Exit Hollywood
By Chris James
Chapter Two
Barry and Ted spent the following three days developing the outlines of the survey they wanted to conduct. As Jim was generally swamped with information about the projects at hand they felt it would be improper to present their ideas piecemeal. The five page report was very comprehensive and was to be presented at the team meeting that morning.
By then Ted understood why these seven people were the creative core of a film project. The writers provided the story and so much more. A director might be the one who decided what the film would look like and how the actors would build that image, but the writers created the environment with their words.
Reading a film script required a good deal of patience, there was so much to absorb. Since a movie was built with scenes, each and every one of them had to be completely described leaving only the fine details to the director.
Marie's book gave the readers words to build a mental image of the story. Steve's job was to break that all down into scenes that would give the visual images in his script as much importance as the dialogue. It took a gifted author to accept the way their book might be dissected, condensed and often torn apart.
Mark Coglin was there to absorb the visual descriptions and put them in the proper locations for the director's filming efforts. Production design was the make or break item in any film. If the audience embraced the scenic elements and the cost wasn't prohibitive then the film would be a success.
Cost control was Karen's job. Jim always had the final say but she was there to tally up the bill, procure what was needed and keep everyone happy...within the budget. Her cheery disposition belied the red pen she wielded when things got out of hand.
Bob Ware had been behind a camera for thirty years. He had worked with many of Hollywood's best directors and they respected his talents. Whereas it was difficult for many to visualize what the final outcome of a shoot might be, Bob knew, and at a nod from him a director could move on to the next scene, the next location.
Come Next Tuesday was still in the storyboard stages, the script still in flux, but Jim had already chosen Mickey Talon as their director. This was a film for kids, and as such it took a fresh young mind to produce the images. That would be Mickey. He was barely twenty-five and already had three successful independent films under his belt.
Once the script was finalized the team would move on to casting, location planning and all the contractual work necessary to forge a corporate product. It was a given that Jim would have to shop the film around for distribution, but he already had several major studios clamoring for anything he produced. That was a distinct advantage of being a Hollywood prince.
Of course Ted was nervous about presenting their report to the team, but Barry assured him that what they had was far and above the usual reports Jim saw. And so they gathered at Jim's conference table in the fish bowl office and Barry distributed paper copies of the report. The in-house mail had already sent the report around earlier, these were just for reference in case someone hadn't seen it yet, but they all had.
Jim was the first to speak. "I just want to say, for all of us, this is damn fine work. Barry knows what we expect, but Ted...I have to say you've exceeded our expectations, the both of you. Now don't be defensive, I have a few suggestions and I'm sure the others do as well."
The report suggested they should gather groups of kids in different movie theatres around the greater Los Angeles area and entertain them. Barry had discovered that Warner Brothers was celebrating seventy-five years of their Looney Tunes brand of cartoons and he wanted to show some classics for the kids to view.
Since the cartoon characters were copyrighted they would need permission from the studio to use the images, and Ted thought they could defray that cost by making it a charity event. But cartoons alone would not be the draw. They would have costumed characters available for the parents of young ones to use as a background for photos of their kids.
For the older kids Ted had suggested they pick a feature film, and then have the stars of that film appear in person. All these things would depend upon the budget they were allocated for entertainment, advertising and the pollsters necessary to gather the information Jim so desperately needed.
All this was set forth in the first two pages of the report, the final three were filled with suggested questions and a formatted multiple choice sample test. It was the latter that Jim turned to at the meeting.
"I have to ask...you chose this format because...?" Jim asked.
Ted smiled. "Most kids are used to multiple choice tests in school and they will breeze right through it. In all the excitement we're bound to generate with these events I don't think we'll have their attention for very long. It's a given that girls will answer one way and boys another. For instance, look at question number three."
Everyone turned the page to number three: 'If you had to spend an hour begging your parents to take you to a movie, what would you rather see after all the effort: A) a romance or adventure film, B) a superhero action film, C) an animated fantasy film, or D) a family film you could enjoy with your parents?'
Jim laughed. "I would think they might choose B or C."
