Trudy Kitten hoisted the box onto the desk, setting it down with a thudding blow that caused the papers on the desk to scatter. Steve Morrow eyed the box on his desk, while Trudy took a breath and rubbed her arms.
"What exactly am I looking at, Trudy?"
"A very heavy box of film reels," Trudy popped her knuckles and limbered her fingers, "the home movies the Boss wanted to see."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that project." Steve opened the box and pawed through an assortment of 16mm cans. Each had been carefully labelled so it could be returned to the owner after the project had been completed. It was a fun idea, Steve thought, assembling snippets from home movies to give the audience an inside look at the annie stars.
"Most everybody contributed a reel," Trudy said, "Wendy, Doris, Sugar, Missy. Yvette said she didn't have any home movies, but just about everyone else is in there. Daisy, Minerva, Lois, Misty, Dixie." Steve opened one can and inspected the film in the light.
"All color film?"
"Most of it. Some girls said all they had was black and white. We did all seem to be able to dig up the kind of shots the Boss wanted, though. Trips to the beach, the lake, the pool. Plenty of cheesecake."
"I'll go through them with him tomorrow, probably. I'll be sure to keep track of the reels, so you'll all get back what's yours."
"Showing home movies of the stars really isn't that fresh of an idea, is it?"
"Nobody has done this sort of thing for annies yet, particularly for our glamor starlets. We can assemble a featurette for screen or for television, and it'll practically be free. All we need to fill in is some host segments."
"I think Misty would be best for that."
"Why Misty?"
"She's so glamorous."
"She is that," Steve mulled things over as he put the film back in it's can, "but I have a feeling the Boss may want to play up the every-girl aspect that most studios overlook. I think we need someone sweet and instantly lovable."
"Who do you have in mind?"
"Nobody yet. What do you think?"
"It could be an interesting idea. I take it the whole point is to show the stars as regular people. Maybe that's what it needs, a hostess who's not a star."
"Not a star," Steve thought aloud, "but looks like one. Warm and friendly, natural charisma, an annie... I think I know just the girl. But, I don't know if she'll do it. The Boss has been trying to sign her for a while now, but no soap."
"Do I know her, Steve?"
"If you don't, you probably heard of her. Crissy Carrots. Well, Crissy Ralphwit now. She married the son of the annie who founded the Wydmark Rifle Company. As soon as they settle the legal stuff, he'll be the owner of the company."
"Oh, yeah," Trudy nodded, "she's that cute little rabbit who married the wolf. I remember seeing their picture in the papers... Something about a murder attempt on her, and he saved her life."
"The Boss has been wanting her to join the studio for a few years now, ever since he met her in the market."
"Not interested in being a star, eh?"
"I think she enjoys her life too much to give acting a second thought. Having her host the home movie clips is a pretty good idea, though. I'll stop by her place and see if I can talk her into it. You should see her house, Trudy. Right on the river, with a big lagoon right in the back yard."
"I'm not doing anything for the rest of the day. If that's an invite to tag along, I'd be happy to." Trudy was indeed impressed by Crissy's house. As she looked out the back door onto the lagoon only feet away, Trudy could see why Crissy would prefer it to a pool. Beyond the lagoon was the river itself, and beyond that a serene riverbank before a picturesque spread of wilderness. It was a paradise.
"How'd you ever find this place?" Trudy asked as Crissy sat at the table with Steve and Roger. Crissy puffed her cigarette as she looked out the open door to see what had Trudy so impressed. The sight through that door never failed to put a smile on Crissy's face.
"I found it by accident, really," Crissy offered, "I got lost one day and couldn't find my way back onto the main road. When I saw this spot, I knew I wanted to build my dream house here."
"And what a cute house you built," Trudy grinned, "I never would've thought to build a house under the roots of a tree."
"I wanted to hollow out the whole tree and have a second cottage up in the branches, but doing so would have killed the tree. That wouldn't be as picturesque."
"We could even use some of your home movies, Crissy." Steve tried to get the conversation back to the movie. Crissy thought it over.
