Colton stood up and led the crew in a thunderous round of applause that echoed through the studio. A collective cheer went up, a joyous roar from workers thrilled at the prospect of clocking out early.
Cedric couldnât tear his eyes away from the footage heâd captured. Even now, he was still reeling from Ivyâs pure and spirited performance.
No, it wasnât just a performance. She was the character herself.
No trace of artifice, none of that contrived air usually seen in trained actors and actresses. This newcomer, Ivy, was indeed destined for stardom.
With years in the industry under his belt, Cedric had seen it all. Some folks, they just had that spark, the kind you couldnât envy because it canât be taught.
Ivy bowed shyly, her voice a soft whisper of gratitude. âThank you everyone. Youâve all worked so hard.
Thank you so much.â
It wasnât until Ivy nailed that scene that the crew could finally breathe easy.
âMan, that was close,â exclaimed one of the techs, hand on her heart as if to calm it. âI thought weâd have to scrap the scene. again, but Ivy had all her lines down pat.â
âYeah, I told you, Ivyâs always quiet, always with her nose in the script. Turns out she was silently memorizing every word of it,â someone else chimed in.
Usually, for the kind of films where the script might flip on a dime, actors wouldnât bother to memorize their lines too intensely. After all, their lines could change at any moment, rendering all that hard work moot.
But today Ivy had proved that, sometimes knowing your lines by heart is the best insurance.
âYou guys havenât seen Ivy memorize. I swear her eyes are like snapshot cameras, taking a picture a second, and snap â sheâs got it all down. Bet if we all tried to out-memorize her, sheâd leave us in the dust.â
âColton certainly hit the jackpot with her, didnât he?â Cedric quipped as he sidled up to Giselle, camera still in hand. He had a keen sense for the undercurrents of the set. He didnât need to guess what was going on. He just knew. It looked like someone was worried about their spot in the limelight and had made their move.
But Cedric wasnât concerned with the drama. He and Giselle werenât exactly friends, and it was clear sheâd brought him in for his usefulness.
And if Ivy was as promising as she seemed, why wouldnât he help launch her career?
Colton, meanwhile, was lavishing praise on Ivy. âThe subtlety in your expressions was spot on. Mark my words, if you keep this up, by yearâs end weâll be sending this film to international festivals, and youâll be in the running for Best Actress.â
Ivyâs cheeks blazed a bashful red. âColton, donât flatter me. Iâm just focusing on doing justice to your film. As for awards, Iâm still too much of a novice for Best Actress.â.
The producer laughed heartily. âDonât sell yourself short. Talent like yours combined with humility?
Youâre making it tough for the rest of us to keep up. Coltonâs got an intuition for these things. If he says youâve got a shot at an award, Iâd start getting my hopes up if I were you.â
Ivy bit her lip, allowing herself a moment to dream about the future, about one day standing on a stage and accepting an award, realizing her dream through the art of acting.
Back in his car, Cedric had already cut the behind-the-scenes footage and tweeted it out with a catchy headline, âFresh Face Discovered by Famed Director Colton: Behind-the-scenes Glimpse Shows Astonishing Talent. Coltonâs Got an Eye for Stars!â
The video went viral in an instant, drawing in gossip-hungry netizens. A swarm of Giselleâs fans were also eager to see the new talent whoâd snagged their idolâs role.