Chapter 20: Premiere

It took David a week to complete the paperwork involved with starting at USC again, and then he had to scramble to catch up with four weeks worth of material. Melanie, too, was very busy. It was her ambition to get the necessary grades to be accepted at Med School regardless of her celeb status and she spent most evenings at her desk studying. Add to this that Dani was also trying to fit into a very good prep school, and the three young people did not have much time for goofing off.

By late October, Jeanne visited LA to present the almost finished movie to the American distributors. Her aloof assistant was accompanying her and giving Judy the hairy eyeball, much to David and Melanie's amusement. For the first time, David, Melanie and the rest of the family had a chance to see Lockout as it would be shown to the world.

David was blushing every time a scene with him was showing. He thought he was atrocious as an actor. Melanie laughingly agreed with him, Dani and Judy defended him, but it was Jeanne who summed it up.

"He cannot act to save his life, but he is cute enough to get away with it."

David squawked, but Josh laughed.

"Take heart, Davy. That could have summed up Mel's acting too, and now she's an Oscar winner!"

Later that evening, Jeanne's assistant organized Melanie and David's PR obligations. The world premiere in Paris was a given and not a problem as it was on a Saturday evening. Mel would have two TV appearances in France on the same weekend, also easily manageable. A week later, the movie would premiere in London, Berlin and Rome. This meant that the cast would have to be spread out. Melanie and David were assigned the Berlin premiere, mostly due to the fact that Herz aus Glas had been extremely well received in Germany. They would also appear as guest stars in a game show on German television.

Still a week later, but on a Thursday, Lockout, was scheduled to open in the USA. Melanie and David would attend the opening in LA, Wesley Graham and Solange Daladier would cover New York, and Jeanne would be in Chicago. On Friday evening, after a talk show appearance in Burbank, Melanie and David were scheduled in San Francisco.

David made a face realizing that this would screw up three weekends at the minimum, but then again he could not complain. A check from Jeanne's production company over $70,000 for his participation in Lockout had given him the additional funds needed to attend USC, with enough left over to pay for a badly needed diamond ring. He would just have to grin and bear the aggravation.

A private tutor would also meet with him a few times to coach him for the interviews and talk show appearances. He felt that this would also help him in his function of spokesperson for USC fundraisers.

Jeanne's meetings with the distributors went very well. Lockout would start in over 1,000 theaters nationwide, which was big for a French language movie with subtitles. Obviously, Melanie's name was a big factor in this, this being her first movie after the Oscar win. David learned then that Melanie had also invested in the movie, to cover costs incurred in the frantic post production efforts, and she now held a stake in it giving her producer status. The reason for the frantic post production schedule also became clear – there were no front runners yet for the foreign movie Oscar nominations, so Jeanne wanted it out before the year ended.

Out of necessity, the schedules for Melanie and David became just a little bit crazy as both tried to get ahead with their studies to compensate for the three lost weekends in November and December. Adding to the pressure was the wedding of Judy and Josh. It was planned for the New Year's Day in front of Judge Herbert, at the Clearwater County Court House. David would give the bride away, with Melanie, Dani and Leslie Cramer serving as bridesmaids. Several of Josh's partners would be attending the ceremony and the celebrations afterwards, so he had simply rented the entire Clearwater Inn motel for his guests.

David still had the tux from the Oscar night, so he was covered there, but Melanie and Dani had to coordinate their dresses with Leslie Cramer. This logistical problem was solved when the Clearwater Posse played a gig in LA with Kylie and Cliff Henson, allowing the three young women to do the selection and fitting together at a bridal outfitter on Rodeo Drive.

On the last Thursday in November, at 3:45, David and Melanie boarded a direct flight to Paris, arriving shortly before noon the following day. After clearing immigration and customs, they were picked up by Jeanne in person. The temperamental old lady drove them to her own apartment where they would stay in a guest room.

