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Calgary Herald

This Vancouver author lost The Rock's movie — and lived to write about it

Article content Vancouver author Christine Stringer has turned her decade-plus career in the TV/film business into a fun and entertaining novel perfectly suited for a summer beach bag. Article content 'I want this to be a nice break for people,' said Stringer about her book. 'I want you to be able to take it to the beach and then be distracted by people on the beach, to be able to people-watch, and then get right back into the book.' Article content Article content Set in 1997, Charity Trickett is Not So Glamorous follows a young Vancouver woman who heads to Los Angeles to work as an assistant for a top director. But, like many others who have done coffee runs on a film or TV set or picked up a producer's dry cleaning, Charity dreams of becoming a screenwriter and producer. Article content Instead, Charity finds herself working long hours and making no money, while trying to outwit a co-worker who appears to spend most of her time trying to undermine Charity's attempts at career advancement. To make matters way, way worse, Charity manages to lose a copy of a studio's yet-to-be-released summer blockbuster film. Article content Article content The story for Charity Trickett is Not So Glamorous is definitely inspired by Stringer's own Hollywood story. Between 2002 and 2011, Stringer worked in the world of TV/film production. She was a production assistant and personal assistant in Vancouver to many producers and directors, including: Chris Haddock of Da Vinci's Inquest fame; Todd Garner, who produced a number of Ice Cube projects; Eric Bross, the director behind the Emmy-winning Traffic: The Miniseries; producer Paul Schiff, who did Walking Tall, the 2004 Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson film; as well as that movie's director Kevin Bray. Article content Article content In fact, it was Bray who made Stringer an offer she couldn't refuse, and after the shoot wrapped in Vancouver, asked her to come with him to L.A. to be his assistant. Article content Article content 'It plays out almost like it did in the book,' said Stringer, who was in her early 20s at the time when Bray suggested she go south. Article content 'I was blown away. I said yes, absolutely. It's what every assistant dreams of. But it very rarely happens. You know, all of us assistants on set, we're just like, 'Oh God, when is somebody going to discover my talent? How can I prove myself to make that next step up to producer, writer, director?' ' Article content Stringer has plenty of personal stories to draw on. But the most notable one, and the one that anchors the new novel, is the time she lost a copy of the yet-to be-released film Walking Tall. Article content 'The director asked me to take a copy of the film to this test screening in El Segundo, and I got pickpocketed. And I didn't know I was pickpocketed. I just thought that I lost the movie,' said Stringer.