The first month flew by in what felt to be a heartbeat. Jade had finished finalizing the script. Miss Holding and Jade finished the auditions. Jade was happy about the actors they had found. It was mostly young blood, but also had a few veterans she saw in other iconic movies. Jacob had found a great group of special effects experts who got Jade's idea immediately. And more importantly, they liked it. She had finished the shooting schedule with everyone and now they were ready to start shooting.
She and Beck talked almost every day. He was still completely supportive of her work, but he still missed her. And she missed him.
"One month is already over. Five time like this and you are home." Beck told her with fake enthusiasm. While time did fly for the young director, it seemed to become slower for her loved ones in the other side of the country.
"I know. Time really flies here. And the project is going on flawlessly. Tomorrow we finally start shooting. I'm really excited."
"Let's hope it stays flawless. You know how things can go south very quickly. Just remember the rehearsal for Well Wishes. I hope that producer won't go Miss Lee on it."
"Yeah, I remember. I hated that crazy woman. But Jacob is different. He is a fan like me, so I doubt he would do something like that. Until now, no decision was made without me."
"Then you have a worry less on your mind. Just remember, if something goes wrong, keep calm. I don't want to hear any news about a young woman murdering everyone in Paramount with a pair of scissors." He said with a small laugh.
"Don't worry, I'll keep my cool." She said with a laugh. "How are the others? I didn't have time to call them this week."
"Okay I guess. I mean, it was weird the first two weeks. It was almost like you died and we were grieving, but now it's okay. We are all proud of you."
"Thank you. You know how much that means to me." Jade said as she smiled at the compliment.
"It's the truth. Now go to sleep, you have to shoot the best movie ever tomorrow." Beck said.
"I will. I'll call you tomorrow when I'm done. Love you."
"Love you too." Beck said as he hung up. Jade placed her phone on the table and went to sleep.
The next day was proof that something always has to go wrong. They couldn't begin shooting because the actor playing "Jack" was late. After half an hour of waiting and trying to contact the man, frustration was clearly visible on everyone's faces. He finally showed up around 11:15.
"Where the hell have you been?" she shouted at the mid aged man. He only snored.
"I've had things to do, so don't yell at me, kid." He said, making Jade even angrier.
"Get into makeup and stop being a dick." She said as he brushed her off and went to makeup. Jade sat down into her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. She knew he was a veteran actor who played in a number of movies. Some of them were amongst her favorites. But she never imagined that she would have to deal with such an egomaniac.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a cup of coffee in front of her. She turned around to see Jacob holding it, visibly annoyed, but keeping his cool.
"Calm down. These things happen." He told her.
"Thank you." She said as she took the coffee and drank a bit. It immediately calmed her down.
"Some actors simply have an ego. But as long as he delivers in front of the camera, it's only a nuisance." He told her, sitting down in his own chair. After another hour of waiting and adjusting, they were ready to shoot. Jade took the microphone and looked at the monitor, following the camera and ready to give instructions.
A woman was reading in the living room when she heard a sound. After looking around the house, she noticed then that the back door was forcefully opened, the lock broken. She dialed the police and ran outside to wait for them. After two minutes, a police car came and the two policemen went in to investigate, the young woman standing outside. One of the policemen went upstairs and checked the rooms. In one of the rooms, he saw something and went inside. Behind him a silhouette was seen moving.
"Cut. Camera, move downstairs to the other two." Jade instructed.
The other policeman went outside to talk to the woman.
"There is no one in the house lady." He told her as he walked outside. "Mike, where are you?" he said into his walkie-talkie. He got no response. "Mike?" he called again. No answer. "Miss, stay here." He told her and took his gun. He walked inside again, carefully walking towards the stairs. He made his way upstairs, carefully checking every room again. In the last room, he saw a Jack in the box toy on the bed. He carefully checked the room. No one was there. He placed back his gun and took the toy. He began spinning it. The toy began to sing.
Jimmy's got the whooping cough
And Timmy's got the measles
That's the way the story goes
Pop! goes the weasel.
As the song finished the silhouette appeared again behind him.
"Cut. Perfect. Now camera back to the lady."
The woman went back inside after a few minutes. "Hello?" she called, waiting for a response. She went upstairs and saw the room to her bedroom open. She walked towards it and peeked inside. Her face got filled with shock. The two policemen were lying in her bed, both horribly mutilated. The silhouette appeared behind her. She turned around and faced the killer. He wore a black overall and a cheap clown mask. She screamed as the killer stabbed her, grunting and yelling."
"Cut." Jade yelled. "Adam, why did you grunt? I told you to stay silent." Jade asked the man she didn't like since the first moment.
