Page 37 of Game Changer

I catch Annalise in my peripheral and I swear if she was a cartoon character, she’d be blowing steam out of her ears. I smile at Josh. “Of course you can. I haven’t had a chance to see any of this yet.”

The tiny tv in the room shows a somewhat wobbly video from behind a crowd of people at the bar. I watch myself throwing bottles and glasses in the air and catching them. I have to admit, I haven’t lost any of the knack at all.

Josh turns back to us as the video ends. “You’re very good at it. So can we expect you to play Brian Flanagan in a Cocktail remake?”

“Oh no. Cocktail is a classic. I hate it when studios remake classics. But I wouldn’t say no to a bartender role. I think I could ace it.”

“Well said,” says Josh and I can see he’s trying not to laugh at Annalise’s face.

“So you both have some very intimate scenes in this movie. What was that like for you both?”

“Oh it was easy,” Annalise says, leaning forward in her chair. “As you know I’ve done this type of acting before and I’m very comfortable with my body. It didn’t bother me at all.”

“Yeah, same here. I’ve had many scenes like this, so it wasn’t much different. It’s about being comfortable with your co-star. A little joke here and there with each other goes a long way to lightening the mood. It also helps that there aren’t many people allowed on the scene when those scenes are being filmed. The director insisted on a closed set.”

“Your character has to overcome a few obstacles to finally get his birth right of a title. How did you find acting this part in your first period drama?”

“I had a great time running around the highlands in a kilt brandishing a claymore. It was gruelling filming because we seemed to be filming during a terrible spell of weather. Now, I’m from Glasgow, so I know that the weather in Scotland is changeable at the best of times. But the highlands has the added problem of the hills and valleys that magnify it. We still had fun and it gave me a bit more appreciation for the beautiful scenery we have up there. I loved this story too because the message can be attributed to modern life. You do what’s best for you, regardless of pressures from society to be something you’re not cut out for. If it makes you happy, do it. No one else lives your life for you.”

“Very philosophical,” he says nodding and turning his attention to my co-star. “Annalise, you had to master a Scottish accent for this film. How did you study for it and how do you think it will be received by the moviegoers?”

“Well I’m quite good at accents. I worked with a voice coach for a few weeks, and I think I did a pretty good job of it. My mom is English, and my dad is Irish, so I already had two great teachers.”

I can see I’m going to be doing quite a bit of eye rolling during these interviews. She was terrible at picking up the accent. As was I at the start. A highland accent is hard at the best of times. But trying to imagine what they spoke like in the fifteenth century was torture. More times than I can count I slipped into my Glaswegian accent and had to be corrected. Annalise started off sounding like a character from Steel Magnolias trying to do Mel Gibson’s William Wallace accent. It was horrific, although she did okay in the end, but you can tell she isn’t a native. I decide to let her prattle on. I’m not here for a fight and I would never be critical of her acting skills in front of an audience. I’ll let them make up their own minds.

“And we have a clip here to show. Now, this is Donald and Cora having an argument about manners. Am I right?”

I nod, smiling. “This scene was so much fun to film and if you look at my feet, when Annalise tries to slap me, I stumble a little. There was a small rock right at my foot and when I stepped back, I tripped on it. They kept it in because it made for a good change of atmosphere. Our characters laugh about it and start being civil to each other.”

“Yeah, that was funny,” Annalise smiles, and it’s genuine this time. “The slap was a bit of improvisation, and it all came together after that. The scene lightened the mood and was a kind of ice breaker for us.”

“Okay let’s see it,” Josh says and the little screen beside us fills with the scene we’ve been speaking about.

We all laugh when the stumble happens and seeing it playing out in front of us has me feeling very proud of the movie. I haven’t seen it in a movie theatre yet, but we were sent rough cuts to view before the final cut was signed off. My first proper screening will be on Tuesday at the premiere. I know Annalise has already seen it in its entirety. I would have been at that private screening if I’d stayed in L.A.

As the clip ends, Josh turns back to us. “Congratulations, both of you. This looks like it’ll be a fantastic movie. Thanks very much for coming in to chat with us today and good luck with the premiere on Tuesday.”

“Thanks for having us,” Annalise says.

I give a nod saying a quiet ‘thanks’, since Annalise has spoken for both of us. Josh turns away from us and speaks directly to the camera. He informs the audience when the film releases in cinemas and hands back to the studio.

“That’s a wrap,” the producer says and Josh stands, shaking our hands. He thanks us again before heading out the door.

I head over to Shelly, and we run through what’s left for today. The meeting with the studio PR is only an hour away and we decide to head straight there so that we aren’t late. These guys are paying us a lot of money and the last thing we should do is piss them off. If you become a difficult actor, word spreads like wildfire and other studios won’t hire you.

“Annalise, Shaun, we’re heading over to the venue for the meeting now do you want to share a car?” Shelly calls over to them.

“No thanks. I have a bit of shopping to do first. We’ll see you there,” Annalise calls over her shoulder.

Shaun looks as though he’s going to have a heart attack. And one of her PR guys whispers in her ear before he’s dismissed by her. They all know what’s going to happen here. She’ll be late and they’ll all get it in the neck from the studio execs and then their bosses. I shake my head as we head out the door. Poor guys. If I tried to pull that shit with Shelly, she’d drag me by the ear.

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