Typical Day
At precisely 5:47AM, three different alarms surrounding Holly Woodland's bed wake her up. She slaps the bedside alarm clock, slides off the one on her smartphone, and finally gets out of bed to shut off the buzzer in the attached bathroom.
She begins her morning routine with a deep breath. As a successful talent agent in the high-paced film and television business, every minute counts—especially those that she'd rather be using by lying in her comfy, cozy, oh-so-luxurious bed. Staying ahead of the day means starting the day as soon as possible, regardless of what her body wants.
The body is important, of course, so she gets in her morning jog. She listens to her favorite podcast while running, a show about film reviews and TV ratings. That's right: even while she's working out, she's also working. Remember that thing we said about every minute counting, because Holly ain't playin'.
Showered, dressed, and fed a delicious post-workout smoothie by 7:00AM, Holly gets to work. Sure, she'll be heading into the office by 10:00AM, but between now and then there's money to be made.
As per usual, a few of her clients have auditions or callbacks today, and Holly is logging in to her breakdown services (online actor call sheet thingies) to make sure everyone's confirmed. And they are—everyone except Jaxson Jaymes, a twenty-something model/actor who has a bit of a reputation for flaking, but books jobs too often for Holly to drop (a nicer way of saying "fire").
She writes Jaxson a stern (but not too stern) email asking him to plz confirm ASAP thx. Since every minute counts, she doesn't really have time for too many vowels, and Jaxson will probably understand the shorter words better anyway (he's a sweet kid though).
In the office at 10:00AM and at her desk by 10:01AM, Holly could feel the change the moment she walks in. After all, she's not just an agent at this boutique firm—she owns it.
And just like any other business owner, the buck stops with her—including the bucks she'll pay her dozen employees with. So regardless of how long they've been with her, everyone from her senior TV or Commercial agents on down is on their best behavior.
If only Holly could say the same about her clients. From 10:02AM on, Holly has to deal with their issues. One of her newer clients is going to India for a month, so he won't be able to take that Samsung spot he was this close to getting. Another client calls her in tears because she just saw that a person she hates got the role she wanted and she's not taking it well.
And just as she's about to head out for lunch at 1:00PM, Jaxson calls: he just woke up, so he's going to be late to his audition. Because of course he did, and of course he is. Sighing, she has her assistant call casting to let them know.
After her power lunch with a casting director she really wants to build a relationship with ends at 2:00PM with a handshake and a hug (score), she heads back to the office. Her assistant gives her the rundown of everything she missed. This happens mid-walk, of course—Holly has a meeting with her television agent and associates at 2:15PM. Every minute blah blah.
At 4:00PM, with the television department fully briefed and prepared for the upcoming pilot season (as in test TV shows, not people who fly aircraft), Holly takes off from the office for the day. Is she done with work? Naw; this is Hollywood—when the sun goes down, the real work is just beginning (not unlike a job as a night watchman or a vampire).
One of her clients has a major gig in a new Spielberg film (thanks in no small part to Holly's keen negotiation skills). The premier is tonight, and there's no way she's going to miss that. Not only will there be a massive amount of celebrities, actors, producers, and other studio bigwigs to schmooze with—her client has promised to introduce Holly to Steven tonight.
The movie starts twenty minutes late at 7:25PM (every minute counts unless the thing is already made). By 11:00PM, Holly has laughed, cried, applauded, schmoozed, eaten hors d' oeuvres, taken numbers, given numbers, and met one of her biggest film idols. She may have been at this game for quite a few years (more than she's willing to admit on IMDb), but she still gets star struck from time to time.
While leaving the after-party, Holly checks her messages. She has one from a production company, regarding Jaxson. Turns out they love him and they totally want to hire him. They just want her to make sure that he'll get to the set on time every day. "Easier said than done," she thinks as she makes the best kind of phone call an agent can make.
It may be late but this is the kind of phone call actors live for. Besides, since he slept until midday Holly knows he's probably still up at this point. After all, every minute counts—even if those minutes are the last of the day.