Chapter 3: Picture is up

"Snowy, look over there!" Tintin lifted Snowy up so that he could see through the window of the plane. They all looked at the Hollywood sign and saw how sunny and bright the place was. It was almost time for the plane to land on California.

"Christopher Columbus!" Haddock thought. "One wonders why Jacqueline talked about travelling so much when she's living here?"

After they left the airport, they took a taxi and arrived at their hotel. They left their stuff there and went to the place where Jacq worked: Vermont Studios. They arrived at the big dark-green gate and Tintin spoke to the guard, "Excuse me. We're here to see Jacq Jones. I'm Tintin."

"Oh, it's you guys. She said you'd be here. But you was supposed to come much later?"

"We decided to come and surprise her. Unless she too busy?"

"Oh, ok. Nah, she ain't too busy, actually. She's probably in the office next to Studio 9. She's with Mr. Bucks. Go to the third left, then straight and you'll find it." He opened the door for them.

They entered and saw various people moving around with either a costume or carrying a prop or equipment. "Look at this place!" said Tintin. "Aren't you seeing this, Snowy? Snowy? Not again." He spotted a little white dog carrying an extremely large bone walking towards them. Snowy said, "Look what I found!"

"Snowy! Put that back now! It's not a real bone!"

"Not real?" Snowy sniffed it. "How did I not notice that?" He left the prop behind him and followed Tintin.

They passed Studio 9 and saw that inside they were preparing a set for a movie. There was a small background of a city and a few smaller buildings on the side to make it look like a big city on camera. There was a larger side of a building built on the side, and on another side there was a background of a street.

"Come on! We need our actor!" shouted a small-nosed man with a thin moustache, short black hair and round sunglasses. He was a bit chubby. "We're wasting valuable time! We're wasting our budget! What's taking him so long?" The crew on set was moving around preparing the camera, lighting, sound equipment and making sure that the set pieces in the right places.

Calculus stopped to admire the model they did for the city. "Amazing! It looks like a real building from afar!"

"Cuthbert, we'll have time to see the sets after we see Jacqueline," said Haddock pulling the Professor away, who didn't listen to him.

They arrived at the building, and went up the stairs. They saw a long corridor with four offices on each side of the corridor, and a big office at the very end. It was quite warm inside, so the windows and offices were open for everyone to work in.

Across the corridor, they saw a man around his early forties, wearing a white shirt and a yellow tie. In front of his desk was someone with familiar, big curly hair.

It was Jacq! They couldn't see her face, but from the back they saw that she was wearing her usual light-pink shirt, and instead of long pants, she wore shorts. Tintin walked in high anticipation. He was shaking a bit and tightening his fists, so he took a deep breath and exhaled while shaking off his hands.

As they reached the end of the corridor, they tried to grab her attention, but the man kept shouting through his black phone, "No! No! I said I wanted the film done by Friday! Tell that Richard that he can shove the script into his mouth if he can't do it by then!" He slammed the phone down. The phone rang and he picked up the phone. "Hello? NO! If you want to see me again, you're going to have to wear a mask, because I don't want to see your dirty face again!" He slammed the phone hard. "Simon! Where are the papers I asked for? And where's my sandwich? Anyway, kid, take my advice and—WHAT DO YA WANT?" He said shouting at the people through the door.

Jacq turned around to reveal that she was wearing sunglasses due to the sunlight coming through the window. She noticed Tintin and company. Jacq let out a huge grin. She took off her sunglasses and said, "Tintin!" She ran up to Tintin and gave him a big bear hug. Although she was almost strangling him, Tintin hugged her back anyway.

"You're really here! All of you!" She let go of Tintin and gave a hug to the Captain and Snowy. "It's so great to see you here! I thought you guys were gonna come much later!"

"We wanted to surprise you," said Tintin.

"Man! You guys are amazing! It's great to see you too, Professor! How are you?"

"Yes, very warm in here. I'm fine, thank you, Miss Jacqueline. How have you been? I thought I was going to see you in December."

"Um…" Jacq remembered that there was a slight miscommunication with the deaf Professor. "Not exactly," she said raising her voice louder, "I've been very busy! Sorry I didn't come visit! I was working!"

"Walking?"

"Working! I've been busy!"

"Walking around the city?"

The Captain interrupted them, "Just ignore him. He does this all the time."

Jacq turned around to introduce Mr. Bucks. "So, guys, this is Mr. Bucks, an executive producer, and also the Chief Operating Officer of Vermont Studios. Mr. Bucks, these are my friends. Tintin, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus and Snowy."

"How do you do?" said the Professor.

"It's nice to finally meet ya. Jacqueline here told me all about it," said Mr. Bucks who shook their hands. "And I actually did hear about you before, Mr. Tintin. When ya went to Chicago and when you— Not now, Simon! I'm talkin' here!" They turned around to see a wormy-looking guy with big glasses who was outside the door. "Um… sorry for interrupting you, Mr. Bucks. I'm have all your papers here, and your sandwich, no ketchup, and Mr. Maroon wanted you to know that Joey… he quit."

