Starlet's Web - #1 {Exclusive Read}

Starlet's Web - Uaries - NOT ANOTHER TAKE!

~    NOT ANOTHER TAKE!

It was Thursday. We were several hours behind schedule. The scene was supposed to take place at dusk, but the end of dusk passed long ago and was replaced by yellow floodlights. We did at least thirty takes of a complex scene. Most directors would shoot short takes, but Richard wanted to capture it as a flowing conversation between the queen, Muse and Constantine, creating a sense of union between the three individuals that he didn’t think he could accomplish in editing the short takes. He was a director who ventured on that fine line between boring his audience with more than a minute on the same actors in the same scene. Most directors focused on an actor for no more than 30 seconds. He was particularly challenged with Byron since he had very few lines.

In the scene, Constantine enters Rome as the victorious ruler of the Roman Empire in the West. It is the year 312 AD. His queen mother begs him to favor the Christian church, which is a minority group in Western Europe and had been severely persecuted under previous Roman rule. He is popular and successful and knows that accepting Christianity would put him in a risky political situation in the West but improves his political aspirations of conquering the East. Christianity is already popular in the Eastern Empire, in Byzantium, but he had yet to conquer it and wouldn’t until 324 AD, at the end of the film. 

Byron was either massively unprepared or completely vacant. Richard yelled at him to understand Constantine’s motivation. “You’re an asshole. Your mom is telling you to embrace Christian ideals and you just want to leverage Christianity so you can take over Byzantium. You’re nervous your buddies in Gaul are gonna bail on you. You still need lots of slaves to fight your battles and support the Rome Empire. It was nice to enslave Christians, Goths, non-Roman citizens and criminals. It supported your economy. It’s a slippery slope. You see the advantage of Christianity. You want to please your sweet mommy. Muse explains your out. You adopt Christianity and compassion and you get everything you want. No more Christians get tortured and killed in the West, you make your mom happy, you get political treaties in the East for becoming a Christian, and everyone wins.

Byron yelled, “Okay, shit, I got it.”

We all went back to our positions and he didn’t have it. After another thirty minutes, Richard was done.

“Cut! Sara! Rewrite the scene—set it during the day this time. Give Marie all his lines. He’s going to nod and look soulful, if he can manage that!” Richard shouted.

We all broke for dinner.

My completely annoying assistant brought me my cell phone, a bag of nuts, and a bottled water. I immediately read Manuel’s text asking me if he could borrow my car to take Trish out on their second date. I texted back with a ‘yes’ even though I was absolutely boiling over inside with jealousy.

I was frustrated with being an actor, having no life—angry with everyone. I could hear a pin drop from the silence as we headed to the costuming trailer to get out of our painful garments.

Manuel texted back a thanks. They’d go out after her performance that night. I just shook my head to myself as we walked.

I’d be going to prom with Alan’s group. There was no chance I’d go with Byron with how much he aggravated me. Then I thought about it more. Why not take Byron? I needed to move on, have friends. Watching Manuel date Trish was going to be as painful as when he and Kate fell in love.

Byron tried to talk to Renee. “I’m sorry you’re so pissed. I just get flustered when I have to remember so much.”

Renee sneered at him. “I have commitments. Marie wants to go to her prom. I expect professionalism. Time is money. We’re already so behind schedule. Run lines a thousand times a day so you can do your job. Stop drinking and screwing girls and get to work!”

“Marie, will you run lines with me?”

“No. Work with Sara when she’s done with the new script.”

“Please, Marie. I do everything right when she and I run lines. I only blow everything because when I look at you my mind goes blank. I get struck each time I get near you.”

Renee interrupted. “Don’t blame this on her. It’s your job to control yourself.”

“But it’s true. I’m in love with you Marie and I can’t think straight when I’m around you!” Byron left us and headed over to Clyde, the assistant director, to talk about his failings.

Renee eyeballed me as we entered the costume trailer. She asked, “What is it about you? Evan was in love with you, too. My nephew is careful to fall in love, but he does with you. You two were a perfect couple, perfect. And your relationship: nothing. Byron can’t think and it’s hurting the project. Are you a tease, Marie?”

“What? No! I just don’t want to sleep with them. I just want to date, kiss and hold hands.”

“Darling, in this business, there’s no middle ground. You either hang out with your girlfriends or you screw your boyfriends. There is no kissing and holding hands.” She eased up and put her arm around me. “I know; you’re so young. But that is just the way it is. You can’t have friendships with men.”

I said nothing as I got out of my dress, hurting Franz’s feelings somehow, but not taking on any responsibility for his sensitivity. I was so mad that I couldn’t even get out of my corset without someone’s help, furious that I was surrounded by people all the time but was completely alone.

I stormed out of the trailer to get my dinner and ate it at an unoccupied table, mad that men were so damn shallow and angry that I didn’t have any girlfriends.

I went back to my trailer and threw my iPhone against the wall, disappointed that it didn’t break.

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I've met many parents of child performers and they are over-involved and over-protective. Others have been totally absent. Should a 17-year-old actress have a parent on set?

Next question: can a guy and girl be friends?