L. A. Movie by Philip Prowse
16
unless we stop making the movie, Gail will be killed.'
Our food arrived and we stopped talking for a few minutes. The tuna was
great - it was juicy, with a lime and sweet pepper sauce. I was thinking hard
while I ate it. Rik ate his pasta hungrily. There obviously wasn't anything
wrong with that either.
Rik you've got to tell Gail about these threats!' I said,
as we finished
eating. 'She might not want to risk being in this movie. You must give her
the choice.'
'We can't afford to stop the movie, Len, ' Rik said quiently. 'It's half-
finished now. There are hundreds of milions of bucks invested in it. Mr
Frank won't stop the movie. But we are going to protect Miss Lane. And
that's where I want your help. '
'I don't think I'd be a good bodyguard, Rik, ' I said quickly. 'Gail Lane is
very attractive. I couldn't be near her and do the job properly.'
Rik laughed. 'No, no, Len/ he said. 'Gail already has two bodyguards,
very good ones. I want you to join the movie crew, so that you're on the set
all the time. I want you to keep an eye on everyone else. Perhaps these
threats are just a hoax - a joke from a mad person. But we can't be sure.'
'OK,' I said. 'Five hundred dollars a day, plus expenses.'
'Four hundred,' Rik replied.
'Four-fifty,' I said.
'OK. Four-fifty,' Rik replied with a quick smile.
'But what will I do on the set?' I asked. 'I don't know anything about how
movies are made.'
'You're going to be Miss Lane's adviser on detectives and investigations,'
Rik said. 'In the movie, she plays a private detective. You can tell her about
how detectives work. You can start work tomorrow.
And bring your
passport with you.'
'My passport?' I asked. 'Why?'
'I said this movie is an international thriller,' Rik answered. 'We've
finished the Asian scenes already. Today is the last day of shooting here at
the studios. After today, the whole crew moves on to South America. When
we've finished there, we'll go on to Europe.'
'What scenes are you shooting today, Rik?' I asked.
'Today's scenes will be shot with some of the stars' stunt-doubles,' Rik
said. 'There's lots of fighting in today's scenes. There'll be blood everywhere
- not real blood, of course!'
I ordered coffee. Rik wasn't telling me everything, I was sure of that. He
was hiding something, but what? Perhaps I'd never know.
'But you said that Gail was working here today too. I said. 'Can I watch
the shooting for a while?'
Rik shook his head. 'Sorry Len. It's a closed set – that means no visitors.
Carla Chapman, the director of the movie, insists on that. She says that
visitors always upset the actors.'
'But I'm not a visitor,' I said. 'I'm Miss Lane's adviser on being a detective.
You said so yourself.'
Rik thought for a minute. 'OK, Len. There's not time to get you a
security
pass. But I'll get you onto the set using mine.'
L. A. Movie by Philip Prowse
17
We finished our coffee and left the commissary. A group of cowboys was
just arriving. We walked over to Studio Nine. There was a big sign outside:
DEATH BEHIND THE DOOR - SET CLOSED. Rik spoke to the security
guards, who let us both in.
'Follow me,' Rik whispered. 'Be careful. It will be very dark inside. And
don't make a noise, or Carla will kill us, and there really will be blood
everywhere!'
We walked very quietly through the darkness of the studio. Everywhere,
there were boxes and ropes, metal wires and electric cables. In the distance,
we could see a bright light. When we got closer, we could see that it was a
huge, bright blue screen, like a movie theatre screen. We could see someone
hanging down on a rope in front of the screen.
'This
is a blue-screen,' Rik whispered. 'Later, these shots will be
combined with some shots of a rocky mountainside. When the audience sees
the movie in a movie theatre, they'll think that the actor was really climbing
a mountain!'
I watched in silence. I was fascinated. The person on the rope was still
quite high up in front of the screen, at least fifteen metres from the floor.
Suddenly there was a loud scream, and the actor fell to the studio floor!
Lights went on everywhere. We ran towards the person on the floor. It was a
woman with short blonde hair.
'It's Gail!' I said to Rik.