"We really haven't taken a lot of home movies since we got married," Crissy offered, "at least not anything we'd want to share with the public. I appreciate the offer, Steve, but I'm really not interested in getting into the movies. Why not use Trudy here?" Trudy turned back from the door again.
"The idea is to have a hostess that isn't already a known personality. I may not be Zsa Zsa Gabor or anything, but I do have a face our audience is familiar with. If a civilian, as it were, was hosting the clips, it would better reflect the way life is here in Creek Bend."
"You know," Roger mused, "a documentary about Creek Bend itself would be pretty interesting. How many small towns have a suburb and a movie studio?"
"Crissy would be the ideal hostess for that, too," Steve ground the butt of his cigarette into the ashtray, "despite living out here in the wild, I think you could make a case that Cris is really the face of Creek Bend."
"How do you figure that?" Crissy tilted her head in curiosity.
"Your family is such a presence in this town," Steve said, "as well as parts of Ludley and Amsterville, but the main street of Creek Bend has the Carrots name all over it. You worked for your relatives in various businesses as a teenager, you became a regular sight. You may not get into town as often as you used to, but you leave an impression. People like you, and most everyone in town knows you."
"Say I could talk Crissy into doing your picture," Roger reached out and took Crissy's hand, "what exactly would she have to do? How long would it take?"
"Not long. Maybe four days. All she'd have to do is walk around a set and talk to the camera. And her lines would all be scripted."
"It would take four days to talk to a camera?" Crissy wondered.
"Well, we might try to spice things up so it's not just someone walking around on a bare set. We could have a set made to look like a living room, and Crissy could be manning a projector while she makes her comments. Some of the stars could even come in to help set up the clips. Most of our girls are friends with Crissy anyway, so it would make perfect sense for her to share scenes with them."
"Let me tell you something, Steve," Crissy sighed, "and then tell me if you think I should really go through with this. Back in high school I did a lot of the school plays. I tried to have fun, but I was really only there because the other kids drafted me into the female lead. I never liked having all those people watching me as I pretended to be someone else. I'm not against acting, but it isn't for me."
"You'd be playing yourself. You'd even have final say on the lines we want you to read."
"You know me, Steve, I'm always willing to help, but I'm just not interested in being on camera." Crissy turned to Roger. "What would you think about it?"
"I have no strong feelings either way," Roger shrugged, "I've never dreamed about being married to a movie star, but I'd not hold you back if you wanted to be one."
"I'm not sure I'd like it. Trudy, honestly, tell me what it's like to do what you do."
"Well," Trudy thought, "I enjoy it, but then it's something I wanted to do. I will say this. If you were just to try it out to see if you wanted to do it more, this would be the perfect project. If everyone in town already knows you, I don't think starring in one movie is going to change your life that much."
"You'd get more mail," Steve offered, "that's about the only immediate impact I can think of."
"All I can do is promise to think about it, Steve" Crissy said, "I'll call you tomorrow afternoon, okay?"
On the drive back to town, Trudy marveled at the beautiful scenery. She turned to Steve.
"I don't think she'll do it."
"Why not?"
"Best case scenario, she's a hit and the Boss finally talks her into a contract. She becomes a star and has to move closer to the studio. I don't think I'd give up all this if I lived out here."
"I guess it's a good thing you were already an actress before you moved here."
"I thought I had a nice place in town, a relaxing atmosphere and a quiet pace. After seeing the place Roger and Crissy have, I still feel like a big city girl."
"I guess it really is all relative. Patty and I moved here from L.A. and we enjoy the privacy. It's nothing compared to what Rog and Crissy have, though. I don't think I'd want to leave it either."
"Maybe some girl from the TV station would be a better fit. Someone who isn't known to the world at large but has some experience with the technical side of the process."
"That's a thought. Or even one of the wives of someone at the studio. Really, we're getting ahead of ourselves. We don't even know yet how much of that home movie footage is going to work for this little project of ours."
"You know, more of us should take these quiet drives in the country. To remind us of just how fast we live our lives in the picture business."
"I can't argue that."
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