The Starlet's Big Gamble

[GetThiccer]

The Starlet's Big Gamble: Part 1

 

Part 1 of what will hopefully be a multi-part weight gain epic! Also now posting on Deviantart: TheGetThiccer User Profile | DeviantArt

 

Gina Dumont once thought the surrealism of seeing herself loom 50 feet over Sunset Boulevard on a billboard would dissipate after a few movies, but once again, she found herself doing a quick double take at the sight of her and Ryan Gosling in the upcoming romance Wayward Heart. Now, this double take did not necessarily translate to an endorsement of the project at hand. 
The truth of the matter was, Gina was dreading the film's release. Shot in late 2022 as one of Warner Bros's hopeful summer counter-programmers amidst a sea of superheroes and franchises, the film had been quietly plucked from the release schedule and was now being dumped in the doldrums of January 2024. Gina wasn't terribly surprised, and wished she'd had better judgment before closing the deal. She had always had reservations about the script, but her agent had convinced her to take it based on Ryan Gosling's involvement. Also not helping matters was that the initially attached director fell out with the studio and left the project days after she had closed the deal, leaving them with a clueless rookie who had been hired two days before the start of principal photography. Judging from the guy's skillset and attitude, Gina doubted the dude had ever directed so much as a school play, and her ensuing discovery that he was the son of an ex-studio mogul checked out completely. Luckily, Ryan had hated him as much as her, and the two managed to grit their teeth through a nightmare production that went weeks overschedule while enduring plenty of script rewrites and crew member turnovers. Gina could only imagine what a piece of shit the movie was, and she was surprised the film hadn't just been erased from existence in the name of a tax write-off. As opposed as she was to this new and obscene form of corporate cost-cutting, Gina certainly wouldn't have lost any sleep if Wayward Heart had gone the way of Batgirl. Seeing the billboard had tainted her nice little afternoon, the two overstuffed shopping bags in both her hands evidence of the success of her "me-time". 
A sudden urge to ring her manager began to percolate... 
Kate Hawkins had been Gina's talent manager since she was 20 and had helped steer her acting career from Girl #3 on crime shows to two Academy Award nominations by the age of 25. Now at 29, Gina was coming off a handful of mediocre projects, all with collaborators she respected and admired. Wayward Heart had been Kate's idea, to finally sell Gina as a mainstream romantic lead after a couple of underwhelming dramas and indies following the second Oscar nom. Up to this point, Gina had respected Kate's taste and eye for quality material, which led to her booking a number of prestigious jobs with in-demand directors. Paired with a delicate natural beauty that evoked the likes of Natalie Portman and Rooney Mara, it hadn't taken long for Gina's career to catapult her into stardom. Gina credited Kate for not allowing her to succumb to a lucrative blockbuster deal in soulless IP slop, but Wayward Heart had finally broken her streak. Nobody was perfect, and Gina was finally now having to contend with a genuine artistic and (likely) commercial flop. She found a bench in a park and set her bags down so she could dial Kate, her wide brimmed hat and sunglasses shielding her from any annoying fans that might try to awkwardly ask for a selfie. She was dressed casual but classy, and usually managed to blend into a crowd when she wanted to.
Kate picked up after only one ring.
"Gina?
"Heyyyy," Gina said. 'I just saw something 50 feet above Sunset Boulevard that made me think of you. Care to hazard a guess what that might be?
Kate, now a veteran of various iterations of this interaction, chuckled. "Let me guess, Warner's biggest hit of the year?
"Nailed it," Gina said. "And I just wanted to quickly take the opportunity to sincerely thank you again for convincing me to do it. What director isn't going to want to work with me after seeing Wayward Heart, right?
"Well don't worry, they won't see it. Not the ones that matter anyway. I also wouldn't worry about being out of work for too long, because I just received a very interesting script with you in mind. It couldn't be farther from Wayward Heart if you tried."
Kate sounded excited, and Gina's interest was piqued. "Wait, something written for me? Who sent it?
Kate paused for effect, Gina now fully enraptured. Finally, after bated breath from both ends...
"Armando Santucci."
Gina's jaw dropped. "Armando Santucci?? Bullshit."
"Oh no, you're apparently his first choice,' Kate replied gleefully. 'This is exactly what you need right now Gina, a critically acclaimed drama from one of the world's signature auteurs. Wayward Heart will come out, and yes it'll suck and yes it'll hurt, but little will they know you've got Armando Santucci's long awaited third feature in the can. It'll be a perfect comeback story!
Gina was now almost shaking with excitement. Armando Santucci had been at the top of her director bucket list for years now, and she was his first choice? She knew she was going to say yes regardless of the story, but still asked out of courtesy once her and Kate had both calmed down.
"So what's it about?
Kate paused slightly. "It's gritty and intimate. A character piece about a single mother. Very stripped down and real. The role does come with a catch though, which is why it might be a good idea to swing by my office to discuss it in person while we go over the script.'
"Oh, yeah, sure," Gina replied, her excitement now replaced with curiosity over what this 'catch' might be. 'But eeeeee, I'm so excited Kate! You can go ahead and let Armando know I'm in 100%. It'll be nice to finally work with a real director again!
Kate gave a small, knowing laugh. "I think I'll hold off on that till you know what you're in for. It's going to require a lot of commitment Gina, I'll tell you now that you're going to have to live with this character a lot longer than you ever have before.'

