Magical Mystery Tour

A Beginning

The four young men sat in their recording studio excitedly paging through a book of actors. Every few minutes, one making a comment or deciding who they liked or didn't, very little recording had gotten done that day much to their producer's dismay.

"Oo! Would ya' look at that? We have ta' use him! And we should have a midget, and a very fat lady!" one said excitedly as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"That's all well and good John," another chided "However, we can't just have a bus full of midgets and very fat ladies. I think we should work on casting the rest of the bus as well"

"Well, what about her?" the shortest of the four asked.

"yech...her face is all pinched up"

"how about him?"

"He'll do.."

"Ooo...how about her?" John said holding the book up and making it dance

"Nah..." his friend dismissed.

"This bird then?" the short one pointed out a young actress with dark hair. The leader of this project had gone silent looking over the head shot of the girl.

"Alright, Paulie what's wrong with her? Too short? Wrong color hair?" John asked finally.

"Sod off ya' git" Paul laughed "She's perfect for this!"

"Right then, are we done with this for now? I want ta' look at the funny lookin' ones" John added.

"I think we're done...I'll tell Mal to call their agents" Paul said before flipping through the book again with John.

I couldn't believe the call when I got it. It wasn't that I never heard from my casting agent, however it was normally for a commercial or small film. Well, this was a small film...only an hour in length, but it was starring four of the biggest names in Great Britain and they'd hand-picked me.

"Tilly, are ya' still there love?" Malcolm asked me over the phone. I must've been silent for a while.

"Yeah Malcolm, I'm here." Was all I could reply with, as my flat mate watched me eagerly from the couch.

"Are ya' interested in the project, they need an answer as soon as possible" he explained.

Was I interested? What a question! What actress wasn't interested in being in a Beatles film? After the success of A Hard Day's Night, there was practically bloodshed in the acting community to get into Help! I tried for that one, never quite made the cut, now here I am a year later, being told I was hand-picked for the next movie. For me, it wasn't just because I enjoyed their music, but it was a way to boost my own career! Finally I answered my agent.

"Yeah, I'm interested" I said calmly. In my head I was turning cartwheels, my flat mate laughing at me as I mouthed "Oh My God" over and over again.

"Brilliant! It's called Magical Mystery Tour and it starts filming in 2 weeks" Malcolm said excitedly

"Alright, when do I get the script?" I asked. A valid question I thought. He was always grand about getting me scripts so I was able to study up on what I'd be doing, whether I had a dozen lines or said a single word, I'd still want to make that word fantastic so I would be cast again, especially with something this big!

"Well, Tilly love..." Malcolm started "There is no script. Only a rough idea really"

No script? He knew improvisation wasn't my strength! Suddenly the anxiety kicked in and my brain was racing!