Rachel Bilson as… Savannah Dempsey
| Cinematic Twist | Hapless Intern |
|---|
| Sex | Female |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | January 10, 1988 |
| Age | 21 |
| Zodiac Sign | Scorpio |
| Aliases | Sav, New Girl, Hey You |
| Place of Birth | Dearborn, Michigan |
| Occupation | Intern at Midas; Student at UCLA |
| Relatives | Mom, dad, two older brothers, two older sisters |
| Significant Other | None |
| Pros | Iron Will, MVP (in hockey), Jump The Shark (eg. landing the internship), Hot |
| Cons | Nobody, Drama, Choke Artist, Urkel Syndrome, Fail |
| First On-Screen Appearance | TBA |
Background
Savannah Dempsey was born and raised in a comfortably middle-class suburb in Dearborn, Michigan. The youngest of five, with two sisters and two brothers, she was always a rather sensitive child who took everything a little too seriously. One of her sisters always went to great pains to make her cry every single day, just for fun.
Other than this one strained sibling relationship, Sav got on well enough with her brothers and sisters. She was closest to her oldest brother, who was always especially protective of her as the baby of the family, though all the older kids didn't have too much time for the little girl, busy with their older kid-things.
Her father was middle-management at a GM plant in Detroit. To help supplement the income, her mother sold Avon products and baked goods on the side. Savannah's life was pretty comfortable, her family stable, and while money was sometimes tight with so many kids, they had enough to get by on.
She did well at school, more out of effort than natural genius. She was one of the only students who always did the recommended hours of homework at night, all the readings, and even made herself colour-coded study notes.
From a young age, she also had an obsession with movies. It started as something to do when her older brothers and sisters were off busy with their own lives. And maybe because they didn't get to go to the theatre very often (tickets for a family of seven quickly add up), but she loved the whole experience. Even black and white movies didn't turn her off like they did her siblings, so she got to go with her father to a few classics festivals.
Her weekends, after chores and homework were done, were spent watching cheesy flicks on TV. It wasn't until high school though, that she decided this was a world she wanted - no, needed - to be a part of. And where do you go when you want to be a part of the silver screen? LA, of course.
It became a new fixation. Alongside the many, many movie posters she already had up, she added all sorts of LA swag, and even started following the Dodgers instead of the Tigers. And she didn't even really like baseball! Hockey had always been the sport of choice around her house, and summer evenings were often spent out playing street hockey in the streets, while all the kids were in various youth leagues throughout the season.
While all her friends were applying to U of M, or the Ivies, or even NYU, she went straight to UCLA and applied for the Bachelor of Film program, figuring it would be a good foot in the door. Her grades were good enough to get her in, and between scholarship money, loans, and a bit of help from her parents, she was able to swing the tuition, though it left about three dollars a month to live on.
She managed to survive through a series of on-campus jobs, though her poor luck and tendency to get wrong even the simplest of instructions saw her having to seek new employment at the start of each semester.
It was hard being so far from her family though, and working and studying all the time didn't leave her a lot of time for a social life. Each roommate would usually give up on her after trying to drag her out to the first few parties of the year.
Having just finished her junior year, she's managed to land herself a paid internship at Midas, which will keep her in ramen and fulfill her internship requirement for the Film program. Feeling that her luck just might be changing, she's facing this summer full of naive optimism!
Personality
Savannah is a perky, friendly individual who is really very lonely being cut off from all her family and friends. She always tries her hardest at everything and is extremely earnest, with a very 'all or nothing' approach to life. Unfortunately, she also has a tendency to mess things up a lot, either because she doesn't think things through, or simply out of bad luck. She is exactly the sort of person who would literally paint herself into a corner, and she's locked her keys in her junker of a car so many times that she's had to learn to jimmy open the door.
It's plagued her for her entire life, but this hasn't inured her against feeling badly each and every time it happens. She has, however, learned how to take it a little more in stride. However, when it does get to her, it gets her flustered, and then she becomes even more prone to making mistakes or saying something she shouldn't.
Though she tends to take things too seriously, she tries to be happy-go-lucky, which only leads to further problems, as she will blithely waltz into bad situations and make them worse.
She can be stubborn as a mule once she gets her mind set on something. There's determination and then there's about two steps beyond determination, which is where Savannah usually ends up. The fact that she is woefully unprepared and ill-suited to a career in Hollywood will not dissuade her!
On-Screen Appearances
Date
Name of Scene —> the DL
Quotes
Inspiration
The idea of a bad assistant was vaguely inspired by Starla on Arrested Development, but that's where the similarity ends.
