by Tim Miller
“You serious?”
“Yeah. You watch that show, The Lurching Deceased?”
“God! I love that show!”
“Well I came up with that whole thing. I wrote the concept and some of the original scripts. And John Krugman stole the idea, made his graphic novels and got it picked up as a TV show.”
“Holy shit! Are you serious?” she asked. Honestly, Lisa wasn’t sure what to think of that story at first. He seemed convincing at least, so she kept listening.
“I’m dead serious. I have lawyers looking into some options now. But we are probably going to file suit. I mean, he blatantly stole it and I have proof.”
“How do you know him?”
“We worked together when I lived in Las Vegas on a couple projects. I made the mistake of showing him what I was working on. He must have copied it somehow. Stupid mistake. So now I’m really protective of my newest project.”
“Can you tell me a little about it?”
“Ok. Just a little though. So there is this big corporation that is doing experiments and trying to develop a cure for cancer. Well they start doing human trials without approval and as a side effect, the test subjects turn into zombies and attack the lab people. It gets out and turns into the zombie apocalypse.”
“Wow! That sounds really cool!”
“Thanks! And this takes place and will be filmed right here in San Antonio. It will be a full San Antonio cast and crew from top to bottom.”
“That is really awesome. So when are you filming? Have you already cast for it?” she asked trying not to sound opportunistic. This was the first time in years she had even considered trying to act.
“Soon, real soon. And yes, I have casting calls coming up soon as well. You should come out.”
“I just might!”
They continued to talk until the bar closed. He called her a few days later and they went out for dinner; their first real date. From there it was history. He was very sweet to her, treated her like a lady, and always listened to her. The fact he cast her as the lead and made her executive producer showed just how much trust and faith he had in her. Any relationship had to be about trust.
Although he hadn’t let her see the script yet. She didn’t blame him though, after what happened to him with The Lurching Deceased. She’d be careful too. He’d show her when the time was right. Over the months they’d been together she’d grown to love him more than she thought possible to love any man. There was no doubt in her mind she’d be spending the rest of her life with him. Once the movie was finished, he would most likely propose to her. Talk about happy endings; she couldn’t think of a better one.
The ringing phone at her desk snapped her out of her daydream. She groaned before answering. It was her boss asking her to stop by his office before she left. No doubt to write her up again. Her productivity had been way down since they’d begun casting. Every waking hour had been devoted to this film.
From the minute she got home from work, she went through audition videos, read through resumes and headshots while driving around and checking out locations. Soon they’d have more crew to help with this, but in the meantime it was all her. Clarence left most of these duties to her so he could focus on polishing the script. This would be an epic film indeed.
Chapter 7
Six months after auditions
Chloe was nervous as hell. Since the last meeting with Clarence months ago, he talked to her about how much her pay will be and some things he wanted to do with her character. None of it seemed like a big deal and she didn’t see why he needed a special meeting, but whatever.
Then two days ago, Clarence calls her and says they’re ready to start filming. When she asked about her contract and pay he just told her it was coming soon.
“Well, I can’t shoot yet. Not until I get paid and get my contract,” she explained.
“I know. Look Chloe. You’re very talented and beautiful. That’s why we need these scenes. It’s for the promo to show the investors. They are this close to giving us our budget. Ok, like so close. Think of everything you’ve dreamed of in this business, everything you’ve ever wanted. It’s all right there for you to just reach out and take it. We just need to shoot a few scenes so we can finish the promo. Once the investors see this, they will hand me a nice, big, fat check.”
She thought it over long and hard. From the start, she had said she’ll never work without a contract. But this was an opportunity she didn’t want to pass up.
“Chloe? Still there? What do you say? Are you in? Or should I just get someone else?” he asked.
“I’m in. I’ll do it I guess.”
“Great!”
He gave her the details and here they were, in someone’s house getting ready for her first scene. Clarence was in costume, which consisted of military fatigues, boots, and weapons. His character was a U.S. Marine but she thought he was rather pudgy for an active Marine, especially during the zombie apocalypse when everyone would be rationing food.
