Exit Hollywood
By Chris James
Chapter Six
It took all week to re-cut large portions of Partial Payment and to begin adapting the script which would now focus on the animals. They needed ninety minutes of a continuous story, what they had totaled less than fifty. But in reordering the chaos they had fifty minutes of usable scenes and a written record of what they might do to fill in the gaps.
Jim, his editor, and three assistants moved virtually frame by frame through the working print. Gone were the days of positive prints from the original camera film. Now everything could be viewed, coded in digital format, and accessed via a timecode signature for each frame. It was called non-linear editing and they could move the bits of data into any position they wanted.
But this workprint was rough, too undeveloped to show anyone. Scenes started and stopped, sometimes the camera running over the called stops. All that would be trimmed down, the edges of scenes cut away to allow a smooth flow from one into the next. And still when that was done there would be only fifty minutes.
"I have little more than half a film, this sucks," Jim yelled, throwing a pair of headphones against the wall. He scanned the people in the room and his eyes fell on Dennis.
"I'm sorry, Dennis...I need to control my temper."
"I've punched out a few walls in my time," Dennis said. "I don't see this turning out badly, Jim. Now you have a chance to personalize it. We could gain three minutes by re-cutting the opening and allowing the animals a chance to play."
Jim stood and stared, and then a large smile split his face. "I like this man, someone give him a raise. Let's do it."
The relief in the room was palpable. These people knew Jim, and now understood that Dennis could calm that volatile temper and turn it into a productive force. Unfortunately that only enforced Dennis' image as The Wunderkind, and that did not sit well with some of the production team.
The original director was already long gone, but he had left behind his script assistant, Janice. Her attempt at re-writing Susan's script had been the most obvious failure. The other negative voice was Evan Peters, the production administrator. He had watched the money fly only to see the results of that expenditure dumped in the trash by Jim's editing. But his negative voice could only be so strong since he was a Curry employee.
The production designer was thrilled by the makeover, as was the cinematographer. They would both get paid extra for changes, as would anyone involved in lights, sound, costumes or props. All those union people could only smile since they had no real interest in the creativity of the film. Fifty minutes had already cost Jim almost four million dollars.
The most colorful figure on the set was Antonio Best, the animal trainer. There were two ferrets and two dogs, the spares in case one of the others became sick or unresponsive. The ferrets were the most difficult to work with, but Antonio seemed to control them well. And it was Antonio, not Tony, a production assistant told Dennis. She had made the mistake and been scalded by the man's temper. The other thing was never pet the dogs. The only person on set who could touch the animals was the actress Ally Barnes who played Libby, the blind girl.
A bright little girl of eleven, Ally understood why the changes were being made and resigned herself to spending more hours in a wheelchair. She immediately latched on to Dennis as a new friend on the set, and when she wasn't needed they spent time talking or playing video games in the dressing room trailer.
Except for the street scenes, which had already been filmed, there remained the scenes they would have to shoot on the sets built in Studio Four on the Sony satellite campus in Culver City. Only six miles from the Curry Production office it was an easy ride there and back since Jim had a shuttle bus on call.
There were sets for the store, the basement, and the multi-room apartment where Libby was supposed to live with her parents. There were six flights of stairs and an elevator built into one corner of the towering studio with cutouts and tracks for lights and cameras. All this had been a major expense and Jim was just glad they still had a use for it.
Pepper, the dog, and Rags, the ferret, knew that stairway intimately. The dog, it was unclear which one since they were identical, had christened a corner on level three, leaving behind a small puddle of liquid. Fortunately the camera had caught that action and they had dropped in a little scene where the building manager discovered the results. Despite being able to use the bit Antonio had been cautioned to walk his animals more frequently.
Jim had started shooting with Melanie, Tom and the animals. There were three sequences that needed to be changed, new ones captured and then hopefully these young actors would be done. Evan Peters was not pleased, this was expensive.
