Author's note-Thanks again for your patience!
I'd first met John McDonald when he directed Blake Lively's film "Dreamer" and I was working with my late partner Chris to get his fledgling photo business going. John was impressed with our work and he continued to hire us as chief still photographers on his other film projects. That got the attention of Artists Unlimited and led to the acquisition of our company East Coast Image. McDonald branched out into television as Executive Producer of Lindsay Lohan's comeback vehicle "Blind Item". He now set his sights on a spinoff series titled "Lady Vegas" that would star Eva Longoria as Charlotte Reynolds, CEO of a Vegas casino.
The pilot for Eva's series was worked into the season finale of "Blind Item" and would find Lindsay's character, New York gossip columnist Paula Mallory, pursuing a story in Vegas. Lindsay and I had spent time together in Vegas before but she wisely kept things professional this time around. She was in the midst of negotiating a new contract for next season and for a change had some leverage in the negotiations. We met surreptitiously in a coffee shop late one night, it reminded me of our first meeting in a Burger King.
"I can't say much now but..." she began, trying not to get excited "...this could be really great!"
"How so?"
Lindsay leaned in close to me
"Remember that big contract Jennifer Aniston got long ago? When she was doing "Friends". You know, million dollars an episode?" she said, looking down slightly.
I nodded.
"Double it." she said while still looking down, then looking up at me slightly with a confident smile added, like she wanted to see my reaction.
I'm pretty sure my eyes widened and mouth dropped open. Lindsay snickered as she sipped her coffee.
I looked around and then leaned in so I wouldn't be heard.
"Are you serious?" I said, leaning in for emphasis.
Lindsay nodded.
"Really? This is for real?" I asked, still unsure what I was hearing.
Lindsay nodded again.
"I've got a meeting with my agent in L.A., so I should get going." she said as she started gathering her things together "I promise we'll, uh, have some fun another time."
I smiled and nodded, I wasn't disappointed. We both knew our times together were best experienced when prying eyes didn't know it.
Lindsay stood up, looked around, then gave me a quick kiss goodbye.
"Bye, babe." she said as she walked out.
The waitress soon came over with a generous slice of cheesecake and refilled my coffee.
"Oh, I didn't order-" I started to say
"The lady up front paid for it."
I looked towards the front and saw Lindsay give me a smile and a small wave as she left.
I leaned back in the booth and smiled to myself. Hollywood always loves a comeback, perhaps this was its latest.
The cheesecake wasn't too bad either.
The pilot episode for "Lady Vegas" would be directed by David Riley, another protege' of John McDonald's. Riley had directed several episodes of "Blind Item" so this was nothing new to him.
David's plan was to film all of Lindsay's scenes first so she could go back to Los Angeles and continue negotiations with the network, as well as meetings for a new film.
"I'll call you soon." she said as she gave me a quick kiss goodbye and left the set.
"OK, step one complete." David said as he signed some papers "Now its on to parts unknown."
"What's that mean?" I asked
"It means that Eva is on the way, and I don't know what to expect."
"Never worked with her, huh?"
"Have you?"
"No, but I wouldn't concern myself about it."
"I hope you're right." he replied
Turns out I was right. Eva breezed onto the set, wearing blue jeans and a simple (but very form-fitting) red t-shirt with just one assistant in tow.
"David! Hello, so good to meet you." she said in a breezy tone.
"Yes, hi...this is Jim from-"
"Artists Unlimited, I know you guys well!" she said in that super confident voice of hers "Tell me, is Jeff Murphy still there?".
"Y-yes, how do you know him?" I asked
"He used to be a gofer during my soap opera days." she said with an exuberant laugh.
She knew how to break the ice, that's for sure. David seemed reassured now and he began to discuss the days' schedule with her.
"So how long have you been doing photos?" I heard behind me
"Huh? Oh, a couple of years now." I replied as I turned to see a pretty blonde.
"Good, Eva is always looking for a good photographer" she before adding "Oh, I'm Deborah Daily, I work with her."
"Jim" I said as we shook hands.
"You'll be seeing more of me." she said as she went to take a call on her phone.
David's plan today was to shoot a lot of Eva walking through the casino set with a cute blonde playing her "assistant" who looked somewhat familiar to me but I hadn't gotten close enough to her yet to find out who she was. The producers were completing negotiations with the Aria Casino in Vegas for the exterior scenes, David already had a climactic night scene set atop a parking garage planned that he was eager to shoot as soon as possible.
David had a simple, no-nonsense directing style. I could tell he didn't want to waste time or do multiple takes of a scene unless something really went wrong, so the first day's shooting breezed by.
"OK, everyone I'll see you in Vegas." he casually said to everyone at the end of the day.
Was I going to Vegas again?
Turns out, I was.
I was no stranger to the Aria Hotel/Casino. It was perhaps the sleekest addition to the Vegas strip and it would serve as the outdoor location for "Lady Vegas". But for the show it would be known as "The Eldorado".
Upon my arrival in Vegas, I learned that work on "Lady Vegas" had gone smoother than expected, so a minimum of retakes would be needed here or back in LA. And my time in Vegas would, once again, be a whirlwind.
And I would once again tell myself, one of these days I'm gonna come here on my own.
