The Director's Cut (17 page)

“Listen,” says Natalie, “I’m going to be a little late on set. Because, you know,
there’s just some things I have to get sorted before we start.”

Her eyes sweep the square and land on a figure by the catering van.

It’s her assistant Carol, and best I can see, she’s brandishing a food box.

“Looks like she may be
bringing your muffins,” I suggest.

“
Uggh. Maybe,” says Natalie. “If only I could be sure of that.”

She whips out her phone and punches in a number.

“I’d better call her,” she mutters, pressing to dial, even though Carol is less than a hundred metres away.

I see Carol jump and fumble to take out her phone.

Natalie begins issuing urgent instructions into the handset.

“Everyone on set!”
It’s James’s voice, and I swing around to see he’s assembled everything for the first scene.

Nervously, I make my way towards him.

I am suddenly feeling insanely out of my depth. I have never been on a location scene before. I have no idea where I should be standing, or what’s expected of me.

And worse, there are all these people I don’t know, wielding cameras, and arranging things.

Just get through today, Issy
, I counsel myself.
You’ll figure it out.

Callum arrives by my side and takes my arm.

“Nervous?” he asks, understanding instantly.

I nod, too an
xious to even get the words out, but pleased beyond measure to have him at my side.

“You should be,”
Callum says. “Every one of those cameramen are flesh-hungry cannibals.”

I laugh, despite
myself.

“My first day on set,” he says, “I was so nervous
, I had a stomach ache all day.”

He gives a nod to reassure me he’s telling the truth.

It’s hard to imagine Callum as a nervous young actor.

“How long did it take you not to be nervous?” I venture, feeling slightly better.

“I
never
stopped being nervous,” says Callum. “Every time I go on set, I’m terrified. It’s when you’re calm, that’s when you need to worry.”

He gives my arm a squeeze. “Frightened is the best way to be,” he says
. “It means you care about your acting.”

I could hug Callum right now. He’s said exactly the right thing to make me feel better.

Well, almost. I feel the nerves start to grow again as we enter the shouting maelstrom of crew who run past us, as though we weren’t there.

“You’ll get used to it,” says Callum
as they rush by. “We’re just puppets to them. We only start up when the cameras roll.”

I blink in s
urprise. It’s a strange remark, but he’s right. That’s what it feels like. It’s like we’re ghosts.

Then James steps towards us, and I feel
my world light up.

“Hello,” I say, trying desperately to keep the violent smile from splitting my face.

My thoughts suddenly sweep to my absence of panties under the pencil skirt. I’d forgotten, in all the fear and excitement.

The memory brings a little sexy thrill with it.

“Hello, both of you,” says James. “We’re almost ready to start.”

Something about the atmosphere of the set and the arrangement of things
- it seems to have brought James to life. I have never seen him look this energised, or excited.

He loves this.

Suddenly, I can’t wait to be part of his work.

“I’m looking forward to it,” I say, and I mean it.

James reaches out an arm to help guide me out of the path of a passing cameraman. And as he does so, his hand sweeps across my behind.

I feel him freeze momentarily, before continuing the casual movement of his arm.

Does he know I’m not wearing panties?

The thought makes me feel wicked and sexy all at once. I can’t say for sure that James knows
what’s underneath my skirt. But the sudden tight expression on his face suggests he might.

Maybe I’ll leave them off
, I think,
and surprise him later
.

The thought of being alone with him later is almost too much to bear. But I’m excited too, to be acting.

“It’s just scenes with you and Callum and Natalie today,” James explains. And I realise the subtext of what he’s saying: “
You don’t have to act with me yet.”

I feel relieved
, but also a little disappointed.

I’d much rather find my feet on set before trying to act with James.
But a memory of our intense first meeting keeps spiking up. The chemistry between us when we acted was incredible. I can’t wait to experience it again.

James strides away, and I’m left with Callum, feeling a little as though the sun has gone in.

“You went to drama school, right?” Callum says.

“Yes
.”

“Then you know almost everything already,” Callum reassures me. He must have caught a glimpse of my terrified expression
returning as James slid away.

“I know all the words for everything,” I admit, “and what everyone does. But it feels so
different actually being here. It’s like looking at a picture of some exotic country,” I add, “and then actually being there, in the din and chaos.”

Callum smiles at the metaphor.

“Don’t worry,” he says, patting my shoulder. “See those crosses there?”

He points to two separate spots on the floor.

I nod.

“That’s you, that’s me,” he says. “When they yell,
‘Places!’, all you gotta do is be in that spot. After that, just deliver your lines. And we
all
know
you can do that,” he adds with an impish smile.

I smile back, trying to stem my heart from racing.

“In any case, you don’t need to worry, for… Ooo… at least an hour.” Callum checks his watch exaggeratedly.

“Why’s that?” I turn to him in confusion. “I thought James had just told us to be on set.”

“Ah yes,” says Callum, tapping his nose. “Us lowly professionals have to be here. But you’re forgetting, there’s also Hollywood royalty in residence.”

