Brooklyn was outside enjoying the spring weather when she noticed a large shadow blocking the sun. She slowly opens her eyes, and sees her dad standing over top of her with a huge packet in his hand.
"Dad!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be in LA? And what's that?"
He tosses the papers in front of her, and as she flips through them she notices it's a script. "This is a script for a series HBO is doing on Etta James. I think you should audition. It's time you put your talents to good use."
Brooklyn looks up in shock, and then starts laughing. "You can't be serious, dad! This is Etta James we're talking about, one of the greatest of all time."
"Hey, you're my daughter, you can do anything you put your mind to. This will be good for you. Just think about it, auditions are next week in LA." He gives her a pat on the leg and leaves.
To satisfy him she went into the audition, it went better than she expected. The casting directors loved her. They didn't even notice that her father was the great Nick Fury; the most popular r&b singer of the late 80's and 90's.
A month later after the auditions, her father walked into her home and before he could get the words out she knew she got the part of Etta James.
"Brooklyn, please keep your leg still." Nick whispered to her.
She took a deep breath before replying. "I'm sorry dad, I'm super nervous. What if they change their minds about me getting the part? I mean this is my first role EVER, they probably want someone with more experience." She was rambling now, she just couldn't stop the nerves.
"Brook, they offered you the role for a reason." Her dad replied
Before she could reply back. A receptionist walks into the room. "Ms. BelAir, they're ready for you now."
Brooklyn pulls down the front of her blue striped casual Michael Kors mini dress that tugged over her hips slightly. Her heels click as she walks in the boardroom. "Hi, my name is Liesl Tommy. I'm the director of this project. Here let me introduce you to everyone."
Brooklyn knew that her face was gonna be permanently stuck with the way she was smiling so hard. Once everyone is seated Liesl starts talking
Liesl hands them a folder full of information, "In your packets are schedules, changes to the script and We are going to begin filming in four weeks, but in the meantime the cast will continue with your dialect and vocal lessons and we have dates for costume fittings."
Tracey the screenwriter adds "I'm so excited for my screenplay to finally come to life. I've been working on this for years and I know Brooklyn and the rest of this cast will bring it justice."
"Now, Brooklyn, I know you've prepared a little something so everyone can hear your voice."
Brooklyn takes a deep breath, stands and smiles nervously "Yes, the first song I've been working on is…."
"The love of my man, keeps me safe and warm the love of my man, Protects me, protects me from all harm"
Brooklyn hummed to herself in the makeup chair. Tonight was her first red carpet event, minus the ones she went to with her dad when she was little. The chaos around her was insane. She hoped she wouldn't embarrass herself while doing the interviews.
The past few months were a complete blur, she spent the most of her time all across LA filming the miniseries. She missed being in her studio apartment in NY.
Because she was so thin, she had to gain almost 20 pounds to fully transition into Etta James. While no one forced her to do that, she wanted to completely engulf herself in the character. In her mind, for that short period of time, she was Etta James.
She worked with a vocal coach for a couple hours 3 times a week to get the right vocal range as Etta. Minus the acting, Brooklyn was most worried about the audience hearing her singing. Etta's whole family was coming to the premiere to watch the mini series with her. She was excited but deathly nervous.
"Ok babe, your makeup is done! What do you think?" Stella, Brooklyn's best friend and now makeup and hair stylist says.
"Oh Stella! I love the slight smoky look and the glossy lip is the perfect touch for this dress!" Brooklyn walks in her closet and pulls out a custom Dolce&Gabbana red silk dress with diamonds all across the dress.
"Oh biiiitch! That dress is gorgeous, let me borrow it when you are done!" Stella exclaims with a laugh
"Oh no honey, this thing is going right back where it came from after tonight!" Brooklyn jokes.
A knock interrupts the laughter. It was security telling her she had 5 minutes before she needed to leave for the red carpet. Brooklyn rushes to put on the finishing touches.