The production company and the network set us all up with rooms throughout the vast complex. Mine had a generous view of the strip that was sure to look even better when the sun went down. It was times like this that I still had to pinch myself and wonder if all this was real, and happening to me?
"Will there be anything else before I leave, sir?" I heard behind me
It was the bellhop, standing in the corridor with my bags.
"Oh, uh, no..." I said before fishing through my pants for a tip. A crumpled twenty seemed to do the trick.
"I never know how much to give at times like this." I said nervously
"Oh, anything is appreciated, sir." he replied "enjoy your stay at the Aria."
"I sure will."
I soon got a text message from David telling me the schedule for tomorrow. Until then, I had the rest of the night free.
OK, I'm on my own in Las Vegas, what should I do?
I got out my iPhone and decided to let it recommend my dinner choice for the night.
Then I remembered my late partner, Chris Foster.
When we'd worked together, he'd told me about this great steak and ribs place called Lou's he'd always wanted to take me to in Vegas, he felt he'd reached the big time if he was in a corner booth working on their house special with a bottle of their best wine and a hot blonde, brunette or redhead (preferably all three) nearby.
Well, I didn't have the hot blonde, brunette or redhead but I could have the next best thing, right?
I stepped out into the Vegas night time and looked around.
As if on cue, a limo pulled up to the curbside and its window slid down.
"Heyyyyy...Jimmy boy!" a slurring voice called out.
It was David Riley, our director. I guess when he wrapped production for the day, he unwrapped another production at night.
"Whatcha doin' here kid? Come on, the night's still young." he slurred.
"Don't you have a TV show to film in the morning?" I said as I walked over to the car.
"Time means nothing in Vegas! Come on..." he said as the door swung open.
And with that, we were off.
David's limo delivered us to a different hotel and we somehow stumbled into what looked like a martini bar populated with young sophisticates, and us. Matching drinks arrived soon after.
But from there, I had no memory of what happened next.
I awakened in an elegant bedroom, with strangely no ill effects of the previous night. But I knew this wasn't my room, the furnishings weren't at all what I remembered. And a sweet smelling perfume was nearby too, I looked to my right and saw a woman's head resting on my chest. She breathed in and turned to look at me, her smile only made things even more confusing. But I at least knew her name.
It was Eva!
"Good morning sweetie." she whispered, adding in a kiss on my cheek.
"Uh...how...wh-what..." I was stammering more than I could ever recall right now. And it only made Eva giggle.
"Quite a night, huh?" she said
And then I woke up for real.
This time in my room, and the effects of the previous night now came screaming at me. I was still in my clothes from last night, too
Similar effects were apparent on David's face when I arrived on the set. He sat in his directors chair, dark sunglasses on, head down, mumbling to himself.
"Feel like directing, Jim?" he mumbled
"No, I'll leave that to the professionals."
"Call me when you find one..." he slurred as he got up from his chair to leave.
"Uh, not so fast pal! You've got a job to do." I said as I held him back.
"Right...gotta make the boss happy..." he said before summoning up the energy to clap his hands and say in his best director's voice "...all right everyone...set up for scene 12..."
"Scene 12" was the climactic night time scene he'd planned to shoot with Lindsay and Eva but time constraints forced a rewrite so it would take place in the daytime.
In the scene, Paula/Lindsay accidentally confronts a stalker who's been pursuing an actress she'd also been pursuing as part of a story for her column. This results in a shootout atop the Eldorado's garage. I had to admit it was kinda sexy to see Lindsay in a situation like this, even more so when she delivered a spot on karate kick that disabled the stalker and gave Charlotte/Eva the perfect shot she needed to bring the man down.
"Where'd you learn to shoot like that?" Paula/Lindsay asked Charlotte/Eva in the scene.
Without missing a beat Charlotte/Eva responded;
"Where'd you learn karate?"
"I've had a few dates who were, uh, all hands...if you know what I mean."
"What a coincidence..." Eva replied casually as she holstered her pistol "So have I."
"CUT! PRINT! BEAUTIFUL!" David yelled.
He hugged both actresses then turned to the crew.
"OK, everyone you've just finished the first episode of Lady Vegas." he said happily to applause from everyone.
Lindsay's eyes seemed to lock on my smile, she immediately came over to me and as we hugged she appeared to be holding back tears amidst her smile.
"Why are you crying?" I asked, thinking it was just tears of happiness at a job well done, a further step in the resuscitation of her career.
"I'm leaving the series, this was my last scene." she sniffled.
"Why?"
"It was my decision...sometimes money isn't the most important thing."
I was shocked, but the way she said it, I knew there was more to it than that. For now though, just being understanding was enough.
And understanding was what I had to be as she was led away with her assistant, she gave me that same over the shoulder wave as she disappeared.
"Oh, well..." I said to myself.
I joined the core members of the cast and crew for a huge dinner that was loaded with lots of laughs and generous amounts of food and drink. The Aria had reserved a special area with our own private bar that only added to the exclusivity of the occasion.
"So, you've directed Lindsay and now Eva" I said to David "what's next for you?"
"Another scotch." he replied
"Is that all?"
"Until the network lets us know if we got a pick-up or not."
"Any idea which way they'll go?"
