#(he also happens to have a short stint as an stunt actor)

[supergirlmelbenoist]

How Melissa Benoist got ripped for Supergirl

She's not a bird or a plane, and she's definitely not Superman! In 2015, Krypton refugee Kara Zor-El — aka Kara Danvers — threw aside her glasses and donned her family's S-shaped crest to follow in her cousin's footsteps and give National City its very own superhero on the CW's Supergirl. Back then, Melissa Benoist — the actress playing both Supergirl the superpowered alien and Kara the shy personal assistant — was best known to TV fans for her role as sweet newcomer Marley Rose on two seasons of Glee, and she also had a small role in Best Picture-nominated Whiplash.

Taking the lead of a show — especially one with such a strong legacy on-screen and off — was a big step up for Benoist, both performance-wise and also physically. So how did she get ripped for the role? Well, Benoist said that landing the part meant stepping up her workouts, not just because we tend to take our superheroes with six-pack abs and toned biceps, but so that she could keep up with the action. The self-described pacifist and musical theater nerd suddenly found herself learning how to throw a punch and how to fly. So here's how Melissa Benoist toughened up to play Supergirl, at the gym, in her fight scenes, and high up on the wires.

She made it through a full-on audition process

Obviously the CW couldn't cast just anyone as Supergirl, which meant that Melissa Benoist had to go through a rigorous audition process before she got anywhere close to landing the role. The wait was made even more excruciating because, according to Benoist, "I believe I was the first girl they saw." That first audition was in October 2014, and it was just the start. In 2015, she told Entertainment Weekly, "It was a long, drawn-out, three-month process. I auditioned around Halloween 2014 and then didn't land the part until February 2015. I went through multiple screen-tests, multiple auditions with the producing team. There was a lot."

During that extensive audition process, Variety reported that Benoist found a champion in producer Greg Berlanti. "Greg championed me the whole time and was in my corner," Benoist remembered. "Even when I didn't think the part was mine, he was always rooting for me. That support goes a long way, especially when I'm fighting for something I want so badly. His belief in me really touched me." Berlanti echoed the sentiment, saying, "If we had not found her, I would have said, 'I don't want to make this.'"

The first episode aired almost a year after that first audition, on October 26, 2015, and since then, Benoist has seen hundreds of kids in their own versions of her costume. "Every Halloween there are quite a bit of Supergirls," she told Jimmy Kimmel, so it was worth the wait.

Melissa Benoist worked on her core strength

While comic book titans DC and Marvel have both made noise about introducing more diversity to their products, one thing that all superheroes have in common are incredible abs. Benoist's Supergirl is no exception. She told Entertainment Weekly that to prepare for the role, she did "some boxing, strength training, and a lot of core work." At Comic-Con, she said that her workouts included Pilates, boxing, and plyometrics.

If you've never had cause to get into superhero shape, you might be wondering what fresh hell plyometrics are. As Healthine explains, plyometrics involve exerting your body to its maximum ability for a short period of time — for example, by jumping — to improve strength, speed, and power. They're a pretty advanced form of exercise, as Benoist found out! On CBS's This Morning, she explained, "I did quite a bit of training. We did this stuff called plyometrics, which is like jump training. And all of it was really hard — just hard things!"

And the core work isn't just to look good. As Benoist added, the core work comes in handy when you're doing the flying stunts. "I'm up on a wire," she said, "and you have to hold your entire body weight so there's a lot of training involved."

Work is a workout on Supergirl

Melissa Benoist wasn't the only cast member who had to up her workout intensity to give the action sequences the effort they deserved. Chyler Leigh, who plays Kara's adoptive sister Alex, said that the actors work really hard with the stunt coordinators to get the fight scenes just right. And those action-packed days are full-on workouts in their own right. "When we do fight scenes, we're working out for six hours, just doing the same thing," she told CBS. "We are burnt for the next few days. I think that's really where I get my caloric burn count."

Even when they aren't shooting, Leigh and Benoist try to use those periods of waiting around that happen on the set of a TV show to stay in shape. "Melissa and I try to do as much as we possibly can," Leigh said. "In my trailer, I've got resistance bands and medicine balls and things like that. I try to do it in between, but we have very little downtime." The two on-screen sisters also have a shared interest in the same workout. "I love Pilates," Leigh told CBS. "It gives such a good core foundation. When I can go, it's awesome." And you thought TV sets were all craft services and hanging out in trailers.

Melissa Benoist learned to fight from the best

Thos Robinson/Getty Images Another crucial element of being a superhero is being able to kick butt convincingly. This didn't come naturally to Benoist, who confessed to the Chicago Tribune, "I had never punched anyone! I maybe slapped my sisters when I was a kid, but I'm not an aggressive, violent person, and I had no idea how to throw a punch." To help her find her inner fighter, Benoist took up boxing. "I definitely had to learn technique. Like how to actually punch someone and not hurt yourself more than you're hurting the person you're punching. And so boxing was part of it," she told InStyle.

Fortunately for Benoist, she had access to excellent tutors. In addition to the stunt team, former karate and kickboxing world champion Lexi Alexander (pictured above) directed an episode in the first season. Having worked on Supergirl's fellow Arrowverse show Arrow, Alexander said she was excited to work on a story about a female superhero. "I realized that this is the first time I'm choreographing and directing a fight scene for a female lead. I did some fight directing for a woman here and there … but for a female lead? I've never directed a female lead in an action," she told Den of Geek.