"Why wouldn't I grunt?" he asked as he took of the mask. He was annoyed by the younger girl telling him how to act.
"Because, the killer is not supposed to be human like. He is supposed to be like Michael Myers or Jason: Silent, A boogeyman, an enigma; not a crazy type killer. Not human. It's way more effective that way as it dwells into the childhood fears. That is why I picked the clown mask for him. It's simple and yet it freaks you out. " She calmly explained the man. "Now let's do that last part again. Without grunting please." She said as she sat down. He rolled his eyes and walked back.
Adam either did not understand what Jade was telling him, or he was deliberately doing this to piss her off. The next 10 takes were the same, and the constant screaming the actress had to do took its' toll on her voice.
"Cut!" Jade screamed again, jumping out of her chair and pacing in frustration. "Take 10, everyone. Adam, I need to talk to you." She told the man. He walked towards her.
"What is it now?" he asked, completely annoyed.
"Why won't you listen to me? We wasted 10 shots now because you had to either grunt of yell or something."
"That's how I see the character." He simply stated, not even looking at her. Now she was pissed.
"But that's not how the character is supposed to be! How often do I have to explain this to you?" she asked; frustration clearly recognizable in her voice.
"Look kid. Don't tell me how I should do my job. I've been in many of these types of movies and I've played this type of character many times before. So let me do my job and shut up." He told her as he turned around to leave.
"You stay right here! I don't care in how many movies you were. This character is supposed to be different from the others. Didn't you read the script?" she asked him, but judging by his reactions, he didn't even take a glance.
"No. And why does it matter?"
"Because, then you would have understood the character and why he has to be played the way I'm telling you to." She told him. He simply waved her off. She threw her arms up in defeat. The man wouldn't listen.
"What's the problem?" Jacob walked to them, having heard part of the conversation and hoping he heard it wrong.
"What's wrong is that Adam here didn't even read the script and refuses to play his character the way he is supposed too." Jade explained to the producer. He looked over at the actor.
"Why aren't you listening to her?"
"Why would I let a brat like her tell me what to do?" he told him nonchalantly. "Why did you even hire her, Oswald?"
"It's Mister Oswald to you, Adam. And I hired her because she did an amazing job with the script. But how could you know, you didn't even read it to understand. So if you are going to act like a douche bag, be late, hold up the whole project, waste shots and insult the director of my choice, insulting me with this and my judgment, my knowledge and my credibility within and of this business and movie genre, you can get out of the costume and get the fuck out of here. You are fired!" Jacob told the man and pointed to the door. Adam stood there, shocked.
"Pff." He spat. "Screw this. This movie is going to be a failure anyway. Especially with this brat as the director." He said and stormed off.
Jacob and Jade were standing outside of the building now. Jade was frustrated while Jacob lit a cigar.
"I'm sorry." Jade said out of sudden, breaking the silence.
"Why are you sorry?" Jacob asked her, surprised.
"We've just lost the main character. And now we have to recast." She sighed, massaging her temples with her hand. "I should have given in. It would have been okay."
"And then what? If you are going to give in to everyone, you have the wrong job." Jacob answered. "The director is the last man standing. You direct the traffic. You are in charge. If something doesn't look the way you want it to, you make it look that way." He told her as he patted her back. "And honestly, that man was an idiot." She smiled at his words. He still had complete trust in her. "You've been doing a great job since you came here. Don't let a small setback discourage you."
"Thanks. But we still need to find someone to play Jack." Jade said.
"Hey, you guys alright?" they turned to face Andrew. Jade and Jacob, looked at him, back at each other and back at him with a smile.
"Guys, I've never been in a movie. I have never done any type of acting in my life." Andrew told them while he was in full costume. The tall and muscular man was even more imposing in the costume and added the element of unstoppable force of nature to the character.
"Just give it a try. What is there to loose?" Jade told him as she gently pushed him towards the set. And they found a diamond. They redid the whole scene with him and got it in one shot.
"And cut!" she yelled with a smile on her face. The first scene of the movie was done, and Jade was happy with it.
"Andrew! You are a natural!" she told him as he walked back to her.
"Thanks. I feel weird while wearing this. Something changes when I put on this mask."
"It's because you get the character. Andrew, I want you to play the killer." Jade told him.
"Uhm…" he mumbled, looking over at Jacob.
"I agree with her. You did a fantastic job. Come on, actors are better paid than security guards" he joked.
"Alright." Andrew finally agreed shaking both Jacob's and Jade's hands.
"One problem less." Jade thought.