Brooklyn walks out the bathroom and does a quick spin for Stella and she was blindsided by how the sequins beamed off of Brooklyn caramel skin.
Stella almost started tearing up at the sight of her best friend. "You look beautiful, Brooklyn."
"Really?" Brooklyn looked in the mirror, her hair was in a bun and her diamond earrings sparkled in the mirror.
Stella comes up behind her and squeezes her shoulder with a smile. "Yes, absolutely. I'm so proud of you."
There's another knock on the door. "You better get going, before they start yelling." Stella remarks.
Riding in the limo, the butterflies turned into eagles in her stomach. She was starting to shake uncontrollably. "Hey relax, you're going to do great." Her dad gives her a hand a slight squeeze before the door of the limo opens.
Brooklyn steps out of the car and puts on a confident smile. She hears the photographers yelling and screaming her name. She posed with her dad and cast and crew and then by herself and she walked down the red carpet. She felt a hand gently push her towards the press to do interviews.
"Hi, Brooklyn. I'm James from E! News. How are you feeling tonight?"
Brooklyn takes a deep breath before answering. "Well I'm super nervous, but I feel good. I'm excited for everyone to see the series. We've put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into the show."
"Oh definitely! Just from the clips we have seen, I can tell everyone worked really hard on the show. Now Brooklyn, this is your first acting role ever! I mean, talk about coming out with a bang, how did you get involved in this project."
"I can only thank my father, he passed along the script and let me read it. I was against doing it at first but decided to audition anyway. I'm so glad I did, this whole process has been the most amazing thing ever. I'm so grateful to be a part of something so special."
After taking pictures with the members of the James family, Brooklyn was led to the final interview of the night.
"I am Rebecca, here reporting for Vanity Far and I am at the premier of the new HBO Max mini-series: Deep In The Night: Etta James. I am talking to the star of the film, Brooklyn BelAir. How are you doing tonight?"
"A little nervous, but I'm so happy to be here!" Brooklyn replies with a smile, she waves slightly at the fans that were behind the press.
"That's awesome, well before tonight's red carpet we asked the fans on Twitter if they had any questions for you, and a couple of them wanted to know what you were listening to any new artist these days?"
"Before I answer, can I just say I'm shocked I actually have fans! That's amazing. As for artists, I've been super busy filming these last few months to listen to a ton of new artists but I recently discovered the band The Cap Quartet, I've become a huge fan of their music. They're super talented. I saw they won best new artist last week, and it was definitely well deserved."
"Heck yeah! Do you have a favorite member of the group?" Rebecca says with a smirk
"Are you trying to set me up Rebecca?!" Brooklyn says with a laugh. "My lips are sealed, but I will say the fellas of that group are very handsome and of course I can't forget the beautiful, Natasha."
Rebecca points the microphone closer to her face. "Well, back to the film. How did you prepare for the film?"
"I prepared a lot vocally. I wanted to make sure I mastered Etta's unique voice. I had to learn a whole new style of music, Soul & Jazz. Thankfully, I had my super talented vocal coach help train my voice each week."
"One last question before you go, there's already Emmy and Golden Globe buzz over this film, how does that feel to know that your first project is already making so much noise?"
The smile on Brooklyn's grew large at the thought of winning awards. "Knowing there's so much buzz surrounding my performance, is extremely flattering and overwhelming. I worked so hard on this film, I left my heart and soul on the set and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. I just want everyone to know more about the life of Etta James."
Brooklyn quietly walks into her hotel room and leans against the door and signs in relief. She knew that after tonight her life was gonna be changed forever. It had already started changing a little bit while filming but she knew that the peaceful life she had in NY was over with. She was going to start getting followed by paparazzi everywhere, everywhere she looked her face would be on the front of magazines.
She changes out her dress and cleans the makeup off her face and climbs in bed.
Fame almost ruined her family, especially her dad. She wasn't sure if she was ready for the fame to change her life as well.
AN: check out tumblr coldheartmelt to see her dress! thx for reading