Page 43 of Game Changer

Chapter17

Zara

The limo comes to a halt outside the Odeon Cinema at Leicester Square, and I’m overawed at the amount of people here. Spotting the tartan carpet, I lean into Buckie’s side, excited to get a better look.

“Wow that tartan is stunning. Where’d they find that one?”

“They had it designed for the movie. There’ll be merch of course, so they had to have something special they could sell the shit out of.”

The plum and grey check of the tartan complement each other and it’s beautiful. In as huge an expanse as this it’s certainly making a statement. There’s no doubting this is a Scottish film at all.

An usher opens the door for Buckie, and he takes a deep breath and squeezes my hand before he steps out of the car. The crowd that has gathered lets out a collective scream and whoop as they catch sight of him in his kilt. He turns back to me and holds out his hand to me. I slide across the seat and take his hand as he helps me out of the car. The lights are so bright and the noise so loud it’s a sensory overload. The flashing of camera bulbs going off all around us is exactly what I thought this would feel like. I’ve seen these things on TV, but the real thing is surreal.

A photographer approaches us and asks us to pose for a photo. The lanyard around his neck explains that he’s one of the official photographers for the event. We flash our best smiles, and he takes a series of photos of us. I have to admit, I’ve never felt so out of my depth in my life.

A man in an incredibly shiny suit appears at Buckie’s side. “Mr Buchanan, if you’d like to make your way over to the journalists for your photo calls. Your guest can wait for you at the guest entrance.”

I wasn’t expecting him to have to leave me as soon as this, but I suppose it’s his job. He turns to me and gives me a peck on my cheek.

“I’ll see you inside. I’ll be on stage to introduce the film, but I’ll be up to the box to sit with you to watch it.”

“Oh, you’re staying this time, are you?” Shelly’s voice comes from behind me and my heart warms at the relief that I won’t be alone. She said she’d look after me, and here she is. I turn and smile at her. She’s dressed in a pair of black floaty trousers and a white blouse. Not glamorous premiere get up but still smart nonetheless.

“Hi Shelly. Yes, I am because this vision didn’t get all dressed up to go and sit in the bar all night.” He gestures to me, and I blush at his words.

“Of course, I want to see it. I’ve done everything I can to not watch the trailers or teasers so I’m going in blind, and I can’t wait.”

“Ah, the enthusiasm of the premiere virgin. It’s endearing.” Shelly laughs. “Annalise is already here Buckie. I’m glad she bloody well turned up. I’m not even going to bother saying anything to her about her absence at the BBC yesterday. There’s no point. You need to go and do your obligatory posing with her and don’t forget to go and meet some of those fans. It doesn’t do an actors rep any good to ignore them.”

“Have I ever ignored them, Shelly? I know these guys take this type of thing seriously.”

“Okay then off you pop young sir and please at least pretend to be enjoying yourself.”

Buckie smiles at me and salutes Shelly and then he’s whisked away by shiny suit man. Even though Shelly is here, I feel alone in this alien environment. I’ve had huge parties for opening nights of my venues. And I’ve hosted many a private function for celebrities in them too. But this is different. I’ve no idea what I’m supposed to do or how I’m supposed to act.

“You’ll be fine sweetheart,” Shelly says, as if sensing my apprehension. “You look stunning by the way.” Looping her arm through mine, she guides me out of the glare of the spotlights and the din of the chattering crowd.

“This is a very overwhelming experience, isn’t it?”

“You’re not kidding. I still remember my first premiere many moons ago now. I thought I was going to die from shock. I wasn’t prepared for it in the least. I don’t think anyone is to be honest. Doesn’t matter if you’re an actor, crew member or support staff. You can never imagine the scale of these things until you’re here.”

“Where are we going right now?” I ask as Shelly takes us along the back of the white temporary walls flanking the tartan walkway.

“We have a spot behind the podium that’s been set up for Buckie and Annalise to stand on. They’re streaming the premiere on YouTube, so they have to make sure they can both be filmed from all angles.”

I raise my eyebrows. “I didn’t know that was happening. That’s very cool.”

“Yeah, modern technology, eh? Okay this is our little spot here.” She pushes open a door leading into a huge Perspex box with some chairs and tables and a small bar at the far end. “Take a seat honey.” She motions to a chair next to a low table and takes the one opposite me.

From my position I can see the white podium and can barely make out the tops of people’s heads beyond it. A waiter comes and takes our drinks orders, a gin and tonic for me and a Long Island iced tea for Shelly. As the waiter leaves, Shelly pulls out a humongous Filofax, resting it on her knee. It’s a tan leather that looks as though it’s been through the wars. I smile at the familiarity of it.

“My bible,” she says, slapping her hand down on the leather with a soft thwack as she sees me eyeing it. “My entire life is in here.”

“Oh, I know how it goes. I have one of those too. Although yours looks well worn.”

“It goes everywhere with me. If I got robbed and I lost every single thing, this is the one thing I’d die to protect. I’ll let you in on a little secret I haven’t told anyone else yet. I’m working on setting up my own PR company.”

“Buckie sure thinks you’re a wonderful rep for him. And you know the business very well so why not. I did the same thing. I’d had enough of knocking ten bells out of myself for someone else to reap the rewards. So, I decided to go it alone and it was the best decision I ever made. I have a thriving mini empire now and I’ve never looked back.”

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