Barry smiled. "This question was on a poll that Disney took last year. Girls under the age of twelve went for C, girls above that age predominantly chose A. Boys on the other hand were zeroed in on B...except for those eight and under who chose D."
"Wow, what a disparity of feelings," Marie said.
"I called the Disney PR department and talked to the guy who wrote the poll," Barry said. "In his opinion, younger boys chose the family fare because they were unsure of being able to deal with the emotions of the other choices. Younger girls are in the fantasy demographic Disney favors, thus all the Cinderella and princess type films they make. Pixar handles the animation at that level, probably one of their better acquisitions. But Touchstone is still doing well with the action and drama films."
Jim sighed. "We still have a lot to learn as a company...although I would never hope to get that large...so, let's talk about your entertainment angle."
By the time the meeting was over everyone had an assignment to assist Ted and Barry in bringing the suggestions to fruition. Karen would check out available theatre spaces and costs. Steve knew several of the PR people at Warner Brothers and would feel them out about using the cartoons.
It was decided that they would show a Jim Curry feature film and use the cast of Partial Payment to give the kids a thrill. Tom Parker and Melanie Swift would make for a huge draw since they were two of the hottest young stars in town. Karen was happy about that, it would save them money. One of the contractual obligations for every actor was an appearance at publicity events, at least they could write off expenses if it was for charity.
The final decision they made was to pledge a studio contribution to the Children's Hospital and to allow parents to add to that donation at the events. This would guarantee free publicity in the local media which would fill the theaters. Karen was to establish a reservations desk and a phone number for parents to call.
Ted was surprised at how easily this had all come together, but then these people were the masters of organization and planning. However this was not the main focus of the team, making a film took precedence. Their next meeting would cover the final changes to the script and if Jim approved they would move ahead.
If Ted had thought that Jim needed the polling information from kids to complete the task he was wrong. The script would move ahead, the location planning was already underway and casting would begin before Jim ever knew what the audience might like to see in his film.
"It's like this," Barry said when Ted expressed his lack of understanding. "The polling events are at least a month and a half away. Whole films come together in less than eight weeks, we can't afford to wait. But casting comes after we have a script and we need to get those actors committed to the film.
"Then all the costuming, makeup and prop decisions are made. The locations have to be brought up to par to fit the script, scenic construction is done if necessary. Then we have to build the film crew, sound crew, lighting crew...it all takes time. But we don't need to worry about the polls...Jim will use that information on the tail end."
"Tail end...what happens there?" Ted asked.
"Fixes, editing, multiple printing, more editing...it can take months to bring out a final product and that allows changes. Change is good, it's evolution. There's an old story about how audiences had to be developed when films first incorporated sound. In silent films all the sound cues were done with words flashed on the screen, and probably a piano player.
"Dialogue, doors slamming, even gunshots where shown in words. And then came the big change. When talking pictures first started audiences had to be trained to hear these cues. Audiences freaked out when someone fired a gun in those first films. Ladies fainted and people screamed in terror, it was all so new.
"And so they had to make sure the audience was cued in to what was about to happen. If you've seen those old movies you'll note that the music became more intense as it built into an action scene, culminating with the gunshots. Audiences became accustomed to the sound cues and were prepared for the dramatic moment.
"The kids we're going to poll are way beyond that need. With all the media available today these are some of the most sophisticated audiences we've ever seen. Kids get what we're doing. They may not know how it's done, but they know what they want to see. We just have to ask the right questions."
"Where did you learn all these things?" Ted laughed.
Barry smiled. "UCLA film school, I graduated four years ago. My advisor knows Jim and gave me a recommendation. He went to school there you know."
"Yes, I remember him mentioning that...or maybe Dennis told me."
"I don't mean to pry, but you two are personal friends of Jim's and we all wonder just how you managed to be here this summer," Barry said.
"We met Jim through Betty Compton...and I suppose Mike Stone had a hand in it as well," Ted replied.
"Wow...you guys really know some people. It would be fair to say you're the first high school students we've had working here."
"I'm still in school, but Dennis graduated."
