Shot Another Bad Boy Down

Tangled in Christmas lights, Danika’s latest project would be filming through the holidays, a fact that bummed out most of the other crew, but not her. She wouldn’t go home for the season if she could avoid it, so being under contract to film gave her a guilt-free excuse not to show up and instead promise great presents in her place with the money she would make. With the stress of that off her back, she was feeling rather chipper, brain free to think of happier ideas like throwing some decorations (of which there were many) up to make the staff feel better too. It was late and she had thought everyone had gone home after spending all day prepping the set for the first day of shooting, so it was the perfect time to decorate sneakily and have everyone come back to the following morning. All but skipping past the trailers with the jumbled lights in her hand, one of the trailer’s lights were on, causing her to pause and wonder who it could be. As she wasn’t first A.D., she admittedly slacked off a bit and hadn’t checked out the casting, having come on last minute. “Hello? Is somebody-- she began, inching closer cautiously when the door swung open, startling her almost as much as the face she saw coming out of the trailer.

“Ch--Char...lotte?”

The glare that lingered on her face vanished immediately when her eyes landed on the woman. Honestly, she didn’t make a habit out of calling someone out of their name. There were plenty of assholes in this town who thought being a total tyrant and billing those they worked with was the key to success, Josie was the exact opposite. “Even so, my frustration still was directed at the wrong person.” Josie clarified, an apologetic look remaining on her face. “Still, sorry, I don’t make a habit for screaming obscenities in public places. I save thar for closed doors and parked cars.” She added with a light chuckle. “It’s always on of those days in this town. A new day, a new pain in the ass.” Josie shrugged her shoulders, noting the woman’s heavy load. “Do you…uh, need help with that? Mind you, I can’t get far in these Jimmy Choo’s but I’m very good at convincing people to help me.”

Rubbing her sore arms, Danika didn't go to the gym as much as her figure seemed to say she did, often citing not having the time or being too tired as reasons. It worked to facilitate her laziness until moments like this, were she felt like a few times a month wasn't doing enough,especially if this was going to be part of her job. "It's really fine-- I'm pretty sure I called a wall a son of a bitch yesterday for being in my way while I was walking. The wall totally deserved it, though."  Danika attempted to joke, cringing inwardly afterward as she got a cruel reminder that she just wasn't funny.  About to waved off the assist, she paused."Not it really--" And looked tot he heavy ass props she was holding, then tot he woman's designer shoes, then the woman herself. While she avoiding glancing at her or sneakers, which were comfortable enough for being on her feet all day, but hardly anything to boast about like Jimmy Choos, she still figured this woman would soon be able to sit and rest in her heels while Danika herself would still be on her feet." Well, maybe just to that closet right outside? I'm pretty sure there's a cart in there I can dump these on that was left behind by catering."

At some point during this meeting, Travis zoned out. Probably when the marketing and publicity teams got up to present to him, babbling about how best to position his latest film. The buzz words they threw out like “epic” and “cinematic event” made his eyes twitch behind the dark sunglasses he wore. This was his worst nightmare – actually, it was hell and he couldn’t wait for it to be over. With a half-hearted wave and a less than convincing smile, Travis left the room and finally felt like he could breathe. Not even out of the building, he began to pad around his jacket looking for his pack of cigarettes when a voice caught his attention. Looking up, he squinted (because he refused to take off the sunglasses that would make him see better) and eventually was able to confirm who it was. “Not necessarily – althought I can’t recall you being a sugar fiend, King. What’s with the assortment of pasties?”

Danika, having worked with a lot of directors in her time, had her shortlist of favorites. Travis was on it. It didn’t matter how great a movie was to her if the six months spent making it were hell for her, but thankfully that wasn’t the case when she worked on Travis’ project. She respected him even if not that many people took him seriously. She’d heard him belittled a lot by older, angrier directors who deemed him another ‘pretty boy actor playing at their profession’ but knew they were mad that his projects were being green lit. Still, he didn’t give up, which was a quality she admired in anybody. Lost in her inner monologue for a few seconds as he made his way to he, she shook herself back to reality.“ Oh, well you know how it is when you’re between jobs. They had nothing else available for me so I took up peddling diabetes. “She chuckled, pausing soon after when she realized it sounded a lot funnier in her head. Feeling awkward, she chewed on her lip for a second.” An intern fucked up so I figured I’d take these and make sure they didn’t go to  waste.” She said after a beat. “Don’t suppose you want one?

“Fucking wannabes—“ Camilla spat venomously as she strutted through the sound stage, the clicking of Louboutins against the concrete as she walked. People moved, jumped, or she would’ve pushed them out of the way, it didn’t make a difference to her, so long as they disappeared from her path. Approaching the bay doors, she stalled, if only to pull out her phone. Catching the display, she pressed the side button to ignore it, as hues fell onto the person nearby. “You look lost,” She cooed, almost affectionately if she knew how to have any sort of human emotion. “The exit is that way.”

