West & Vega: The Untold Jori

The Best Kind of Story

"Are you sure this looks okay? It feels too tight."

Tori clucked her tongue at me. "It is tight. Have you seen your boobs? They're not small."

"My frequent upper back pain agrees with you. I just mean it feels snug in the hips."

Tori took a step back and gave me a once-over. "I mean, it's form-fitting, but it's supposed to be. You look great. Seriously. Like, I'm having a real hard time keeping my hands to myself."

My cheeks flushed.

"Tori," Cat groused. "Stop making her blush, I can't blend this right if you keep turning her cheeks red."

"I'm not blushing. I don't blush."

"You didn't use to," Tori said. "And I'm sorry, Cat, but she's just so—"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, your girlfriend's super hot. Jeez." Cat rolled her eyes. After a moment, she leaned in closer. "You know I think you're hot too, but she doesn't have to keep bragging about it, and...ah, dang it! Now I made you blush!"

"I'm not blushing," I insisted. Futilely, I guess. "It's anger and rage boiling just under the surface and it's going to explode any minute."

Tori and Cat stopped what they were doing and exchanged glances. For a fleeting moment, I thought I had them. Then they laughed.

Shit. That sort of thing used to work. Stupid growth as a person.

Tori joined Cat and inspected my face. "Cat, it looks perfect. You did great."

"Of course I did great. I'm good at makeup."

Sam appeared out of nowhere with the bottle of water I'd asked for and planted a kiss on Cat's cheek. "You're good at lots of things, babe," she said.

Now it was Cat's turn to blush. "Sam, we're not supposed to talk about private stuff here."

As red as Cat turned, Sam turned equal shades pale. "I wasn't. But thanks for saying that out loud."

Carly Shay stepped out from behind me. "All right, hair's done," she said. "I did my best but you've got some split ends that need some TLC."

"We've got a spa day booked next week," Tori said. "She refused to go during the shoot."

"Why would I go to a spa in the middle of my first feature film shoot?" I asked, for what felt like the millionth time. "Name one other director that does that."

Admittedly, the shoot for my first feature, I Love (Hating) You , was a massive challenge on every level. I had a bit more studio oversight from Liz (although not nearly as much as I would have had under Les at Paramore, had I opted to continue with them), I had to get to know my new crew, most of which were professionals who had worked in the industry for years. At first, I butted heads with pretty much all of them, but especially my cinematographer and 1st Assistant Director, both of whom had a stick up their ass over me. Why, you ask?

That's the kicker. Because they saw me as a stunt, new blood who didn't earn her place and fell ass-backward into her role because of a single, lucky performance. Oh, the irony was so thick you could slice it thin and serve it on crackers. The universe is a bitch sometimes, isn't it? Tori may have been playing "me" in the movie, but behind the scenes, I very quickly understood what it had been like to be Tori when she first arrived at Hollywood Arts. And though it caused a ton of stress in the first month of production, I learned the lesson very well and it only served to drive Tori and me closer together.

Of course, I'm not Tori, and I didn't stand for that kind of treatment on my own set. The day I fired my Oscar-nominated Director of Photography was the day I earned the quiet respect of the rest of the crew who, surprisingly, wanted to remain employed. Even Liz commended my decision, and she's the one who recommended that jackass in the first place.