26 Filming Commercial
The following days, Ann and Lea were very busy. They didn't have time to dwell on what had happened the day before. They had to attend a meeting after meeting for the commercial Ann would be shooting with Sophia. It would be a series of commercials for various brands housed in the Mega department stores.
The first Commercial would be for a brand of baby products, and Ann will be playing the younger version of Sophia as a young mother and will progress to Ann Aging as the child grows up. And for the finale, Sophia will play the older version of Ann, while Ann will play the baby girl's older version.
Sophia was excited when everything was finalized. Finally, finally, they would have a chance to interact with each other, even if it was only through a commercial that was good enough for her. Ann, on the other hand, was nervous. She was not sure how she was going to work with her mother without showing her real emotions.
"You can do this, Ann. This is nothing! This is just a commercial. Once it's finished, you don't have to deal with her again." She kept telling herself, hoping her mind would cooperate.
Finally, it was the first day of the shooting. Sophia didn't have any parts yet, but she still showed up at the set to see if she could give Ann some pointers in acting.
In the first part of the commercial, Ann had to act with a male lead. The day that she was supposed to first meet the male lead, he had another engagement and could not attend the meeting. Ann was curious as to who the mysterious person was.
Ann was getting ready in the dressing room while the makeup artist was doing her finishing touches on her when she heard a voice behind her, "Hi, I'm the 'male lead' of this commercial. My name is Jonathan Lim. Nice to meet you!" He introduced himself to Ann with the sweetest smile on his handsome face; he extended his hand towards her for a handshake.
Ann. was a little taken aback and unable to extend her hand to shake the young man's hand. "Hello, nice to meet you as well!" Ann replied, staring at him without taking his extended hand. Ann's action made Jonathan a little embarrassed. He pulled his hand away and just continued with his bright smile, standing there like a male god statue.
Ann had met many celebrities in America, but she had never met anyone as handsome or as beautiful as Jonathan. Based on her assessment Jonathan was about 6'2", well built, he had dark black hair cut short with a hint of highlight, he had a pointy nose, kissable full lips, and his skin was white as porcelain.
His eyes shocked Ann; they were so green and were complimented by long thick curly lashes. 'Girls, Boys, young or old, will admire him for his looks alone.' Of course, Ann thought to herself, she was no exception. She was captivated by his smile alone.
Still smiling sweetly, Jonathan started to converse with Ann, doing his best to make her feel at ease. This made Ann's anxiety for the upcoming shoot disappear. She had found a new friend in the industry, a very handsome friend who many would envy and probably kill her for it.
They started talking about their past work history and experiences. Ann and Jonathan were having a conversation and did not realize the two pairs of eyes shooting daggers at them at that moment.
Jeff and Claudia arrived at the set at the same time. They greeted each other like strangers then went their different ways to look for their respective partners. Finally, they found the people they were looking for at the exact same location but were in for a shock when they saw them talking very intimately.
Jonathan seemed to have cracked a joke, and Ann was laughing hard. This was the sight they saw when they arrived at the dressing room door, which made the two just about ready to kill someone.
Claudia had managed to get a part in the commercial as Ann's younger sister— through connections, of course. Jeff, on the other hand, was there as the owner of the Mega department stores. He went to the shoot with the pretense of checking on the progress of the new spokesperson his company signed.
Because of that, he couldn't really do or say anything about what he just saw; all he could do was act like the CEO he was and cordially greet both of them, "Good day, Ms. Ann, Mr. Lim..." In his mind, he was imagining strangling Jonathan to death.
Claudia was a different matter, she needed to do something to make Jonathan jealous, so she grabbed Jeff's hand and sweetly said for everyone in the room to hear, "The shoot shouldn't take long, we can have lunch afterward, what do you say? I know you miss me so much, but I do have a job, you know!" she half-heartedly teased Jeff.
Ann was speechless and confused.
Jonathan shook his head and just smiled; he turned his head back to Ann's direction and continued with his conversation as if nothing had happened.
Jeff was contemplating if he should play along with Claudia or flat-out refuse her, 'If I played along with this Snot, Ann might get jealous and come back home. That's not a bad idea.' He thought.
Jeff was about to play along with Claudia's scheme when the Director yelled out, "Everyone to the set, ready for the first shoot! Those that are not in this scene, please step aside."
Claudia and Sophia were not in this scene yet, so they stayed in the background to see how this scene would unfold. Sophia was anxious for Ann, while Claudia was waiting for Ann to make a fool of herself, 'Let's see how good you are, acting high and mighty just because you look like the Diva. Just wait and see, and I will show you who the star of this show is!' Claudia thought to herself.
When Ann and Jonathan walked into the set, everyone's jaw dropped, "Wow! Look how gorgeous they make as a couple. They look like a match made in heaven." One of the cameramen commented, pointing the camera toward them.
"Yes! If they become a love team, their popularity will soar to the sky!" The assistant cameraman said while pointing the angle of the other camera lens to Ann and Jonathan as well.
"I hope they can act too! If they can, there's no telling what will happen in their future." The cameraman replied and continued setting up the equipment.
"Get ready!" Director yelled through the speaker.
Opening act:
The couple (Ann and Jonathan) just received news from the hospital that they will be parents soon. When they hear the news, they will both be excited, and Jonathan will praise his young wife, give her a loving hug, and give her a peck on her cheek. In turn, Ann will have tears of joy and hug him back and tell him how much she loves the idea of having this child with him.
Second act:
The couple will be in the child's bedroom, where they will be decorating the room with all the brand products from that store, showing the viewers how beautiful they look in a place once it's set up. That will be the end of the first product and the first shooting of the commercial.
Take one: scene 1
Ann and Jonathan prepared themselves and sat on the sofa within the set, waiting for their queue.
"Action!" The director yelled. The pair did the scene perfectly in one take, and everyone was amazed at how professional they were. They looked like they were a real couple in love who just received news about the pregnancy. The endearment they showed each other was unbelievable.
CEO Jeff Go and Ms. Claudia Tan were watching this unfold and looked as if they were eating vinegar on the sidelines, ready to stop the shooting if it did not go their way.
Take one: scene 2
Same as the first scene, they did it in one take.
"Congratulations on the first part! You both did a great job. It's a wrap today! We will see you all on location tomorrow for the next part of the commercial." The director announced it to everyone.
Once everyone started clearing the set, Lea, standing by, ran straight towards Ann's direction to give her good news.
"Good news! I just received a call from the casting director for an upcoming drama adaptation, an Asian version of the musical Fame. They want you to try out for the Lead Actress. What do you think?" Lea asked Ann excitedly without realizing that the big bad boss was right there trying to get his wife's attention.
"Which drama is that?" Jonathan asked Lea nonchalantly.
"It's a musical 'The Asian version' which is my special talent, Ann's forte!" Lea said sweetly, looking at Claudia with her eyes saying, 'Take that!'
"Really? I was asked to play in it too, but I turned it down due to conflicts with my schedule, but if Ann is the lead, I will change my schedule around and take the male lead." Jonathan said excitedly, looking at Ann for an answer.
"I will have to see the script first, but I would love to be in the same drama with you!" Ann said, showing her pearly white teeth to Jonathan, blushing.
Claudia, hearing this, excused herself right away. She went to make a phone call to her Agent.
Sophia, who was watching the whole scene unfold in front of her, smiled to herself, "You, my dear daughter, will be the Diva's Princess of Asia in no time," she whispered to herself and walked off the set without anyone noticing.
Jeff, who was just standing there unnoticed by anyone, was now on the verge of going insane, thought to himself, 'Let's see if you become the male lead' he then took his phone out and made a phone call.