Bringing them back in for re-shoots was supposed to be part of their contract and yet Jim had renegotiated that clause and was going to pay them extra. The rationale was that they would do their best work if there was some compensation for this new work and the re-shoot clause still remained in case of emergencies later on.
Dennis absorbed all this and filed it away in his mind as a good move on Jim's part. The whole structure of management, contracts and unions was mind boggling, and yet it was part of the producer's job to settle these issues. It only added to the pressure on Jim and made Dennis aware that he had to work harder.
At one time Jim had mentioned that Dennis was there to tell him the truth, and now he understood the meaning behind that statement. Too often Dennis could see the minions around the king were afraid to say something for fear of raising Jim's blood pressure. It was how the details got set aside and not addressed...things like that would come back later as a problem.
Looking back on the lessons learned at Cabot Performing Arts his sophomore year of high school, Dennis applied that memorable adage he had often heard the lead technician named Corky espouse: 'Don't come to me with a problem unless you have developed your own solution first.'
It may not be the answer applied to solve the issue, but if it was workable then it might be just what they needed. Management in a creative situation doesn't always have the time to solve the tiniest problem, but they do need to know about them.
Giving Jim an issue to ponder only meant he could not focus elsewhere. But give him a problem with a detailed answer and the king could bless the solution and move on. That was why he needed Dennis, and somehow Jim knew that he had latched onto a creative problem solving mind.
The script had lacked moments in which the audience could learn to view the animals with compassion. Here this poor girl had been shut out of life because of her disabilities and these two furry creatures had figured that out. They were bringing her things from the outside world to stimulate her mind and give her happiness.
Sure, they all knew the premise was weak. Of course it was, that's why they were working to redefine it. But the film had a goal: the liberation of Libby. By making the animals triumph over the humans who opposed them they would bring Libby to the forefront of the story.
Perhaps this was Susan's concept in the script from the very beginning, but she just didn't know how to take it there. And now they would begin at the end of the story, some uplifting moments with the entire cast of characters, and work their way back into the necessary scenes. Dennis understood Jim's concept quite well. After so many problems it would feel good to start with the joy the audience would ultimately feel.
And so with some new thoughts hashed out around the production table they would begin the week with scene eighty-three where the detectives meet Libby. The studio was all set up for filming, the crews had been at work the previous week and now it was time for Dennis to see the real thing in action.
To view the filming Dennis had a seat off the set facing the front door of the apartment, at least what he could see of it. Between him and the set was a crowd of equipment and people, including Jim who sat beside Marty the cinematographer and viewed the scene through the monitors.
The cast was in place, surrounded by the makeup and costume crews touching up their work. Loretta Clark who played Mrs. Connors, along with Brian Kemp and Eric Zimmerman, the two detectives, were receiving their final instructions. Walter and Vivian Smock, the married couple who were playing Libby's parents were still in the trailer, they would not be needed in the morning shoot.
The animals were in place, as was Antonio who would kneel on the floor and give the animals commands with hand signals. Everyone knew their lines and the animals had been run through their motions several times.
It all looked a little like organized chaos, something Dennis found familiar. Although there was no audience the camera was a critical eye on what they were doing, and with the extreme cost of all these people it had to be done right...hopefully the first time.
Cameras moved about on floor dollies or swung in over the set on a crane. Jim's copy of the shooting script had dozens of notes in the white space between lines, his ideas for camera angles and takes on what he wanted to see. At least if he didn't like what he saw on the monitor they could do it again...and again if necessary. And so the scene would begin like this:
PARTIAL PAYMENT Scene Eighty-three (83)
INTERIOR APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - MID-MORNING
FADE IN: NARROW SHOT ON WALL (SUNLIGHT) & SLOW PAN TO GIRL IN WHEELCHAIR BY WINDOW
(LIBBY SITS WITH BOOK IN HER LAP, PEPPER LAYS AT HER FEET WHILE RAGS SITS NEXT TO DOG CHEWING ON______TBA____AS LIBBY READS TO THEM FROM HER BRAILLE BOOK)
LIBBY
(VOICE OVER AS CAMERA PANS TO GIRL)
...and then the boy smiled as the sun rose to greet the new day. He could no longer feel the chill morning air on his face, only the radi...the radiance of those beams warming him to the core...
