Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 86515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“Janine will give you the grand tour when we’re done,” he says. “I wanted to touch base before training camp starts. Make sure you’re good to go and find out what else you need from me. I want this documentary to shine, no holds barred.”
While the league is funding part of the documentary, the real powerhouse behind it is Rowe. It’s going to be an insider look at how a new expansion team is built from the ground up. It’s the first sports documentary I’ve ever done and at first, I wasn’t interested. But after a series of meetings, I saw the potential for a unique product and well… I love a good challenge.
Plus, the amount of money I’m being paid sweetened the deal to the point I simply couldn’t say no.
“I want to start filming sooner rather than later. We’ll work on B-roll immediately—empty spaces, first arrivals. This building is part of the story. The first week is part of the story. The first time they realize they’re being watched—definitely part of the story.”
Rowe’s brow lifts slightly. “You want to film before they’re ready.”
“Of course I do,” I say. “Ready is curated.”
“Some would call that intrusive.”
I smile. “Some would be correct.”
There won’t be any apologies for what I’ll be doing, but I might offer an explanation if the situation warrants it.
Rowe leans back, clasping his hands loosely. “Tell me your plan.”
“Skeleton crew,” I say, crossing one leg over the other. “Me and my cameraman, Evan Langdon. He shoots and I direct. We’re efficient and invisible when we need to be. We’ll use lavalier mics for interviews and a camera-mounted shotgun for ambient. I’ll want to install some other mics in the common areas as secondary audio. I rarely use boom mics because they make people self-conscious. I want your folks to forget we’re there.”
Rowe nods slowly. “And if they don’t forget?”
“Then I wait,” I say, because that’s the part that makes people nervous. “Or I push.”
His eyes sharpen, not disapproving but rather curious. “You’re probably going to ruffle some feathers.”
“I don’t know a single documentarian who doesn’t ruffle feathers,” I reply glibly.
“Fair enough.”
I study him for a long moment, and although we’ve discussed this many times, I feel the need to reiterate it. “I won’t do a fluff piece on this team. If I find dirt, I’ll expose it. Just as I’ll highlight the good stuff.”
“Juno,” Patrick says, leaning forward so that I feel the weight of his stare. “I know you did your research and I vetted you very thoroughly, so trust me, if I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here.” I hold his gaze. “I know you’ve built a career on dismantling institutions. The only thing I expect you to do is report with integrity.”
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that hockey is an institution.”
He sits back again, eyes glittering with interest. “I’d agree with that.”
“People worship it. And anything people worship gets away with things it shouldn’t.”
Rowe’s mouth curves. “You think my team is hiding something.”
“I think every institution is hiding something,” I correct. “Sometimes it’s big. Sometimes it’s small. Sometimes it’s a truth that doesn’t look good on a billboard.”
Rowe studies me for a beat, then nods like he expected that answer.
That’s when he says it. “Sanctuary.”
The title of my first major documentary sounds like a lit match dropped on dry paper. My expression stays neutral because I’ve had years of practice. I don’t flinch, but my blood remembers where I got the inspiration for the film.
The closed community, the hymns and the rules. The way they preyed on innocent little girls.
Rowe smiles at me and I see the respect peeking past the empathy. “I admire that you used your own personal childhood experience to focus the direction of that film. It was very brave.”
Yes. I’ve been called brave before, and I accept that.
Rowe doesn’t dramatize it. “You won awards for that documentary,” he continues, calm. “But more importantly, you exposed truth without turning it into spectacle. You took down a system that had used moral authority as a weapon.”
Sanctuary was a feature-length film exposing a fundamentalist church in rural Alabama that used corruption and manipulation to fill its coffers. While it wasn’t exactly like the church I was raised in, it had enough similarities. Along the way, people were traumatized, powerful men went to prison, and I captured every bit of it on film.
That documentary made my career what it is today, and why I can command pretty much any project I want.
It’s also why I get paid the big bucks.
“People love the ‘survivor’ narrative,” I say lightly. “It sells. Much the same way, the Wildfire will be viewed as an underdog story, and that narrative sells just as well.”
Rowe’s gaze doesn’t waver. “We will be considered underdogs, but this team will be competitive. I’m glad you’re going to capture that all on film.”