“You’re obviously a super-honest guy,” Kat Mariner said. “You have social media accounts that you use a lot. Was there ever a time you tweeted something out you wish you could pull back?”
“I sent one out where I said aliens had gotten my friend Adrienne pregnant. I even Photoshopped a picture.”
This part had been prearranged, and they showed the picture.
“Are you hot?” Aliyah asked.
I gave her a funny look because I started to wonder if she had been drinking.
“Why?” I asked.
“Would you take off your jacket?” she asked.
I didn’t know what to do, so I just ignored her.
“Well, ah, someone will be joining David at his premiere tonight,” Jill Ewing said to get us off the awkward conversation. “David, would you pick someone out who will get to go to your premiere tonight?”
I started to scan the audience, and they went wild, like when Oprah had her giveaway shows. You’d think I was handing them the keys to a new car. I spotted a woman in her late twenties jumping up and down, so I pointed to her.
“Congratulations,” Jill said. “You and a guest are going to attend tonight’s premiere of Star Academy, starring David A. Dawson, at the TCL Chinese Theatre.”
They cued the music as they cut to a commercial.
“Thanks for being a good sport,” Aliyah said once we were done.
“Thanks for having me,” I said and then beat a hasty retreat.
Caryn was as shocked as I was at Aliyah’s behavior. I made a mental note never to come back.
◊◊◊
Our next stop was Cameron. Cameron McDaniel was the host of the late-night talk show on TBS. I was surprised when Frank didn’t send me any talking points for this segment, so I called him about it. He told me that Cameron wanted me to just have a natural reaction to what he asked. I had a bad feeling about this.
I came out and sat down next to Cameron at his desk.
“You have such great chemistry with Craig Wild in this movie. When you see the poster, you see these two guys, and your costars Bree Steno and Elizabeth Jenks, and you think, I want to see that,” Cameron said.
“First of all, that was what I thought when I saw the poster, even though I was on the poster. I was like, I want to see this. I like these guys, especially the guy with all the tattoos,” I said.
“Yeah, I can see that. The poster just looks like it’ll be fun.”
“You know, Craig’s an amazing guy. He’s like in the top thirty of the most amazing guys I’ve had the opportunity to costar with,” I said.
“But this is your first movie,” Cameron said.
“Oh, yeah. Exactly!” I said. “Craig’s a great guy. He’s down-to-earth. Every day he showed up to work, ready to go. Craig was a great mentor to me. He was cheap as heck, though.”
“Seriously?” Cameron asked.
“Oh, my, yes! Of all the times we’ve gone out, I don’t believe Craig has spent a penny. I think he has alligator arms when it comes to picking up a check,” I said, demonstrating the move.
“It’s funny, because the times I’ve been around him, it seems like he doesn’t spend money on clothes,” Cameron prompted.
“No, no. Craig gets all his clothes from Goodwill or homeless shelters. You know those terrible t-shirts he wears,” I said as if Cameron would know.
“Yeah, sure.”
“Well, trust me. You take one look, and you have to ask him: did you get that for free? Because they’re so bad, no one would spend money on them.”
“I get you,” Cameron said.
We then talked about the movie. As I left the set, I wondered if Craig would have a sense of humor about it.
◊◊◊
The final show of the day was The Jeri Preston Show. I’d always liked her and was looking forward to meeting her. She always looked like she was in on a joke that you hadn’t figured out yet. What I liked about her was she was so nice. That was what I thought before the show.
I was waiting in the green room when one of her production assistants approached me.
“We were wondering if you’d do us a favor. Jeri’s starting her own line of underwear and wondered if you would wear them on set.”
I looked at Caryn, who just nodded like it was no big deal. Heck, I was wearing Dakora for cash, so why not Jeri’s underwear? I agreed and changed. They were a little snug and seemed to put my package out front. When I put my pants on, there was a bulge. Jeri was known for her sense of humor, so I figured I’d go along with it.
A few minutes later, I was called on set.
“If you’ve been paying attention, this young man has been promoting his new movie, Star Academy. Let’s take a look at a clip from the movie,” Jeri said.
They’d taken one of my scenes where I’m running and slowed it down to put it to techno music. Of course, I didn’t have my shirt on. What was it with me running around with half my clothes on? There was a monitor where I could watch what was on, and I could see Jeri leaning forward in her seat as if she were mesmerized by the clip. The Jeri Preston Show’s audience was, on average, thirty years younger than Our View, and they were all cheering.
“Please welcome the star of the upcoming movie Star Academy, David A. Dawson,” Jeri announced.
A big smile came on my face when they played Sexy and I Know It. I worked it as I strutted out and put on some poses. Jeri laughed at my antics as I made my way to where we would do the interview. She gave me a big hug and checked me out as I waved at the crowd. I looked over, and she wiggled her hips, so I got the idea and began to dance with her, to the delight of the audience. What was it with older women perving on me?
“Hi, David A. Dawson,” Jeri said.
“How are you?” I asked.
“I’m good,” she said and then jumped into the interview. “First of all, this is your very first movie. Are you enjoying it so far?”
“Yes, I’m having a wonderful time,” I said.
“This is a good audience to be with for your first movie.”
“I can see that,” I said.
“So you’ve been making the rounds doing your first press junket. From what I’ve seen of the clip, we’re all undressing you with our eyes right now,” she said, obviously checking me out.
“Well, okay, then,” I said awkwardly.
We then talked about how I had gotten the role and my audition with Bree. They had a clip of it, which I’d only seen once before. They’d added the background, so it looked like I was in the movie. I was a little embarrassed. The day I did the audition with Bree, I’d put on a tight t-shirt and shorts. I’d had to wait my turn, so I’d used the hotel’s gym to work out while I waited. My sweat had made the t-shirt go almost transparent and cling to my body, so the outfit left very little to the imagination. How Jeri’s people had gotten the clip, I didn’t know, but it had to be either Bree or someone from the studio. I would put my money on Bree getting even with me.
“The audience wants me to ask you right now if you’re single,” Jeri said.
“Yes, and I’m looking, but I can’t seem to find anyone to go out with me,” I said.
“Really?”
“I know, right? I’m the face of Range Sports, Jade, and Dakora. Dakora is who I’m wearing right now,” I said and did a quick spin to show off their clothes. “You’d think I could find a woman who’d want to go out with me.”
“What seems to be the problem?” Jeri asked.
“I’ve only been in LA a few weeks, so before coming, I figured I’d see if I could find someone to show me around. I joined this dating app with the hope some girl would take pity on me and spend some time getting to know me,” I said.
“What happened?” Jeri asked.
“They either offered to have sex with me or didn’t believe I was real. I mean, I’m just a small-town boy trying to make my way in the big city,” I said, batting my eyes at Jeri.