(CLOSES BOOK)
I wonder what a sunbeam looks like?
(LIBBY ROLLS WHEELCHAIR TO WINDOW AND PLACES HAND ON THE GLASS. PEPPER SITS UP AND STARES AT HER, RAGS STOPS PLAYING AND LEAPS INTO GIRL'S LAP TO BE PETTED)
(TEN COUNT AS GIRL MOVES FINGERS AGAINST GLASS, CLOSE UP OF HAND IN SUNLIGHT)
(PHONE RINGS, GIRL ROLLS ACROSS ROOM TO TABLE, PICKS UP PHONE ON THIRD RING)
LIBBY
Peeks residence, Libby speaking.
MRS. CONNORS
Libby...this is Mrs. Connors, the building manager. Um...Libby, there are a couple of policemen down here in the lobby. They want to speak to your parents.
LIBBY
Oh...they won't be home until six, Mrs. Connors.
MRS. CONNORS
They have a search warrant, Libby...that means they can look though the apartment. I'm going to send them up. I want you to call your mother at work and tell her to come home.
LIBBY
Yes, ma'am, I can do that, but she might not be able to come.
MRS. CONNORS
Try to reach her, sweetie. Now go unlock the door and watch out for Pepper. I'll be up in a few minutes.
(LIBBY HANGS UP PHONE, REACHES OVER AND UNLOCKS DOOR)
(SOUND CUE: KNOCK ON DOOR)
LIBBY
Come in
(GIRL GRABS DOG BY COLLAR AS DET. LAWRENCE & DET. BRIDGES APPEAR IN DOORWAY AND ENTER ROOM. LIBBY HAS A HAND ON DOG'S COLLAR, PEPPER GROWLS QUIETLY)
LIBBY
Hush, Pepper...friend.
(PEPPER STOPS GROWLING, TAIL THUMPS ON FLOOR)
(LAWRENCE HOLDS FOLDED PAPER IN HIS LEFT HAND)
LAWRENCE
You have very good control over him.
LIBBY
He's a she...her name is Pepper.
(BRIDGES LOOKS AROUND ROOM AND MOVES TO BEGIN INSPECTING THINGS, SEES FERRET)
BRIDGES
And what do you call that little one? Is it a ferret?
LIBBY
That's Rags...he's a boy.
LAWRENCE
That's good to know. Libby, do you know why we're here?
LIBBY
Mrs. Connors says you want to search the apartment and I need to call my Mom.
LAWRENCE
You certainly may do that. Can you tell me how long...well...how long have you been in this condition?
LIBBY
Oh...I've been blind since birth, but the accident happened when I was eight. That was two years ago...a car hit me when I was out walking. I better call my mother now.
LAWRENCE
Yes, go right ahead.
(LIBBY PICKS UP PHONE AND QUICKLY PUNCHES IN A PHONE NUMBER, LAWRENCE WATCHES)
LIBBY
Hello...Mr. Williams, this is Libby Peeks, is my mother available? No...will you have her call me at home, please? Yes, thank you.
(LIBBY HANGS UP PHONE)
I'm sorry, sir. She's with a client and will call me when she can.
LAWRENCE
I heard. You're a very polite young lady.
(LAWRENCE STOPS TO LOOK AT BRACELET LIBBY IS WEARING)
Did your mother give you that bracelet?
(LIBBY TOUCHES THE BRACELET AND SHAKES HER HEAD)
LIBBY
No, Rags gave it to me...he must have found it...is it pretty?
(LAWRENCE FROWNS)
LAWRENCE
It's very pretty...but you've never seen it. It is in fact a fourteen karat gold bracelet with six charms, each of them consisting of shapes resembling the pieces one might find in a Monopoly game. You wouldn't know this, Libby, but it's written right here on the stolen property list I have in my hand.