"Theatre, I know," Barry said. "This is all a fresh look at what we're doing Jim told us. He seems to think we need to reinvent our focus to get ahead of the competition. Personally, I agree with him...but not everyone is happy with the idea."
"Oh? I haven't noticed any problems," Ted said.
"Not with this team, we all get it. Dennis may be the first to encounter any opposition when he gets involved in Partial Payment. They're the older bunch who thinks they already have all the answers. But I shouldn't be telling you any of this, I don't want you to get the wrong impression. Besides, Jim always gets what he wants."
"So these people don't like new film school graduates either."
Barry smiled. "Something like that."
"I'd like to see the script for Partial Payment," Ted said.
"Ask Dennis, he has a copy in his mailbox."
"We have mailboxes?" Ted asked.
"Yeah, go ask Stephanie to show you where it is," Barry replied.
The blue script folder was in a cubbyhole next to the break room, it had King and Cavanaugh written on the label. Besides the folder there were two pink message slips, one for Ted and the other for Dennis. They both had the same message from John Moore dated the day before.
"Welcome to town, give me a call," followed by a phone number.
Ted looked at his watch, it was three o'clock. He walked back to the production office and picked up the phone on his desk. His desk...he was still a little giddy about that. Here he was just about to turn eighteen and he had a desk in a major film production company, no one at school would believe it. He smiled and punched in the number.
"Mr. Delaney's office," A voice said upon answering.
"Hello, my name is Ted Cavanaugh and I'm trying to reach John Moore."
"Just a moment, Mr. Cavanaugh," was the reply.
A heartbeat later John was on the phone. "Ted, how are you?"
"Doing fine, keeping busy as you can well imagine."
"They have their claws into you already? I just wanted to welcome you to town and wondered if you guys would have any free time this coming weekend? Vince is doing the backyard barbeque thing this Sunday, three o'clock, and you'd be more than welcome."
"Sunday, I think so...wait here's Dennis."
Dennis walked in the office and raised an eyebrow in curiosity as Ted cupped his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone.
"John and Vince, barbeque on Sunday afternoon," Ted said.
"Oh yes, let's go," Dennis said.
"John? Yes, we'd love to escape the dungeons of Hollywood hell," Ted laughed.
"Do you have e-mail yet? I'll send you a map and an invitation, security you know."
Ted gave John his e-mail address and they chatted for a moment. It seems the backyard event was going to be small...and gay. It would not do to talk about any of this with others at Curry since Vince needed to maintain his privacy. Ted agreed and they said their good-byes.
"That's sweet, we need a break," Dennis said. "I bet he lives on the top of some Hollywood mountain."
"I wonder if John has found any work yet," Ted said.
"He will, especially with Vince's contacts. Oh, I see you have the PP script, I was going to start on that this weekend," Dennis said.
"I just wanted to look through it and get a feel for the film, Barry and I have been talking about it."
"Good. Jim and I are going over to the film lab on Monday to look at some rushes from the last shoot. Those are the one's he's not happy about and he wants me to see them," Dennis said.
"I'm just going to look through this now and finish up tonight, I'll give it to you in the morning along with my impressions."
"That works. I have about an hour to go before I can leave, I'm being shown the models for PP that Larry made." Dennis smiled. "You go on and read...I'll be back."
Dennis shut the door and Ted picked up the script, opening it to the first page summary:
PARTIAL PAYMENT: plot summary
Martin Lowe (John Parks) is a variety store owner who discovers that his inventory is slowly shrinking. There are four employees in his business and he suspects one of them is stealing and sets out to catch the thief.
Bobby Lyons (Tom Parker) and Linda Banks (Melanie Swift) are the two clerks who have developed a love interest and very much need these jobs to save enough money to get married. Eugene (Elliott Stevenson) and Mark (Paul Torres), the stockroom boy and the custodian respectively, have been with Parks for years and have no idea what is going on.
Parks hires Madeline Singer (Beatrice Martell) of the Singer Detective Agency to catch his thief. She is introduced as an inventory specialist who will help Parks save money on his taxes, and the action follows through a typical day in the store.
