There’s something peaceful about your own private trailer. It’s kind of like this negative space that you can seek refuge in from the busy whirlwind of a film set. Mine is simple enough, just a couch, a little bed in the back for the rare moment I can take a nap. I know there are some crazy people who have tanning beds and recording studios, and construction paper chains zig zagging through their own trailers, but it’s like my home away from home.
The only difference about my trailers now is my cell phone isn’t going off every ten seconds with a text from a girl I met out the night before. I don’t know what it is, but Penny giving me so much shit for it over a month ago kind of made me realize that I can’t act like I’m twenty-two for the rest of my life.
That doesn’t mean I fall off the wagon every now and again. Just last week I went on three dates with three different chicks, but I’m getting better, I swear. And I, unlike Valora and some other actors, don’t bring that personal life bullshit to the set. Except for that one time with Holly, but I made up for it and everyone is getting along fine.
And that makes this final week of production kind of bittersweet. I know we’re going to have a wrap party and I’ll be able to see David and the rest of the cast when we start promotion, but I have to say I’m going to miss coming to this set every day and working with people who take this seriously.
I’m sitting at my table in my trailer, trying to suck down a cup of coffee while I go over the dailies that the screenwriter passed out to the cast earlier this morning. We’re filming Nathan and Lucy’s big scene – the one that landed Penny the job – and she’s due over in my trailer any minute so we can go over our lines.
But she’s running a few minutes late and I’m sure it’s because she can’t unwrap herself from Jude.
Honestly, I can’t hate; they’re cute together. And Jude seems to be good for Penny. She isn’t walking around set anymore like she’s on her way to the electric chair. There’s actually a smile on her face and she’s even started to joke around with the other actors when we aren’t in full make up and costume.
I just hope her relationship with Jude won’t distract her for the rest of the shoot.
There’s a knock on my trailer door and I hear Penny call my name on the other side. I shout for her to come on in and she’s fuming as she makes her way inside, shutting the door behind her.
“Are you okay?” I ask tentatively. It looks like she’s ready to take my head off and I don’t know if she’s still channeling Lucy or if Penny’s just been having a really shitty day.
“Sorry,” she relents as she sits down next to me, “I’m just getting really frustrated.”
“With what? The scene?” I ask her and she shakes her head.
“I just don’t know how to deal with all this attention. I don’t want to complain, but if I see one more article or photo of me I’m going to scream.”
“Have you tried talking to Jude? He can help you with all this publicity, you know,” I point out.
“I know. But, I just don’t want to bother Jude with it. I like keeping the business and the personal side of things separate. I don’t want his publicist and her team speaking for me because I don’t want to have to argue about what other people think of our relationship. Am I making any sense?”
“Sure, I get you. If it’ll make you feel any better I can call my publicist and he can talk with you about it, maybe even take you on as a client,” I offer. I know for a fact that if I called up Ken and told him that the dark horse actress Penelope Asherbee wanted help in the public relations arena he would sign over his first born and his Ferrari to get her on his books.
“You’d do that?”
“Of course. What are friends for?”
“It would be nice to direct all the journalists and photographers and tabloids to someone other than my cell phone. I’m so tired of changing my number and telling them to piss off.”
“Well, if talking to Ken takes that added stress off of you, so much the better. Besides, you’ll need a publicist when we start promotion…”
“I’m not promoting,” Penny interjects firmly as she pulls her script out of her tote bag. “No way.”
I shrug my shoulders and pick up my own script.
“Want to run the scene and interject with the rewrites?”
“Sure,” Penny agrees and soon we’re running through the scene.
There’s something about acting with Penny that puts me at ease. She doesn’t half ass any script read, she throws herself in completely and I have no idea how she isn’t exhausted after doing multiple takes day after day. But the truth it, is makes me want to be a better actor, knowing that sharing the screen with this girl could make me look like shit in comparison. I know that sounds selfish, but it’s that competition that is making me turn out, I believe, the best performance of my career.
We run through the scene a few more times before there’s another knock on the trailer door. It opens and a runner pokes his head in.