The place was an amazing collection of movie memorabilia from a half century and more. Even some furniture pieces had been movie props. Jeanne gave them a brief tour, but then left for a last minute meeting, giving Melanie and David a chance to shower and catch a few badly needed hours of sleep.

That evening, Jeanne took them to dinner at a small restaurant where the walls were covered with portraits of famous French actors. It probably was no coincidence that their table was right under the picture of Marc Renault. He had been a good looking SOB, David acknowledged, even with the cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth – his hallmark and cause of death. Melanie looked sadly at the picture but then smiled at David.

"It's sad that I miss him more than M ... Lana," she remarked.

Jeanne announced that she had preordered food for them as a surprise. Obviously, the old woman was not above playing practical jokes on them, because the main course for David was a gargantuan Burger with thick, hand-cut fries and a side salad. David grinned and attacked the food with gusto. If she wanted to upset him, a half pound of sirloin beef was definitely the wrong approach.

After dinner, two selected and trusted reporters arrived and sat at their table. From what David understood, they were given background information on the making of Lockout. They mostly asked questions of Jeanne and Melanie, but David had to give them a brief rundown of his own involvement too. They were professional and courteous, nothing like the vultures that had populated Melanie's press conference after Brentano's death.

By 11 o'clock, they were back in Jeanne's apartment where they went to bed almost immediately. David slept lightly, waking up frequently and once even getting up for an hour to read, and he felt dog tired when breakfast was served at 9 o'clock the next morning. The strong coffee revived him sufficiently before he and Melanie were whisked off to a tailor. Here they were fitted with their wardrobe for the evening, a powder blue suit for David and a cherry red, knee length cocktail dress for Melanie. David's shirt was color matched with Melanie's dress while she had a short capé matching David's suit. Even her purse was powder blue.

Later that Friday, they had a meeting with the distributor together with Wesley Graham and Solange Daladier. More reporters were there, but David only had to answer two questions. David had a chance to exchange a few words with both Wesley and Solange, his first chance to learn something about Solange with whom he'd had only one brief scene. She was an impressive lady, born to dirt-poor Tunisian immigrants, and working her way up through provincial theaters until she played her first leading role in Lockout at age 34.

Wes Graham was a Franco-Canadian from Quebec province, a third generation immigrant with Nigerian roots. He spoke English and French equally well and had earned a masters degree in Anthropology before focusing on his acting vocation. He handled the Q&A with ease.

Melanie received a lot of questions and not many of them had to do with Lockout. She held up well David thought, but she did not smile until a female reporter spotted the ring on her hand. Beaming she admitted to being engaged to David and they had to pose for photographs together.

They had dinner in a very fancy – only celebs and money royalty allowed – restaurant with a few bigwigs from the distributor and from French television. Melanie threatened with dire repercussions should David order a burger and he settled for an entrecote. Fortunately, the bigwigs were used to negotiations with American and British partners and they spoke fluent English, allowing David to be included in the dinner conversation. Still, he would have preferred dining with Melanie alone.

David slept better that night, doubtlessly aided by the demi-litre of sinfully expensive Saint Emilion red wine he was compelled to consume with dinner. Melanie was a bit grumpy when their alarm clock went off and David spent about twenty minutes between her thighs to get her out of her funk.

They had some time at their hands after breakfast and one of Jeanne's production assistants took them on a whirlwind tour of Paris. It was chilly up on the Eiffel Tower, but the view was great. There was no need for them to make snapshots since a stills photographer was coming along, taking many shots of Melanie and some even of Melanie and David before typical Parisian backdrops.

After the Eiffel Tower, they walked the Cité, with its palaces and with the famous Notre Dame cathedral. David did a credible hunchback impression carrying a shrieking Melanie into the church, much to the delight of a bunch of tourists who snapped away with their cameras and cell phones. The stills photographer, Alain, also got in a few good shots. With Melanie's celeb bonus (or rather Jeanne's clout) they were allowed to skip the lines at the Conciergerie and check out the Ste. Chapelle.

