A Look Into Reel Love

by Ryan, Alexis

  A Look into Reel Love

  Dylan McKinsey is Cassie Summers Leading Man in ‘The Timeline Before I Love You’

  Cassie Summers and Dylan McKinsey are cast in ‘The Timeline Before I Love You’. The movie is based on the novel of the same name. Dylan is the son of Hollywood couple Peter McKinsey and Leah Smith-McKinsey. He starred in last year’s comedy films, ‘Brothers of America’ and ‘In My League’. In the same year, Cassie Summers received an Oscar-nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ in her role in the biodrama ‘Counting the Days’. Fans of the two are excited to see them work together and fall in love onscreen.

  ‘The Timeline Before I Love You’ follows the relationship journey of a couple, including the time they first meet and the trials they encounter being in an exclusive relationship. It’s a story about love and life with both the ups and downs of dating and exclusivity. Filming for the movie is slated to start next month.

  When Cassie Summers finished reading the article, she set her tablet down on the table in front of her and went back to appreciating the smooth and bitter taste of her coffee. Ever since she started acting at eighteen years old, she always worked on adventure- and drama-based films. Now at twenty-seven years old, she was considered an expert in her craft. Just last year, she received her second Oscar nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’. Word around the block was it was only a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ she would finally win the coveted award.

  Looking at the headline of the article, a feeling of trepidation crept up her spine. ‘The Timeline Before I Love You’, a romantic comedy adapted from a novel, was very different from her previous films. She prided herself in being a drama actress, who could shed a tear without difficulty. However, when it came to throwing witty punchlines and making them sound natural, she wasn’t sure if she could ace those as easily as her genre of expertise. It was her manager, James Porter, who decided that a romantic comedy would be a good addition to her filmography.

  “It’ll showcase your versatility as an actress,” she remembered him telling her.

  Her eyes flitted over to the portrait of Dylan McKinsey displayed right beside hers. He looked straight out of a 1950’s film. He had such a classic look of dark hair and light eyes that his features complemented one another perfectly. He was one of the most sought-after male leads as evidenced with the deluge of teenagers and moms alike lining up to watch his movies and TV appearances. He had the looks alright, and along with that came his reputation for hooking up with his co-stars. Cassie shook her head and removed the thought from her head and remembered the time she last saw him.

  It was at the start of the year during an after-party. From a distance, she could see how easily he lit up a room. The people he talked to hung onto his every word. There was no missing the life and energy he exuded with his gestures and the way he spoke. They had never been introduced in person, so she had no idea what he like in that scenario. She’d find out when filming started.

  “Fuck yeah! Cheers!” Dylan shouted to the crowd below him. He stood on the highest deck of the yacht as the boat remained unmoving in the middle of the bay and under the hot, searing rays of the sun.

  Looking below him, he watched as his guests of about thirty close friends made the best of the remaining days of summer. The scene was perfect for a magazine shoot as bronze bodies of six-packs and toned muscles were splayed across the various decks of the yacht and models decked in an assortment of bikinis enjoyed the feel of the cool water rubbing against their legs.

  He was about to go down to the lowest deck and join the crowd, but the phone ringing in his hands stopped him. When he looked at the screen, the name of his manager, Andrew Thomson, popped up. Rolling his eyes at the timing of the call, he pressed on his screen and put the phone against his ear.

  “This better be good, Andrew,” he said, sounding bored and itching to go back to the party.

  “Good afternoon to you too,” the person on the other line began. “Just reminding you filming starts next week, so you better be there. I don’t want to find out later on you’re in some exotic country.”

  He let out a laugh, deep and throaty and the kind of sound women fawned over.

  “That’s an idea right there,” he teased. When he heard a ‘tsk’ from the other line, he stopped the charade and let out a cough. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll show up. Is that all?”

  “Speaking of your recent photos…”

  Dylan knew what his manager was referring to. It was a series of shots taken by the paparazzi from his recent trip to the Caribbean. He was rubbing sunblock over the back of a female friend who was also in the industry, and of course, the media immediately assumed they were an item.

  “You know how the media is,” he began, a number of his friends had gone up to where he was and were prodding him to come down and join the party. “Nothing you have to worry about, Andrew. If that’s it, I’ll go now.”

  He didn’t bother to wait for a reply. He pressed the image of the red phone on his screen and put his mobile back in the pockets of his board shorts. He was going to make the most out of today’s party and had already planned to move the festivities from the yacht to his Hollywood mansion later on in the night. Next week, he was back to work, and both dread and excitement filled him.

  He was cast alongside Cassie Summers – one of the best actresses of their generation. They hadn’t been introduced to one another, but he had seen her in person during premieres and parties. She was attractive at first glance, and that was an understatement. She was gorgeous, and it wasn’t because of her strawberry blonde hair and striking green eyes. She had the hourglass figure of a woman, full and toned and so very unlike the waif-thin physique so common in Hollywood.