Her directing stint was short, but Alexander said that she pushed her star "to the next level of fight choreography," and that "they've now changed [Benoist's] fight style from [Alexander's] episode onward." Benoist might still be more lover than fighter at heart, but we wouldn't challenge her.

She does (some of) her own stunts on Supergirl

Believe it or not, it really is Benoist doing some of those hair-raising stunts on the show. The actress told Variety that she likes to get involved with the action when she can, saying, "I have been doing a lot [of stunts], and I want to keep doing them. Already I've fought a male on the show. Supergirl's fight moves are boxing. She's really heavy-handed. There's some flying that involves kicking and punching mid-flight that's kind of awesome."

However, not everyone was thrilled with Benoist's hands-on approach to fights. Her mom, Julie, told her that she found it difficult to watch her daughter's fight scenes, especially against men. But Julie Benoist needn't have worried. Benoist knows her limits, and she's heaped praise on her stunt doubles. In 2015, she said of stunts, "I think they're so fun. There are some that I just can't — I really could get injured. … My stunt double is amazing. She was Jen Garner's on Alias and Buffy's. She's all over the place, and she's so cool. I wish people could see what they go through. It's insane."

Benoist's stunt double in 2015 was Shauna Duggins, whose resume includes Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the recent Star Trek movies, and 2000's Charlie's Angels (as well as many other movies and shows.) After doing 20 episodes of Supergirl, Duggins went on to work as stunt coordinator for shows including Ray Donovan, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and GLOW. She's a real-life superwoman.

She likes to get out of the gym

Although Benoist diligently puts in her hours in the gym, the Colorado-raised actress is happier getting her exercise in the great outdoors. Her Instagram shows photos of her hiking with her husband (and Supergirl co-star), Chris Wood, and their dogs, Farley and Drift. She also recalled being jealous when she found out what her co-star and Supergirl predecessor, Helen Slater, was doing to get in shape.

After Benoist recounted the boxing and core work she was doing to Slater, "She gave me this look, and I was like, 'Why, what did they have you do?'" Benoist told Entertainment Weekly. "'Oh, I went horseback riding, and fencing and doing some archery, and I was swimming.' She went through this whole gamut of awesome outdoor activities that I would love to do to train." Speaking to E! Online, Benoist said of Slater's exercise regime, "She was on trampolines a lot and dancing and prancing and doing all these cool activities for training. I wish I had that much fun."

The conflicting training schedules aren't coming between the two actresses. Benoist added to EW, "Also, she's just so kind and such a sweet, sweet woman. That's really what I've learned from her. She really is a super girl. I'm so honored that I'm following in her footsteps." She'll just have to wait for a filming break to take a hike.

Melissa Benoist has a dance background

Glee was not Benoist's first experience with musical theater. She told Jimmy Kimmel that she did "tap, ballet, and jazz class at four years old" and children's theater, even performing at Disneyland. "In front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, we sang a Stephen Sondheim medley where my solo was 'Send in the Clowns,'" she recalled. She also studied ballet, although she wasn't a perfect student. "All the years I took ballet class … I was the one kid in class who the teacher was always like, 'Urgh, her turn-out,' and, 'She is not standing up straight,'" Benoist told Kimmel. She did better with another form of dance. In a video for Glamour, she said, "I have a secret superpower — that I can tap dance," and she demonstrated to prove her point.

That dance training comes in handy on the set of Supergirl — and not just for Benoist's part in the musical crossover episode of The Flash. Benoist said that her dance background helps her with the wire work and even the fight sequences. "With the wire work and flying, even the choreography, I grew up dancing, so that kind of came like it would if I were learning a dance routine," she told the Chicago Tribune. Plus, it keeps her and the crew entertained between takes.

She learned how to fly (well, on wires)

Melissa Benoist's favorite thing about her superhero role is exactly what you'd expect: the chance to fly. When Jimmy Kimmel asked about the best part of playing Supergirl, Benoist said, "I mean, I get to fly!" Upon further questioning, she acknowledged, "I mean it's hard work, I'm essentially attached to a fork in the air." She also told Variety just how hard it was and how she prepared, saying, "The wire work for training is mostly core work. It's mostly ab-centric — the whole area of the body that nobody wants to work out. You have to get strong. You have to carry your whole body weight when you're up in the air."

However, it's worth all the working out. "The wire work is really difficult, but so fun. And when you get it right, watching the result is exhilarating," Benoist told People. "It's a really, really cool feeling to know what it felt like, the energy I had to exert to create those flying scenes. And then the way they look is really rewarding."

Benoist got some help perfecting her flying technique. When Kimmel asked how she figured out Supergirl's flying style, she said, "There's this sort of superhero physicality school that you kind of have to go to — at least we did on the DC shows — where the stunt team will teach you to walk like a superhero. … They're awesome and they've really helped me." And that's how to look fly in spandex.

Benoist eats healthy, but she's not a dieter

All of that working out and on-set action builds up an appetite. But as a female superhero who's expected to squeeze into a spandex suit every day and have the muscles to beat up bad guys without actually looking bulked up, Benoist can't go to town on craft services. Fortunately, she's pretty into fruits and vegetables anyway. "I love supermarkets, I love grocery shopping, I love the produce aisle, because to be super you have to be healthy," she told Glamour. "And I would probably stock up on all the fruits. I love fruit."

