Celebromancy (2 page)

Yancy started up again. “And I’m especially pleased to introduce to you the creator of
Awakenings
, the woman behind the next big television hit, Ree Reyes!”

The applause for Ree was a fraction of what Jane had gotten.

But it’s for me. Not anyone else.

Ree beamed, waving to the crowd.

Oh, yeah. Who’s the shit?

A few moments later, Yancy spoke again.

“We’re very happy to speak with you about
Awakenings
. We’re starting the second week of principal photography, and things are going splendidly. I’m sure there are many questions, so let’s launch right in.”

A young Latina with long silky hair wearing a West African shawl as a scarf stood, raising her hand. Patricia/Vanessa rushed over to hand her a microphone. She waved the woman off and projected, filling the room.

“Kelly Dominguez,
Pearson Patriot
. Ms. Konrad, what attracted you to this project and the choice of an unknown screenwriter for your return to the screen?” Kelly was a local video-blogger who had parlayed her positive but probing video reportage into a full-time gig. Ree’d been a fan for years, and it was fun to see her in the flesh.

Jane pulled her mike in, nodding to Kelly. She spoke with warmth and poise wrapped together in a perfect braid. “Hello, Kelly. That’s a lovely shawl. I told Yancy that I was looking for fresh blood on the project, a new voice that I could introduce to the world, the way that he helped me break in to the industry.

“I started with a stack of manuscripts selected by our interns, which must have been three feet tall.” Jane paused to laugh, drawing the audience in even more.

“There was a lot of good material, but when I came to
Awakenings
, I knew this was it. Ree has a crisp, humorous voice, and the script is one of the best pilots I’ve read. Television is the perfect medium for combining entertainment and social commentary, and
Awakenings
is the right show for the right time. There are a lot of shows that entertain, but precious few that go deeper, tackling real issues, and none that do it the way Ree has in
Awakenings
.”

Several reporters nodded like bobblehead dolls, hanging on to Jane’s every word. The star gestured to Ree, shifting the spotlight of attention. “But let’s hear from the genius herself. I’m sure she’d be happy to tell you more about the show.”

That’s me.
She felt a hundred eyes lock onto her movements, their attention as intense as a spotlight. Ree was used to performing in small crowds—stores, parties, and the Midnight Market. This was a whole different world.

Ree cleared her throat and pulled in her own mike, calling forward the
Castle
energy again.

Keep it cool.

“Thanks, Jane. I wrote
Awakenings
for a number of reasons. The biggest one is that ever since
Battlestar Galactica
went off the air, there hasn’t been another show, for me, that tackled social issues in the way I wanted to see. So I had to write it myself.

“I grew up reading Ursula LeGuin, Frank Herbert, Octavia Butler, and New Wave SF. It’s hard to do social science fiction on TV, because many viewers are expecting the eyeball kicks, explosions, and constant jokes. But I wanted to take a risk, trust that an audience would go with me on something that took the time to dig into issues between fight scenes.”

Another reporter took up the mike, a thirtysomething white guy with a shaved head and big plastic glasses. He was dressed in the traditional garb of his people, the black turtleneck, as well as a finely-crafted air of self-importance.

“Alex Walters, WTF. Given the crash-and-burn failure of shows like
The Event
,
Rubicon
,
Alcatraz
,
Flash-Forward
, and others, what makes you think that a show that seems to boil down to a mashup of
No Ordinary Family
and
The 4400
can succeed in today’s television market, especially with a washed-out flight risk as the star?”

Ree knew this guy. He was hipster royalty online, and prided himself on eviscerating everything in the world as soon as it started to smell of success, predicting failure everywhere he went. And since he had a million Twitter followers and headed one of the biggest gossip sites this side of TMZ, when he did his doomsaying, a whole lot of people listened.

Yancy looked to Ree, and she nodded, trying to indicate,
I got this
. Though she had to restrain her first instinct, which was to pull the lightsaber out of her purse and take a Dark Side point.