  He shook his head, trying not to think about Cassie Summers. She was physically gifted alright, but based from her interviews, her personality left something to be desired. She sounded too serious, and as an actress, was considered a very private person. She sounded boring to put it simply.

  When he got down to the lowermost deck, his friends immediately crowded around him and passed him shot after shot. He was going to enjoy the rest of the day before he had to go back to reality and start working next week.

  Cassie Summers walked into the first day of filming with her bag in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. The moment she stepped foot in the set, Ben Nichols, the director, was there to greet her. He jumped out of his seat, walked over to her, and took her hand for a quick yet firm handshake.

  “Hope you have enough coffee in your system,” he greeted, his voice light and teasing. “It’s going to be a long day.”

  “I’m more than ready,” replied Cassie before Ben steered her over to where the rest of the crew members were.

  Ben introduced her to the rest of the group, from the production team to the lighting and costume designers. When Ben called out the name ‘Nina’ from the small crowd, a petite Asian woman with long, black hair walked to the front and tipped her head into a nod.

  “Cassie, this is Nina. She’ll be your PA,” Ben began. “If you need anything, she’ll be your go-to.”

  “Great,” Cassie then said in reply. “Nice to meet you, Nina.”

  “Likewise,” said the other woman, smile in place.

  When all the introductions were done, Nina led the way to Cassie’s trailer. Once inside, Cassie saw a folder lying on the couch, and when she flipped it open, the script inside fell onto her lap. She placed the stack on the small coffee table before her and decided she had more than enough time later on to read the lines for the first, few scenes.

  “Hey, take a seat,” she said to Nina, who remained standing by the trailer door. “Excited to work on the movie?”

  “I think I shou
ld be asking you that,” was the reply. “And I just have to say…I really love your work!” she then gushed, clasping her hands together and pulling them up onto her chest. “And I love you all the more now since you’re doing a romcom!”

  At that, Cassie let out a laugh, her soft voice reverberating through the trailer.

  “Thanks,” she then said, laughing shyly. She knew romantic comedies weren’t her forte, so she was scared to disappoint Nina and the other people watching out for the film. “Wish me luck though. Romcoms aren’t really my strongpoints.”

  Nina’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as if Cassie had just said a fallacy. Then, Nina took one of the few seats closer to Cassie and expressed her incredulity.

  “Are you being serious?” she asked in disbelief. “You’re Cassie-fucking-Summers!”

  Again, she found herself laughing at Nina’s hyper-activeness and decided Nina was the best assistant she ever had. The remaining hour in the trailer was spent with the two of them trying to get to know one another better. Cassie learned that Nina was a fresh graduate who was hoping that the assistantship would get her more gigs in the film industry, while Nina learned that the Oscar-nominated actress was friendly and approachable despite her introverted nature. When lunch rolled around, Nina received a call from another crew member informing them that the buffet was ready. That was their cue to leave the trailer and head over to where the rest of the film members were.

  “No salad for you?” the figure beside Cassie asked as she fell in line for the buffet. When she turned her head upwards, she came face-to-face with Dylan McKinsey. His ice-blue eyes looked at her with a hint of amusement, and just above his angular jawbones, his full lips had tipped up into a small smirk. “Dylan McKinsey, by the way. Nice to meet you, Cassie.”

  When he stretched his hand out, she accepted it and shook his hand. When Cassie put two chicken legs onto her plate, she sent Dylan a cheeky smile.

  “Nope,” she said. “Ben said we need all the energy we have for filming.”

  “On our first day?!” he exclaimed incredulously, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle at that.

  When they had filled their plates up with food, they walked over to one of the unoccupied picnic tables and took their seats across from one another. Cassie could look at the man in front of her all day and all night. He was anything but an eyesore, and seeing him up close, it wasn’t surprising why he was named last year’s ‘Most Eligible Bachelor’. Even though she had worked with some of the industry’s most attractive actors, teeny-boppers and DILFs included, Dylan McKinsey easily made it to her top five.

  “So are you excited?” he asked her, popping a strip of chicken into his mouth. “This isn’t like your usual films.”

  “You’re not the first to say that,” she replied, the weight on her shoulders disappearing. She had no idea why she had been scared to meet Dylan for the first time. The guy could easily make friends with anyone and everyone. Cassie usually felt wary and anxious with meeting people for the first time. Her walls didn’t easily crumble when it came to meeting strangers, but Dylan’s exuberant aura was infectious.

  “I can learn the ropes from you then,” Cassie said, sending a small grin Dylan’s way.

  “I think I’ll be learning from you,” Dylan added, matching her grin with one of his own. “Do you think we can get an Oscar nomination with this movie?”

  Cassie chuckled lightly at that and knew Dylan was only teasing. They had both read the scripts and knew the movie was meant to be lighthearted, funny, and romantic – very different from the typically nominated films.