Her hands were busy texting and her head was down as she moved around the room, focused on her task more than what was going on around her because it was her job to make sure said diva actress was taken care of, their trailer not big enough and none of the things they asked for in it, prompting her to walk off set and freak everybody out. Danika was exhausted already and it was only a cameo. Sighing, she headed towards the set to get things sorted when she came across another woman. She wasn’t an actress -- Danika would have known her -- but her clothes and shoes didn’t exactly fit in with what typical fashion crew chose on long shoots. An exec’s wife, maybe? Girlfriend? Mistress? Before Danika could ponder on it, the woman’s comment knocked her back. Though she paused, her face soon returned to it’s usual stern expression. Never said I was lost,though I could have said the same to you, but it seems like you know where the exit it, so you can go use it.”

“Hey -- in the mood for a donut?”

Looking as lost as someone can seem in a hall of an executive building, Laila was checking and re-checking the numbers on the door she was standing in front of. Her action was only interrupted upon hearing someone else walking by, someone who at least in her eyes seemed far more knowledgable on the office than her. “Excuse me, maybe you can help me? I’m… completely clueless. They told me that the meeting was here… 107. Either is not, or I’m extremely late, or extremely early.”  As proof of what she was saying, the meeting room in front of her was proven to be completely empty. If Laila was a mess, that mess only magnified during times of stress.  It wouldn’t be the first time she didn’t read a mail or a note correctly due to her nerviousness. “Do you have any idea of the meeting I’m talking about? Or if people around here call an office that isn’t the 107 the 107?”

As the barista had informed her, adding another shot to a redeye made it a black eye, but they couldn't tell her what a third shot would be called nor would the add it to her coffee without some pushing on Danika's end, but after a late night on set followed by a sleepless few hours of freedom, she badly needed it if she was going to make it through the day. Just having finished , she was now walking with a spring in her step and an eerily out of place smile as she tucked the reusable cup into her oversize bag when someone approached her. Their face was familiar, and Danika was sure that had she not been running of fumes she would have placed it easier, but still, she smile. " You lost, sugar?" She asked in an unusually cheerful tone as she glanced over the woman's shoulder. " I think said meeting might be a floor up from here, but I'm not too sure.."She admitted with a moment to ponder before she nodded toward the elevator. "Walk with me. I'm on my way up, but I can help you find it since I'm not too much in a rush."

As first A.D. there was always a lot on Danika’s plate. It was stressful, sure, but she loved that having a lot to do kept her mind from wandering to her other problems and she enjoined organizing and making lists, as weird as it sounded. Delegating work, she had set the prop department on a task of seeing what could be reused for and upcoming production while she herself kept on the screen play writers for the re-writes. It all had a deadline and it all had to be perfect before it was handed to the director, and thought her reward was technically her paycheck, Danika didn’t mind the pat on the back either for a job well done. At the end of a long, long, long day, Danika found herself nursing an Americano to keep her going as she marched her way to her current boss’ door. “ You busy?” She asked, poking her head into the meeting room before entering fully.” I just got an E-mail from the writer with all the edits you wanted done and there’s a a PDF of the call sheet and one for the list of items  the prop department found that could be reused for the shoot as well as a generalization from accounting on how much it could save the production.” She announced proudly as she handed Nat the tablet.

For the most part, Josie liked to think of herself as mild-mannered but, when it came to her job, a different side of her often reared its ugly head. While she liked to be the ‘nice guy’ despite playing dirty for the sake of her clients, every once in awhile someone liked to push her buttons. “Look, you cannot publish that quote. It’s taken out of context and –.” Before she could finish the sentence, the phone was hung up, leaving the blonde speechless. No one hung up the phone on Josephine Wilde. “You stupid son of a bitch.” Josephine blurted out loudly, not really noticing or caring that she was in a public space when doing so. Throwing her phone into her oversized Chanel bag, it’s only when she rolled her neck did she realize someone was standing close enough to hear the insult. “That wasn’t directed towards you, I swear. I’m sure you’re not stupid or a son of a bitch.”

It was a well known fact that paper came from trees, so obviously the when several sheets joined forced they amassed the same weight as the tree they were cut from as payback for taking their life. That was the only logical explanation for why one book albeit a thick one, and three scripts were weighing down her arms so much. While it shouldn’t have been within her job description to lug props around, when someone wasn’t doing their job, it fell on Danika to fill that spot. Still, her arms were killing her, sore enough to make her throw caution to the wind and set it down on whatever nearby surface she could see to give herself a break and maybe call some assistant to help her. It was as she rested them on a counter that she noticed the woman nearby should. She didn’t think it was at her, but she appreciated the woman’ clarifying. “Well, I’m the daughter of one, so you’re not that far off...” She muttered under her breath before looking back up with a small smile. “It’s all good, I didn’t think you were talking to me.” She waved off, though the action made her arm hurt. Pressing down on her shoulder and rolling, she looked at the blonde and paused. “Just one of those days, huh?”

Admin K,31, EST

Danika King

Thirty

Assistant Director

D-lister

Introducing Danika! She came from Detroit without much more than a dream that was more like a goal. She’s kind-hearted and driven, focused,too serious for her own good, and organized to the point of it being a little obsessive but all those things are what make her great at her job.

Socially she’s not so much awkward as she is incompetent. She’d generally too blunt about getting to the point as she’s not great at small talk and idle chit-chat but she’s great at networking and putting on a big smile when execs come around. Her time working in the news circuit is what she credits her shortness and love of getting to the facts and skill (if you can call it that) at smiling and staying silent while other people talk.