BRIDGES
Alan...come look at this.
(LAWRENCE CROSSES THE ROOM TO A SMALL BUREAU AND LOOKS DOWN INTO THE DRAWER BRIDGES HAS OPENED)
BRIDGES
Looks like it's all here...everything on the list.
(LAWRENCE LOOKS BACK AT LIBBY AND SHAKES HIS HEAD)
LAWRENCE
I'm sure she has no idea where this stuff came from...but let's ask her.
(LIBBY SITS QUIETLY AS LAWRENCE AND BRIDGES CROSS THE ROOM, LAWRENCE KNEELS DOWN BESIDE THE WHEELCHAIR)
LAWRENCE
Libby...is that little bureau in the corner yours?
LIBBY
Yes...I keep my favorite things in there.
LAWRENCE
And where do these things come from?
LIBBY
Some of them my parents gave me for Christmas...Pepper and Rags brought me
the rest.
LAWRENCE
Do you know where Pepper and Rags get these things? It sure is a lot of stuff.
(LIBBY SHRUGS AND TOUCHES HER BRACELET, LAWRENCE STANDS)
LIBBY
I...I don't really know where they get them. Mom says not to let them out at night or they will get in the trash down in the basement. I think they have because... because I do open the door when they beg to go out.
LAWRENCE
And where do you think they go when you let them out?
LIBBY
To the back yard...they both know not to mess in the house.
LAWRENCE
Have you ever been to the basement yourself? It looks pretty dark and creepy down there.
LIBBY
(LIBBY SHAKES HEAD AND SMILES)
Dark never bothers me, but I've never been to the basement.
LAWRENCE
Well your pets have, they've been in the variety store next door. They've been stealing things, Libby.
LIBBY
Oh no.
(LIBBY BEGINS TO CRY AS MRS. CONNORS ARRIVES AT DOOR)
MRS. CONNORS
Libby...dear. What have you said to her?
LAWRENCE
I'm afraid her pets have been stealing goods from Lowe's Variety next door...
MRS. CONNORS
Why...how is that possible?
BRIDGES
There's a service tunnel in your basement for the utilities, it leads to Lowe's basement.
MRS. CONNORS
My goodness...what will happen?
LAWRENCE
A good question. I suppose we'll have to speak with Mr. or Mrs. Peeks first. Then Mr. Lowe and his employees will have to positively identify the stolen property which we found here...it depends upon if Mr. Lowe wishes to press charges.
MRS. CONNORS
That man is...is a despicable person. He tried to park his wreck of a car in my yard until I told him off. Then he called the police to report it stolen when I know perfectly well he has it hidden in that garage behind the store.
BRIDGES
(BRIDGES RAISES HIS EYEBROWS)
Oh? We'll have to check that out.
LIBBY
(SOBS) What will happen to Pepper and Rags?
MRS. CONNORS
Nothing is going to happen to them, dear...the police are still investigating.
LAWRENCE
I'll have to talk to Mr. Lowe...
Dennis watched the walk through rehearsal and saw Jim give the assistant at his side a few notes, but he looked happy. It was time to roll film.
"Quiet on the set," an assistant called out. "Rolling," Marty said.
"Marker," the man with the digital slate called out, the scene began from the top.
Marty called his camera shots on the floor and with the overhead crane as his people made the moves. Jim sat watching the monitors with intense concentration, nodding slowly as the scene unfolded. He muttered to the assistant, more notes taken. And the scene ran on until Detective Lawrence said "I'll have to talk to Mr. Lowe."
"Cut," Jim said and everyone visibly relaxed.
They spent the next hour taking reaction shots, facial expressions that could be edited into the flow at a later point. Otherwise Jim seemed pleased and they called a break for the actors as they setup the next scene.
Ally came bounding up to Dennis, a towel around her neck like a bib to protect the costume and a box of juice in her hand. "So...did it look real?" She asked.