  “Let’s just agree,” Cassie began. “That we’re bound to learn something from one another.”

  Hot damn.

  The thought coursed through Dylan McKinsey’s head. Cassie strutted out of the fitting room wearing a black robe, but when she took her place on set, her assistant, Nina, took the robe from her to reveal the string bikini she was wearing. He knew Cassie had the figure just by looking at the body-hugging gowns she wore during premiers and award shows, but seeing her in a bathing suit certified what he always knew. Cassie had the body of a woman, and he was trying hard not to salivate. She had curves in all the right places and muscles where it mattered.

  “Alright, let’s begin!” Ben, their director, shouted a few feet away.

  The setting for the scene was at a beach, and it wasn’t just any beach. They were in Nice with the sand buried beneath their toes. Some of the most essential parts of the book were set in France, so to stay true to the story, they needed to shoot in the exact places mentioned in the novel.

  The scene they were shooting centered on the undeniable sexual tension between the two main protagonists. Their relationship, as based from the story, was in between dating and entering an exclusive relationship. Of course, one of the best places for increasing sexual tension would be the beach where clothing was left to a minimum. Dylan was sure he was acting the part of the sexually-frustrated character as he looked at Cassie from afar and watched her splash seawater onto her bikini-clad body. He was sure he was nailing the scene since he was feeling the tension as Dylan McKinsey and not only as the character in the script.

  At the other end, Cassie was trying to not look, feel, and act awkward. She had bared it all for the camera before, but she had never felt as embarrassed before as she did now. She wasn’t even fully naked, but she felt over-exposed, and she knew why. She didn’t want Dylan judging her. She knew she wasn’t the prettiest of actresses or the thinnest. She wasn’t the usual size 0 or 2 the media loved to categorize actresses and models in. She had always let her skill and talent do the talking, but now, and in the presence of one of Tinseltown’s sexiest actors, she couldn’t help but feel insecure. She knew the kinds of women he hung out and associated with, and she didn’t want him judging her.

  After a few more retakes, Ben was satisfied with the shots. They rushed to the next location before it got too late, work ended, and people would crowd the place. Finally donning an ensemble consisting of much more than a bikini, Cassie felt more at ease than earlier at the beach. She pulled out line after line effortlessly with Dylan inserting a few improvised punchlines here and there as the camera kept rolling.

  It was the cast and crew’s last night in France, so everyone agreed to end it with a bang. Arrangements were made, reservations were set, and before they knew it, the entire cast and crew of ‘The Timeline Before I Love You’ occupied the whole VIP area of one of Paris’ hippest night clubs. Additional security was stationed right by the entrance of the VIP section, so the cast members were able to enjoy the night without having to worry of rabid fans jumping onto their backs as what Dylan, Cassie, and the others experience on a regular basis.

  “No way!” Ella screamed amidst the loud music. She was another actress who played the role of best friend to Cassie’s character. “That’s crazy! I can’t believe someone actually jumped you and tried to kiss you!”

  “Tell me about it,” Dylan then said, laughing as he recounted the experience.

  When the music changed into a more upbeat song, Cassie and a few others left their seats to dance. They swayed their hips, wildly raised their arms in the air, and jumped to the beat. Cassie considered herself a homebody more than anything else, and she wasn’t the type who went on constant nights out, but everyone decided to come, and she couldn’t miss out. And so, she spent the night dancing like there was no tomorrow even if she knew she had no talent when it came to moving to the beat. A close, few meters away, Dylan looked at her in amusement, finding her out-of-sync dancing all too adorable.

  After a good two hours of non-stop dancing and drinking, the older members of the team decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel. For those who prided in being the life of the party, they wanted to hit another club and hop from one bar to the next. For Cassie, who was young at twenty-seven but had already out-danced herself, she excused herself from the group.

  “You go ahead guys,” she
said, waving ‘goodbye’ to them. “I’m starving after all the dancing.”

  “No, Cassie!” Nina, her assistant, exclaimed. “Don’t leave yet!”

  “Go ahead guys,” she said, laughing and moving her hands as if to push them away. “I’ll meet you guys back in the hotel.”

  “Aww, fine,” Ella said, protruding her bottom lip out into a pout. “Take care, then.”

  To her surprise, Dylan had excused himself from the group and walked to her side. She turned her head to look at him, asking him what he was doing standing beside her.

  “I can’t let your walk around Paris alone at night,” he said to her, shrugging his shoulders, before he turned to face the rest of the group. “See ya, guys! And party hard for me!”

  The men in the group cheered, as if the constant dancing earlier barely did anything to their energy level. When Cassie and Dylan walked further away from the rest, he turned to face her and asked, “So any idea on what you want to eat?”

  “You’re going to regret asking that,” she replied, laughing to herself. “I want everything – bread, cheese, butter, and ham!”