“And I do,” I say, my voice unyielding.
“Then they get to choose the guy. They have someone in mind for Cal Hampton.”
“Who?”
“Trey Scott.”
“He’s a pop singer,” I say, not bothering to disguise my distaste. “He’s on Nick at Nite.”
“Those are reruns and that was years ago. He’s all grown up now. Plenty of big-name stars begin as child actors. Hillary Duff, Miley Cyrus, Zac Ephron, Selena Gomez. The list goes on and on. The cache of this film will bring in the over-thirty crowd. Trey will draw a younger audience, even though he’s now over thirty himself. He still has that fandom.”
These are not the things I wanted to consider when casting my movie, but I do recognize Galaxy is taking an enormous risk with Neevah.
“You got tape of him?” I ask curtly. “He still has to audition like everybody else, and if he’s trash—”
“I do have tape, and he’s actually really good. Don’t let the Disney fool you.”
“Send it to me.” I turn back to my storyboard. “We done?”
“Well, I know you wanted to shoot in New York.”
I whip around to face him again. “Of course, I do. Most of the story takes place there.”
“Yeah, but Trey will be doing double duty in the fall when we need to shoot.”
“Double duty?”
“He’ll shoot with us during the day, and we can be strategic about his scenes for night shoots,” Evan says, lowering his eyes and toying with his keys, a sure sign he doesn’t want to tell me the rest. “He’ll be hosting a live game show here in LA three nights a week.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? They think I’m shooting my movie in LA instead of New York because he’s hosting Family Feud?”
“It’s not. It’s—”
“I don’t give a damn what it is.” I stand and pace from my desk to the windows overlooking the city. “You outta your damn mind, Evan. His game show won’t dictate our locations.”
“Not all of them and not all the time. We’re still forming the location list, but I think it could work.”
“How? How could it work?”
“We could use Galaxy’s back lots. Most of the scenes will be interior and we can grab pick-up shots in New York. Also keep in mind a lot of those buildings from Harlem in the thirties are either demolished or look really different. We’d have to create our own with models and other tricks anyway. We have to recreate the Savoy Ballroom, a massive undertaking. A back lot is ideal for that. That’s not to say no shots in New York. Just from October to January, we need to—”
“That’s ninety percent of the shooting schedule. Shit, Evan. We don’t need their money that bad. Not to ruin my movie.”
“First of all, we do need the money. This is a big project with a huge price tag. Second of all, I actually think back lots could give us that old Hollywood vibe. Might be perfect for this period piece.”
That does give me pause. I prop on the edge of the desk and fold my arms over my chest, daring Evan to convince me. “Go on.”
“You said you want to shoot on film, right?”
“Some, yeah, sixteen millimeter for certain sequences. I know it’s expensive, but I’m not compromising on that, Evan. It’s bad enough they want to cast a Mouseketeer.”
“No, they think film is genius, but it gives even more credence to using old Hollywood back lots. Layering that nostalgia in on every level.”
I hate that it’s starting to make sense.
Evan’s slow smile tells me he knows it. “Can I tell them Trey’s in?”
“Not until I see his tape. He’s not getting in without an audition.”