Next they insisted on crossing the river to the Rive Gauche where they viewed the famous Sorbonne University. They stopped for coffees and sandwiches at a cafè on the Place St. Michel, before their tour moved on to the Louvre. Again they were given the celeb treatment, skipping the lines and being shown the most important exhibits by a special guide and in a mere 2 hours. An official photographer of the museum joined the little entourage and snapped pictures of Melanie at every opportunity.

Then it was back to Jeanne's apartment where no fewer than six make-up and wardrobe people joined forces to bring Jeanne, Melanie and an amused David into premiere shape. The whole shindig started at 7:30, with Jeanne and the director, Jaques Alcor, arriving in their limos. The composer and four of the more prominent supporting actors were next, and then David and Melanie's limo was ordered to drive up. There was a huge crowd in front of the grand old cinema where the premiere took place. David looked through the tinted window and shook his head.

"It's a circus out there. Are you ready, Mel?"

She gave him a brave smile. "As long as you're by my side."

"Uh, Mel? Don't walk so fast this time."

She actually grinned at the weak pun. "Asen!"

This was different from the Oscar night. David alighted first and then offered his hand to help Melanie from the car. She was wearing unaccustomed five inch heels and clung to his arm for dear life as they walked the gauntlet of reporters, photographers and fans. They stopped for a brief Q&A with the news people, with David dealing with the English speaking contingent.

"Dan Myers, BBC. Mr. Olsen, how does it feel to attend this premiere with Melanie Renault?"

It was one of the questions David's tutors had anticipated and trained him for.

"It feels right," he therefore answered with a smile. "Hey, we're a couple after all."

"What is your response to Hugh Dumont's allegation that you used your friendship with Miss Renault to steal his role?"

"Well, I was not on the set when Mr. Dumont had his accident, but I was given to understand that he fell short of the expectations even before he was injured. I was only helping out with lighting tests and having fun being an extra when Madame Renault had the crazy idea that I should play opposite Melanie. As you will see in a short while, I am not an aspiring actor. I can move a basketball and I can look like a lovesick idiot around Melanie. I guess that's all in the way of my qualifications."

"Thank you for your candid words, David!" the BBC man grinned, happy to have got a cute sound-bite.

"Angel DiMaria, El Pais. You were attending Granada University. Why did you return to Los Angeles?"

"I liked it a lot in Granada. It is a wonderful city, I enjoyed the university and I had no problems finding friends. I even started playing basketball again, in a free pickup game near the university. The only problem with Granada was the complete lack of Melanie Renault there. She visited me, we reconciled, and after she left I missed her. So when I was offered a spot at USC in Los Angeles, I accepted."

"Lauren Holly, Celeb Watch. Mr. Olsen, our readers would love to hear why you left LA and Melanie in the first place."

David smirked. "I bet they would. We are getting into our personal lives with this. I am not comfortable discussing details of our relationship. We both made mistakes, we realized them and we'll try not to repeat them. It's like every real-life relationship. You screw up and you need your partner to be understanding and forgiving."

There were a few more questions, mostly along the lines of how he felt being in the limelight all of a sudden, and he answered pretty much the way he had been taught – without saying much.

Some woman from the distributor's crew whispered into David's ear. "Wes and Solange just arrived!"

It was time for David and Melanie to clear the red carpet for the stars of Lockout. Somebody ushered them into the foyer and from there along a narrow corridor to one of the balconies. They had to stand at the balustrade and wave to the assembled premiere guests who responded by clapping politely. Then they could sit.

"Jeez!" Melanie sighed. "That was crazy!"

"It wasn't too bad for me. Of course they asked me about Dumont."

She pressed his hand. "I heard. You did great there. I also heard your answer to the first question. That was sweet. They grilled me about our engagement, you know."

"Lots of broken hearts?" David grinned.

"You bet. You should've seen their faces when I told them that I'm going to med school. Gobsmacked!"

