must’ve felt the way he did—like they’d just found the perfect Ella.
The reel ended and Dayne hit the power switch on the camera. “Well?” His expression asked Keith and Eleanor what they thought.
“I’ve never seen anyone like her.” Eleanor leaned forward, her hands folded on the table in front of her. “She’s as authentic as the farmlands in Bloomington…as charming as a school girl. And there’s an innocence about her…” Eleanor let her voice die off. “You don’t see that anymore.”
Keith thought about Andi, sitting home with her ultrasound pictures. Eleanor was right. Real innocence was beautiful and refreshing and impossible to imitate. But still the comment stung because of Andi. His little girl would never again be innocent the way Bailey was. He pushed the pain aside and nodded slowly. “Ella needs to be innocent. Her passion needs to be almost child-like.”
Keith remembered how they’d seen this with Bailey when she had the featured extra part in The Last Letter . “What Bailey has is very special.” He leaned against the wall and folded his arms in front of him. “It can’t be faked.”
“We’ve seen girls try the whole last week.” Eleanor looked from Keith to Dayne. “We can still see the other actresses scheduled for today and tomorrow. And of course we’ll need to test Bailey with Brandon Paul.” She nodded at Dayne. “Let’s check his availability to fly out and have a screen test with her.” She looked at her notepad and then at the guys again. “I can’t imagine someone more likeable, more genuine walking through those doors. The girl is amazing.”
Eleanor stepped out for a lunch run, which gave Keith and Dayne a chance to talk about the next most pressing matter: Brandon Paul’s recent spike in tabloid mentions.
Dayne cleared the resumes and headshots for a moment and spread a dozen Hollywood gossip rags across the table. “Look at those headlines.”
Keith gripped the edge of the table and studied the pictures and headlines. On one, Brandon was stepping into a black Escalade, his eyes barely opened. He seemed to struggle to keep his balance. The headline read: ‘Brandon Takes a Tumble—Star Caught Partying at All Hours.’ Another one had Brandon sitting on a sofa between two voluptuous blondes, both of whom were kissing his cheeks. The picture seemed to imply Brandon was about to have a night that went beyond wild. Over that picture, the headline said: ‘Brandon Doubles His Pleasure—Spends the Night with Two Girls Gone Wild.’
“Great,” Keith muttered, sifting through the magazines. Another one of them simply asked: ‘Brandon Paul Caught with Cocaine?’ And still another: ‘When Will the Partying End?’
Anger rose in Keith and he straightened, his eyes blazing. “This has to stop.”
“I’ve been telling you.” Dayne leaned against the wall, his expression as disgusted as Keith’s. “I see the tabs more than you do. I guess with my background, you never stop looking, feeling sorry for the next guy they set their mark on.”
“But Brandon isn’t a victim. This is his doing.”
“That’s certainly how it looks.” Dayne sifted through the magazines, turning a few of the pages and looking at the photos of Brandon caught in one compromising situation after another. “We used to say back in my acting days, this much smoke and there’s bound to be a fire somewhere.”
“Or a whole series of them.” Keith was still grasping the gravity of the situation. They were a month away from filming, and Brandon was being this crazy in his free time? “Doesn’t he get it? Unlocked is a Christian film.”
“Not in his mind.” Dayne frowned. “I talked to his agentyesterday. They both acknowledge that Unlocked was a Christian novel, but the guy told me Brandon’s taking the job because the novel was a New York Times runaway bestseller, because of the strength of the story. He wanted to be very clear Brandon wouldn’t do interviews
The reel ended and Dayne hit the power switch on the camera. “Well?” His expression asked Keith and Eleanor what they thought.
“I’ve never seen anyone like her.” Eleanor leaned forward, her hands folded on the table in front of her. “She’s as authentic as the farmlands in Bloomington…as charming as a school girl. And there’s an innocence about her…” Eleanor let her voice die off. “You don’t see that anymore.”
Keith thought about Andi, sitting home with her ultrasound pictures. Eleanor was right. Real innocence was beautiful and refreshing and impossible to imitate. But still the comment stung because of Andi. His little girl would never again be innocent the way Bailey was. He pushed the pain aside and nodded slowly. “Ella needs to be innocent. Her passion needs to be almost child-like.”
Keith remembered how they’d seen this with Bailey when she had the featured extra part in The Last Letter . “What Bailey has is very special.” He leaned against the wall and folded his arms in front of him. “It can’t be faked.”
“We’ve seen girls try the whole last week.” Eleanor looked from Keith to Dayne. “We can still see the other actresses scheduled for today and tomorrow. And of course we’ll need to test Bailey with Brandon Paul.” She nodded at Dayne. “Let’s check his availability to fly out and have a screen test with her.” She looked at her notepad and then at the guys again. “I can’t imagine someone more likeable, more genuine walking through those doors. The girl is amazing.”
Eleanor stepped out for a lunch run, which gave Keith and Dayne a chance to talk about the next most pressing matter: Brandon Paul’s recent spike in tabloid mentions.
Dayne cleared the resumes and headshots for a moment and spread a dozen Hollywood gossip rags across the table. “Look at those headlines.”
Keith gripped the edge of the table and studied the pictures and headlines. On one, Brandon was stepping into a black Escalade, his eyes barely opened. He seemed to struggle to keep his balance. The headline read: ‘Brandon Takes a Tumble—Star Caught Partying at All Hours.’ Another one had Brandon sitting on a sofa between two voluptuous blondes, both of whom were kissing his cheeks. The picture seemed to imply Brandon was about to have a night that went beyond wild. Over that picture, the headline said: ‘Brandon Doubles His Pleasure—Spends the Night with Two Girls Gone Wild.’
“Great,” Keith muttered, sifting through the magazines. Another one of them simply asked: ‘Brandon Paul Caught with Cocaine?’ And still another: ‘When Will the Partying End?’
Anger rose in Keith and he straightened, his eyes blazing. “This has to stop.”
“I’ve been telling you.” Dayne leaned against the wall, his expression as disgusted as Keith’s. “I see the tabs more than you do. I guess with my background, you never stop looking, feeling sorry for the next guy they set their mark on.”
“But Brandon isn’t a victim. This is his doing.”
“That’s certainly how it looks.” Dayne sifted through the magazines, turning a few of the pages and looking at the photos of Brandon caught in one compromising situation after another. “We used to say back in my acting days, this much smoke and there’s bound to be a fire somewhere.”
“Or a whole series of them.” Keith was still grasping the gravity of the situation. They were a month away from filming, and Brandon was being this crazy in his free time? “Doesn’t he get it? Unlocked is a Christian film.”
“Not in his mind.” Dayne frowned. “I talked to his agentyesterday. They both acknowledge that Unlocked was a Christian novel, but the guy told me Brandon’s taking the job because the novel was a New York Times runaway bestseller, because of the strength of the story. He wanted to be very clear Brandon wouldn’t do interviews
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