However, she isn't about to totally deprive herself of comfort foods. In the same Glamour interview, she said, "If I could supersize any food it would be [an] ice cream Drumstick, vanilla caramel. They're so good." In 2016, she told the Chicago Tribune that she was excited to attend that year's Chicago Comic-Con and Entertainment Expo (aka C2E2) because she wanted to check out the city's restaurants. As she explained, "I've heard the food scene is incredible, and I'm a foodie, so I can't wait to go out and eat."

Benoist also said that her own partiality to the occasional junk food splurge inspired the writers to add it into her character's personality. "I love junk food, I love doughnuts, and they put that in there quite a bit," she said, laughing. "There are these doughnuts all the time." This diet sounds super.

She got ripped to show women being tough

Kevin Winter/Getty Images One reason Melissa Benoist was so invested in making sure her character could be physically impressive was because she wanted to inspire other women to feel strong and powerful. In an essay for Time, she wrote, "I think the more the show goes on, the more you see this fierceness and what women are really capable of. It puts [Supergirl] on this equal playing field. … That's so meaningful to me to help children understand that girls can have just as much fun as their male counterparts in the superhero world. It's about confidence and hope, and Supergirl really embodies all of that."

Even though Benoist also wrote that she grew up in "this really strong, feminine family," she told the Chicago Tribune, "I didn't really believe that I could be that character or play a superhero. It's something I never thought of myself as doing, but I just knew I had to go for it because there's so few female superheroes and just strong females that fight back and do it with grace and do it with love." She's also said that she didn't want the character to be a female version of male superheroes, saying, "What I think is cool is to try to bring kind of a femininity to her strength. … I do like the idea of bringing in like a grace to it. And a fluidity and kind of this femininity to flying. It's fun." In other words, Melissa Benoist is out here bringing new meaning to (Super)girl power.

[tmcastandcrew]

Simon Baker reveals his coast connection ahead Breathe premiere on the Gold Coast

Ann Wason Moore, Gold Coast Bulletin April 13, 2018 10:00am X

Thank you  @SBaker_Ney !!

STARS, they’re just like us. Simon Baker, the guy they call Smiley, the Mentalist, calls my house on a Saturday morning from his mobile, no PR, no minders … but also no time.

“I’m so sorry,” he says. “Something’s just come up. If you’re not busy in a couple of hours, can I call you then for our interview?”

Of course, I concur. I have been stood up by far lesser than Mr Baker. When we talk again, he admits the reason he had to run was actually because he had to surf … with his son.

“I could see that look in his eye, the conditions were good and he wanted to get out.

“The alternative was he’d pick up a device and start playing games,” says the 48-year-old father of three. “I had to intervene and get him away from technology.”

Stars’ kids … they’re just like mine.

A lot more down the line > keep reading>>

We’re used to seeing Simon on screen — from E Street in the early 90s to his first American film, the acclaimed LA Confidential, to starring roles in The Guardian and The Mentalist — all trademark golden curls and crinkly eyes.

But as much as he’s every bit the leading man, there’s something so familiar about him. Deep inside there’s still that Aussie boy next door.

In fact, there’s every chance that if you grew up on the Gold Coast, he was the boy next door.

Born and bred in Northern New South Wales, he attended Ballina High and still owns a property in nearby Nashua.

In fact, he and wife actor Rebecca Rigg donated to the Rise Above the Flood appeal just last year to help their neighbours hit by the natural disaster.

But in between Ballina and Hollywood, Simon did a solid stint in Surfers Paradise.

“When I left home I did a year in Sydney, but then I came up to the Goldie,” he says.

“A bunch of mates and I moved in to this old fibro shack on Garfield Terrace. It was just after the bend in the road. It had a huge pine tree in the back and then just beach.

“It was the last house left in that stretch. We were evicted because they sold the land to build another high-rise. I’ll have to drive past it one day. They were some fun times. We all worked in hospitality and just surfed. I worked at the Hyatt Sanctuary Cove at that big beach pool.”

Yep, for those of us of a certain age, Simon Baker was our pool boy. In fact, he may well take that trip down memory lane this weekend. He’s on the Coast not just to attend the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, but to launch a project that’s not just dear to his heart but his surfer’s soul.

Breath is Baker’s feature film directorial debut, adapted from the 2008 novel by celebrated Australian author Tim Winton, and will have its Queensland premiere at the Gold Coast Film Festival this Thursday.

The classic coming of age tale follows Pikelet and Loonie, two teenage boys growing up in a small coastal town in Western Australia in the 1970s.

Their love of surfing and adventure sees their paths cross with older, local surfer Bill “Sando” Sanderson, played by Baker, who describes the character as “a mentor, but pathetic in his own way”.

Having grown up surfing in Ballina, and with teenage sons of his own, Harry, 16, and Claude, 19, plus 24-year-old daughter Stella, Baker says he felt instantly connected to the characters and themes in Winton’s novel before adapting the storyline for screen.

“To me it’s all about identity. It’s about the boys, Pikelet and Loonie, trying to figure out who they are in this coming-of-age time of their lives,” he says.

“It’s about Sando and his sort of stunted identity. As much as he’s this mentor to them, he’s not a Yoda character. He’s more pathetic than wise. He’s stuck in the past and never learned to take responsibility. But it’s also about the identity of Australia.

“Our identity is tied to the sea, to the coastline, but our identity is also constantly shifting. We drift with the tide between our UK heritage, our ties with America and our indigenous history.”