Dennis grinned. "You can cry for me any day, it looked great."
"That's why they pay me the big bucks," Ally laughed.
There were two short scenes involving the detectives shot before lunch. One in the elevator as they descend to the lobby with Mrs. Connors. The second was only a few moments in the lobby. They had already accomplished the location scene showing the exterior of a garage where the plot of the story was resolved.
If anything, it was this little plot twist that Dennis had decided was Susan's only defining moment in the script. When the detectives managed to look through the grimy window they saw a car parked inside, the right fender bent and falling off. After Mrs. Connor's comments it was enough for Bridges to call in and ask for any vehicle registration information on Lowe.
The stolen car report existed and detailed a 1995 Honda Accord, blue with white trim. Lawrence could smile since the description matched what was sitting in that garage. There ensued a discussion between the detectives about Lowe placing a false report and probable insurance fraud. Bridges knew where this was going, his partner wanted to leverage Lowe into dropping any charges against the Peek's family and their pets.
But Lawrence was a young and ambitious detective so he took it one step further. His next call was to the unsolved crimes squad and there it was discovered that two years prior a vehicle matching the description of Lowe's car was involved in a hit and run accident, the victim was an eight year old blind girl named Elizabeth Peeks.
The finale for the detectives in the film would be Lowe's arrest and the subsequent scene in the prosecutor's office with the Peeks family and their lawyer. It was explained that Lowe would get extensive jail time and the Peeks a substantial settlement. Mrs. Peeks would exclaim that they could find a new house more suitable for Libby and she would stay home with her daughter.
The last scene of the film would be shot in the park. Jim had already booked the space and received the permits to film at Elysian Park. A happy family, playful animals and enough emotional warmth to bring a few tears to eyes in the audience. Dennis could not understand why Susan had thought this could be a crime drama, it was sappy as hell. Turning it into an animal story had been their only way out, and Jim had taken it there.
The lunch table in the back corner at Knife, Fork & Spoon was private enough that the presence of an occasional actor was hardly noticed. Ally and her mother had invited Dennis to lunch and he had accepted. And since Ted had to eat something Dennis managed to have him included.
Mrs. Barnes was hardly a typical stage mother, she was a classical musician by training and she played in an orchestra with the Disney Studios. Ally had been on screen since age six, one of the little darlings that Disney loved to cast.
"So what have you been doing in town since you arrived?" Mrs. Barnes asked.
"We sailed to Catalina last weekend," Ted said.
"Really? How wonderful, such a beautiful island."
"I love going there," Ally said. "People look at me and aren't sure if they've seen me before, I like being anonymous."
"That won't last long once this picture comes out," Dennis said.
"You're so lucky to be working with Jim Curry," Ted said.
"Yes I am. He said he wanted me in a picture after seeing me in a Disney film his daughter has." Ally smiled. "It works like that sometimes. What are you working on?"
"I'm on the production team for Come Next Tuesday. Jim stars in that one, but so far all we have cast is Steve Biddle."
"Oh...Steve is such a good actor," Ally said.
Mrs. Barnes laughed. "Someone had a big crush on the boy when he was in that television show."
"Mom..." Ally groaned, but then she smiled. "He's very handsome."
"I'll get you his autograph...maybe a photo," Ted said.
"I don't collect autographs," Ally said. And two seconds later she smiled. "Would you?"
They all laughed and Ted promised to see Steve later in the week. Lunch ended and they headed back to the studio for the two o'clock call. There was another scene to shoot, this time with Mr. Lowe. John Parks had played the character well, his objective was to make the audience dislike him and he would do just that.
Unit Two was over on the basement set to work some animal shots while Jim took Unit One and Marty into the store set across the way. Dennis decided to go watch the animals at work. The film he had seen so far under edit conditions had been quite amazing. Antonio had to be given credit for training his furry actors quite well.
