endlessly

17

"Looks like you're going to be our stand-in today?" Josh, the stunt coordinator asks.

"I am," Tatum smiles.

"Awesome. So, for today's stunt, you're going to get into the wire. The scene has Natalia's character climbing a ladder that falls away and she's left hanging on a ledge and eventually falls. That sound okay?" he asks. Tatum looks at Mikey with wide eyes.

"Well, in reality, that sounds horrible but sounds cool for TV," she jokes. Mikey and Josh both laugh.

"You've got a sense of humor, I like it," he smiles, "Let's start with getting you into the harness."

Josh walks over to a wall that has a bunch of equipment hanging from it. He pulls down a harness that looks similar to climbing gear, "Go ahead and step into this."

He gives Tatum the harness and searches for something else. She looks at it with a sideways glance, to which Mikey grabs it from her. She kneels down, "Step in."

Tatum lifts her leg and almost falls over, grabbing Mikey's shoulder for balance, "Sorry."

"It's okay," she laughs. Tatum gets into the harness and Mikey pulls it up to tighten it for her. She's very close to Tatum's body, which makes her nervous, but a good kind of nervous.

"And then this goes on, kind of like a corset," Josh hands her another harness. Tatum puts this one on easily and tightens the straps around her, "Perfect. First, I'm gonna hook you up and just lift you up. Just so you can get a feel for it."

"Okay," Tatum gives him a thumbs up. They walk over to a climbing wall that has a ladder propped against it. A thick blue mat sits below, assuming that to be what Tatum will be landing on.

Josh clips the waist harness to the corset harness. Then he clips two wires to the sides of the corset harness.

"Ready?" He asks. Tatum nods and he motions for another crew member to lift Tatum. In a matter of seconds, she lifts up slowly and is left dangling in the air. She feels an adrenaline rush from this whole situation. Although, she looks so tiny just hanging in the air. Mikey takes the opportunity to snap a picture of the brunette.

"Hey!" She shouts to Mikey, having heard the noise of the camera.

"What? I can't help it, you're so cute!" Mikey whines, "This is going to the girls."

Tatum blushes as she is lowered back down.

"How did that feel?" Josh asks.

"Good, what's the next step?" She asks eagerly.

"Go ahead and climb to the top of this ladder. Then we'll get the wires ready for the release," He instructs.

"Okay," She goes over to the ladder and begins climbing it. It isn't mounted to the wall, so it moves, which makes her a little nervous.

"You can use the nervousness in the filming. The ladder will be just like this when the cameras are rolling," Josh explains, "The wires won't let you fall though, they move with you, in case you slip."

"You got this, Tatum!" Mikey cheers. Once Tatum's at the top of the ladder, she feels the wires lift her slightly.

"Now, you're going to reach for the top of the wall. I'm going to pull the ladder out and just react like you normally would, but the wire will catch you," Josh instructs.

"Okay," Tatum looks down once and then back at the wall. The top of the wall is a little further up, meaning she has to reach for it.

"Whenever you're ready."

Tatum takes a deep breath and trusts that the crew members know what they're doing. She reaches up slowly for the wall. She lifts up onto her tippy-toes and just like he said, the ladder tilts and falls to the ground, "Ah!"

Tatum grasps the edge of the wall but is mostly being held up by the wires. Her legs swing back and she reaches for the wall with her other hand.

"Now, as you reach, wiggle your other hand, this will lead to the fall," Josh instructs, "The wires will drop you fast, but not to the point of injury, okay?"

Tatum nods while looking up at the edge, "Okay!"

"Ready?" he calls.

"Yeah!" she answers. She wiggles her hand and strains like she is losing her grip. Suddenly, the wires release her weight and she lets go of the wall, "Ah!"

The fall is fast, but controlled so when she hits the blue mat, she hits it, but not to the point of injury.

"Holy shit!" She exclaims excitedly. Mikey claps and smiles at her.

"That was so cool to watch!" She says.

"That was amazing for the first run," Josh compliments her.

"Thank you," Tatum smiles.

"Now, let's put it all together, faster this time. I'll give you cue words to help," He instructs, "When I say action, start climbing the ladder."

A crew member puts the ladder back up as Tatum takes a deep breath. Her heart is racing from all of the excitement of this job.

"And, action!" Josh yells. Tatum begins climbing the ladder. It clatters and shifts slightly, making Tatum's breathing shake, "And reach for the wall."

She goes back on her tip-toes, "Keep reaching, the others will be shouting their lines... keep reaching, look down at the ground..."

Tatum listens to the directions, "And boom!" The ladder falls and Tatum strains to hold on.

"Keep holding! Keep holding, reach!" Josh shouts. Tatum really begins to put her own acting skills into this and strains to reach.

"And drop in three... two... one!" Tatum lets her hand slip and she drops to the mat. She stays down for a second before sitting up.

"Jesus Christ, Tatum, you scared me. I thought you were hurt," Mikey takes a deep breath of relief.

"I was that good, huh?" she smiles proudly. Mikey nods and walks over to her on the mat.

"Mmhm, that was so good!" She answers. She pulls the girl to her feet, and almost pulls her over, but Tatum regains her balance.

"Ready to run it for real?" Josh asks.

***

There were multiple takes of Natalia's lines and her going to the ladder before Tatum gets to go in for her. After filming, Tatum goes back to Mikey's chair and watches the rest of the scenes being filmed. She's exhausted when it's finally time to go home.

"You did amazing, love. You might become a regular stand-in for Natalia," Mikey tells her as they leave the studio.

"Really? How come? I'm fine with it, but I thought the other girl was just out for today," Tatum asks. They get into the car and begin their journey home.

"Well... Josh said something about possibly needing a replacement for the said girl, didn't say much more," she answers.

"Oh, well that's cool."

"Yeah, did you have fun?" Mikey asks with a smile. Tatum looks over, gleaming from ear to ear.

"Of course!"

"That's good. How about we celebrate... and you let me take you out?" Mikey places her hand on Tatum's bicep as she holds the steering wheel. Tatum's stomach flips and she knows she's blushing. She nods.

"Okay. I'd like that."