Baker says the film helped shift his own definition of identity, from actor to director and filmmaker. Sando may be a father-figure of sorts to the boys, but the film was Baker’s own lovechild.

“We got the book option about eight years ago and the past three or four years have been really intense,” he says.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, getting a film made is a long, hard process. It’s a labour of love.

“I’d like to direct again though. I feel at home directing. I feel like I can contribute more when I’m in that role. It’s not easy but it’s immensely satisfying.”

The fact that the subject matter dealt with one of Baker’s other great loves, surfing, is obvious when watching the film. The poetry of motion writes a love letter to a time and place that, while changed, is not entirely gone. The boys who grew up in the ’70s and ’80s, like Pikelet, Loonie and Baker himself, are the fathers of today, guiding their own children through ever-choppy conditions.

“That era of the 70s is still so familiar to us — I loved putting up the pictures from Copperart in the houses. Who didn’t have that in their home?” he says.

“I think I was a boy who was somewhere between those two adolescent characters, the sort of dreamy individual that is Pikelet and the wild, lost boy that is Loonie. But ultimately, I’m more Pikelet. Otherwise I never would have got this movie made.

“But the thing we all have in common is this love for surfing. I can’t really say what it is to me. It’s all different sorts of things and it changes every time I go to the water. These days it’s a great way to commune with nature and to catch up with old friends.

“It’s a break and a relief to be somewhere that no one can contact you, your phone doesn’t ring. Physically, it’s still exhilarating and meditative.”

For Baker, it’s an exercise that is still uniquely Australian. With his children having grown up both here and in the US, he says the surfing community in their Sydney suburb is an extended family of sorts.

“When we walked through the park on the way back from surfing today, I said to my son, ‘Do you see all the different groups hanging out? Do you see the different generations passing through?’ He thought it was so cool to see those little groms coming of age and hanging out with friends at the next level. It’s a rite of passage in some ways.

“Bec and I have always had such close ties to our country, to Australia, no matter where we have been living, and the kids feel that.

“There is something to say for being here and having a different perspective — or just having perspective — on what’s happening in the world.”

Baker’s not the only international star who still calls Australia home, with northern NSW neighbour Chris Hemsworth regularly spotted on our own shores — including at the Commonwealth Games.

“Is he there?” Baker asks. “I really don’t keep up.

“I’m not just saying that, I’m tragic in knowing who’s where and doing what. I am interested in the Games though. I’m really looking forward to seeing the closing ceremony. In fact, the kids are all quiet right now. I might just turn on the TV and watch a bit of the action. Maybe have a little nap.”

Dads … they’re all the same.

THE SHOW GOES ON

The Games may almost be over, but it’s time for the show to begin.

The Gold Coast Film Festival comes hot on the heels of our greatest sporting spectacle — and it’s not about to play a minor role.

The city’s flagship film event will screen 40 feature films including one world premiere, seven Australian premieres and seven Queensland premieres, plus a host of short films, events, filmmaker Q&As, and an incredible Virtual Reality film experience.

The 16th annual GCFF will run for 13 days from Tuesday to April 29.

A highlight of the program is the Queensland premiere of Simon Baker’s Breath this Thursday. Baker and fellow actors Samson Coulter (Pikelet) and Ben Spence (Loonie) will be attending the screening at Pacific Fair, followed by a Q&A.

“I’m thrilled to have our Queensland premiere at the Gold Coast Film Festival. The Gold Coast has long been a mecca for those that share a deep fascination and respect for the ocean, and the magnificent impact it can have in shaping who you are,” Baker says.

Gold Coast Film Festival director Lucy Fisher says the festival has also secured the Australian premiere of black comedy Brothers’ Nest to screen at the closing night on April 29, with brothers Shane Jacobson and Clayton Jacobson (Kenny), attending the event and Q&A.

“At its core, the Gold Coast Film Festival celebrates film and filmmaking,” Lucy says.

“The Film Festival will be the Gold Coast’s first major event following the Commonwealth Games and will continue to enrich the city through the dozens of special film events being held at 11 venues across the Gold Coast.”

[hazellvesque]

Some Kind Of Miracle - Chapter 2

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: G

Pairing: Adrien/Marinette

Summary: If Marinette had her way, she would have had nothing to do with Alya’s latest celebrity crush. So how did she get roped into stalking him around Los Angeles? When fashion icon Adrien Agreste quite literally crashes into Marinette’s life, they have no choice but to put up with one another or risk ruining both of their potential careers forever.

An AU based on the iconic Disney Channel Original Movie, Starstruck.

Read on Ao3

Chapter 2 - Unbelievable

<<< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >>>

“Adrien, why were you sitting on a roof?” 

Adrien Agreste had been deep into his discussion with Nino about the latest Ultimate Mecha Strike game – so deep in fact that the sun had set behind them without either of them noticing - before they had been so rudely interrupted by Nathalie waving a paparazzi photo in his face. 

The snapshot in question had been taken a few days prior. Adrien, clad in pajama pants and a graphic tee shirt, sat perched precariously on the very top of his house. His eyes were closed and he faced the breeze, looking almost angelic with his hair and arms tossed back gleefully. It was almost as if the night sky were his natural habitat. 

Honestly, it was a good picture. Better than any of the snapshots that had been released earlier that morning in that teen magazine spread. The vain part of him wanted to get it blown up to replace that billboard that had gone up recently. He didn’t know why Nathalie sounded like she was about to faint. 

