They used to make hundreds of films here every year. It’s not like that now. Studios have to be very careful about which projects they pick to back. They are always looking for the next big thing. They always need to see a return on their investment. It’s a tighter, more difficult industry to break into now than it has ever been, Ruby. That’s why, if this is what you really want, you have to grasp every chance that comes your way because if you let even one pass you by, it might be the moment that could have changed everything.”
“Dream big and never let those dreams go,” I said under my breath, quoting It’s Your Life!. That’s what those other girls did; Adrienne Charles and Sunny Dale and the rest. The question was – could I do the same?
Jeremy’s car slowed down and came to a halt outside another ornate white building.
“This is where we are going for the screening,” Jeremy said. “And then to talk to Art and the others. Are you excited yet? This is the first time you’ll have seen yourself on film since the rushes back in London, isn’t it? And now it will have all the proper effects in place and the real score. It should be quite something.”
“I am excited,” I said as I climbed out of the car and looked up at the building. “And I’m scared too. What if I’m rubbish?”
But Jeremy didn’t answer me.
We saw Art Dubrovnik first, in the foyer of the screening room, deep in discussion with a very large, tall and quite wide man in a pale blue suit.
“Ruby!” Art said and gave me a big friendly hug. As Art and Jeremy shook hands and exchanged greetings, Imogene arrived with her PA, Clarice, and a few other people I didn’t know, but who I imagined were publicists and agents, a proper Hollywood entourage.
“Hey you!” Imogene said, beaming. She hugged me and kissed me on both cheeks, proper slightly sticky lip—glossy kisses, not the “Mwah! Mwah!” air kisses that actresses often exchange.
“Let me look at you.” Imogene held me by the shoulders and looked me up and down. “You look fabulous. How are you feeling – are you excited? Are you nervous?”
I laughed, made giddy by the whirlwind that was Imogene Grant. It was nice that she was so pleased to see me, but there was something else about her too. She was glowing with joy.
“You look lovely. And really, really happy. Have you found the secret to a perfect cheese and salad sandwich?” I asked her, joking about the lunches we used to share on the set of The Lost Treasure of King Arthur.
Imogene flashed me a grin and then drew me aside so that we stood just out of earshot of the gathering crowd of people. “Can you keep a secret?” she asked.
I nodded excitedly as Imogene looked around to check for eavesdroppers and then took a long silver chain out from under her white cotton shirt. Dangling on it like a pendant was a ring set with the biggest diamond I had ever seen. (And, Just recently, I had seen quite a lot of diamonds one way or another.)
“I’m engaged,” she told me in a giggly whisper. “But it’s top secret. You mustn’t tell anyone or the paparazzi will be all over me like flies and it will be spoiled. I know they’ll get hold of the story eventually, but not yet, not until I’m ready. For now this is just my secret treasure to keep locked away in here.”
She patted her chest and I was wondering how she kept anything locked in there when I realised she meant her heart.
“Who to?” I asked her, keeping my voice low and looking round. Imogene’s smile was radiant as she leant forward and whispered a name in my ear.
“WOW!” I said. “I didn’t even know you were going out with him!”
Imogene laughed. “That, Ruby,” she said, “was the point. It’s extremely hard keeping stuff like this a secret so, please, not word. Promise?”
“I promise,” I said solemnly. She slipped the ring she could not wear back under her top and we went back to the throng that was waiting to see the screening.
Michael White had arrived and a few other people that Jeremy knew, including the large man in the pale blue suit who everybody seemed to gather around, including Art. The last to arrive was Lisa Wells, who was talking on the phone as she swept into the viewing room, smiling and winking at me as she went past.
“OK, guys!” Art called out as we filed into the viewing room, which was a bit like a miniature cinema. “Take your seats. Sit back and enjoy.”
I listened as the swell of the opening music played over the titles of the film and then I leant back in my seat and held my breath.
Preview Report compiled by Lisa Wells for Art Dubrovnik
The Lost Treasure of King Arthur Directed by Art Dubrovnik Starring Imogene Grant, Jeremy Fort, Harry Mclean and Sean Rivers Introducing Ruby Parker
Test audiences in theaters scored the film quite highly with an overall mark of 8/10
For Thrilling Action they gave it an overall score of 9/10
For Plot they gave it an overall score of 7/10
73% said that the plot was sometimes hard to follow
For actors’ performances they gave it an overall score of 7/10
48% would go and see it for Imogene Grant, regardless
9 4% enjoyed her performance
89% enjoyed Jeremy Fort in the role of Professor Darkly
72% were disappointed by Harry McLean, but we have to take into consideration his recent fall in popularity
68% came purely for Sean Rivers in case it was his last film. This alone should ensure a healthy box-office turnover
78% of the test audiences thought that the young actress Ruby Parker made an impressive debut
As an Art Dubrovnik film they scored it 6/10
54% stated they preferred Mr Dubrovnik’s less commercial work. But when asked again to score the film purely on entertainment and enjoyment factor the score went up to 8/10
These scores were compiled from results taken from fifty screenings shown nationwide and represent the views of approximately 5000 people over a wide demographic.
As the credits rolled I leapt out of my seat and applauded wildly. It took me a minute or two to realise I was the only one doing it.
“Sorry,” I said, feeling myself blush. “It’s not cool to applaud yourself, is it?”
Imogene laughed and stood up to Join me. “Sometimes it is,” she said, starting to clap. Gradually, everyone else in the room joined in and we all gave ourselves a standing ovation. Maybe it was a bit like “blowing your own trumpet” as my granny would say, but I thought that considering I had just seen myself for the first time in a proper film I could be let off.
I sat down again as the adults talked. I couldn’t quite believe what I had seen. It was me, but not me. At first, while I was watching, all I could think of was what had happened on the day when that particular scene had been shot, or spotting that I had been wearing costume number four. (I had worn the same school uniform for most of the filming, except that there were thirty-two different versions, each one in a worse state of repair than the last depending on where I was in the story.) Or I found myself thinking that my face looked a bit funny from that camera angle, especially when it was blown up a gazillion times, so you could see all the pores on my nose.
But then I finally saw the shot of my character Polly Harris as she dangled off what now really looked like a real precipice with a fatal drop below. I saw Polly leap into midair and disappear into the black void to her certain death. From that minute on I wasn’t watching me any more. I was watching the film. And perhaps I am biased, but I thought it was pretty good.
The