Unbeknownst to any of the employees, or the owner, there is a small doorway in the basement that supposedly leads to the water meter. In fact it opens into a tunnel to the basement next door in an apartment building. This is where Libby Peeks (Ally Barnes) lives, an invalid child, ten years of age. Libby is blind and lives either in bed or her wheelchair, but she has a dog named Pepper and a ferret named Rags who are her constant companions while both her parents work.
Pepper and Rags are the thieves Parks is looking for. The dog sneaks into the basement at night with Rags who has the talent of opening doorknobs. Together they prowl the store until something catches their eye and they take it back to Libby who marvels at things she can only touch and not see.
Singer has installed motion sensors on the walls but they are set to catch a human, not a dog or ferret on the floor, and so the thefts continue. Night after night small things disappear and the alarm isn't tripped. By then the employees are aware something is happening and Parks is questioned. He informs them of the thefts and accuses one of them, which they know is not true.
Together the employees hatch a plot to help Parks catch the thief, figuring that someone must have a key to the store. Bobby decides to spend the night in a sleeping bag on the floor to catch the thief and convince Parks that his employees are not involved. Linda volunteers to stay with him and they hide in the store at the end of the day as Parks locks up for the night. They stay up for hours talking and then they fall asleep.
In the middle of the night Pepper and Rags enter the basement and immediately smell the presence of humans, but that doesn't deter them. Rags is a mischievous little creature and begins opening things and spilling them on the floor while Pepper carries things back to the basement for Libby. Meanwhile Bobby and Linda sleep on unaware of the chaos around them.
At one point Rags knocks over a picture frame and the crash awakens Linda who wakes Bobby. Together they cannot see anything moving, just piles of debris that Rags has created. The animals escape back to Libby's room with their items and the two clerks begin to clean up the store. They manage to slip out the door just as Parks arrives to open up, unaware that anything has gone amiss...
"Uh oh...damn," Ted mumbled.
He thumbed through a few more pages and put the script down with a sigh. It wasn't a very good story despite the animal interest the audience was sure to feel. It left him wondering why Jim had chosen to produce it.
Tom and Melanie were two of the young generation of Hollywood stars that teenage audiences seemed to like, but they weren't kids anymore. Their faces were all over the trade magazines, every grocery store had them. He would have to ask Barry what this was all about.
It was Friday night, their first weekend in Los Angeles, and yet they had little to do until Sunday. Dennis came back from the studio and they packed up to leave the office. By now they had decided not to join the typical Los Angeles rat race of driving everywhere. It was absurd considering the condo was only six blocks away.
They went down the hallway to the end of the production wing and let themselves out the back door into the parking lot. Two blocks over and up one was Giovanni's Trattoria and Pizza Parlor, a place Barry said had pretty good food for those late nights at the office. They ordered and waited for a large pizza pie with everything.
Dennis tapped the blue book sticking out of his backpack. "How much did you read?" He asked.
"Enough to wonder why Jim likes it," Ted replied.
"The crew hates working with animals. They tell me the shots take forever to get right."
"Barry seemed to indicate a lot of stress in that crew, it has to be more than the animals. Did you pick up on any of that?"
"I get the impression that the director doesn't like the project. If he has an attitude then the feeling has to trickle downhill through the team. Brad Hanley, I'm sure you know his work, he did a lot of stuff with Disney years ago."
"Barry sort of alluded to that old boy network and said we're here because of our youth," Ted said. "He thinks Jim is trying to tap into our generation for some new creative ideas."
"I think that's a smart move and I'm beginning to feel everyone wants to know what we think about stuff. I don't think that's a bad thing, I just wish I knew more about the industry so my comments were more specific." Dennis smiled. "I don't want to feel like the fool babbling away in the corner."
The pizza was hot and Dennis kept shifting the box around as his fingers started to feel the burn. Three blocks over took them past the front of the church and they crossed the street to the condo. Ted slid his key in the door and they were home.
A quiet evening, the first in a week, and it was most welcome. After the pizza, Ted settled in to view his mail online while Dennis chose a comfortable corner of the couch to read the script. The directions to Vince's house were in Ted's mailbox and he quickly printed them out. Dennis was quiet for almost half an hour before he groaned and shut the blue book.