“It felt nice outside,” was his offhand response. He added a shrug and grinned at her for good measure. 

Nino Lahiffe sat a just inches away lounging in the biggest chair in the Agreste house’s living room observing the whole conversation with a curious expression. His feet sat atop the coffee table and a glass of some kind of expensive-looking sparkling juice in a glass next to him. 

He tended to raid the kitchen and take whatever he liked anytime he wanted to. Just one of the perks of being Adrien’s best friend. 

He’d been the casual witness to many an Adrien scolding, honestly it amazed him how open Mr. Agreste’s assistants were about discussing private matters around him. He was in their house all the time; perhaps they’d stopped noticing that he didn’t quite belong. 

Disputes like this were always entertaining to watch because he could tell that most of the time Adrien didn’t care about getting punished and instead just feigned guilt to make other people feel like they’d accomplished something. There was no talking that boy out of his own decisions and actions, especially not when he was in a particularly rebellious mood like he had been this past week.

“Honestly, Nathalie, he does it all the time, I don’t know how- hmmph!” Nino’s statement was cut short by a quick elbow to the ribs from Adrien.

Okay, so it was true that he snuck out and did pretty reckless things on a normal basis. But Nathalie didn’t need to know that. This just so happened to be the first time he’d gotten caught. He could have sworn he triple checked the house’s surroundings before going out, but the paparazzi had been getting more and more creative with their hiding spots lately. 

“Nice outside. Nice enough that you couldn’t walk out the front door and decided to take the shortcut out the window?” Nathalie’s voice was eerily calm. You could always tell when she was angry. The quieter she was, the more afraid you should be.

He didn’t always have to pretend to be guilty about disappointing Nathalie. Of all of his father’s assistants, she was the nicest, but she also regarded Adrien the highest and held the strictest expectations of him. Not to mention the steely cold look in her eyes that sent shivers down anyone’s spine if she looked at them the wrong way.

Adrien averted his eyes, but he still felt her gaze boring into him. “I’m sorry, Nathalie. It won’t happen again.”

“What part of it?” she asked. “The part where you were caught in public in your pajamas, the part where you were out past curfew without permission, or the part where someone managed to get a photo of you putting your safety at risk? And what would have happened if you fell? You cannot get yourself injured, we don’t have time for a hospital visit.”

Nino leaned back further in his seat, taking a long swig of his drink, looking highly entertained. 

“Understood,” Adrien apologized. “None of it will happen again. Cross my heart,” he gestured over the left side of his torso for extra measure. 

There was a long, awkward pause. Nathalie stared down at the photo in her hands again, readjusting her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose, and sighing. Adrien could have sworn he had almost heard her mutter something that sounded very colorful under her breath. 

“I just got off a conference call with your father,” she said. “After we finished discussing this, he mentioned that he may have another modeling contract for you when he gets back. You two can talk it over during your meeting on Friday. He says it’s very important.” 

“Career wise or money wise?” Nino quipped.

Nathalie glared daggers at him. “Both, Mr. Lahiffe. You should both know that Gabriel has been trying to collaborate with this company for years, long before either of you were even born. This is an incredible opportunity for the entire Agreste family, one that could get them back in the international spotlight. But if Adrien does something to tarnish his reputation before the paperwork is signed, the deal is off and we are all done for. So if I were you I’d try to keep things like this-“ she waved the photo around one last time for emphasis, “-out of the hands of people who will run to the tabloids with it.”

With that, she turned to leave the boys to their own devices.

“Wait,” Adrien called after her. He hesitated before realizing that he might as well say what he wanted; she was already mad enough as it was, she probably couldn’t get much angrier. “One more question. How much money are we talking exactly?” 

She glanced over her shoulder and made a point to stare Adrien down, as if he were the only one in the room. “Hundreds of thousands,” was her answer. “Per photograph. We don’t want to give that up, do we?”

“No, ma’am,” he shook his head. “I’ll talk more with my dad about it. I won’t let you guys down.” 

As Nathalie left, the tension in the room seemed to instantly dissipate. 

Money had never been an issue in the Agreste household – that much was obvious. This time, however, the dollar signs dancing in his head didn’t just hint at bigger rooms or fancy furniture or fast cars. They pointed big green arrows at another idea that occupied Adrien’s mind. 

His eighteenth birthday had just passed. Since the day he received his first paycheck, his father had funneled more than eighty percent of his earnings into a savings account completely inaccessible to Adrien until he turned twenty-five. The remainder had been spent on everything from video games to new clothes, never massive amounts, never enough to tempt him to make any rash financial decisions. But now, being a legal adult, every cent he made was solely his to do what he pleased. And he knew exactly what he wanted to do with it. 

“Dude,” Nino said, pulling Adrien from his thoughts. He sat rubbing at his sore ribcage, right where Adrien had hit him. “That seriously hurt! Have you been working out or something?” 

“Honestly, Nathalie, he does it all the time,” Adrien said in an awful imitation of Nino’s voice. “You can’t just say things like that! Do you want my dad to kill me?” 

“You know,” Nino said, “for an actor, you’re god awful at doing impressions.” 

“I’m not an actor, Nino.” 