Molly and Peanut were twins, a mixed breed dog of medium build. Each played the part of Pepper with distinction. But since there were dozens of moves a dog might be expected to learn Antonio had taught the two of them different tricks. Basil was the lead ferret's name and he spent much of his time in a large wire cage or on a leash draped across the shoulder of Antonio's assistant.
Ferrets were very high strung and didn't have a long life expectancy. Given the choice, Basil would have run up and down the rafters of the building or chased the occasional mouse that happened into the cavernous studio building. Ferrets were born hunters, but they could also fall asleep at a moments notice and hated to be disturbed.
The scene involved Pepper crawling along the tunnel between the two basement rooms with Rags perched on her back. Basil seemed to like playing jockey and the dogs were trained to ignore him. But dogs had patience, ferrets did not, and they had to shoot the scene several times to keep Basil on the dog's back.
Dennis had watched Basil in the scene where the little creature began pulling things down off the store shelves. What the audience could not see was the little bit of fur on a string that Antonio pulled behind the items on the shelf. It did look like Rags was reading the labels before swatting a can or box off the shelf, it was hilarious.
But all the animals responded only to Antonio's hand signals, ignoring the quiet movement of cameras and people around them in a scene. Dennis watched Antonio put his animals through the required paces until the dog got tired and the ferret began to ignore him.
The day's work had given them good progress. The proof would be in viewing the results, something Dennis did not have to sit through. He took the shuttle back to the office where he found Ted and Barry sitting in front of a stack of resume folders.
They had prioritized the resumes and were building a list of kids to be interviewed. Once the review was done those who had been chosen would stand in front of a camera, talk about their careers and read some lines. It would be the only point at which the young actors would get a chance to sell themselves as a character, after that it would be Mickey Talon who molded their image.
Ted could only imagine how intimidating it would be for a young actor to work with the likes of Jim Curry. His reputation was daunting even though Ted had never seen what he was like on a set. Mickey was due to arrive for a team meeting tomorrow and it would be interesting to see the young man in person.
"So...Cooper, Tanner, Morris and Baker...those are your choices?" Barry asked.
"Unless you want to substitute Guzman for Tanner, we'll add another minority actor that way," Ted replied.
"I'm still trying to figure out how we have an Asian with the last name of Baker," Barry laughed, looking at the boy's photo.
"His mother is Japanese it says here. The American father works for Sony Studios. Leonard is a handsome boy."
"I had a crush on an Asian boy when I was in high school," Barry said. "Went nowhere of course."
"How is Michael?" Ted asked.
"Loving man, he's worth keeping. So are we ready for tomorrow?"
"I think so. We can put forth our favorites and see what Talon thinks...at least this will give him a start. Steve will be happy if we manage to bring in Beverly Cooper, and the others do have some small amount of experience. I never realized what a balancing act it is casting a film."
"Oh hell yes. If we get the wrong dynamic the scenes become a train wreck," Barry said. "I mean Jim likes kids if they act professionally, but he has little patience for childish behavior unless of course he's the one acting childish. But he has to play two different characters in this one, and that ought to keep him focused."
"Is Jim hard to deal with on the set?"
"A bit temperamental, but just because he is demanding of himself and others. It's rare that they have to reshoot a scene because of him. He's known to ad-lib, but that's only his mind working to expand the thoughts of the script. The camera guys know to leave things running past the cut lines. They've managed to capture some really amazing stuff that way."
"I hope Talon knows what he's walking in to," Ted said.
"Oh, I'm sure he does," Barry laughed. "Most of the directors in town know one another, I'm sure Talon has been given an earful about Jim on camera."
"Is any of it usable?" Ted asked.
"Do you remember the scene with the squirrel in Mother's Little Helper?"
"The bank robbery scene? I almost wet my pants I was laughing so hard."
"The squirrel wasn't in the script," Barry laughed.
"No way...Jim ad-libbed that?"