"Oh, that "acting-is-in-your-genes" thing again?"

She giggled. "I thought you didn't understand French?"

"Just guessing. I ... Oh, look! There's Wes and Solange!"

Indeed, the two stars of the movie were now showing on their balcony to the applause of the guests. When the clapping died down, the head cheese of the distribution company had his five minutes of stardom as he welcomed the audience and the media representatives. He droned on for a few minutes before he asked Jeanne and Jaques Alcor up to the small stage. Jeanne gave the audience a friendly smile and welcomed them, and Alcor also kept it short. Then some dudes presented bouquets of white roses to Solange Daladier, Jeanne and Melanie. More clapping ensued and then the curtain was raised.

For the next 104 minutes, David watched the movie with a mix of dread, embarrassment and pride, always casting surreptitious glances at the people surrounding them when he appeared in a scene. Nobody laughed outright at his acting efforts and David thought that was better than expected. Melanie, to his understanding, was simply breathtaking. In addition to playing the Marie character, she was also narrating the movie, something he had not known in the summer. To him it seemed as if she was holding the plot together and he felt pride watching her.

"You're wonderful!" he whispered. To his surprise, she turned in her seat and gave him a three-alarm kiss.

"You're not so shabby yourself. The audience loves you!" she whispered back.

Yeah, right! David thought. It had taken him only 17 takes to wave at Melanie. Real talent!

Finally, the last scene showed, with him and Melanie after the big season finale where David's character scored the last two points to win the match and the league championship. He was supposed to return to his NBA team then, alone and without Marie. The last scene showed him boarding the plane and settling in his seat when Marie plopped down into the neighboring seat informing him that no way she's going to let him leave by himself. This was an alternate ending to the one in the original script. The writers had come up with it when it became clear that Melanie's billing would be elevated and that the US would be a major market for the movie. This last scene was then followed by a brief summary of what happened to the main characters later, narrated by Melanie/Marie and merging into the credits.

The curtain dropped and within seconds the audience was on their feet giving a thundering applause. Almost on autopilot, David rose with Melanie and they bowed to the audience who responded with even wilder clapping, whistles and catcalls.

"They love it!" Melanie shouted over the din, her face split by a huge smile. Then she was in his arms and they kissed happily.

Things got a bit crazy then. The distributor was offering catered food and wines to the premiere audience, the reporters, the cast and the crew. Melanie clung tightly to David's arm as they meandered through the crowd, thanking the audience and chatting with reporters, drinking toasts with their fellow cast members and with the crew, and shaking hands with the distributors.

After an hour they could make their escape and returned to Jeanne's apartment. They found the old woman sitting in her favorite sofa, a laptop on her legs and typing furiously. She looked up at them with a wide grin, like the proverbial cat that ate the canary.

"The first reviews are out," she informed them smugly. "Ranging from positive to raving. We do have a hit, at least here in France."

"You were both great," David smiled.

Jeanne cackled evilly. "You want to know what they write about you?"

He groaned and a worried Melanie held his hand. "Be nice, Jeanne," she pleaded.

"Let me translate. Young Mr. Olsen, in his first ever movie appearance, appears lost at times, much like his character who is stranded in a foreign country and far away from his rural home. Yet the strong chemistry with his real-life girlfriend, the brilliant Melanie Renault, gives his character a rare authenticity."

"That's good?" David asked dubiously.

Jeanne laughed. "My dear David! It is exactly what I saw in you and hoped for, and now the critics see it too. You were just being you with an assumed name. Don't try to make it a profession, but you did very well. Melanie, they rave about you!"

Melanie nodded seriously. "I couldn't help thinking ... You know ... I thought Heart of Glass would be my career highlight. Now, after watching Lockout, I'm not so sure anymore. This felt good when we shot it, and now it even looks better."

Jeanne nodded. "You showed incredible presence, my child. I am happy that you could have this experience."