Okay, technically he was. He even had his own IMDB page, which was due to no choice of his own. A couple years back, his father had suggested he branch off from the modeling and try his hand at something new. A skincare commercial here and there somehow led to a minor role in last summer’s biggest blockbuster, but that wasn’t what Adrien wanted to be known for.

He didn’t want to be known for that unfortunate stint in a singing career either. If half of his fans knew how much auto-tune went into the making of that EP he released last year, they’d be appalled. Luckily, he’d avoided getting roped into doing any kind of live performance, and he’d like to keep it that way. 

“It doesn’t matter. Did you hear Nathalie? I could make millions from this deal. That’s…unbelievable,” Adrien sighed.

Nino leaned his head back and closed his eyes wistfully. “Imagine how many upgrades you could do to your tech with that kind of money. But wait, doesn’t your family already have millions?”

“My dad has millions,” Adrien corrected. “But with this shoot, even if he split up the money a hundred different ways, I’d still end up with so much. Don’t you get it?” he lowered his voice to barely a whisper. “I could get out of here.” 

Between the two of them, it had been no secret that Adrien felt a prisoner in his own home. It was part of the reasons he did dumb things like the stunt on the roof the other day. While he was here, Nathalie or any of his dad’s other dozens of assistants were constantly breathing down his neck. Security watched his every step whenever he left his bedroom. He had only just managed to bribe one of the guards to disable the cameras in his lounge room, which allowed him to have the current conversation he was holding with Nino with at least some sense of privacy.

Outside of the house was no better. Just like the person who had caught that picture of him on the roof, there were unsolicited photos of him taken every single day from the second he left the front door. He didn’t have a smidgen of privacy until he managed to get himself behind locked doors and away from paparazzi. 

None of this had ever meant to happen. “It’s just a temporary move,” Gabriel Agreste had said years ago. “You’ll be under contract for two months, and then we’ll come back home.” It was Gabriel’s desperate attempt at regaining his reputation after he’d been shunned and ridiculed on one too many Paris runways. 

Two months turned into the entire summer, which extended to fall and winter until, before he knew it, Adrien had permanently relocated to Los Angeles with home being out of sight and out of mind as far as anyone else was concerned. 

Learning to speak perfect, unaccented English had been hard. Getting used to the American attitudes surrounding him was even harder. He still missed waking up and seeing the Eiffel Tower from his window. 

Two years into LA life, a blessing and a curse came in the form of Chloe Bourgeois. As Adrien’s oldest friend and the daughter of the a Mayor who had no issue funding his daughter’s escapades, she felt entitled to fly back and forth to visit practically as often as she liked. Thankfully it mostly only happened when she was on break from school. If Adrien had to deal with her during every month of year, it might very well drive him insane. 

Having a friend from back home would have been nice, had she not become so enamored with the limelight. It was almost like she was a paparazzi magnet, happily posing for the camera wherever she went. She was meant to be a distraction from the glitz and glamour, and now she was one of Adrien’s main sources of it. 

He was a prisoner, not just in this house, but also throughout this entire city. As big as Los Angeles was, it still managed to make Adrien feel trapped. 

At least he had Nino here with him. 

“So that’s your plan, huh?” Nino asked. He was careful to sound completely neutral, which only made talking about this idea harder. “Lie low, get your contract, and hop on the next bus or plane or train out of here?” 

Even more guilt trickled in. Not only was Adrien complaining about his life – a life that any other person could barely dream of – but he almost completely disregarded that Nino was a package deal with it. Goodbye California meant goodbye Nino. 

He was torn. 

And besides, modeling was actually fun sometimes. 

So for the most part, he just dealt with his worries. He shooed away the little voice in the back of his head telling him to run. But that voice had been talking awfully loudly lately. 

“Not so fast,” Adrien said. “It’s a major decision to make, it’ll take time. Don’t worry, I’m not going to abandon you without warning.” 

“Good,” Nino laughed. “Because if Chloe drops in tomorrow and finds that you’re not here, the first person she’ll come after if me, and I do not want to be on a Bourgeois hit list.” 

Tomorrow? 

Oh. Oh no.

The realization must have been blatantly obvious on Adrien’s face, because Nino’s entire expression fell. “Adrien. Please don’t tell me you forgot. She’s probably already on her plane.” 

“She didn’t call! At least I don’t think she did!” Adrien bolted out of his chair and ran up the stairs, Nino following close at his heels. 

Most of the time Adrien kept his phone locked in his room, mainly because he didn’t want to have to deal with the constant calls from agents or the incessant social media notifications about him. If someone important needed to contact him, they had other ways. 

Unless that person was Chloe Bourgeois, which in that case, Adrien needed his phone right now. 

He was careful not to trip as he bounded his way up the four – really, Gabriel? Did this house really need to be this tall? – flights of stairs and around the corner into his bachelor-pad-esque bedroom. 

Honestly, if he wanted to, he never had to leave the four walls of this room. He had an en-suite bathroom and private kitchenette fully stocked with more food than he could possibly finish alone. Not to mention all of the gadgets and entertainment. A nuclear apocalypse could happen right outside the doors and Adrien could be so engrossed in his own little world here that he’d be none the wiser. That is, unless he decided to step out onto his private balcony, of course. 

It was huge and lonely, which is why he spent as little time in here as possible. 

He ran over to the small safe under the nightstand and quickly unlocked it. His phone screen was black, which gave him a false sense of hope. At the press of the large center button, the screen awoke displaying three missed calls and eight text messages, all from a very pissed off Chloe. 