"Joey the cable guy, or Joey the actor?"

"The actor."

"Are ya kiddin' me? Okay, fine. Let's get the understudy. Call Butch."

"I did, Mr. Bucks. But he also dropped out."

"Fine, then call…"

"And Harold. And Roy. And Riley. And Jules. All of them quit."

"WHAT? How's that possible? Why would any of 'em want to quit? Especially today!"

Calculus asked, "A play? I thought this was a film studio."

Haddock shouted at the Professor, "He said 'today'! They need to finish filming today! THEY'RE FILMING!"

"Ian Fleming? So they're adapting one of his novels into a play? Have they done Casino Royale yet?"

"Thundering Typhoons, you unbelievable—!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! You!" said Mr. Bucks. Haddock pointed at himself confused. "Yeah, you! You scream often?"

"Eh… once in a while."

"And ya get angry a lot?"

"Eh… aye…"

Mr. Bucks observed the Captain. "Simon, ya think he'll do?"

"Eh… I think so, Mr. Bucks."

"Ok! So, Captain, right? I'm sorry if this is outta nowhere, and if this affects your vacation plans, but just for today, we need to finish some scenes for a movie, and I was just wonderin' whether you'd like to help us out."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. Luckily you came in here today. We've been workin' on the project for quite a while, and if we don't finish this, we can't make a profit and we'll lose a lot of money. I just need your permission first, if you don't mind me askin'. Please?"

"But why me? Just because I scream and shout?"

Mr. Bucks put his hand on Haddock's shoulder. "Right now, we need someone who knows how to get angry. By the looks of you, I think you'd fit in the role very well." Jacq tried to hide her smirk.

Haddock thought, "Hmm… letting someone lose his project is a horrible thought. I can't let this happen to him." He then nobly said, "Very well! I'll do it!"

"Great! Let's get you to Studio 9. Simon, go tell Mr. Maroon not to worry. Thank you for helpin' us out!"

"Aye, that's no problem. I'm just doing what's best."

Jacq started to giggle. "What is it?" asked Tintin. "Oh, you'll see," said Jacq still with a smirk on her face. "Tintin, do you know what kind of movie this is?"

"And who knows? Ya could become a star after this role!"

"A star? Hmm… I like the idea. What a way to start my vacation. Captain Archibald Haddock on the big screen! A movie star!"

Ten minutes later…

Haddock's screamed in a giant gorilla costume. "BLISTERING BARNACLES!" Luckily he was just the right size.

"Wow," said Tintin, "When he said he'd fit the role, I didn't think he meant it literally."

"And action! Come on! Walk around and destroy the buildings! Give me anger! Give me a monster!" said the film director, Mr. Maroon.

"This is unfair! I am not a monster! I demand respect!" Haddock kept on screaming through his mask, but all that could be heard were some gruff muffling sounds. He knocked over the small buildings as the camera kept on rolling. Tintin and Jacq tried to stop giggling, but all they could do were cover their mouths. Calculus kept admiring the visual effects of the scene play out. He rarely went to the cinema, but to see everything in an actual film studio, he started to feel more interested the technology and technicalities of cinema.

Mr. Maroon kept on going, "Yes! That's right! Give me more tension! More intensity! More anger! More destruction!"

"Oh, I'll show ya! I'll show you all how angry I can get! You freshwater bullies! Pirates! Ectoplasms! Sea-Gherkins! Nyctalops! American rascals!"

"Keep the camera rolling. This is great stuff! Go on! You're angry at everyone now!"

Snowy thought, "Not a hard job for this man."

Tintin and Jacq stopped laughing and observed the filming take place. Haddock was doing better than they expected. "He's doing a good job, isn't he?" said Jacq.

"I know. But what exactly happened to the other actors? They just quit?"

"Yeah, they were meant to fit in the costume, but according to Simon, they all just quit unexpectedly and never called back."

"That's strange."

"I concur…"

After shooting a few scenes, including the scenes with the human actors, the director said, "CUT! That's a wrap!"

As the crew took down the equipment and turned on the lights of the studio, Haddock took off his costume. "Thundering Typhoons! This costume is an oven! And it stinks! Why does everything happen to me?"

"Captain, you were awesome!" said Jacq.

"I thought you were giggling."

"Yeah… I'm really sorry about that. Sure, I thought it was a bit funny at first, you being associated with a giant gorilla and all, but then you went on and I really enjoyed your performance! You're a good actor. Very convincing."

Tintin didn't want to admit that he giggled as well, but he had to agree with Jacq, "Yes, you did very well. Good for you!"