Ree adjusted the mike and said, “The fact that companies keep putting on shows like the ones you mentioned means that the execs and others believe that there’s something to it. And concept isn’t destiny. You can walk into a bookstore and find a hundred YA novels on the shelves.”
Look at me being diplomatic
, she thought, when all she wanted to do was drop-kick the smarmy bastard out of the zip code.

“Only a handful of them have hit it big, but does that mean the others are doomed to fail, or that just because a couple of them aren’t great means the others are crap? Of course not. Each show deserves to be judged on its own merits, don’t you think?”

Do not engage
, she told herself.
That way lies madness.

Alex shifted his weight, eyes narrowed. “That’s easy to say, but if we’re supposed to judge your show on its merits, will
Awakenings
actually have any?”

Because you’re the God-given arbiter of taste, right?
Ree thought, restraining the growing urge to jump the table and strangle the bastard.

No one will care if I clobber him, right? The media ecosystem will survive with one less parasite.

Yancy leaned in to answer. “Ree has a wry, crisp voice, and she’s given us a great world to bring to life for audiences. Our special-effects team is going to deliver amazing visuals, and Jane is putting in some of the best performances I’ve seen in the fifteen years I’ve worked with her.”

Ree gave Yancy a smile, waited for him to continue or Jane to hop in. After a beat, Ree spoke again. “I can give you the basic concept, just to put everything on the table.

“In the might-as-well-be-now future, magic returns to the earth, and people around the world awaken with magic powers. People freak out, and all of a sudden, there’s a brand-new way to be stigmatized.
Awakenings
takes the one-family lens approach to tackling social issues, while always staying personal.”

Ree stopped there, remembering Jane’s suggestion to keep it brief, or at least brief-ish. Plus, she felt the
Castle
energy starting to run low, and wanted to keep some mojo back for other questions.

Her hands were shaking, and she took a long swig from her glass as she calmed herself down, mentally grasping onto the magical energy.

She looked to Alex, bracing for another
gotcha
or snide remark. But either he was satisfied or he was going to save the rest of the bile for his article. A half-dozen other hands stood in the air, and Ree looked to Yancy, who nodded.

The next reporter was a shorter, curvy woman with tightly curled black hair. “Vlada Janczuk, StraightDope.com. One Tough Mama has had a difficult few years. How important is it that this pilot succeed, and why shoot a pilot on spec instead of pitching to studios right away?”

Yancy’s response was a guarded grin. “Every project is important, and right now money is tight for everyone.”

Ree had asked this question when the production company made their offer to buy the pilot. So she knew that Yancy’s answer read as
This is the last of Jane’s money, and if the pilot bombs, the production company will go belly-up
.

Announcing,
Hey, we’re screwed if this fails, so please watch us!
wasn’t exactly a way to get people to tune in, not for a brand-new show. Some shows needed “Save Show X” campaigns before they hit the air, but no one wanted to be that show. And the show would have to be picked up to series first.

Yancy continued, “As for why to dive right into shooting a pilot, Jane has always tried to innovate with our efforts at One Tough Mama. After the success of independent productions like
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
,
The Guild
, and
Husbands
, Jane wanted to get the pilot in the can before making presentations, which will give us more flexibility. If the networks pass for whatever reason, we still have a product, and we can go direct to the fans and use Kickstarter to raise funds for a full season.”

Yancy’d said part of why they were doing the press conference this early was to help drum up interest, as well as to dispel the myths that Jane was too far gone to get through a production. From where Ree sat, they were doing all of that and more, thanks to Jane’s charm and Yancy’s tact, and maybe even her own fu.

The press worked through a few more questions, getting into details about the production schedule and their hopes for the series’ home (any major network, plus Syfy, TNT, AMC, HBO, etc.). Ree let Yancy take the lead, and Jane answered the softball personal questions with grace and waved off the inflammatory ones from Alex and others. Eventually, the PAs got the message and stopped giving the mike to the muckraker. After the third time he was ignored, he got up and made a big production of storming off.

Good riddance.

“That’s all the time we have for today,” Yancy said finally, an hour into the press conference. “Thank you for your time, and I hope you’ll continue following our progress with
Awakenings
!”