Adrien cringed as he scrolled down, watching the amount of caps lock increase with every message. The last text had been sent five hours ago, and surprisingly, had zero punctuation whatsoever. 

‘Taking off now’ was all it said. 

Adrien could almost feel the metaphorical cartoon drop of sweat drip down his forehead. No punctuation was a very, very bad thing with Chloe. 

“She’s mad,” he said, not looking up at Nino. “And she’ll be here in,” he double checked the time, “-seven hours.” 

Nino nervously wrung his hat – which he had taken off his head – in his hands. “Remind me to be as far away from this house as possible by morning, then.” 

Adrien started pacing in circles. Part of him wanted to raid his kitchenette and start stress eating. “Nino, you have to help me. You heard what Nathalie said, I need to stay out of the press.” 

Nino nodded grimly. “And Chloe Bourgeois is a synonym for bad publicity. I know,” he signed dramatically and placed a very serious hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “I guess I’ll keep an eye out for trouble while she’s here. I’m willing to sacrifice my sanity to keep your reputation in check. Because I am such a good friend.” 

Adrien couldn’t help but laugh. “What would I do without you?” 

[mehlsbells]

I’ve written before about the myriad of things which would go into Perfect TV Pilot Bingo, including shows like Glitch and The Night Of which set up mysteries, shows such as Doctor Who which have mini-pilots every few seasons, even TV shows which shoot a mid-season episode first to sell the show but still need to make their actual first-airing episode work as an introduction.

Let’s take a look at Stumptown‘s pilot and how it functions to deliver an incredible amount of information in a very short space, while serving a self-contained story and setting up the season’s arc.

The cold open establishes the iconic PORTLAND sign before panning to two tattooed heavies driving a car mostly held together with duct tape and curse-laden invocations. In a moment we’ll discover they don’t mind beating strangers unconscious and stuffing them in a trunk, but first the show is going to plant tongue-in-cheek: the criminals ruminate on coffee tasting notes before sing along to Sweet Caroline which distracts them as Dex escapes from the trunk and fights for control, launched the car off a bridge. This tells us Stumptown is happy to fight small and dirty but throw a little money at old-school stunts. Casting helps, too, the singing heavies reminiscent of 101 Dalmations and Home Alone hired muscle.

The credits card is stylised in a nod to the source material, then the next scene pulls a classic “three days earlier.” This device is a gimmick to wring the most bang-for-buck out of an action sequence, or easily set up a ‘how did they get here’ mystery (Breaking Bad‘s favourite use), but it works here both because a pilot is almost expected to pull this sort of stunt, and because it pulls a fakeout later (more when we get there).

Three days earlier, a detective sits in a bar drinking whiskey. So far, so typical. Dex being played by Cobie Smulders, she’s immediately hit on by a smarmy out-of-towner, and her response is a doozy of character and exposition. The first scene briefed us on Dex’s resourcefulness, good taste in distressed denim jackets, and ability to fight with a seatbelt and fire extinguisher, but this is the first real sense we get of Dex as a person. Within 90 seconds we learn she has a quick-patter repartee and strong deductive reasoning, is a military veteran who served in Afghanistan, speaks at least one other language, and doesn’t tolerate smarmy pricks.

The scene itself is a version of the Sherlock Holmes Introductory Scene. Every Sherlock Holmes adaptation gives Sherlock a reason to show his powers of deduction, and many contemporary detective shows follow suit. Take the two most recent TV adaptations: Sherlock introducing John and Watson in a medical lab which underlines John’s bonafides while establishing Sherlock’s macabre fascinations. Elementary leads Joan to Sherlock’s screen-filled living room (the better to inform us how this modern Sherlock consumes visual data) before quickly getting to a crime scene (the better to show off both his deduction powers, and Watson’s medical knowledge).

Point being, showing Dex’s powers of observation is important, but location can convey information, too. Dex gets hit on by McDouchy at Whispering Winds Casino, which isn’t just for production design’s sake. The casino bar allows the show to seamlessly transition to Dex gambling, which gives her one of the multiple character flaws all noir detectives must be in possession of, and also good reason to be called into a back room for a chat with casino owner Sue Lynn . . . who happens to have an existing and somewhat prickly relationship with Dex.

Sue Lynn gives us more specifics about the broad strokes we already got; Dex is in more debt than just losing at craps in the prior scene; not only was Dex in the military, but specifically military intelligence; Dex dated Sue Lynn’s son. All this comes in the midst of a conversation where Sue Lynn sets up the episode’s central mystery by asking Dex to find her granddaughter Nina.

Dex drives home, accompanied by a perfectly serviceable establishing shot with her beat-up car we’re familiar with, and greets her brother Ansel. Family in unusual iterations feels like it’s going to be a running theme with this show, but Ansel also serves to remind / guilt Dex about needing a job. Ansel provides our first sense of how the theme of family will run through this show, and also a fantastic selection of Portland Timbers gear.

After calling Sue Lynn to accept the job, Dex spends an appropriate amount of time in her appropriately-cluttered kitchen staring wistfully at a picture of herself and a handsome man we can infer is her ex and Sue Lynn’s son. How much Dex is driven by debt and how much by nostalgia / sense of duty / obligation / love we don’t know yet, but that’s setting up a season and character arc question: for this episode, all that matters is Dex takes the case.

