CHAPTER SIX

      There was no rehearsal time for The Italian Dream. TG wanted the actors to be ready to film once they came on set. The affable guy who had greeted the women at the dinner party the previous night had disappeared and in his place was a man focused on his task.

      ‘I’m going to try and shoot as much as I can in order for your sake and the DOP. Chris and I have worked out some shots which won’t require long set-up times but some may take a while, so please be patient,’ said TG as he addressed the women in the make-up trailer, who had already been in hair and make-up for the past two hours, before walking back to the dilapidated villa where the shoot was taking place.

      ‘He seems stressed,’ said Calypso to Kelly, worried about the day ahead.

      ‘Nah, he’s not stressed, just focused. He’s pretty single minded when he wants to be,’ said Kelly as she moved about the trailer lining up make-up brushes. ‘He’s a funny one, all soft on the outside but if anyone fucks with him or people he loves he gets all Tony Soprano on their ass.’

      Calypso watched TG as he and Chris stood talking as she walked over for her call in wardrobe.

      They were discussing the first scene where Rose and Sapphira’s characters arrive at Rose’s character’s villa looking for a place to stay.

      TG walked across to wardrobe, where Calypso was about to be dressed by the costume crew. Her character was a young backpacker who had just finished university, so they had pulled together jeans and cut-off shorts, t-shirts, singlets and sandals, as well as a few pretty dresses and shirts. It was casual and homespun; the kind of clothes Calypso felt the most comfortable in. Walking into the dressing room trailer, TG found her standing in a tiny Calvin Klein pink polka dotted bra and pants. With a full face of make-up and her hair in loose plaits, courtesy of the hair department, she looked like a young Brigitte Bardot. She took TG’s breath away, not because she was so incredibly sexy but because she looked so innocent. Her figure was insane, he thought. He could see her tiny waist and pert breasts, her toned legs and gorgeous ass in the mirror behind her.

      He felt his cock start to move. Nooooo, he thought, barking at her to cover his embarrassment. ‘Hurry up, you ready yet? We’re waiting.’

      Calypso looked at Helen, the costume head, who shook her head slightly as if to say, I don’t know what bug got up his ass.

      Calypso slipped on denim shorts and a pink singlet, and sliding into her sandals, she stomped out of the trailer. ‘Isn’t it kinda hard to be behind when you haven’t started shooting yet?’ she retorted to TG.

      This was going to be a nightmare, she thought as she walked towards the set.

      TG wanted to kick himself. He knew he was being an asshole; he was always an asshole when he was nervous. Walking towards the set, he headed towards Calypso, wanting to apologize, but she was deep in conversation with Kelly. No doubt telling her what a prick he was, he thought, as he saw Kelly turn and throw a death stare in his direction. Fuck, now he was going to face the wrath of ‘Kali’, as she called herself when she got mad.

      Rose and Sapphira came on set, perfect in their costume and make-up. He called the women over. ‘So, this is where we meet you all. Sapphira, your character is already at the villa. Calypso, you have just turned up, with no idea where you are, lost and looking for help. Rose, you know what you are doing?’

      Rose nodded.

      ‘Let’s run it a few times and get the feel,’ TG said.

      While the actors walked through the lines and found their marks, the crew were busy, fixing the lighting and the sound. Props were moving items to work with the actors’ marks, and make-up stood by waiting to do touch-ups if needed.

      The actors had a natural chemistry and looked like a dream through the camera. TG felt they were ready to shoot. Four takes later and they had it in the can. There’d been a spark as soon as TG yelled ‘action’ and each of them brought their own specialness to the roles. Calypso was perfect, her flustered comedic timing brought lightness to the sadness of Rose’s character who was mourning her husband. And Sapphira brought the right amount of enigmatic pathos to her role, balancing out the others perfectly.

      ‘Fucking excellent!’ yelled TG as he watched the playbacks. The crew all clapped, as was the ritual when the first shot was done on the shoot.

      The morning went like a dream, all of the actors being pleasant and professional. Rose and Calypso instantly bonded and even Sapphira was seen joking with some of the guys in the crew. The assistant director called ‘lunch’ and the actors and crew walked over to catering. Every imaginable sort of food was laid out in front of them. American, Italian and even some French. TG grabbed a tray and stood while Kelly helped herself to salad, cheeses and bread. Without looking up at him, she asked, ‘Why are you being a dick to Calypso?’

      ‘I didn’t think I was,’ he said, knowing it was an outright lie.

      ‘Well, you are, and it’s stressing her out. She thinks you think she’s fat and stupid. What the hell did you say to her?’

      ‘Nothing. Oh you know, I said something and it came out wrong and then every time I see her I say something even more stupid than the last time. It’s like I’ve got Tourette’s or something. I’ll apologize.’

      ‘You better, ’cause the acting you just saw was bloody good from her and the more relaxed she is the better she performs. I worked with her on the Bazaar shoot and when she’s chilled she is a dream,’ she said, waving the salad tongs at him.

      TG put down his tray and walked towards Calypso’s trailer. Rose and Sapphira were eating with the crew, but Calypso had headed off for time by herself – never a good sign. This film was only going to work if the crew became like a family and right now he had a problem. He saw her door was open, and as he climbed the step he heard her talking.

      ‘He is so mean to me, Mom. He yells at me and I swear he thinks I’m fat. I said I ate a pastry and then he saw me in costume today and looked at me like I was a freaking elephant.’

      She paused. ‘Mom, it was one pastry! I know, I know, I’ll go for a run. Yes. No, I don’t want you to come over. I’m fine. Rose is nice and Kelly is sweet to me. I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl now. I just hate him. I hate him all the time!’

      Calypso sounded like a small child and TG felt awful. Now was not the right time to see her; he would wait and try to make it up to her on set that afternoon.

      The afternoon shooting went better but Calypso didn’t speak to TG unless he spoke to her first. Any questions she had about her character she ran by Sapphira and Rose, who were really helpful and ran lines with her off set. Rose was great at helping Calypso dissect the script to find the hidden clues about the character, and Sapphira offered different ways to say the lines, which Calypso found inspiring.

      ‘There is no one way. I think finding the right reaction is a process. There is no immediate right response. You can explore and then if you want to use the original choice, then great, but it’s worth finding out,’ Sapphira explained