"Run the scene again. In three, two..." the director said, and Novelty squared his shoulders and took a breath. This character he was to be playing, Detective James Amaretto, was a push for him, but he wanted to do this film justice. He had always wanted to star in a noir film, and granted this was a noir Western, and he wasn't going to miss this chance. He had recently enjoyed a lot of notoriety after his previous film role, and he wanted to keep that all rolling.
Tilting his trilby back down and swirling the amber liquid in his glass, Novelty propped his elbows up on the table and furrowed his brow. Novelty did his best not to pay any attention to the cameras or the boom mics only feet away, and he contemplated what Detective Amaretto would be contemplating--the recent kidnapping of Daisy, a well-to-do girl at the ripe age of 17. It was a difficult case--one that would pay off if Amaretto played it the right way. But it was dangerous. There were too many coincidences, and Amaretto was starting to suspect a larger crime ring was involved.
Detective Amaretto did not look up even as a dark-haired woman opened the door to the bar in a rush, slamming the heavy wooden door back against the wall. She strode right up to where he was sitting like she expected him to be there. Her tight black pinstripe blouse had the top three buttons open, and her black slacks fell over high heeled boots.
"They've been through enough," the woman said, slamming both her open hands down on the table in front of him, her brow furrowed and her mouth set in anger. Amaretto took his time in meeting her gaze, casually lifting his head just enough so she could see one of his eyes.
"Pleasure to meet you, too. Care to join me for a drink?" The woman rolled her eyes and slammed her palms again.
"Leave them alone," she said, making no move to leave him alone.
"How very interesting," Amaretto said, lifting his glass as though to study its contents. He looked casually toward the bartender who hadn't made a move to stop this encounter but was frowning like he could at any moment. "And what might your interest in my affairs be?"
"I don't know who you are or how you found out about this, but leave Daisy's parents alone! You people have done enough damage."
Amaretto's attention quickly turned back to the woman.
"You people?" he asked, but then lowered his glass to the table. "Ah, but where are your manners. I'm Detective Amaretto. But you can call me James."
The woman pursed her lips in disgust, but after a moment, her mouth softened, and she pulled out the chair in front of her to sit at the table.
"Ruth," the actress said, tossing her freshly curled hair over her shoulder. "You don't need to know more than that."
"Cut! Cut! Jaz! What was that? Ruth is supposed to be mysterious and sultry. Deliver the line like you mean it! Don't just offer her name--make him work for it."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Newitt. I'm sorry. I'll get it right this time. I will."
"Don't throw your hair over your shoulder. Let it fall into your face. Stare at the detective like he's just eaten the last piece of your favorite chocolate cake," Mr. Newitt said.
Novelty resisted the urge to laugh, but Jaz caught it and hit him in the shoulder with the back of her hand. He raised his hands in surrender, knowing that she didn't really mean it. He had certainly acted with women who gave him significantly more grief than she did.
"All right, quiet on the set, quiet on the set. Let's run it again from the beginning."
But, then, there was some kind of commotion happening outside the studio door, and both actors turned their heads in the direction of the security team, which was barring entry for a thin man with glasses.
((OOC: Okaaaaaaay, so that was my best shot at a lil opener. I looked up 1920s name and liked Ruth, and "Amaretto" was the first thing that popped into my head. It's kind of just a placeholder at the moment. Please let me know if you have other ideas. If you want to write whatever Felix is going through, feeling, and experiences, that sounds awesome. If Dylan and Max are on set, they can react, too. I mostly stayed in Novelty's perspective, but you can write from multiple characters perspectives if you want. I usually press enter and put a couple dashes (---) and then press enter again and do another character's perspective. Or you could just write it in a separate post. Anyway, I'm sure that you'll need a little tour of the forum, which I can help with. Hopefully this looks fun!))