Page 55 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
As if constant media leaks weren’t bad enough, now she wanted toinvitethem inside? Jess chose her words carefully. “What does Doug think?”
“He knows I have a job to do.”
“I think having the press hanging around for the whole day might be quite intrusive,” Jess said. “Can I suggest something else?”
Lisa gave her a sharp look. “Something better?”
“The summer solstice is June twenty-first, and Linford Village celebrates with a party. From a PR point of view, it’d be great for the whole cast and crew to go along. Kind of a win-win for you, us and the village.”
Lisa looked thoughtful. “So it’s like a town fair? Who pays for it?”
“The local county council,” Jess said. “A friend of mine was telling me about it. There’s food and drink and music, that’s all I know.”
“Sounds cute,” Lisa said. “Maybe we could make a contribution – get some stuff the village wouldn’t usually have for it, right? Let’s find out what the local kids might like? What about a Ferris Wheel?”
A Ferris Wheel? Talk about thinking big! “That sounds great.” She nodded. “Leave it with me – I’d like to talk to Anthony first.”
After Lisa left, Jess went next door to Anthony’s office and filled him in.
“I don’t think it’d take a huge contribution from us, Anthony. I get the feeling that Lisa has a big budget and she can afford to splash out a bit. And it would create a lot of goodwill, not just for the studio, but for us. Especially if we want to encourage more movies to be made here in the future.”
He looked pleased. “I’m sure we can manage something, Jess. Let me see what I can do.”
CHAPTER 28
Blue Star Studios, which is filmingAn Irish Inheritancein Mayo’s Linford Castle, has fired Grubbers Food Trucks after most of the cast and crew suffered a bout of food poisoning.TheDailyGlobecanreportthat although lead actors Spencer Torres and Afric Brooks didn’t eat the affected food, most of the cast and crew were forced to take two days off filming after eating unsafe chicken curry. Grubbers, which supplies food trucks for big events, had been onsite at Linford Castle since filming began three weeks ago.
Add to that a growing number of complaints from some of the locals that the paparazzi continue to intrude on the nearby Linford Village, and it seems that the infamous ‘Linford Curse’ is well and truly alive.
Jess examined the mock-up of the changes she’d made to Linford Castle’s website. She’d left the main parts untouched,knowing that the first thing visitors wanted to see was what Linford could offer. But given the premiums they charged, there was no harm in giving them new and exciting reasons to stay. And after last year’s celebrity wedding, she’d come to appreciate just how much their guests loved the magical combination of luxury, history and celebrity.
Using the stills Shauna had provided, she’d put together a montage of photos of the cast and crew from the last few weeks – aiming for a fun, sneak-peek behind-the-scenes feel.
There was a knock on the door. “Come in!”
Holly stepped into the room. “Hey, Jess, just checking if you got that list I emailed you?”
“People you’ve invited to Emily’s party? Yes, I did. I thought it was quite short.” Judging by her initial reaction, she’d been a bit worried that Holly might not understand how important the housewarming was.
“Is it a goodbye party?” Holly had asked.
“Definitely not.” Jess had been firm. “Emily really likes it here, Holly. She just wants to get to know people properly.”
“They’re all the staff around our age,” Holly was saying now. “Emily’s hung out with them at work nights out.”
Jess thought for a moment. “Let’s just invite everyone.”
“Everyone?” Holly’s eyes widened. “Like, Mrs McDonagh and Mr Neary and all the old people? Chef Marco? He’s mad scary. Do you know that he once –”
Jess held up a hand as she managed to keep a straight face. “I get it, Holly. Not everyone will come, but at least they’ll know they’re welcome.”
Holly didn’t look convinced. “I didn’t know Emily was such a party animal. She must be finding Linford mad quiet after living in Dublin.”
“No, she loves it,” Jess said firmly. “She’s just keen to make new friends, yeah?”
Holly pulled a face. “I can invite everyone, so – that’s easy.” She paused. “What’s her flat like?”
“Big enough,” Jess said. “And there’s a balcony. I’m going to suggest she invites her neighbours so we can use the hallway too.”
