Yea! Someone took up my challenge! Ooooh, Queenie, as a big movie buff, you had me at the subtitle: "Hooray for Hollywood!"
I, like Lois, was totally lost when I read this:
“It's nice to meet you, Lola,” Keith said, grinning wide. “Sorry, I'm just so excited; this is my first *real* movie, you know?”
“Is it?” Lois asked, hoping that things would start to make sense if he kept talking.
“Yeah,” he said. “My only speaking role before this was a doctor in Jungle Boo-Boo; have you seen it?”
She shook her head.
He sighed. “I'm not surprised. It's a cheap comedy about a man and a chimp who get switched at birth. So naturally, being in a flick about Superman is a major step up, even if I only have a tiny part.”
A movie about Superman?! Lois tried not to appear surprised. “Oh?” she asked. “And what part do you play?”
Keith beamed at her. “Clark Kent!”
Oh, no! She's landed in reality and someone is making a movie worse that Superman Returns. Whatever will she do. Great fake out, of course. Had me fooled.
“Oh, for--!” Les dragged a hand down his face and grimaced. “You're not pregnant again, are you?!” he snapped. “We're still cleaning the vomit out of the Lovers' Lane III sofa!”
Was I supposed to read this as "Lois Lane III" set? Because I did.
Ooops!
Charlotte took a few more deep breaths. “Excuse me a minute,” she mumbled, and whipped out a tiny cellphone. She spent a moment frantically dialing, but then must have changed her mind, because she pocketed the phone again with waiting for it to ring. She extended a hand. “Hi. I'm Charlotte.”
Did you mean "without" here?
“What?! Why on Earth is Superman here?!” the small man demanded. His underling tried to hide behind his clipboard.
The elevator chimed again, and a man stepped out, wearing a familiar blue-and-red ensemble. He strode over to Les and his lackeys. “Good afternoon, Mr. Donner,” he greeted the still-ranting loud-mouth. “I don't mean to intrude; I just thought I'd drop by on behalf of the Foundation to see if everything is going smoothly. Do you have everything you need?” His eyes seemed to be scanning the crowd.
“What I *need*,” Les began, his face turning an even darker shade of crimson, “is to get some shooting done without all these interruptions! I need actors who show up and do their jobs, and assistants who aren't complete and total--”
I wasn't quite sure if that was the real Superman or another actor at first. That director, Donner, (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) needs a chill pill and a ounce of respect for the person his biopic is supposed to be about. Or do they know that this isn't the original Superman?
“Jordan,” Superman suddenly said, extending a hand towards her.
Charlotte's brother? Father? Cousin?
“He left for New Krypton several days ago,” Lois told them. “Or centuries ago—whichever.” It was why she had been so furious when Wells had dragged the other Clark along on this latest search for Tempus. Why did he want to rub her nose in the absence of her fiance? Was he trying to set up this Clark as a replacement for hers? Was he subtly suggesting that Clark wasn't coming back? Furthermore, if he could just grab other Clarks at the drop of a hat, then why couldn't he just let the New Kryptonians take *this* Clark so that hers could stay home? It wasn't as if the other Clark had a fiance waiting for him, worrying about what was happening to him thousands of light-years away in space... She felt a little guilty at that last thought and bit back a sob.
Oh, that's why!
![[Linked Image]](http://cosgan.de/images/midi/konfus/a050.gif)
“It's this movie,” said Charlotte, meeting her eyes. “It's about that whole first clash with New Krypton, believe it or not. Superman's departure, the invasion, all of it.”
Lois' eyes widened. “Really?” ...Invasion?!
Dun, dun, dun.... I don't see how this Lois would really be able to help, being that she hasn't lived that yet.
Charlotte nodded, and her expression soured. “Grams, it's awful. Part of the reason I signed on was so I could try to do some form of damage-control. I mean, I know there's only so much we can expect given that they don't know...” she looked pointedly at Lois. “...you know, everything. But, still...” She frowned. “It's like they don't understand Superman at all! The story is terrible, the script is very unfair to you guys, and the guy playing Clark Kent is a total doofus!”
Hey! Just in the Superman: The Movie movie. /ducking/ I mean, that Clark Kent was portrayed as a doofus.
“Of course,” said Lois. “What did you think the foundation was set up for?”
“Well, to help people,” he answered with a shrug.
“Well, yes,” Lois admitted. “There is that. But the reason Clark started it in the first place was to get some measure of control over all the stuff that was flooding the world with Superman's name and logo on them. He needed to protect Superman's image. That's why it's written into the foundation's charter that Superman gets to have the final say on all official Superman products, including but not limited to books, toys,”--She grinned at them--“and movies.”
Great point. This is just the thing I could see getting lost in time. Good thing Charlotte wished for Lois to "pop" by.
“This necktie,” Lois said, reaching towards Keith and taking the offending article into her hand. She held it up a little. “It needs to go.”
Keith frowned. “What's wrong with it?”
“There's nothing wrong with it!” growled Les.
“No, no,” said Lois, “he needs something louder. More obnoxious.” She turned to the wardrobe woman. “Dani, right? Do you think you could find a necktie with a print of dogs playing poker?”
Cue Clark's cringe. His ties weren't THAT bad, Lois!
Jordan cleared his throat. “Mr. Donner, this woman is now working for me. As an expert on the time period you're covering, she'll be helping to assure the quality and accuracy of this film.
Les glared at him. “I don't care if she's working for the president! I'm in charge of this movie. You have no right to run around hiring and firing experts and making ridiculous changes!”
“But he *does* have the right to veto the finished film if he doesn't like it,” Lois stated, “flushing all that time and money you've spent right down the drain. Trust me, you're better off working with him *now*.”
What's wrong with this Donner guy? Doesn't he know that it's better to work WITH the subject of your film, than against him? Especially with one good stare, the film could go up in smoke, if he doesn't like it? IT'S about him! (or, technically, his namesake, but still...) USE should use all the resources at his disposal. I can see why Charlotte was worried.
“I don't have time for this!” Les finally groused, turning and stomping away. He waved toward Dani. “Get him the stupid necktie. He's just a minor character, anyway; it's not like anyone will notice or care!”
Yea! Nobody knows! I was still worried up until that point! Phew.
What's next for Lois? Will she stay in Hollywood long enough to see "Hans"? (Whom I'm guessing is playing Superman.) Yikes!
![[Linked Image]](http://cosgan.de/images/smilie/konfus/n065.gif)
Can't wait to read about that! Where else will Lois travel? What a great way to help her get through this difficult time without Clark!