They stood to another round of applause. Jane played to the crowd on the way out, and Ree heard the roar continue even through the door and down the hall as they left.

“We’ve got a car in back,” Yancy said.

Jane shook her head, grinning wide. “No, we’re going out the front. Give them a minute to gather.” She looked like the cat who’d caught the canary.

A shadow passed over Yancy’s face. “Careful, Jane.”

Jane stretched, cracking her back. “I’ll be fine. And we need every bit of press we can get.”

Yancy took a halting step toward Jane, a worried, paternal look on his face. Jane raised a hand, and he stopped.

“It’s going to be a hit, Yanc. And then we’ll be back on top.”

They waited for a minute.

Why am I getting a foreboding vibe off of this? It isn’t just the worry of maybe people will throw fruit instead of cheering—it was something bigger.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Ree said without getting the chance to censor herself.

Jane looked to Ree and smiled big.

Why worry?
Ree asked herself.
It’ll be fine.

“Follow me and stay close. This is going to be a great ride.” Jane nodded to her bodyguard Danny, who had appeared from nowhere to take the lead, engaging his not-to-be-fucked-with look.

Danny Park (Strength 15, Dexterity 16, Stamina 14, Will 15, IQ 13, Charisma 10—Laborer 2 / Security 3 / Martial Artist 5 / Bodyguard 4) stood only five feet and change, but he was ripped, the muscle shirt he wore under his jacket showing enough skin to make that fact abundantly clear. He wore a short ponytail tied back, and his jeans were well worn without being patchy.

Ree followed, and as they walked through the hotel, Ree couldn’t help but envision the group in their very own Badass Walk: the last or next-to-last shot of a TV credits sequence or film trailer where the main characters stride with purpose down a hallway, alley, or battlefield. Bonus points if something explodes in the background.

Her mind played a made-up theme song in the style of Nerf Herder as they walked. Danny reached the front of the hotel, and two men in suits opened the doors for them.

The crowd outside was even bigger than it had been in the ballroom by at least 50 percent.
Where are all these people coming from?
Ree wondered.

Jane sauntered through the crowd wearing a modest smile. The air was tight with excitement and the flow of energy as the star held court, soaking it all in like an emotional vampire.
I sure hope Dresden’s White Court doesn’t really exist. If they do, we’re all fucked.
According to the model that Eastwood gave Ree during her brief stint as a snarky apprentice, there might be individual vampires that followed the model from Butcher’s novels, feeding on emotion instead of blood, but probably not enough to be their own society. If they did, Ree had no doubt that they’d have Hollywood wrapped around their sexy alabaster fingers.

Some heroines got simple universes, with monsters and magic that followed consistent rules. As far as she could tell, magic in her world was as inconsistent and dynamic as real life, so just when she thought she understood what was going on, something would change for no discernible reason, like fashion, pop music, or Facebook.

Ree headed straight for the waiting town car, sliding in beside Yancy. Jane took several minutes to sign, schmooze, and soak up the love.

Yancy kept an eye on his star, and Ree watched out of the corner of her eye.

Jane waved goodbye to the crowd and slinked into the car with deliberate grace, proving Ree’s point. She beckoned Ree in next, and Yancy took shotgun as Danny closed the door to the car, interposing himself to keep the crowds away.

Jane leaned in to speak to both of them.

“See, wasn’t that fun?” Her eyes were wide, like she’d just taken a hit of something high-grade.

Yancy harrumphed. “Back to the set, please.” The driver, an older Middle Eastern man in an aviator cap, nodded, and the car pulled out into the street.

“Actually, can you drop me somewhere?” Ree asked. “I’ve got a lunch.”

Yancy nodded. Jane frowned. “I thought you were going to be on-set this afternoon?”

“I will,” Ree said. “When I say ‘I have a lunch,’ what I really mean is ‘I have work.’ My boss has been good about being flexible and giving my work here priority, but I do have to help out for a few hours this afternoon.”
That and take a meeting that could really go well, or really really not.