~
Jenna had worked as a film extra before and during drama school and her one worry had been getting snubbed by the actors. As with everything in life, some people were lovely, some were arseholes, and actors were no different. Jenna vowed that however successful she got, she’d always make time for everyone – cast, crew and extras alike. A handful of bad experiences when she was younger made Jenna notice how actors treated people. The more famous they were, the more she noticed. Milo commanded attention, but he also made time for everyone, chatting with the crew, flirting with the make-up ladies, teasing one of the supporting artists, and that made him all right in Jenna’s mind. She came to that conclusion during the first two days of filming with him. He was good looking and fit as anything, but that didn’t always go hand in hand with being decent.
She mostly had scenes with Lily and Amanda, but there were plenty with Milo too, and Timothy, plus a few of the older character actors who she hadn’t met yet. There’d be plenty of time to get to know everyone better, and she was already firm friends with Lily and Amanda who were a similar age and at a similar point in their career. And although Milo was hugely successful and much further along in his career than she was, he sought her out, chatting to her between takes, inviting her to sit with him at lunch and waving her over whenever he saw her. It was noticeable because he didn’t do that with Lily and Amanda, unless they were all together.
~
The heat increased as the week went by and continued over the weekend and into the second week of the shoot. A heat wave from Spain caused chaos in the UK which was unused to those kinds of temperatures and not set up for working in such conditions. The location where Jenna was filming also changed from the cool but cramped farmhouse and yard shaded by a sweet chestnut tree, to the suntrap of a sandy beach backed by cliffs. By the afternoon on the hottest day, everyone was flagging with the sun relentlessly beating down and a shimmery heat haze over the golden sand. Jenna envied the holidaymakers who got to spend lazy days on a beach beneath the shade of an umbrella, swimming in the sea and splashing about in rock pools. Filming on a beach wasn’t quite the same when downtime was beneath the shade of a roasting-hot marquee wearing a 1940s swimming costume. And no sunbathing was allowed. No one wanted to risk the cast getting sunburn. There were times she had to remind herself how lucky she was to work on a big-budget film on location in a beautiful part of the world.
Chapter Seven
‘That’s a wrap!’ The First AD’s announcement was met with a collective sigh of relief from everyone. ‘Let’s get out of here before we all get heat stroke.’
It was nearly two in the afternoon and the temperature wouldn’t have been out of place in the Mediterranean. The beach had little shade, the marquee for use between takes was as hot as an oven. Even umbrellas held over the actors plus copious amounts of cold bottled water did little to help. Everyone was hot, sticky, sweaty and miserable. No wonder countries like Greece and Spain had siestas. All Jenna could think about was lying down somewhere cool.
In the minibus on the way back to the base everyone was talking about cooling off in the pool at the hotel before heading to the nearest pub for a beer. It sounded rather appealing to Jenna, but at least the cottage with its thick stone walls kept the heat out. It was unbearably hot in the costume tent, and no one stayed longer than they needed. With relief, they slipped back into more comfortable summer clothes.
‘Come back to the hotel with us,’ Lily said as they escaped the stickiness of the tent for the equally humid air outside.
‘Maybe later.’
‘I’ll message you.’
They split off; Lily to the minibus that was taking some of the cast back to the hotel, while Jenna got into her baking hot car. Sweat immediately beaded her forehead. She started the engine and wound down the windows, cursing that her car didn’t have air-conditioning. Her top stuck to her back as she bumped out of the field and turned into the lane. Warm air rushed in as she picked up speed. She squinted in the brightness even with her sunglasses on. As she went over a hill, the countryside spread out in front of her, a mirage of greens with splashes of colour breaking up the view: the gleaming white of a cottage; the mustard-yellow of a field of rape; the red, pink and blue of wild flowers in the hedgerows; the deep blue cloud free sky.
She’d only been in Cornwall for little more than a week but driving back to the cottage felt like she was going home. Even more than her flat in London did – it was where she slept, showered and cooked food, but she had no affinity to the place. Yes, she liked having her own space but she didn’t