“You guys are wanted on set. There’s a production meeting.”
Ugh. They probably want to talk about post-production, ADR and all that. I hate ADR with a passion.
--
In other filming news – the surefire indie hit, Southern Sunrise, is slated to end production this week and industry insiders are saying that it will be the talk of the fall season. When we last reported about the film, the talented, veteran actress Valora Francis was dismissed from the project after being unable to put aside her artistic differences with Oscar nominated director, David Kinney. A source on set told us almost immediately after Francis’s dismissal from set that she had been replaced and not by another actress.
Someone on set recommended that head make up artist of the production, Penelope Asherbee, should read for the part even though she, at the time, had zero training as a film actress.
“Don’t count Penelope out,” our film source divulged, “she is absolutely amazing and is slated to be the breakthrough star of this production. She’s even better than Francis and she’s set tongues in Hollywood wagging about what her next project should be.”
Asherbee and the studio could not be contacted for comment.
David puts the magazine down on his lap and everyone is dead silent as we all turn to look at Penny. She’s trying to sink as low as she can into her chair, but it’s proving difficult with Jude holding onto her hand.
“Amazing. Wonderful,” Harvey, one of our main producers compliments as he claps his hands. “I couldn’t have released a better article. This is good news for this film, people.”
We’re all sitting in a circle in the empty soundstage with David and the main producers of the film as well as the studio heads. I hate these meetings. Basically it’s a huge circle jerk and then the producers discuss the main destinations in the publicity tour.
The film is opening the Toronto Film Festival in September and then it’s a string of group magazine interviews, TV appearances, and photoshoots before we hit up L.A., New York, and London for the premieres.
“You’ll have two months of post production and then you all need to head up to Toronto for the week for the festival…yes Penny?”
I look over Penny who has her free hand held up, a panicked look plastered on her face.
“You know I’m not doing promotion, correct? I was just going to do the film and be finished.”
Everyone is watching Harvey with bated breath. I’ve heard stories of actors trying to reason with a Weinstein and when the actor is named, it’s usually followed by me asking ‘Who?’ You second-guess a Weinstein in this industry and you are fucked three ways to Sunday.
“That wasn’t part of your contract, Penny. It’s part of the job description,” he explains curtly. Penny opens her mouth to say something else but Harvey raises a hand and she closes her mouth immediately, “This is all in the contract you signed, Penny. If you had gotten a lawyer to go over it before you signed yourself to this part, you could have avoided the whole thing. So sorry, unless you want to pay a hefty fine, you’re doing promotion. End of story.”
I watch as Penny averts her gaze and nods in understanding. I feel for the girl, I really do. I want nothing more than for her to fade into obscurity where she’s happy, but the poor thing is going to be stuck in the public eye until the final premiere in November.
“Justin, are you still writing the title track for this film?”
I nod vigorously, “I’ve been toying around with some things, but I’m going to dedicate myself to the project full time once filming wraps in two days. I should have a cut for you in a week or so.”
Harvey smiles in agreement and claps his hand before letting us know that the meeting is over and we can get back to filming.
Thank God.
I get out of my seat and am surprised when I see Penny approaching me.
“That was some article huh?” I say jovially.
“Ugh,” she groans, “I don’t know how much longer I can stand it. Can you give me the number of your publicist? I can’t take it anymore.”
“Sure,” I smile before I pull my phone out and quickly relay Ken’s number to Penny. She stores it in her phone and gives me a quizzical look when she realizes I’m still staring at her.
“What?”
“Do you want the number of my agent, too?”
“Why would I want the number of your agent, Justin? An agent is someone who will want to get me more films and auditions. I don’t want that. I’m promoting this film once postproduction finishes and after that I’m done with this whole thing. But thanks for Ken’s number, I’m going to give him a call on the way to make up.”
“No problem. I’ll see you in there, and good luck with Ken.”
“Thank you Justin, seriously. I owe you one.”
I watch her walk out of the soundstage, her phone pressed against her ear and I can’t help but think that she owes me absolutely nothing.
