raisetheearth | (no subject)

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pharos

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Who: Phillip and representative of United Studios
Where: The United Studios building
When: 11/20ish or thereabouts
What: Phillip's been going to a lot of call backs for a TV role, and this is the final one!
Status: Closed

Phillip's not sure he's ever been to this many callbacks, ever, and he's been doing theater for a while. But even though he hasn't actually done anything with TV or film or... anything other than theater yet, he can tell that they're worlds apart.

So now he's here for what he thinks is the final call back (he's thought that at least twice already, so he's not totally convinced), seated nervously in the waiting area. He's not entirely sure what he's going to be hit with in there, and his mother's already told him like five times not to agree to anything until someone else looks over it but... he's excited. He's not sure how much he cares about whatever might come in a contract as long as it's something he actually gets to do. He might actually get his break.

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United Studios was one of those companies that emerged from the ashes of the invasion. Not only had much of the entertainment industry relocated to Gateway City, but numerous companies had merged. Now, they were a force to be reckoned with, covering multiple branches of the entertainment industry... including the audience for young people.

There new show was something they were producing for their acquisitions on cable television, marketed towards preteens and teenagers. Someone they could attach a music component to, for synergy with their other divisions. The show's name was "Slater and Slater", about two best friends, Terry and Billy, who had the same last name, and had to solve missions for their incompetent secret agent father while juggling Terry's musical aspirations.

It was the kind of vapid, scriptomatic-produced tripe that had been conceived by committee rather than creatively, and executive producer Michael Morrison cared less about the quality of it and more that they could make money off of it. That's why he'd stepped into the casting process, because the studio needed someone they could market. The director, already chafing under the control the producer had, sat beside him, and was only there because he had to be.

This would be the first time he'd met Philip Santorini, but as Philip was brought into the room, he smiled at him like an old friend. "Philip Santorini!" he exclaimed, standing up and offering him his hand. "I'm Michael Morrison, the Executive Producer! It's great to finally meet you!"

Phillip hadn't gotten to look at... well, any of the script yet, but he'd heard from more than one person in his theater group that as long as it wasn't the worst thing ever produced, he should be able to come back from it. Getting your foot in the door was the hardest part, and if he could do that, then maybe it didn't matter so much what he was working on. He's... not entirely sure how much he likes that, but it's not like he's going to argue with people who have way more experience than he does in just about everything.

And, even as overwhelmed as Phillip is about this entire thing, he is fairly marketable. Even if he doesn't know it. (He can sing pretty well, and he's obviously going to be a very pretty young man. He's marketable.)

Aaaand oh god that's a producer or something. Don't panic. "Hello, sir!" he says, happy that he has enough acting skills to bite down on his growing nerves and smiling as brightly as always, taking the man's hand, "It's nice to meet you too."

Edited 2015-11-20 10:50 (UTC)

As Morrison and Philip shake hands, the director rolls his eyes a bit. Does he even want to be here? Does he want to put up with all of this? If only he didn't need the money this job would bring him.

Morrison grinned. An impressionable kid, eager for his big break. This was the kind of person he'd learned to be able to pick out.

"Have a seat, Philip," he said. "We have good news for you. VERY good news."

Phillip, who is entirely too preoccupied with not looking as nervous as he feels, misses the eyeroll completely. He's also too naive about the industry (from the film end of things especially) to even realize maybe that's something he should be looking for.

And good news, well, that's just something to be excited about! Phillip sits down, now also having to work not to fidget as he looks between the men in front of him. He... sort of notices the director doesn't look that enthusiastic but he can't figure out why. "What, sir?" he asks, trying not to sound too eager.

"We've decided to give you the part," Morrison replied. "You impressed us with your audition... well, I suppose I saw it after the fact, but when I saw the recordings, I knew we'd found our Terry Slater!"

More like he knew once he saw the boy's references included Benjamin Factor, and that he'd already made a presence for himself by speaking at that pro-Numbered event. He was talented, sure, but it was easier to build up a star when they'd done a bit of the work themselves.

"This is a big opportunity for you, young man. We're going to be very successful together."

And poor naive Phillip doesn't notice anything about this conversation that isn't on the surface. He just hears 'you got the part' and any other processing doesn't really happen beyond that. He's got his break. It actually happened.

He grins, the brightest smile he is capable of because restraining that is entirely too hard. "Thank you very much!" is what he manages to say, other than making any undignified noises. That's tempting to do.

Morrison smiled. The same kind of smile he gave everyone, whether they were arguing with him or hanging on his ever word.

"Yes, well, thank you for being so damn talented. Now, I suppose we can go over the contract and discuss our offer and-"

"Are you really going to do this without the kid's guardian here?" the director said, speaking up, an expression on his face that looked weary. "I mean, we have to make sure of that at least, right?"

Morrison blinked, his lips twisting into a frown for the briefest of seconds. "Ah, well, yes of course. For the formal agreement, of course."

Oh, right. That would be the part about his mother telling him not to sign anything yet. "I could text my mom and ask her to come?" he offers, in what he hopes is a helpful fashion. She is the one who wanted to be present for this- being a contract lawyer herself and all- but she's been... busy, so she didn't stay.

"Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea," Morrison said, tersely. "I mean, it's only right, isn't it?"

The director merely smirked, showing the first bit of enthusiasm since Philip came in. "I'm Scott Forbes, by the way," he said. "You'll be working with me on the show, Philip."

...Phillip isn't sure why he's reacting like that, and that sends up a little warning flag in his mind. But, once again he's distracted. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Forbes!" He must be the director then... hopefully they'll get along.

He will text his mother, who informs him she'll be there in ten to twenty minutes, which he passes along to the two adults. It feels a little weird to have to wait for his mother on something like this, but honestly he doesn't care as much as he normally might.

Scott smiled. He had a feeling he'd be looking out for this boy a fair amount from here on out.

With that, it was only a matter of waiting for Philip's mother to arrive, and for the meeting to proceed. In that time, they simply covered the role Philip would be playing, and the general image for the character.

The role sounds... interesting, Phillip thinks. It's a little silly, but a lot in theater is silly, so as long as it's written well it should be good! And he's sure it will be. Why would you put so much money into something if it's not going to be done well? He's very attentive, already trying to get an idea of how his character might act in his head when his mother arrives.

Said woman is a contract lawyer, though not usually for the entertainment industry, so she will be looking over the fine print.

Once Philip's mother arrives, they begin going over the contract. The contract is straightforward, covering Philip's role on the show, press and promotional appearances related to the show, Philip's involvement with their music label, and the level of payment he'd receive along with royalties.

Of course, the initial agreement wasn't exactly in Philip's best interests, which is why Philip would be starstruck enough to push for it before everything was finalized.

"So, Mrs. Santorini," Morrison said, through a false smile. "Is this to your... agreement?"

"I'm sure that the studio would be willing to negotiate if you don't think it's Philip's best interest," Scott replied, with a smug look on his face.

Mrs. Santorini might not specialize in the entertainment industry, but she's still a good lawyer. She's noticing some things that even her star-eager 13 year old would have some trouble coping with, if he had any idea what they meant. She's also well trained at totally ignoring her son's hopeful face, so she will say there are a few points that she would like to negotiate.

Phillip is made a bit anxious by that, since he's not at all sure how stable his ground is here for neogitating even if he had any idea how to do so, so when his mother and Morrison are 'discussing' terms, he'll look between the producer and Scott, sort of trying to figure out if they get along or not. ...He's guessing no.

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