"Uh...this story is a load of crap," He said.
Ted looked up with a smile. "I agree, but I didn't want to prejudice your thoughts by telling you."
"Who the hell is Susan Demarco? I mean she wrote this thing, at least her name is on it," Dennis said.
Ted typed away on his laptop and then paused to read something. "Oh My God...Susan Demarco is Jim's ex-wife."
"What? No way, you mean he produced this story because of her?"
Ted shrugged. "Maybe he thought he could do something with it...how far did you get in the script?"
"Eight pages...the dog has the best lines," Dennis laughed.
"This is our boss you're laughing at. You know what I think? I think Jim knows it's terrible and can't believe he's sunk all his resources into this thing. He must have had this script for several years, which would go back before he broke off with Susan. The act of a desperate man trying to save a marriage?"
"Why didn't he just stop production?" Dennis asked.
"I don't imagine it's that easy...contracts, bonds, insurance. It was probably safer to go ahead and hope he could do something with it." Ted shook his head. "I feel sorry for him, but I could never tell him that."
"At least you have that geek movie, I'm stuck with this one for the moment," Dennis said.
"Hey, did you bring any sun tan lotion from home?"
"I think mom packed a gallon or two...yeah, we need to see the beach tomorrow."
They were up early and out the door by eight o'clock. It had seemed logical that Venice Boulevard would take them to the beach, and it did after a six mile drive. Venice Beach was the stuff of legend in Sacramento. One of the gay places to visit.
Ted managed to find a parking place in one of the lots right by the beach. That meant they could walk around and then come back for the beach equipment. Joggers and in-line skaters predominated on the ocean front walkway this early, but there were still a few tourists out and about.
They had skipped breakfast, hoping to find something with local flavor just off the beach...and what a beach it was. A broad stretch of sand lay between them and the ocean, and already there were a few souls out to catch the early morning sun. Dennis looked down the beach and saw the pier sticking out into the water.
"Pretty beach, maybe we can do some fishing," He said.
"Dennis, we've never kept anything we caught, why bother?" Ted replied.
"True, then let's go look around in the other direction."
Many of the shop fronts were just opening for the day. Arcades, gift shops...ice cream and pizza parlors, but no breakfast. Finally Ted pointed at a sign which read: "Best coffee in town."
"If only that were true," Dennis said. "Let's go find out."
The place was little more than a coffee bar, but they managed to squeeze into a small table amidst the crowd for their coffee and an egg sandwich. The people in the restaurant were mostly locals and that felt good. Ted hated the idea of being labeled a tourist.
By the time they were done the morning sun was beginning to feel hot. This section of Venice was known as Muscle Beach, a place where the city kept an outdoor weight lifting gym amidst a grassy field dotted with palm trees. There were tennis courts and a skateboard park, a recreation area for everyone's tastes.
But the beach was the big draw so they walked back to the car to pick up their towels. The sand was already becoming uncomfortably hot, but they rented a beach umbrella and two chairs for the day and quickly had them placed close to the water above the tideline.
So far it seemed a bit early to see much of the local gay scene on the beach, that bunch was probably still in bed. But they swam for an hour before retiring to the shade of the umbrella where they could watch the people wandering along the surf line.
Dennis managed to stay quiet for a whole five minutes. "Why do you think Jim brought us here for the summer?"
"What are you worried about?" Ted asked.
"This silly film his ex-wife wrote. I don't like the idea of failure. Next week Jim starts a series of what he calls fixes. That means reshooting and I don't think Hanley is going to like it."
"I don't imagine any director likes to have his work torn apart and redone. I only have an idea of the story line, I certainly don't know what they have done so far looks like," Ted said.
"Jim made it sound like the editing wasn't going well, that they didn't have enough good material in the can."
Ted laughed. "Boy, you sure have that film jargon down already. But how can you edit something that's terrible to begin with?"
"I don't know, and that's what worries me," Dennis said. "I'm just afraid Jim is going to make some changes and ask the team what they think, or worse, ask me what I think."
