Junior Year Box Set

“I need to become an official employee. Your dad is taking me to the bank so I can sign checks and get a company debit card. Your mom is going to help me find some office space. I guess there’s a place you can rent an office that you share with other companies, and it comes with a receptionist. Then I plan to read scripts.”

It sounded like a good start. Running with Caryn this morning had been a good idea. I’d gotten to know her better and gotten a nice run in to boot.

◊◊◊

Today it was Wolf’s turn to bring in lunch for the prep class. While I’d never had Crock-Pot spaghetti before, I had to confess it was filling. He admitted that ketchup was one of the main ingredients, which was just a little off-putting. While we were eating, I got a call from Frank Ingram, my publicist.

“I’ve scheduled your interviews for this evening. They’ll do them on video chat, so dress nice,” he ordered.

“You mean suit-and-tie nice?” I asked.

“How about a sports jacket and open-collar shirt? I’ve emailed you background information on each person interviewing you and your talking points. The purpose of these interviews is to introduce you to Hollywood. I talked to the PR team for Star Academy to make sure our message was aligned with theirs.

“The key to making this work is we need to be consistent in what we say. It’s my job to make sure your message is clear and to the point. Reporters want sound bites, not long-winded explanations. We want to control the narrative. Finally, we need to continually remind them of what we want them to know.

“Do you have anything new for me?” Frank asked.

I told him what Bo Harrington had said about football awards, but that it wasn’t official yet. I also let him know that Caryn had started work as my manager. He told me he would update my IMDb account.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Internet Movie Database. It’s where people in the business can look you up; a one-stop location where they can see what you’ve done, who represents you, get a bio, and find a list of your skills. Basically, it’s your movie résumé and references. You can also see what projects are available and a lot more. If Caryn represents you, she needs to be on IMDb so people will take her seriously.”

I thanked Frank. I had a lot to learn about the movie business.

◊◊◊ Saturday November 21

I woke up to snow flurries. It was as though we’d gone from fall to winter in just twelve hours. The worst of it was the wind. It looked like it blew all the leaves off the trees overnight. It seemed like we usually got our first snowstorm the week of Thanksgiving; this was just a few days early.

My interviews with Variety, Entertainment Weekly, and Seventeen had gone well. They were just fluff pieces, and Frank had anticipated what they would ask. I guess he earned his paycheck this week. Caryn had taken care of everything to get started as my manager. I walked in the back door to find my parents and Caryn with their noses in scripts.

“There were three TV shows that wanted you to play either the guy that abandons his pregnant girlfriend or rapes someone. I thought we might pass on those,” Mom suggested.

“Hey, for the right price…” I teased.

“I have one here for a soap opera. It’s a possible recurring role as Jesse, a troubled teen who takes his shirt off all the time, on General Hospital,” Dad offered.

“And how am I supposed to do that and go to high school?” I asked.

“I think you should do this one,” Caryn said as she tossed what looked like five pages to me.

Ari had put a cover page on each script that gave his thoughts and details. One item he included was a quote as to what it paid. When I looked at the bundle of paper Caryn tossed me, I about choked when I saw the number. It was for a Japanese sunglasses company. They needed a young guy who could do martial arts. I didn’t have to read it, I was in.

“Set this one up,” I said and handed it to my dad.

“It says you’ll make that much for a one-day shoot?” Dad asked.

“I don’t even have to get naked,” I said, which caused Mom to glare at me.

She snatched the script out of my dad’s hands and looked at the front page.

“You dream that someday your children will make more money than you do, but this is ridiculous,” Mom said.

“I might have to marry him,” Caryn said.

“And so it begins,” I said and sighed.

Dad shook his head.

“If someone threw that much money at me when I was seventeen, I’m afraid of what I might’ve done. I realize you’ve made a lot of money with modeling, and you’re making good money on your first two movies. If you’re careful, you might be able to live off what you’ve already put into place with the farm and what you have in the bank. Don’t you dare let this go to your head,” Dad warned.