 

Later that day, Gina sat in Kate's office, the nature of the role now fully absorbed in her head.
"50 pounds...in 5 months... that's... that's a lot of weight Kate.'
Kate nodded from across her desk, her expression intense and focused. 35 years old. Blonde and attractive, with motherhood endowing upon her a softer, curvier form as of late. Gina had noticed, and thought Kate looked rather cute as a pudgy mama bear, though she wouldn't dare say it to her face.  
'I told you it was going to require commitment Gina. Shooting starts in July for three weeks, and the goal is to have it out in December in time for awards season. What are your main concerns?
"Well, I mean besides the getting fat part, it's a very bold, confronting and dare I say, courageous movie.' Gina said. 'Like here, on page 30, where I'm passed out ** on the couch topless, or the three sex scenes, or the scene where my character resorts to making fetish videos online for a source of income. There's no glamour here at all, just life.'
Kate nodded and held up a magazine showcasing one of Gina's photoshoots. 'And are you okay with that? Stripping all this away and completely transforming into someone else? 
Gina had been quiet and introspective the entire meeting, and Kate could only imagine how difficult it must be for a woman that publicly beautiful to let go of all that in front of the world. There was a long moment of silence as Gina pondered her decision.
"You know Kate, I think I might be at the stage of my career where I am,' she finally said. 'I've done the wide-eyed starlet thing already. I've done the photoshoots, I've done the perfume deals, I've done the frilly dresses. I've been through the 'second coming of Audrey Hepburn' thing they do for every fresh-faced brunette in this town. I was younger, and if the last movie has taught me anything, is that I'm at a point where I really need to feel nourished when I go to work. And to completely strip away the image and expectations people have of me seems like a scary but exciting prospect.'
'I think the Academy might agree too,' Kate nodded. 'They love a good body transformation. I mean, this could very well net you the Oscar Gina. Just think about that for us!
As much as she pretended she didn't care about awards, deep down Gina was hungry for that Oscar. When you were a girl growing up on a farm in the Midwest, the thought of merely making it as a performer seemed so far-fetched. But now that she had, and been nominated twice, the desire had only grown. She would be the first in her family to well and truly make a mark in history, and Gina could only imagine the look on her mother's face once she stepped on that podium, especially after all those years of trying so hard to discourage her from following her calling to LA.
Gina got up and stared at herself in the full-body mirror on the wall, her expression concerned.
'It's just... I'm only 5 ft 3 Kate. I'm gonna be such a chubby girl when this is all done!
'Oh, you'll look beautiful babe, come on,' Kate said reassuringly, inwardly thinking that gaining a few pounds might not be the worst thing in the world for Gina's scrawny ass. 'The role itself might not be glamorous, but it doesn't mean you don't have to be outside of it. Own those curves!
Gina nodded. 'Yeah, you're right. It's still going to be scary publicly changing my body like this though.' 
She paused.
'I want to call Armando. I want to hear him explain his vision for this story,' Gina said slowly. 'I'm 90% of the way to a yes Kate, I just want to confirm that I'll be well taken care of. If I'm going to gain all this weight, it has to be worth it.'
Kate nodded. 'You've lived a very disciplined lifestyle for years now. Is it going to be easy to let all that go?
'I really don't know, but plenty of actors have done it before,' Gina reasoned, which was as much to herself as it was to Kate. 'They've all gone and lost the weight with no problems after, right? If I have a sense of humour about it and just try to enjoy the process of letting go, then it shouldn't be too bad right?
Kate nodded. 'We'll get you the best trainers in town to help you lose it after. And you know you'll always have me around for anything you need.' 
'Great,' Gina nodded. 'Let's call up Armando and close this deal.'
As Kate dialed his number, Gina chuckled.
'And anyway, if I hadn't moved out here and chosen this career path, my ass would probably be the size of my mom's by now. Traditionally, the women in my family have to really work to maintain a ladylike figure!
 

[Retrogirls]

Wow Great Story!

[HappyMan]

Brilliant! Loved the AI images and can’t wait! 

[skypatrol]

Please format and break up your text a wall of text makes it unreadable and hard to follow along in its current format. at the very least break up paragraphs. Preferably you would also break up lines of dialog west metal has great formatting in his stories if you want to emulate a format. https://www.deviantart.com/westmetal/art/The-Valkyrie-s-7-Deadly-Sins-prologue-980361602  

[GetThiccer]

2 hours ago, skypatrol said:

Please format and break up your text a wall of text makes it unreadable and hard to follow along in its current format. at the very least break up paragraphs. Preferably you would also break up lines of dialog west metal has great formatting in his stories if you want to emulate a format. https://www.deviantart.com/westmetal/art/The-Valkyrie-s-7-Deadly-Sins-prologue-980361602  

Noted. I'll take more time to format it when I post the next part.