Chapter 263: Tea Rose
Matthew listened as his long-term employee tried to explain film budgets to his inexperienced, temporary employee. So far, both men had been unsuccessful in convincing Mina the benefits of go big or go home.
"Mina, let's put it this way. What you are suggesting would be good for a teen film, but not every work." Mina nodded. That was something she could understand. There was no one size fits all in the film industry.
"Did you source locally?" Mina asked and Matthew raised an eyebrow.
"We tried, but there were no shops that carried a large amount of tea roses in all of Pan," Matthew admitted.
"Really?" Mina asked with a finger to her chin. Which caught Peters attention.
"Do you know of a place?" Peter asked, and Mina tilted her hand from side to side.
"Not specifically tea roses, but there is a shop near New Providence in south Pan that carries many rare rose breeds."
"Where is that?" Matthew asked and Mina turned to face him with a bright smile.
"It's where I'm from," Mina admitted. "I vaguely remember the florist at that shop dropping his elderly mother off at the community center. He gave me one of those roses as a thank you for always helping to take care of his mother while he and his wife were away at work." Matthew and Peter looked at each other.
"Did the man say where he had gotten it?"
"He said his wife accidentally acquired the seeds, and instead of trashing them they grew them in their greenhouse. I remember the couple saying that they didn't know what the roses were but after finding out that they were an expensive breed, they saw no market for them, so they gave them away to friends and relatives."
"Is the shop listed?" Peter asked and Mina's eyes narrowed.
"They aren't in trouble, are they?" Both men shook their heads.
"No, it's just that it is extremely difficult to grow that type of rose in Pan. The amount I spent was in part due to the care and maintenance the flowers required once they arrived on set." Mina nodded.
"I guess it is good to know your environment," Mina quipped. Matthew was annoyed by the small jab. He had overlooked small shops in his quest for perfection and Mina had inadvertently rubbed it in his face. He knew he hired her to tell him like it was, but he did not like hearing it.
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Mina had finished reviewing Director Porter's filmography records and now had enough figures to at least be helpful, but not enough to be an asset. She now knew that spending anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000 on a film location was normal. Props could tack another $500,000 to that amount, and acting fees varied depending on popularity, screen time and gender.
Director Porter used little CGI in his films and preferred to build his sets from scratch. When Mina asked Peter about it, he said that his boss believed that entertainers performed better when they could immerse themselves in their environment.
Mina thought back to the conversation her boss had with Miss Lisa, if what the woman had said was true, her studio would be amazing. It could eliminate the need for travel, it contained several false homes, and even a fake forest.
Mina was still doing the mental math regarding the potential savings when Mr. Peter told her they were ready to leave.
Mina jumped out of the chair and made her way toward the men who led her out of the building and into a waiting car. It was just after 10AM and the men suggested grabbing breakfast along the way, which Mina was quick to agree to.
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Mathew sat quietly in the back of the extended vehicle. He was sipping his coffee while reading through a script, he nodded his head from time to time making little notations on the pieces of paper. After a while, he handed the text to Peter, who then handed their boss yet another script, without looking away from his phone.
This went on for some time before Peter gasped and handed his device to Director Porter. Both men cast their eyes toward Mina who was staring at them with a bewildered expression.
"What is your relationship to President Ian Lee?" Matthew asked Mina, causing the girl's eyebrows to raise in surprise.
"What are you looking at?" she asked suspiciously, and Mr. Peter handed her his device.
Mina looked at the screen and melted into the seat a few inches. She really did not understand how people kept managing to take her photo without her notice. Mina figured the best way to explain the image of her getting into President Lee's car was to be as honest as possible.
"I have a business arrangement with the Lee's. Out of jealousy, someone put my name in the drawing for the bachelorette auction with a blank card. President Lee helped me redeem my image. When I stepped out of the venue, I did not expect his guard to offer me a ride."
"The article says he went straight to Western Elle." Which was the neighborhood that contained the Lee Mansion.
"At the time, I had been staying there with a friend," Mina admitted.
Director Porter flung his script to the side and sat up straight looking directly at Mina who he could tell was hiding something.
"Are you dating him?" he asked and Mina denied it emphatically.
"I am single," stated Mina, which gained a smile from her boss. That was good news to him.
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The trio arrived at the set, which Mina could tell from the outside was small. Peter had already explained that his boss was shooting a web series that revolved around a piano instructor falling in love with one of his students, who happened to be going blind.
Unaware of his students' struggles, the instructor is ruthless in his requirements, but his student is refreshed by the fact that he does not pity her. In the end, she loses her sight completely after her last competition as her instructors' apprentice.
The two-part ways when months later the instructor comes to hear of his past students' condition. He decides to visit her and to apologize for his past behavior but, he is forced to confront his feelings for her when he discovers that she has gotten engaged during the time they were apart.
Unfortunately, the student believes the instructors 'love' is a form of pity and she rejects his confession. In short, the series revolves around the instructor trying to prove his love to a woman he was cruel to by making her feel his affections. Appealing to the senses she retained to show her how much he cared.
Mina scoffed at the storyline, it was a typical love story, but she was genuinely interested in how director Porter was going to portray each scene. She explored the environment and found herself fascinated with how each small room was set up.
As she did, Director Peter explained the equipment and props while Mina found them on the budget list and made a note of the expense.
Never in life did Mina foresee her taking such a huge detour along her career path and she hoped that she could send all that she earned in the next thirty days directly to her parents. In Mina's mind, there was nothing like a future beyond that.