Hi, everybody I'm back after a very long absence, thanks again for your patience!
***
My friendship with John McDonald went back quite a way. We'd met long ago when I was just a partner in a photo business with my childhood friend Chris Foster. McDonald was regarded something of an Orson Welles-type, an auteur of cinema to some, but to others he was all talk and not a lot of action. He'd had many projects he talked up but never completed, or even started. When that happened, he'd simply pin the blame on others and move on. His name though, still guaranteed attention. His newest project was a spy thriller called "Countdown" to be shot in New York. Jackie Morrison had chosen Brian Hennessy to handle things. Brian was a very capable Lieutenant for her though I'd never worked with him. He smartly invited me to lunch a tony Beverly Hills bistro to talk over the new project.
"Jackie tells me you're the perfect guy to work with me on this, not just as a photog. You've worked with John in the past."
"I'm flattered, John's OK for the most part. I've never been around him in post-production though. That seems to be when things go haywire with him."
"So I've heard." He said as took a sip of his iced tea, his tone suggested he heard the same stories as me "...do you think he'd trust you to sit in with him?"
"What're you getting at?"
"OK..." he said as he leaned in closer to me "Jackie wants you to be her spy. If things go wrong, we'll need to pull the plug, take the film away from him, whichever cliché you want to use."
"Uh-uh, no way Brian." I said firmly "I've seen too many of these corporate squabbles and getting on John's bad side ain't something I aspire to."
"What if we made it worth your while?"
"And how would you do that?"
"Say...a portion of the gross?"
"How much?"
"Well, officially it would be an off the books kind of deal. Jackie is already guaranteed a percentage, she'd siphon off a portion of that for you."
"And what would that siphon be?"
"Twenty percent." He said casually.
I sat in silence, I was in a dilemma the likes of which I hadn't been in for many years.
"It's not illegal, you know" Brian continued "Studio people routinely visit sets, there's not a lot of directors who ban them altogether. And McDonald, for all his bluster, isn't one of those. He needs the work too much right now so he can't be too demanding."
"How soon do you need an answer?"
"There's no rush, when it gets closer to a start date I'll contact you." He said as he typed in a generous tip on his check "See you soon, 'Hollywood'."
And with that he walked away, leaving me to ponder the potential windfall I could get for my spy work.
A week later, Brian called again and casually asked if I'd thought about his (and Jackie's) proposal. When I said I hadn't, he wasn't bothered in the slightest.
"OK, no problem" he said before adding "We're doing a big press launch tomorrow, feel like sneaking in? I think it might be worth your while."
"Well, OK... I guess I could use an afternoon off."
The press launch was held at the same bistro where we'd had lunch. It was packed with all the usual press-types. When Jackie spotted me entering, she immediately called me over.
"James! I was so hoping you'd come. John's said such good things about you. Let's get you a drink."
"Thanks, I've got the feeling I might need one."
With a flourish of flashbulbs, John MacDonald made his way onto the stage.
"Thank you!" he said with customary bravado in his deep voice "I'm proud to be a part of this production, it's long been a dream project of mine and I feel with the cast we've assembled it'll be a film to remember. But I know you didn't come to hear me ramble on..." he said with a small chuckle added, it was like he expected the assembled audience to laugh on cue "It's time I introduced you to our star for 'Countdown'."
Jackie leaned in close to me "Like Brian said...this project may be quite rewarding to you..." she said and pointed at the stage.
"Would you please welcome our star...Ms. Gal Gadot."
My eyes bugged out a little as she stepped onto the stage wearing a bright red silk shirt and black leather pants, her brunette hair long and flowing.
"Thank you, Mr. MacDonald..." she began in that voice that could make a phone book reading sexy "I'm very happy to be a part of this production. I have to admit it'll be nice to do a film where I'm not wearing a corset and throwing a shield around." She said with a shy smile that made everyone in the room laugh. She took questions from the press gathered for several minutes before Jackie stepped in to thank everybody "Thank you again!" Gal said as she exited the stage.
I took that as my cue to leave, I knew Brian might try and corner me to get an answer but I pretty much knew I'd accept his offer. Twenty percent wasn't something you turned down flat. I just felt it would be better to do it in his or Jackie's office, lest Mr. MacDonald find out. Brian somehow caught my eye as I was leaving, I gave him a thumbs-up and he nodded, I was in.
When I got back to the office, amidst the usual mail was a package containing the script for "Countdown". It was a spy thriller set on a remote missile base during the cold war and starred Gal as a Russian agent defecting to the West. In the days that followed I learned it was shaping up to be a more complicated film than originally projected. John was making increasingly outrageous demands and the budget was climbing with each one. For one thing, he wanted to change locations and shoot the film in Sweden, but it was looking to be a milder than normal winter there. Jackie tried to sell him on a shoot in Vancouver, but he was adamant in his demands. She was finally forced to execute a clause in his contract and shut down production of the film before it had even started.
So ended my spy gig.
John immediately left for Europe but not before ranting to any press outlet that would listen how he'd been maligned by the studio and would never work with her again.
"The Jackal" knew better, if he needed cash, he'd be back in town.
"So, what's the next move?" I asked her at a breakfast meeting a few days later.
"Remakes are always in fashion, Jim...and there's a great one for her." She said without looking up from her phone "Remember a film called 'Kindergarten Cop'?"
"Yeah, Schwarzenegger did it back in the 80's."
"Imagine Gal Gadot in a remake." She said with a smile.
"Heyyyy...I can imagine that. Have you pitched it to her?"
"Yep, turns out she was a big fan of the original. The remake's been sitting on a shelf for two years and it just went into turnaround. How much you wanna bet I can put this deal together in an hour?"
"Hmmm, I'll bet you the next breakfast check."
"You got a deal Hollywood." She said with a crafty smile as she took out her cellphone "I'll see you back at the office."
Exactly one hour later, I got a text message from her;
"I'll have lox and eggs from Nate 'n Al's with a side order of blueberry pancakes."
"The Jackal" had worked her magic once again.
Jackie was spot-on in her claim that Gal was a fan of the original film. When the deal was announced she recanted a story how she watched the film numerous times with members of her military unit and they quoted lines from the film when they were on maneuvers.
Gal had lobbied to get her "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins for this film, but she was busy on another project so there'd be a new director I'd never met before, David Brewster. Jackie read his filmography closely and agreed he would be the right one. David immediately jumped into pre-production on the film and also took it upon himself to take apart the script and give it new twists in addition to the gender change. He sold the studio on locations in Nashville as he was originally from the area and thought having someone like Gal there would make for a decent culture-shock angle since her character would be coming from Los Angeles (by way of Israel). For the new "Kindergarten Cop", Gal would be playing an LA cop on the trail of a crime boss who's hiding out in Nashville and may be planning to kidnap his son and take him out of the country.
And this time I'd just be an observer from the studio keeping an eye on our director (and perhaps, our star).
It had been a longtime since I'd been in Nashville and I was hoping I'd get to explore the bars and clubs on what was often called "Honky-Tonk Row" again. The studio put us all up in suites at the ultra-luxe Hermitage hotel which was within walking distance to everything, cool. David had done much location scouting and would film much of the "school" scenes at a local public school using its students as extras. I had to wonder if the school's daily attendance rates shot up once the kids (or their parents) knew that "Wonder Woman" would be there, even if she was just playing a teacher. On one of the first days of filming, David called me over to him.