"Why would he do that? He knows you don't have the experience of the others."
"Do you know the term 'wunderkind'? By definition that means I'm supposed to be some kind of young genius. That's what I overheard someone call me. I think it was Marty, the cinematographer on the film. Remember, we're the new generation, Jim wants to tune into what we think and follow it."
Ted shook his head. "This is not good, it makes him seem desperate. Well, maybe he is, at least on this project. You better read the full script in case he does ask you questions. I don't even know how it ends."
"I think it's already finished no matter what the script says," Dennis replied. "But you're right. I need to finish reading it before Monday's meeting."
By noon they decided this was enough fun and sun for one day. Ted burned easily and was already covered in a gallon of lotion. It was time to get off the beach. They left the umbrella and chairs to be picked up by the rental guy and trod across the burning sand to the walkway.
"So what do we do this afternoon?" Ted asked.
"I know, let's take the electric car and go sightseeing," Dennis said.
"And see what...Hollywood?"
"Stephanie gave me studio tour tickets for Sony Entertainment, I forgot to tell you."
Ted laughed. "Okay, so you're going to make me a tourist...so be it."
They drove back to the condo and showered. Dennis figured to make the tour at three o'clock. That gave them time to eat and fool around, although not in that order. The entrance to the Sony lot was only eight blocks away, it would take little time to get there.
Dennis drove the little electric car and laughed. It felt like he was driving a roller skate. It was hardly a luxury car, but it was an environmentally friendly machine. In fact it proved useful when they squeezed into a tiny parking place on the Sony lot.
"How much does this tour usually cost?" Ted asked.
"Like thirty-five bucks. It seems Curry rents studio space and does processing work here so we have a business relationship with them."
Dennis handed the tickets to a young lady at the entrance who looked them over and then pointed them towards a door on one side of the lobby. Ted looked at the line forming across the way.
"Where are we going?" He asked.
"I don't know...just following instructions," Dennis replied.
The door had a small sign that read: VIP Tours. Ted grinned. "Very Important...that's us."
"Don't let it go to your head," Dennis said and pushed through the door.
"Yes, may I help you?" A young man said from behind the counter.
"Your ticket taker directed us here," Dennis said, handing over the tickets.
The man scanned the bar code and looked up with a smile. "You're with Jim Curry?"
"We are," Dennis said, opening his wallet and showing the man his employee ID.
"I'm sorry, it's just...you seem so young to be working over there."
"He's the resident wunderkind," Ted said with a straight face, and Dennis almost punched him.
"We're summer interns, have to start somewhere," Dennis said.
"How true...I'd love to work for Curry. But welcome to Sony Entertainment. These tickets will allow you studio access, but it's so late in the day there isn't much going on except in the television production studios."
"We can skip that," Ted said. "I thought we could just play tourist this time around."
The young man smiled. "You may do that, its kinda fun." He tapped on his keyboard and the printer spit out two green tickets. "These are good anytime, so you can come back and do the in-depth look whenever you want."
"I'm Ted, and this is Dennis...thank you."
"Mike, I'm one of the managers...ask for me next time you come by. Now all you have to do is go through that door and wait a few minutes, that'll put you in the tour lineup. Enjoy yourselves."
"Thanks, Mike," Dennis said and they walked through the door.
Once the door was shut Ted smiled. "Definitely gay."
"He had his eyes on you," Dennis chuckled.
"I'd say he was interested in more than me."
"Only one way to find out...and I'm not interested in that kind of thing."
"Good boy, let's keep it to ourselves."
The Sony Corporation made no secret of having taken over MGM Studios. They embraced the majesty of the old studio days in the tour. Three hours of walking and riding through old movies sets, studio street scenes and electronic displays of the early days of film became pretty tiring.
They had followed along with about thirty others and were entertained quite nicely. It was a look at film work that neither of them had experienced before. Dennis knew he would soon be on a movie set as they worked back through the fixes on Partial Payment, but so far all they had seen was office work.
