By just after seven o'clock the day's shooting schedule had been finished to the satisfaction of Alex and there was a mass exodus from the set although Alex, ever the perfectionist, went through the script for the following day as well as the weekly schedule. Every time he sat down in a chair with "DIRECTOR" on the back he couldn't suppress a thrill running through his body, delight that he was where he wanted to be, doing the sort of thing he'd dreamt of for so long. His parents hadn't been much supportive of Alex's ambition but he knew it was born more of a fear that he wouldn't be able to make a living in the dog-eat-dog world of Hollywood than anything else and they'd urged him, as a senior in high school contemplating his future, to have something to fall back on. So he'd applied, halfheartedly, to a couple of colleges as well as to film school and he'd spent the time waiting for acceptance walking around like there was a price on his head: he didn't want to be anything other than a director! So whenever he sat down in a canvas director's chair it reminded him of the fact that his dream had come true, that he'd really and truly made it. In this industry it was only the very best who made it.
"Alex." A man flopped down in the seat next to the director, a thick folder under his arm and a nearly empty Styrofoam coffee cup in the other.
"Hmm?" Alex didn't look up and scribbled a note in the margin as well as a reminder to check with the people in props. He knew that sometimes people- such as those in props- got their backs up and felt like he was criticizing him, telling them how to do their job. The last thing Alex ever wanted to do was get anyone offside but at the end of the day it was his name that was put to the final product and he didn't ever want to claim responsibility for something he was not proud of. In turn he hoped that the same respect would be afforded to him. Making him perhaps even more of a perfectionist than usual, if that was possible, was the fact that this television show was a huge deal: he wanted to make a hit show in a competitive market and he also knew that the network were banking on it being a big success and making millions off it, a belief which was only bolstered by the presence of the man sitting beside him.
"I hear next week you're planning on shooting in Malibu." Jonathon Linton said.
"You heard right." Alex responded, still not looking up. Next week they were due to shoot in Malibu for a wedding sequence with a twist.
"Have you enlisted the help of local law enforcement officials?" Jonathon threw the empty beverage in the general direction of a bin as Alex finally looked up. It missed by a long way.
"Yes." Alex said sharply. He wasn't adverse to criticism- especially constructive criticism- but something about Jonathon and all he stood for rubbed him up the wrong way. He sometimes wished he'd put up more of a fight when he was told by one of the senior men at the network that he'd be having someone to act as a liaison between the production team and the network itself. Although it wouldn't have made any difference.
"Is it really necessary to shoot it on a beach? Couldn't it be done on the set- special effects are marvelous these days-"
"You don't say, thank you so much for enlightening me. And yes, I am sure it needs to be shot where I am shooting it." Alex said coldly.
Jonathon popped a stick of chewing gum in his mouth. "Nicotine gum- I'm trying to give up smoking."
"I've heard it kills." Alex muttered.
"You know we're trying to keep this show as much under wraps as we can until the last possible moment and I'm wondering whether it is too smart to take all our stars out on the beach in front of everyone to film a scene." Jonathon said, locking his hands behind his neck and leaning back slightly.
"Our stars?" Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Since I've been assigned to oversee this show I think our is accurate. If you insist on going out to Malibu to do this thing-"
"I do." Alex looked back down at his script and notes.
"Then make sure there is good security, keep all cameras as far back as possible, use umbrellas to cover stars at every moment they're not filming, pull out all stops." Jonathon ordered.
Alex bit back a sharp reply- how he wished he could tell this man to mind his own business and leave the business of directing to someone who knew what he was actually doing, but for the moment at least, that would only make things worse and Jonathon was a necessary evil. As much as Alex didn't like butting in and pointing out things he considered did not fit his vision he also didn't like for people who weren't filmmakers to try and tell him what he should, or shouldn't, do.
"Good man, I knew we could see eye to eye and work together on this." Jonathon said, a trace of the English public schoolboy in his voice. He stood up and for a moment it seemed like he was almost going to clap Alex on the back but his hand hovered in the air for a few seconds before he put it firmly back in his trouser pocket.
Alex continued going through his script.
Jonathon started to walk across the floor but then he hesitated. "One last thing Alex, just so you know, there are some at the network who are worried that you won't be able to do television, let alone serialized television, as well as you could do movies. Add in the fact that we've missed out on some damn good shows like "Lost" and "House" and we really, really need this to be a success."