"Just the bit with the squirrel. You know the set up, dumb son, scheming mother. She runs in to rob the bank and he's supposed to wait in the car. Jim was sitting there revving the engine like an idiot when this squirrel came out of the park across the street.
"I mean there was this whole camera crew standing around while that brave little sucker ran across the street and sat up on its hind legs right in front of the car. Jim sat up and almost put his nose against the windshield. Alan Riddle was directing and told the crew guys to back way off so they would be out of the scene.
"So Jim stares and then opens the door and gets out. The camera across the street caught it all as Jim told the squirrel off and the darn thing just sat there looking back at him. Somehow in his mind Jim knew the film was still rolling, and that's when he got down on his hands and knees and confronted the squirrel.
"Of course that's when Momma came rushing out of the bank and jumped in the backseat of the car only to discover Jim was gone. There were three cameras running and they spliced it all together, but Marie Tanner did a great job of looking crazy at that moment. Then you saw the rest, she honks the horn, Jim bashes his head into the bumper and the squirrel ran off as the police sirens are heard in the background.
"It was pure genius on Jim's part and all the reviews mentioned that scene. I'm sure Mickey Talon knows about it, all the crew guys do. Jim still can't explain why that inspiration hit him; he was so into the part it just happened. That's how he wins awards, he follows his instincts."
Ted smiled. "Lucky us, we get to second guess him."
Barry laughed. "Or die trying. Can't say working here will ever get boring. Talon will find out... hell, I'm a year older than he is."
"I guess that means you want to be a director," Ted said. "Talon just got the breaks early on."
"Breaks nothing, he's got the talent. But I'll catch up someday once I've learned the craft."
"Then this is the place to learn. Does Jim know?"
"Of course, that's why he hired me," Barry said. "You write the story and I'll direct it."
Ted smiled, he really liked Barry. "Deal," He replied.
By the end of the day Dennis appeared, looking calm and less frazzled than the previous week.
"Looks like you had a good day," Ted said.
"Productive, a lot was accomplished today but there's still a lot to do...are we ready to leave?"
"Pizza?" Ted asked.
"You are developing some sincerely bad eating habits. I'd rather do Chinese," Dennis replied.
"Sure, at least they deliver."
Dennis called the Peking Palace once they got home, thirty minutes he was told. Ted was working his way through the DVD's on Jim's shelf.
"Looking for something special?" Dennis asked.
"Barry mentioned one of Jim's films today. Mother's Little Helper, did you ever see it?"
"I saw very few movies the last four years, you know that."
"Here it is," Ted said, holding up a plastic case.
"What's so special about this one?" Dennis asked.
"Barry told me that my favorite scene is completely ad-libbed by our boss."
Dennis nodded. "I'm not surprised, he's famous for it. So a movie and dinner, this feels like a date."
Ted smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. "We've had some great dates, haven't we?"
"We still do,"
The food arrived and they sat down on the floor of the living room to eat off the coffee table. The film was one hundred and thirty-two minutes long, a big effort on Jim's part. Marie Tanner was a good foil to Jim's idiotic character. She did the conniving scheming bitch role so very well.
Her frazzled gray hair and stocky body were in direct contrast to Jim's character. His hair had been longer back then and that allowed him to show vanity since every time he passed a mirror he pulled out a comb. He was nothing but a goofy gum chewing, and much too good natured, son to his Momma.
Momma robbed banks, and took on various other larcenous schemes. But rather than stash the money away she went to the local bookie and bet it all on losing horses. She wore various disguises during the crimes, always with a different excuse to tell her son about why she had to hide her appearance.
Junior, for that's what she called Jim's character, was always the getaway driver. In only one scene did she actually bring Junior into the bank to help haul away the loot. In that scene and all the others, Junior had no idea she was the robber, he was that dumb. About an hour into the film came the squirrel scene and they laughed together.
To put it mildly, Jim was a genius in the skin of an actor. The fact that he also had produced and directed films only spoke to the abilities of the man. Dennis and Ted could agree, it was good to be working for him.
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