Spotlight (14 page)

“I’m Ellie, by the way,” the girl said.

“And I’m Matthew,” the young man added.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you both!” Lily said as she grabbed a notebook out of her bag and turned toward the girl first. “So what’s it like working with a famous actor?”

Ellie giggled. “Working with Mr. Daniel is fun. He’s taught me a lot. And he’s really nice.”

“Cute, too, right?” Lily winked at Ellie, as if she were in on the secret.

The girl’s blush gave her away. Ellie already had joined the legions of female fans falling at Daniel’s feet. She motioned for Lily to come closer and whispered, “Yes, ma’am.”

Matthew rolled his eyes, apparently already used to what eighth-grade girls thought of their volunteer. Lily caught his expression and asked, “What’s your favorite thing you’ve done with Daniel during rehearsal?”

Matthew stood a little taller at her question. He pointed toward part of the set downstage. “I helped Mr. Daniel build that platform.” It was the largest portion of the set and housed a majority of the scenery. “It was just the two of us.” Pride was evident in his voice.

“Wow—nice job. So tell me, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned from him?”

Matthew looked back at his platform before answering. “Easy. He’s shown us that even though there may only be a few people on stage, it takes a lot of people to put on a play. And they are all important.”

Ellie agreed. “Yeah. He also taught us not to be scared to be on stage. Even if we mess up, he said that the audience will appreciate us trying.”

Lily smiled. “He’s right, you know. I’m sure you’ll both be great. Thanks so much for talking to me, guys. Break a leg!”

They scurried out of the auditorium, and Lily took a seat near the back to wait for Daniel. He appeared from backstage a few minutes later and grinned as he walked up to meet her.

“What did you think?”

Lily shook her head in amazement as they walked toward his car. “They obviously think a lot of you. I can see why this is so important to you.”

“They’re a fantastic group of kids. I just want to do what I can for them.”

“How did you find out about this program?”

“Remember the director—the guy I went to talk to? He’s the friend who broke his leg and couldn’t perform, giving me the opportunity to take the stage. And he’s the one who started this program.”

Lily stood stunned as Daniel opened the passenger door for her, leaning against it as she got in.

“How did you get involved?”

“Well, at first, I figured I kinda owed him, so I started volunteering when we were doing
In My Life
. But the more I volunteered, the more I found I liked working with the kids.” He shrugged. “They help me keep my balance and remind me not to take everything so seriously. They probably give me more than I give them.”

Lily chuckled. “I don’t know about that. Two of the kids had very nice things to say about you.” She looked over just in time to see his cheeks redden just a bit. He closed the door and made his way to the driver’s side.

“Well, are you ready to see how the stage compares to the big screen?” he asked.

“Definitely! I’ve never been on a movie set before. What should I expect?”

“Actually, I have no idea! I think they’re reshooting one of the scenes with the pharmaceutical company reps. The whole scenario is interesting. And scary. Like it could be happening right now, and we don’t know it.”

Lily nodded her agreement. “You seem really into this project. What is it you like so much about Grady?”

Daniel drove toward Burbank on the freeway as he answered. “First of all, the stories themselves are great. But I like Grady mostly because he’s just a good guy. He’s not trying to be a superhero. He just wants to do the right thing. I admire that. That’s the kind of guy I want to be.”

“So I take it you read the books?”

“Yeah—there’s a lot of downtime on movie sets. In this case, I’d already read them, but I brought them to the set as well. We obviously had the script, too, but having the author’s interpretation on hand helped. During breaks, I’d try to find a quiet spot and crack them open to help me stay in Grady’s mindset.”

“And did you like them?”

Daniel smiled. “I loved them, actually. They’re the perfect combination of suspenseful and thoughtful. That’s something I hope comes across in the movies.”

Lily grinned. “Don’t worry, it does.
Borderlines
did a great job of combining the emotional story with the physical story. But was there anything they had to cut that you wish had made it to the final version?”

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel for a moment before responding. “You know, I don’t think so—nothing big, anyway. All the important stuff is there. Now—selfishly speaking—there were some small scenes that I thought I nailed that didn’t end up in the final cut. But I’m glad they ended up in the extras.”

Lily made some notes as Daniel exited the freeway. “So now that you have a blockbuster under your belt, would you do television again?”

“Maybe. It all depends on the project. If the project itself is good, then the medium shouldn’t matter. Look at all the award-winning actors who have done made-for-TV movies for HBO, for instance.”

Lily nodded. “Good point. But now I’m curious—do you have a preference between movies and television?”

Daniel shook his head. “Nah, not really. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. With television, you’re committed for months and even years at a time. The steadiness is good, but sometimes you want to spread your wings, you know? With movies, it’s an intense few weeks—followed by an even more intense press run—but then it’s on to something new.”

Then, he turned to her with a grin. “Now let’s go see how that movie magic is made!”

They pulled into a gated area, and all Daniel had to do was show his face to the security guard before they were waved in. Beyond the wrought iron sat several nondescript buildings spread out over a maze of roads. Lily frowned in confusion. It looked like a subdivision full of warehouses. Lily hadn’t expected red-carpet glamour or a back lot full of Wild West sets, but she thought it’d be more exciting than the beiges and grays in front of her.

Daniel parked his Audi in a spot designated with his name. Of course, it was right in front of the largest building. Lily had to park in the back of her office, next to where the press ended and drivers came to load their papers. She gave him a mock glare, raising one eyebrow.

He smirked at her reaction. “One of the perks.”

As Lily got out of the car, she nodded toward the building ahead of them. “So this is it?”

She tried to keep the incredulity out of her voice, but Daniel picked up on it and grinned.