He gives me a knowing glance. “We’ll all have to wait for Natalie Ennis.”

Chapter 18

In the end, we don’t have to wait anything like an hour. But Natalie still shows up twenty minutes late, with an expression like a sulky schoolgirl. Judging from her posture and attitude, James had some serious words with her.

Carol is trailing behind her, like a puppy. Doubtless, she’s trying to second-guess what Natalie’s next demands might be.

“Ok,” shouts James, his deep voice booming across the square. “We’re ready to get going.
”

I let my eyes sweep over the mocked-up café front, which the set handlers have built.

I can’t help but admire their handiwork.

Until this morning, this part of the square was an ordinary-looking pharmacy. But they’ve built it out to look like a charming European café, complete with outdoor seating and huge glass frontages.

In the setting of the wider square, it looks totally natural, and charmingly Spanish.

I’m willing to bet, if we all left the set right now, more than one tourist would try and order coffee here.

Although up close, you can see the glass is actually plastic, apart from one large pane, which is sugar-glass.

Part of the scene is a comedy moment, in which Callum comes crashing through the café window, so this will be where he falls.

“Extras, onto set please,” calls James.

Even the sound of his voice makes me melt. How am I going to act with him without giving away
how I feel?

At least the script is on my side. My character is supposed to fall in love with his, after all.

A small group of extras troop onto the set. Lorna is one of them, and she turns to give me an excited grin. She looks gorgeous, as usual.

Her flawless model
skin and even features have been enhanced with screen make-up, and she’s been dressed in jeans and a skinny tee.

I grin back, and she takes her seat at one of the outdoor tables. A man who I recognise as David
, the props handler, swoops in and begins setting out cups and coffee pots.

Lorna is given a tall glass of orange juice and a croissant on a plate.

I wonder how her hangover is treating her. Judging by her expression as the food and drinks are set in front of her, she’s not feeling great.

“
Cast. Places!” James voice comes loud again.

Places
.

I freeze for a moment, and Callum helpfully shoves me towards my starting point.

I stand hesitantly on the taped cross, trying to work out if I need to be exactly on top of it or slightly to the side.

I look over to Callum to see he’s
silently laughing at me good-naturedly, and I give him a self-pitying grin and a shrug.

He points to the
middle of the cross below his feet, and I move to stand in the centre of mine.

Natalie walks over to her seat in t
he outdoor café and sits.

The cameras swing and adjust to focus on her table.

“Does anyone need a last minute look at scripts?” asks James. He’s moved closer to the set now.

I’ve learned this scene so
thoroughly, I could recite it in my sleep. So I shake my head. Callum also waves away the need for a script, but Natalie puts her hand up.

“Just give me two seconds, ok?” she calls. “I just want to double check something about where I’m sitting.”

We wait a few beats, until Natalie has satisfied herself as to the logistics. She nods, and a crew member swoops in to relieve her of the script.

“Ok,” says James. “Extras, just act natural. Chat. Drink coffee. Everyone ready?”

He makes a glance around the set.

And then
it’s time for the famous words.

“Lights!”
calls James.

A blaze of subtle lighting
beams on, throwing Natalie’s features into sharp relief.

“Cameras
!”

None of the cameras move, but I’m guessing the staff behind them are zooming in.

“And… Action!”

Chapter 19

A
crew member snaps a movie clapper in front of the camera, and we’re rolling.

Natalie switches instantly from poised to natural.

She stares into the middle distance and takes a sip from her coffee cup.

This is my cue, and
I take a deep breath, trying to force my body into calmness.

I step away from my spot and into the range of the cameras.

Grace is supposed to be approaching Natalie for some last minute information. So I let myself swim into what her state of mind might be.

I stride purposely towards
Natalie’s character, and I arrive at her table, setting my face to flustered.

“Lisa,” I say in a harried tone, “did you get the documents yet?”

Natalie looks up from her coffee and opens her mouth to reply. But suddenly, James’s voice booms out, cutting her off.

“And cut!”

What?

I turn in bemusement.

“Ok,” James strides onto set. “Just a few adjustments to make sure we’re getting things right for this first scene.”

Wow. He really is
a perfectionist. Is it going to be like this every second of each take?

He moves towards me and moves a portion of hair away from my face.

The contact makes my skin tingle.

“We’re filming from this side, ok?” he says
. “So we need to see your expression. Your hair is covering part of it.” He looks around.

“
Scarlett?” he calls. “Can we get you on this?”

In a second,
Scarlett is standing by my side.

“We need this side of the face open,” he explains.
“I’d like the camera to catch her frowning.”

Scarlett
dives straight in and begins adjusting my hair with her usual lack of respect for my personal space. Whilst she’s spraying and fixing, James takes a few steps over to Natalie.

“Can we
try it with Lisa looking more shocked to see Grace?” he suggests. “Let’s try for some easy-going surprise.”

“Sure,” Natalie nods.

Scarlett releases my head and takes a step back. James turns to assess.

“Great, thanks Scarlett. You ok to go
, Issy?”