubs his lyrics and looks really uncomfortable on stage, people start booing and throwing canolis at him. Dom is completely humiliated, Jessica his beautiful daughter is hysterically crying, her mascara is all over her face. Kris makes for a quick exist before a small riot erupts.

The next day, Kris is on his way to the big meeting with Breeze. Breeze introduces Kris to Pulse, Pulse says that he wants to produce a track with him. Kris is thrilled! They slap hands and roll up their sleeves. The creative process begins.

The beat kicks in but Kris has writers block. After a couple of days he finally steps into the booth. Pulse isn’t happy with the rhyme, he calls in a ghost writer and someone to spit the demo. Pulse pretty much spoon feeds the track to Kris. Nothing from Kris is represented in the music but the track is a winner. After they shoot the music video Pulse releases the single. It catches on in a huge way, incredibly Krispy has a top ten, one hit wonder on his hands.

During an intense therapy session with his psychologist, we discover why Kris is wired the way he is. He begins explaining a scene from his childhood, we flashback to Brooklyn, NY 1978. Kris is an excited, cute little kid who loves his new keyboard. He figured out how to program a cool little looping beat. His father, who was entertaining some of his friends, is smoking cigars and drinking whiskey in the living room. Little 7 year old Kris manages to muster enough confidence to play his little song for father. His father makes fun of him in front of everyone. Kris is visibly upset but tries to hold it together. He quickly walks to his room where he begins to cry quietly. His drunk obnoxious father enters Kris’s bedroom and makes fun of him for crying like a little baby.

Kris also seeks council from a creepy, chain smoking, mysterious psychic via the telephone. Michael, gives Kris good advice about his personal and professional endeavors. Much of what the Michael says guides Kris through his decision making.

Pulse collects on his big wager with Breeze, he won a whopping $1. The two have a good laugh. Pulse calls Kris into the studio and informs him that his 15 minutes of fame are up. The two producers made him and they can break him. They put a completely unfair contract in front of Kris. Kris believes that he can stay on top of the game without them. Breeze and Pulse waste no time and begin to tarnish Kris’s rep, ostracizing him from the urban music scene. They claim Kris made condescending, racial remarks to a young black woman at a party and release his unmastered rhymes form the booth that sound terrible.

Heather and the kids are living the high life with Derek. They live in a penthouse apartment on Central Park West, helicopter to the Hamptons, the works. However Heather doesn’t connect with her children. She is self-consumed. She is always looking in the mirror talking about her injections, teeth, and haircut. Heather’s tone changed towards Kris when Kris was doing well. Now that he slid back down she is rude to him once again.

Their children gravitate to their hard working, loving, creative father.  During all of this, Kris spends as much quality time with his kids as possible. We witness that even with all of his shortcomings, Kris truly is a loving and dedicated father.

At another low point Kris gets a call from another distant cousin, Bobby Dee. Bobby and Kris’s father were very close. Bobby’s son is the lead singer in a band. They are about to release their first album. Bobby would love for Kris to shoot some kick-ass music videos for them. Kris doesn’t have much to loose. Bobby offers Kris a job, delivering fine Italian food through out NYC. Kris accepts. Kris develops a great relationship with the young band. Kris learns how to play an instrument. They begin to book small gigs throughout NYC. Their music brings all kinds of people together.

Kris goes on a road trip with these 25 year old rockers. Their vehicle is a magical, all windowed custom built truck with lights and amps. Their journey takes them to Coachella and SXSW, LA and everywhere in between.

Heather reaches a new low when she feels compelled to tell her oldest daughter that Kris isn’t her biological father. This news is devastates her. Kris questions if this is true. One night, when Kris and Heather first starting dating she had a one night stand with Derek. Heathers oldest daughter is actually his. A flashback reveals pivotal moments from this time.

We flashback further in time to Coney Island 1952. Kris’s father is a young boy, living with his mother, father and two older siblings. They share a small house with many cousins and are poor. Late one evening, like so many times before his father came home drunk. Kris’s grandfather was a talented musician, but he was also a womanizing alcoholic. Joseph tries to enter the shack as quietly as possible, but his wife has been waiting for him. Joseph extremely handsome and charming tries to talk his way out of it, but his wife has heard enough and kicks him out. Before Joseph leaves, he goes into his children’s room and kisses all of them. That would be the last time Kris’s father ever sees his dad.

This incredible journey is filled with extreme highs and lows. Towards the end of the story, Kris finds himself living a modest life in Coney Island. He is very content with how his life has turned out. Kris has always stayed true to himself. He earned and won the unconditional love of his children through hard work, dedication and creativity. Sometimes when he takes a late afternoon walk on the boardwalk in the middle of summer, he gets an occasional pound or shout out from the locals. This respect means everything to him. The journey ends one early evening when he and his family are walking together on the beach. They are holding hands, kidding around with each other, laughing and dancing. Kris declares that: ”You are all my children, regardless of what your mom says. I love you all so much, equally, you are the light of my life.” Kris continues…”Do you feel the sand beneath your feet? Four generations have walked on this same sand, don’t ever forget that.”