The mock filming of a movie scene the tour was allowed to watch was carried out by actors, but it included the technical crew standing around and participating. Dennis almost laughed since he was sure these guys were union. What a cushy job to have, but how boring it would be to do this day after day.
It had occurred to him that he ought to seek out the office of the stagehands local and introduce himself to the business manager. That union card in his wallet wasn't going to do him much good if they didn't know he was here. But that seemed irrelevant at the moment since he was too busy with Curry to get involved with anything else.
They were back in the car by six-thirty and Dennis could tell that Ted was still full of energy.
"So what do we do tonight?" Ted asked.
"I have to finish reading that script and...oh hell, let's go out to dinner and look at the town. I can read tomorrow morning before the party."
"That's interesting, I just looked up Italian restaurants online this afternoon," Ted said.
They found two seats at Miclei's for what was billed as the best Italian food Hollywood had to offer, and they only had a little wait to get in. The food was great, the singing waiters added a bit of charm, but they both still missed Lombardy's in Sacramento.
"It's just...I don't know, the Italian we got at home was better," Ted said.
"You miss being home, don't you," Dennis asked.
"Yes...and so do you. I miss Dad and wonder how he' getting along in that big old house all by himself."
They had both called home upon arrival, and had promised to call at least once a week during their stay. Ted was pretty sure his father would drop in at some point this summer to see how things were going, but concern was a two way street.
"What did he say when you talked to him?"
"He wanted to talk all about me and what we're doing, but he dodged several of my questions about how he was feeling. What did your Mom say?"
"She wanted to know how many famous people I've met, am I eating well, and can I get my laundry done," Dennis said with a laugh. "At least she's consistent, still does all the talking. But I miss my brother and little sisters."
"I don't miss my sister," Ted grinned, and stopped there as the waiter approached.
"May I show you the dessert menu, gentlemen?" Their waiter asked.
"Not me," Ted said, "I think we'll pass."
The waiter slid the check down on the table in a black cover. "Thank you...please come see us again." And then he gave Dennis a wink as he left.
"Boy, I am gonna have to keep my eye on you," Ted said.
Dennis grinned. "Some of us wunderkinds have all the luck."
The restaurant was just off Hollywood Boulevard and so they walked up to the corner. It was almost dark and the streetlights were on casting the area in an unnerving gloom. There was a police car parked in front of a tattoo parlor across the street. People were standing around, some of them sitting on the curb passing a bag with a bottle in it.
"This doesn't feel comfortable," Ted said.
"I feel that way too, let's go back to the car," Dennis said. "We'll drive up the street and look for things we might visit in daylight."
The lot was behind the restaurant and as they reached the entrance there were two distant cracks of sound.
"What was that?" Ted asked.
"Gunshots, let's get out of here," Dennis said.
They hurried into the car and headed back to the Culver City.
"This isn't the Hollywood I've heard about. It looks run down...shabby."
"It's just a name, Ted. We didn't come down here for the glamour...we came to work, to learn. So far I'm not enthralled with what I see, maybe we made a mistake."
"It's your career we're talking about," Ted replied. "Would you rather forget about films?"
Dennis shook his head. "I don't know...I mean I don't know enough to make that decision. We came here to do this together and I don't see you giving up."
"And I won't run away. There has to be some good in all of this. Too many people we know are involved and they stick with it. Maybe Vince can tell us something we don't know."
"Yeah...Vince. I'm dying to find out how John is doing," Dennis said.
"A gay yard party, this will be a first for us."
Authors deserve your feedback. It's the only payment they get. If you go to the top of the page you will find the author's name. Click that and you can email the author easily.* Please take a few moments, if you liked the story, to say so.
[For those who use webmail, or whose regular email client opens when they want to use webmail instead: Please right click the author's name. A menu will open in which you can copy the email address (it goes directly to your clipboard without having the courtesy of mentioning that to you) to paste into your webmail system (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo etc). Each browser is subtly different, each Webmail system is different, or we'd give fuller instructions here. We trust you to know how to use your own system. Note: If the email address pastes or arrives with %40 in the middle, replace that weird set of characters with an @ sign.]
* Some browsers may require a right click instead
