7725/Holy Casting Call Gray Ghost!

Holy Casting Call Gray Ghost!
Date of Scene:	07 September 2021
Location:	The Wick
Synopsis:	Catman signs the Gray ghost to play the part of comissioner in his new project and the two share a heart to heart.
Cast of Characters:	Thomas Blake, Simon Trent
Tinyplot:	Theme_of_the_Crime

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Thomas Blake has posed:
A Tuesday morning at the Wick finds Thomas Blake. Blake is hardly recognizable. That is to say, he's saved, well groomed and wearing a silk suit. Instead of his usual messenger pouch he has a top notch briefcase. Several papers litter his table, a four bone dry shot glasses. They stacked up because he ordered all four at once. Not to mention the waitress is entangled with him and making... small talk. Yes, let's just call it small talk. Small talk and giggling in a very unprofessional manner.

The management is familiar with Mr. Blake, indulge him and reap his gratitude. Restrict him at your own peril. The waitress is reaping gratitude. Finally she gets free, grabs the shot glasses, stopping to squee twice, and no one ever saw his hands move!

Simon Trent has posed:
     Simon Trent is dressed in his usual attire a fairly simple looking sweater over a plain shirt and pants. He looks more like a grandfatherly figure than one might expect with that bald spot in the middle of his head having worn him down to look a bit more like a certain butler of Gotham than he might be comfortable with, minus the impressive moustache.

     Still he's a man on a mission as he enters the Wick walking with a confident smile and a friendly gait. He's still got the rock solid chiseled features of his youth but they've been worn with age so that they could only maybe cut diamonds with that chin of his.

     "I'll have a coke with a shot of cherry and a lime wedge on the side" He offers with confidence as he flashes a brilliant smile of pure white teeth towards the bartender. He's still got it, or at the very least he believes that he's still got it.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake knows believing you've got it is half the battle. He springs to his feet and waves, a little too fast. te table nearly goes over and the big man grabs it just in time, his jacket barely holding up. "Mr. Trent, sir! Over here! I'm so glad yu agreed to see me." He pulls a chair out for Simon and gestures for him to sit.

Hell this is as far as you can get from his usual 'screw everyone' devil may care attitude. "It's an honor sir!"

Simon Trent has posed:
     Simon lights up with a bright and friendly expression across his face. "Of course Mr.Blake, of course I can always make time for an opportunity with someone like yourself." He makes his way back over towards the table with coke in hand a spring in his step as he does. There's an almost infectious joviality to this man with every word that he speaks his very body language that just brings a smile to the faces of the people around him.

     "I admit it's not often these days that I get a casting call request that isn't for another Gray Ghost videogame or television commercial." He chuckles to himself as he sets his drink down onto the table setting down with relative ease.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake smiles. Do they shake hands or is that after a successful deal? He sits down.

"I think you'd like this part, sir. Theme of the Crime is a fictionalized series about theme criminals in Gotham, but not Gotham. Gotham has Penguin, we have Puffin. The alternative would be to face Cobblepot's shark tank of lawyers. Gotham has Poison Ivy, we have the Ivy League. I suggested your name for the part of the police commissioner. We have eight shows in the first season and we would like to sign you up for three to start. The commissioner is a complex man struggling between upholding the law and dealing with increasingly unorthodox methods to curb the cirminals. Here's some dialogue, a bio..." Thomas hands the actor a script. Another script, yellow with age sits in a plastic bag. The cover reads BGG episode 23 The Velvet Claw.

Simon Trent has posed:
     Simon gets right down to business skimming over the script his attention dotting from one page to the next in a seamless motion. "Really a police commissioner." He pauses for a brief moments thought as he lets out a low hmm, before pulling out his reading glasses in order to get a better look at things. He catches that yellowed script out of the corner of his eye and a light smile crosses his lips.