Everyone passed by him and congratulated him, especially Mr. Maroon who shook his hand vigorously. He said, "Good job, fellah! Without you I don't know where I would have been! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Although Captain Haddock was ranting all the way through, he didn't expect everyone to be so impressed with him. "Hmm… Everyone likes me… It wasn't so bad after all. Maybe I was given more respect than I thought."

"I wonder what this does," said the Professor releasing a lever. A dummy fell on top of Haddock causing him to hit the ground hard.

One of the crew asked, "Alright, who released the dummy? That was supposed to be for The Three Buffoons sketch! Now we have to put it back up again!"

Tintin helped him up. Haddock said, "Billions of Blistering Blue Barnacles! I swear that if something else happens-" Then the Captain fell down a trap door. All that could be heard was his scream fading and then a thud. Then the Professor said, "Oh, so that's what this other lever does. What an interesting device!"

As the crew went to get a ladder and take him out, Jacq thought, "I don't know if this is funny or cruel or both, but I'm starting to get an idea for a comedy."

"Come on! Get the guy outta there!" said Mr. Bucks. Then he turned to Jacq and said, "Thanks a lot, kid. If your friend hadn't come here, we wouldn't have been in big trouble."

"No problem, Sir."

"I don't know how to thank you. Hey, are ya still goin' to tonight's party?"

"… I didn't plan in going."

"Ya ain't? Why not? Come on, kid! Loosen up! You been workin' non-stop for the past few months. I think ya deserve a break."

"Well… actually, I'll go only if my friends go."

"That's my point! I wanna know if you're still going to the party, so that I can invite your friends too."

The crew helped Haddock out of the trap door, and he came out kneeling and breathing heavily. "You ok?" asked Jacq. He mumbled to himself, "Billions of blue blistering boiled and barbecued barnacles…"

"Good. He's still his usual self," said Tintin. "Captain, Mr. Bucks said he's inviting us to a party tonight."

"It's to promote the gorilla movie. That's why we wanted to finish the footage today, but we kept getting delay after delay. Believe me, it'll be a lot of fun. We'll have famous directors and critics come, as well as some movie stars. Jacqueline here's already invited, so I could include ya in the list. After what ya done."

"Really? I say yes! What do you say, Tintin?"

"I guess it'd be fun. Sure, why not?"

"Great! Anyway, I'm sorry, folks, but I gotta go now. I'll see you all later tonight. And kid," he said to Jacq, "I'll read your script later, so please don't get too nervous. Like I said, I'm givin' ya the rest of the day off, so try to relax for once. Got it?" He left the studio.

"I'll try…"

"Why are you nervous?" asked Haddock.

"I... well, I've been working hard on my script, and I had to hand it in today."

"That's great, Jacq! What's it about?"

"Well, it's a crime film… I don't think I did too well, but it's worth a try. The writing was pretty generic and the second half's full of plot holes. But I tried to write it the best way I could. In fact, I came in a bit earlier than I should have."

"Why's that?"

Earlier that day…

Jacq had realized she had fallen asleep on top of her desk. In front of her was her final draft for her script, and the final page hanging on her typewriter. "Ugh, I've been typing all night. If I hear another sound from pressing on that LOUD typewriter…"

TACK! TACK! TACK! TACK! TACK!

Jacq heard a noise of her typewriter, but she wasn't pressing on any key. She lifted her head and looked up. She noticed a small penguin figurine typing the final page for her script. The Penguin stopped typing, turned to Jacq and said, "Oh! You're awake! I finished a few details of your movie. There are still a few mistakes here and there."

"Huh?"

The penguin lifted her alarm clock and showed her it was twelve. "Do you know what time it is? You're late!"

RIIIING!

"Ah!" Jacq woke up with the sound of the alarm clock and noticed her script was still there. Although the clock said eight o'clock, she ignored it and pulled her things. She wrote a few more details on her script. "Oh geesh! Oh geesh! I hope this isn't bad!"

She ran down with her hair messy and her script in her bag. A woman in her fifties saw Jacq running down the stairs. It was her neighbor, Mrs. Portman. "Oh, good morning, Jacqueline."

"Morning! No time! Gotta run! Work!" Jacq said quickly as she ran towards the door.

"Work? Isn't it a bit early? Don't you want to have breakfast? Or…" Jacq passed through Mrs. "…at least brush your hair?"

Jacq turned around and said, "BUT THE TALKING PENGUIN TOLD ME THAT I WAS GONNA BE LATE!" And she ran out the door.

Mr. Portman, her husband who was a bit older than his wife, looked out the door half-asleep and said, "What's the matter with her?"

"Wally, I know Jacqueline's a great person, but sometimes I get why they call her an oddball."

The present…

"A bit hard to explain. Anyway, this is actually my fourth attempt at script writing."

"Fourth?"

