Nothing was easy. Telly felt lightheaded.
"Everyone take five," he said, and there struck up a quiet drone as cast and crew began to wander away in all directions. Telly stood up, and began to explore Stage 28.
It had been the first steel-and-concrete set to be built at Universal Studios, especially to serve as the interior of the Paris Opéra, and several other sets as well, for the silent film adaptation of the Phantom back in 1925. The silent film was the only one where the actors hadn't messed up by having American voices in a French setting, har dee har har. Telly traced the carving on one of the old opera boxes. They were shooting the unmasking scene in the Phantom's lair, and had built the smaller, much more claustrophobic set, within the soundstage. Outside of its black walls, one could still see the remains of the auditorium set. A false floor hid where once an audience of eager extras had sat, the backstage set had long been dismantled, and the chandelier lost. How one managed to lose a one-tonne chandelier from a locked storage facility on a private secure lot was indeed a mystery for the ages, but there still remained something special about stage 28, where the first and greatest film adaptation of the Phantom had been made. Telly had hoped his cast would be inspired by working on the set, as he had been, but the announcement had bounced right off Mindy's head and received only a lukewarm "Oh?" from Richard. Justin, hell-bent on becoming a respected acteur (his irritating words) had reacted as if he'd just been told he was next in line for the British throne. "Oh my God!" he had exclaimed. "That is so incredible!" You could hear the hitch in his voice as he stopped himself from saying "cool". He had then proceeded to tell them what a great fan he was of Len Chaney. He was a moron.
There was a legend that Chaney's ghost haunted the stage, Universal's own personal Phantom. In his more cynical moments, Telly wondered if a Ouija board and an EMF meter might improve the cast. Then he would think that Lon Chaney would have better things to do with eternity.
On a not entirely unrelated note, I am in love with Julian Lloyd Webber's orchestral version of the Lloyd Webber Phantom music, and I'm also enjoying the Woman in White suite as well, which I've never heard before. I could swear that several of the melodies are ripped off another classical composer, Gustav Holst maybe, but I'm too lazy to check. Some Lloyd Webber naysayers, of which there are many, would say, "Of COURSE he did! He's a hack!"
I however, being neither an ALW naysayer or fanatic, will be sitting here and enjoying some pretty violin and cello.
Happy Easter!