     "An interesting episode to film." He says rather suddenly. "Our work with Martha Filemonsen was an absolute treat, and I can tell you from memory the number of times she managed to accidentally step on my big toe during the dance number near the mid point of the episode."

     He chuckles to himself for a brief moment lost in memories even as he continues to skim through the script, adjusting his reading glasses. "Filemonsen was a far better singer than she ever was a dancer."

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake looks at the script and gets a roguish smile suddenly. He chuckles about the dance number. Then he holds up the script and carefully takes it out of the bag. "You might expect me to ask you to sign this, sir. No need. You already did." He gingerly opens the cover. "There was this bumbling little cigarette girl who gave the Gray Ghost a clue? Bit part. She returned for three other similar parts. She was sort of a running gag. Her name was Sienna Cicero. She was my mother. A while later of course, after she gave up acting." There is a softness that plays about his eyes as he speaks. That rarely happens.

"She... said you were very kind and a gentleman to her -unlike many."

"Please understand, I know you can act. I saw you in other work. I think this part would be an excellent fit but... I have no small measure of gratitude as well." Yes it was a bit of a scuffle with the producers. After making a healthy contribution to the show, and hanging a recalcitrant director out a window for calling him 'bitch' the deal came through. Simon would get the part if he wanted. The audition would be a formality. No need to burden Mr. Trent with that information.

Simon Trent has posed:
     Simon places down his script looking over the faded yellow script from years gone by. He pauses for a long moment. His hand rests on that familiar calligraphy of his. It's not like the typical one and done cignature one might expect from an actor, or even an author. No it's full on calligraphy with a minute attention to every little detail more like what someone would expect out of a medieval bible than a quick signature on the midst of a set. The words in bold are written 'You can only lose when you stop trying-Simon Trent'

     He chuckles softly under his breath looking at that faded old script the memories flowing back to him as he adds a low sigh trailing off at the end as he runs his hand down the side of the manuscript.

     "It wasn't always easy playing the Gray Ghost without being the Gray Ghost." He offers looking up from the script. "There was so much going on that I wanted to do in order to help people like he could, The Gray Ghost" He pauses a long moment looking off to one corner. "So much I wanted to stop."

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake looks a little downcast. Then there is a fierce light in his eyes. "You tried to revitalize Park Row. You helped. Most of these so-called heroes just live to beat me up... or did. I... was Catman. I did bad things. I try not to do bad every day as I make my way int this world. But, no one wakes up one day and decides they want to put on a costume and steal original artwork for 'The Katzenjammer Kids.' I want this show to explain why people do this, that maybe no one is irredeemable."

"Except the Joker. He... nope. Nope." Thomas Blake shakes his head.

Simon Trent has posed:
     Trent takes a long pause before looking up. He seems to gain the wind back behind his sails somewhat as he sets up on the spot looking across the table towards Catman. "Joker is." Simon starts to speak before trialing off and starting again. "You see he..." The words just fall flat and all Simon can do is clear his throat before taking a sip of his lime cherry coke. "I'll do it."

     He pauses for a long moments thought before adding. "But I'd like half my wages donated directly to the Park Row revitalization fund."

     Oh boy it's that fund again. The same one that already took his millions and produced almost nothing. It was notorious as being a very underfunded group with a very lofty goal of rebuilding Park Row to its former glory.

     They'd already had six chairmen murdered attempting the revitalization, funds stolen, arsen. Someone out there really had it out for Park Row.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Park Row. More of his millions lost.

Not this time.

He didn't know what he could do but, despite his glaring faults (and he had many) if there was one thing Catman detested, it was a bully. This was the work of a lethal bully.

Maybe... they needed the right chairman. Wouldn't pointy ears love that. He had hit on one way to drive a Bat crazy -stay legit. Not necessarily honest mind you, but legit.

"Agreed. Before taxes. And... I'll do likewise."

What?! Oh for... why don't I just dress up as the Gray Ghost?

"We can sign the paperwork tomorrow at the Gotham Cablevision Building."