This is the story of a young actress, a woman just starting out in the movie business whose agent got her a part in a movie with a 6 a.m. call. Linda showed up an hour before the time she was set to be there. She wanted to make a good impression on the director.
She was also going to be making her first movie, according to her agent. Linda had seen many of Mr. Harris' movies and she wanted to really do a good job. She knew that if she did, it would mean more acting jobs in other movies.
Linda's husband, Peter, is an accountant in a large L.A. firm and he shared in Linda's excitement, knowing this could be her big break. The script she was sent had her as the first victim of a serial rapist. She had four pages of lines and she had them down pat.
Linda was also full of questions because the script painted a rather graphic scene for her. The script she was sent simply said at the top, "Unnamed script" Her agent said that Hollywood does that sometimes so no one finds out what movie is being made and helps with the secrecy.
The bad guy was simply given the name of Jake, and the rapist was described as a big black man who got off on forcing women to submit to him. The main star of the film was a female detective whose job it became to catch him before he could rape again.
They called Linda in to makeup. While she was sitting in the chair, one of Mr. Harris' assistants came over to meet her and answer any questions. She also went over Linda's lines.
The assistant asked Linda if she had any questions. Linda started off by saying, "I have never had a sex scene in anything before this. How do I, I mean, how will we do it, you know, without really doing it?"
The woman said, "Oh, you're not in any sex scene, honey. It is a simple rape sequence. Ron is going to pick you up at a the bar, drug you and take you back to your apartment where you fall asleep. You wake up with him entering you. That is when you go nuts trying to fight him off."
Linda interrupted her and asked, "Who is Ron? I thought Jake was raping me?"
The assistant gave her a look and said, "Ron Patterson -- he is the bad guy in the film. Didn't you read the script we sent over?"
Linda felt a little foolish. She had read it, but all the script said was the name Jake and First Victim (yet to be named) She had no idea who the bad guy was. The name Ron Patterson sure as hell did not ring any bells.
Linda said, "Yeah, I read it. I didn't know the actor playing Jake was Ron Patterson. I'm new to all this. How is he going to rape me without, you know, actually doing it?"
The woman said, "Honey, that is what acting is all about. We know what to do, what camera angle to get to make something that is fake look real. Right before the rape they will put a cover over your privates and Ron, I mean, Jake will put on a sling cover on his front. It is like a glove so nothing will be touching anything. Don't worry, we do this all the time. Now get in there and get your dress on."
They had been walking and talking, so when the assistant said to get into wardrobe Linda was already at the trailer door. Stepping into wardrobe, a woman walked up and asked her if she was Victim Number One. It threw her for a moment because she almost forgot that her character did not have a name yet.
She said, "Yes, I am. When do they give me a name?"
The woman said, "I don't know, honey, it's just my job to get you dressed for your scene."
They put her in a very sexy evening dress. The script mentioned that Jake would pick his victims from high-class parties, drug them and take them back to their homes where he would rape them while filming his act on a video camera to keep for his personal collection. In the story that is how he gets caught and convicted.
After she was dressed, Linda looked in the mirror and wished that her husband was there to see how beautiful they had made her look. She felt lovely and sophisticated. Linda walked out to the set, where everyone seemed busy doing all kinds of things. People were working the lights, all kinds of people were just standing around, and everyone was waiting.
Linda walked up to the lady who had escorted her to wardrobe and asked, "Where should I stand?"
The assistant yelled over to another person and asked, "Where do you want Victim Number One at?"
The man pointed to a table, but another man yelled out, "No, I want her at the bar, getting a drink, when Ron comes in. He'll walk over to her and listen to the music. When she turns around, he drops the pill in, and when she finishes the drink, he takes her on the dance floor and out the door."
The lady asked, "Do we have a name for her yet?"
He didn't say anything.
The lady looked at Linda. "You got a name, honey, you want to be called?"
I looked at her and all I could think of was Rose, so I told her and she said, "No, can't use Rose; we have a Rose. How about Audrey? That'd work." Then, yelling out to the same man, she asked, "How's Audrey work? Want to call Victim One Audrey?"