"Yeah. The first script was an adventure film, but it was generic and stupid. Next was a comedy, but none of the jokes were really very good. Then I tried to do something a bit more serious, but westerns were no good. And now I'm trying a crime drama. I fixed all the mistakes I had before and I've been working really hard. I hope I did my best." She said with a bit more enthusiasm.

Tintin saw great determination in her face. She looked more tired than before, so she was probably working much harder than he thought. "Well, I think you're doing well then. When you want to improve, you have to be aware of your own mistakes. Although I know you can write something good. If your parents have that writing talent, so do you."

Jacq's expression changed. Tintin stopped, "Jacq, what's wrong?" He noticed that she looked troubled. "Nothing," she said and changed back to her usual self. "By the way, remember I said you'd meet Sally South? Wanna meet her right now?"

"Absolutely!" said Tintin. Then he remembered that for a girl who seems as ordinary as Jacq, she sure does live in a rich family and know many people like these: the Royal family of Bordwell, Sally South herself, Signora Castafiore, and so on. Maybe she's a magnet for these kinds of people. Maybe that's how she ended up meeting Tintin in the first place. What a lucky girl.

After finding Calculus wondering around the sound equipment, and getting Haddock out of his costume, they walked to the place where they'd find Sally South. They entered a big studio where they saw many people moving around. It was much larger from the inside, and the film had an appearance of a small courtroom. "They're filming a romance thriller. Sally's playing a woman who's trying to prove that someone framed her for a murder. It started with this love triangle and all. Believe me, it's a good story."

The Professor said, "A store? It looks more like a courtroom to me."

They went past the set and reached the make-up room. Jacq knocked on the door. "Who is it?" asked a womanly voice with a slight Tennessee accent.

"It's me! Jacq! I brought my friends with me!"

"Oh! Sure thing! Come in!"

They opened the door to reveal a lady wearing a grey suit and a white scarf; an outfit that women usually wore in the 1920s, and had her hair tied up. She was holding a script, probably reading through her lines. "Jacq! What's up?"

"I'm good," said Jacq. "So here are my friends. This is Tintin, the Captain, the Professor, and their dog Snowy."

Sally stood up. "Dolly! So these are your friends! How you doin'?" Tintin and Haddock stood still. It's just that they were standing in front of such a famous actress. Sally expected an answer, but there was a long pause in the room. "What's the matter, Ponyboy?"

"Ops!" said Tintin snapping out of his awe. "I'm so sorry, I was… I mean… I'm Tintin."

"Don't worry, I get that a lot. It's a pleasure to meet y'all. Jacq talks about you all the time. She told me about all the stories, and about the whole adventure you had. Jacq, I have to say you are one lucky girl. I mean, what an experience!"

"As amazing as meeting you," said Haddock introducing himself. "I am Captain Archibald Haddock. I have seen most of your films, and you were amazing in all of them."

"Thank you, Mr. Captain," said Sally. "It's hard work, but I love doin' it. My mamma always told me to do what I love, but also to work real hard. That's how I achieve things. So, as I was sayin', I heard about ya from Jacq. Tintin's the world famous reporter, Haddock's the guy with the whole Unicorn boat!" Tintin and Haddock smiled at Jacq for the fact that she told Sally all about them. "And, Boy Howdy! I'm meeting the great inventor himself! The man who invented the rocket ship! And ya went to the moon! When I think about it, they can really make a film franchise out of you and your friends."

"No, I'm sorry," said Calculus, "I swore never to act in another Hollywood film ever again. But thank you for the offer."

Jacq asked, "The Professor was in a film?"

Sally asked, "Is that so? What was that film? And why can't ya be in another?"

Tintin said, "It's a bit of a long story. Please don't ask."

Then someone else knocked on the door. "Filming is starting in a second, Sally."

"I'm comin'. How's about we get this show rollin'?"

On their way to the set, Sally whispered to Jacq. "That Tintin is a handsome feller in real life. No wonder ya like him!" Jacq nudged Sally. Sally giggled back.

A/N Sorry, I meant to post this yesterday, but I realized something and I wanted to change things around. Oh well! What'll happen at the party?

I just noticed that whenever I said "Jacq and Sally", it sounded like Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Just in case you're wondering, no, I did not make any reference to that film or to those characters. It was an accident. Although it's a great film!

Anybody got the Prisoners of the Sun reference?

Actually, because this writer got inspired by my previous fanfic to write her own, I feel the need to mention it here: It's An Adventure to Remember by luvAdventure123. If you love my fan fiction, go read this fanfic with my compliments! I always feel honored when that happens. When they say something like: "I love what you do so much that I feel inspired to do something great!" It's a fantastic feeling and it just makes my life whole life worthwhile. Believe me, someone saying that you inspire them is one of the best compliments you can get in life. Remember that.

See ya soon! And thanks for all the support! You guys rock! ;)

Please review!