“This, my friend, is what Hollywood actually looks like. But don’t worry. All the magic happens on the inside,” he said with a wink. He ushered her in the large glass doors. A thin, leggy blonde behind the reception desk immediately jumped to attention, her perky ponytail bouncing behind her.

“Welcome back, Mr. Brighton,” she said with too much enthusiasm. “Who is your, um, guest?”

Lily rolled her eyes as Daniel stifled a sigh.

“This is Lily Richards. You might want to be nice to her. She’s here writing a story for
Vanity Fair
.”

“Oh! Wow! That’s fantastic. Well, if you two need anything, just let me know!” Her eagerness made it clear that Lily had a new best friend.

“Okay, thanks.” He then flashed the blonde the smile he reserved for the cameras before putting his hand on Lily’s shoulder and leading her down a long hallway. “Let me show you around.”

They ducked into a room toward the end of the hallway. At the moment, it was full of white lab coats and a variety of pale blue and faded teal scrubs.

“This is the wardrobe staging area. When we need to make a quick change, we come here,” Daniel explained. “The main wardrobe area—and hair and makeup—are out in our trailer area, so it makes more sense when we need something fast to come here. One person from that department is always around the set to take care of those changes and other little things—loose buttons, falling hems, that kind of thing. We can be a little rough on stuff.”

Lily grinned when she spotted the lab coat with Dr. Grady Pierce stitched above the left breast pocket in thick navy thread.

“Come on . . . try it on for me. Please?”

Daniel rolled his eyes but complied with a small smile, shrugging into the coat.

Lily immediately burst into laughter. “The concert tee and Nikes look much better than a button-up and tie. Makes you look like one of the regular people. I’d totally take medical advice from you,” she said with mock sincerity.

He cocked an eyebrow at her as the coat slipped from his broad shoulders. “Oh, really . . . just wait until you see me in the scrubs, then.” His lopsided grin almost made Lily lose her balance. She stiffened her back in time to catch herself and subtly tried to take a deep breath as he led her from the room.

At the end of the hallway was a large black door with a steel bar running through the middle of it. When they got to it, Daniel turned to her, his back against the door, pushing it open with his hips. “Come on in.”

This space could hold at least two of my apartments
, Lily thought, her eyes darting around, taking in the enormous, vacuous space. The walls and flooring were black, and it had the highest ceilings Lily had ever seen.

“This is one of the soundstages,” Daniel said. “Actually, it’s one of the smallest on this lot. Most productions need bigger areas than this stage, so I knew it’d be deserted. But I thought you might like to see what one looks like completely empty.”

Lily scoffed, shaking her head slowly. “This is the smallest? Wow.”

“Yeah. We’ll head to the stage
Life Saver
is using in a second.”

Lily noticed that despite the cavernous feel of the space, there was no echo. “You know, I can see how this can be transformed into anything.” She looked around, taking a few steps farther into the room.

“Yeah, they’re designed that way. All the black stuff on the walls and floors provides sound absorption so that the only audio picked up is what the director wants to hear. And the high ceilings provide enough room for just about any set you can think of.”

“That’s interesting . . . thanks for showing me.”

Daniel gave her a small shrug and smile. “I thought you might be curious.”

“Mm-hmm,” Lily murmured as they exited the room. Daniel led her through another door that went outside. Just ahead sat a group of trailers.

“I guess you’d call this my home away from home. Or my office of sorts.” He opened the door to one of the trailers toward the back of the group and held it open for her.

Lily stepped in, thanking him, holding his eyes for just a moment. Not just for holding the door. But for allowing her into his personal space.

She could easily see Daniel’s personality in these surroundings. It was a lot like him—organized chaos. Piles of stuff sat undisturbed all around—stacks of books, piles of papers grouped together with the largest black binder clips Lily had ever seen (she assumed these were scripts), and even a small pile of laundry waited for attention in the corner. An inviting dark brown microfiber couch and matching chair defined the living space, which was anchored by a large high-definition flat-screen television. A Blu-ray player and Wii system were hooked up to it. Like Daniel himself, the atmosphere in his trailer may have been full of energy, but it had a strong sense of comfort held within its walls.

“Have a seat,” he said, gesturing toward the living area. “Want something to drink?”

“Sure, water would be great.” Lily opted for the cozy looking chair in the corner.

Daniel came back around the corner a moment later with two bottles of water in his hand, holding one out to her before taking a seat on the couch near her and opening his bottle.

“Thanks for showing me around,” Lily commented.

“Of course. You’re no trouble, Lily.”

A slight blush colored her cheeks at his comment. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to Daniel Brighton, of all people, saying things like that to her, of all people. It didn’t make sense to her, but she figured it was best to just go with it.

“So can I ask you a question? On the record, I mean?”

Lily caught the ever-so-slight wariness that crossed his features for just a moment. “Okay. I suppose that is what we’re here for, after all.”

“Well, I’ve noticed that you seem totally and completely comfortable here. Talking about acting and making movies—not to sound cheesy, but it kind of lights up your eyes. You love it. So tell me why.”

Daniel thought for a moment, taking another drink from his water. Lily was slightly distracted by the way his throat moved as he swallowed.

“I do love it. Honestly, it’s kind of fun pretending to be someone else, even if it’s just for a little while. Even when I was young, I would always picture myself in whatever story I was reading. I guess this is kind of a grown-up version of that. But it’s a little different now because the stories I’m telling actually impact people.

“I’m not saying that to sound conceited,” he continued. “Not every movie I have done or will do is important. But even if watching it entertains someone for a couple of hours, that still has an impact on them. It’s making their day just a little better. Well, hopefully. Assuming they don’t hate it. But basically I love this because I like story telling. I can’t write like you can, so this is my way of doing it.”