And to reiterate, we cut to Grey setting up his bar and giving Dex (but mostly the audience) a ‘so let me get this straight’ reset. They also establish their rapport and Dex’s noir detective proclivity for alcohol.

Less than ten minutes and we’ve received an incredible amount of information, gotten a feel for the tone, and met some characters who, while it’d be a stretch to call them ‘colourful’ since they’ve only had a couple lines, are at least sketched out enough to make them entertaining.

Now Dex heads off to start cracking the case. Because the pilot has a lot of other work to do, this case is simple, mostly serving to show off Dex’s street smarts. The opening car bit showed Dex’s physical resourcefulness, this scene lets Dex play mental games, egging a witness to call Nina then driving around the block before snatching the witness’s unlocked phone. On the phone is a picture of a motel, where Dex goes and – with a little elbow grease and disregard for protocol and procedure – finds Nina and Nina’s dumb boyfriend.

Driving Nina back to the casino, Dex is rear-ended and beat up by two thugs who run off with Nina. From the moment the little guy hits Dex we assume they’ll take Nina and put her in the trunk along with Dex: the bad guys often take our hero’s car, plus we remember the opening sequence from a mere 13 minutes before, so it seems obvious . . . but then they don’t. This tells us not too assume too much, that there’s another twist to come.

Before that twist, Dex is going to meet a very Hot Detective, get questioned up at the station by said detective and Chief Camryn Manheim Lieutenant Cosgrove, get bailed out by Grey, realise something is Very Wrong with Sue Lynn’s statement, double back to talk to the dumb boyfriend, and find a food truck cook named Tookie to get some info on who might have it in for Nina and/or Sue Lynn.

Quick pit stop; Tookie and Dex’s casual rapport and exposition friendly banter about that one time Dex helped out as line cook establish Tookie is clearly an old friend, but he’s also got a lot of knowledge of Portland’s grimy ongoings. Though this is the only time we see him in the pilot, he has clear Recurring Character Vibe and establishes his usefulness by giving Dex a lead (and some legit tasty hot sauce).

  At the nightclub Tookie pointed her towards, Dex runs into a bouncer whose name she misremembers; this establishes her penchant for casual sex, which sets up another scene with Hot Detective in just a few minutes. The bouncer isn’t just there to let Dex banter, he lets the story show us something about who she is.

A little misunderstanding about a hot car which riffs lightly on various noir / procedural tropes, a little grand theft auto via driving in a small space, and Dex goes back to Sue Lynn to return her cash advance. While the scene lets her get a bead on the fact Sue Lynn was lying, it also gives us a picture of her Ideals, which all stubborn noir detectives have varying degrees of, which often operate in shades of grey* but which they hold to tightly.

Leaving the casino, Dex experiences PTSD flashbacks to her military stint. While we don’t need to be reminded of her service again, this reminds us she’s got a heavy mental load, which underlines the emotion of a gut-punch which will get served by Hot Detective approximately 60 seconds later, just after a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am round of sex is PG-13ly insinuated.

The dialogue bridging* ‘post-coital flirting’ and ‘reminder that you blame yourself for your ex-boyfriend’s death by IED’ is . . . well, I knew Michael Ealy was attractive and talented, but I didn’t know he was a magician. He actually manages to make the scene work, with just a little assistance from a perfectly fitted black t-shirt.

The remainder of the story is mostly about wrapping up the Nina mystery. No surprise: Dumb Boyfriend is a bad guy. Slight surprise: the cops actually manage to do something helpful to our detective. No surprise, Dex gets to be belligerent and pretend to Not Care while actually Caring Very Much. Day saved, Dex goes to Grey’s bar where she toasts with her tiny chosen family, and just before the closing shot, Hot Detective shows up to give her a case which ‘may help keep her out of trouble’ and definitely will launch a season’s worth of sleuthing storylines.

You’ll notice every scene does something to establish tone, tell us about character(s) and their relationships to each other, tells us about Dex’s backstory / personality, and forward the episode’s central mystery. A few scenes only do three of the four, but that’s still plenty.

If this post feels very “then this happened, then that” – it is. A pilot is often paint-by-numbers because it has a lot to accomplish. You don’t need to mess with proven formulas, just make sure the characters and story, and the cinematography and wardrobe and actors you paint them with, are fascinating enough.

  Stray Observations

*pun intended

– Dex and Ansel’s ‘hey sis’ and ‘hey sib’ is the most eye-rollingly-obvious bit of exposition, especially since ‘sis’ was enough. I’d even buy ‘Sib’ was a slip of the tongue / actor’s nickname, but they sure didn’t ADR it.

– In addition to giving Soccer City continual plugs, Ansel’s love of soccer is an easy device to have him wherever the story needs; in this case, kicking a ball just out of danger when Dex gets abducted. Clever.

– I’d kill to see them include some Thorns gear in Ansel’s mix. Plus, a Christine Sinclair jersey would continue their wink to Cobie Smulders’s Canadian origins (they riff on this further in Ep 2).

– The backseat of Dex’s car is covered not only in unpaid parking tickets, but empty energy drink cans and cassette tapes. Props to the set dressers who also had to set up a bar before-and-while it opened, multiple rooms of Dex’s house, a skeezy motel, a casino backroom, and more.

– My favourite running gag is the number PORTLAND’S BEST ESPRESSO claims:

#Stumptown's pilot is the perfect Economy of Storytelling example. I've written before about the myriad of things which would go into Perfect TV Pilot Bingo…