Her costume was a white tank top and jeans. As she looked around, she didn’t see any cameras, or sound equipment or much of anything to be honest. The cast and crew was Clarence, Brody, herself, and a couple others. One girl she figured was the makeup artist by the bag she was carrying. The girl had put some makeup on her, enough to make her look dirty and mussed her hair up a bit. Clarence came over smiling.
“Hey! You look great! You ready?” he asked.
“I guess. You never sent me my lines or a script.”
“Oh yeah. There really isn’t any for this scene. This will be our kissing scene.”
That took her by surprise.
“Our kissing scene?”
“Yeah. I told you during your audition and you were fine with it.”
“Oh. Right. But the contract...”
“Didn’t we already go over this? Look, we’ll just do the scene, a couple of takes and we’re done. You’ll have your money no later than next month.”
“Ok. Let’s do this. Oh, where are the cameras?”
“Brian will be shooting for us; he’s using my tablet to film,” Clarence said.
“Your tablet?”
“Yeah. I don’t have any equipment just yet. When we get our budget for pre-production then we’ll buy all the gear we need.”
Chloe had never been on a set that filmed solely with a tablet, but whatever.
“Ok I guess.”
So they walked to the couch and stood in front of it. He did give her a few lines to say for the scene before Brody shouted, “Action!”
“I need you here,” Chloe said as part of her lines. “You promised me you’d be here.”
“That was before all this. My country needs me. I can’t ignore that.”
“Not even for me? Your wife?”
“I must do this, so other wives don’t lose their husbands. We face an enemy greater than anything this nation has faced before. I’m one of the few and the proud, and duty calls.”
Chloe had to try not to crack up at the cheesy dialogue. This sounded more like something out of a bad soap opera over a zombie film, but she just went with it.
“What can I do to convince you to stay?” she asked.
“Nothing, the decision has been made.”
She stepped in as he pulled her close to him and their lips touched. As her face neared his, she got a look at him close up for the first time. His cheeks were covered in blackheads and pock marks throughout his face. Some were sprinkled along his cheeks, but others were the size of pennies. On the side of his nose was a large, yellow zit. She almost hesitated but didn’t want to blow the shot. So she closed her eyes and tried to imagine a more attractive guy she’d dated months before.
As they kissed, he shoved his tongue down her throat almost gagging her. She tried to go with it, but was able to keep it together enough in the shot. He kissed her roughly as he groped her butt. At first she thought it just may have been an accident, but then one of her hands went to her breast. She jumped ba
ck.
“What are you doing?” she said.
“Cut!” Brody called. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s grabbing my ass and tits!”
“It’s a love scene, what did you expect?” Clarence asked.
“Love scene? You said kissing scene.”
“Well there is kissing. But it’s basically a sex scene.”
“No. Uh uh. I didn’t agree to this,” she said shaking her head.
“Do you want to be paid? A scene like this for a film like this, you’re looking at double the usual pay.”
“You won’t even tell me what my pay was to start with.”
“Ok, your original pay, you were looking at around thirty thousand dollars total for a film this size. So now, you’d be getting sixty thousand.”
“Sixty thousand dollars?” she asked.
“Right. For six weeks of filming. Can you make that anywhere else?”
“No, but...”
“Yes I know, we haven’t paid you yet. It’s coming soon, I absolutely promise you. You think I’d be going through all of this if we weren’t right there?” He waved his hand around at the “set.”
“So come on. Be a professional and do what you’ve been hired to do. This is going to be killer and after this film comes out, people will forget all about shows like The Lurching Deceased.”
She thought it over. Everything inside her head was telling her to turn and run out of there as fast as she could. Yet everything he said sounded so good. What if he was right and she passed up the chance of a lifetime?
“All right,” she sighed.
“Great,” he said. “Ready when you are Brody.”
“Action!” Brody called out.
They began kissing again. She tried but couldn’t look away from the huge zit on his nose. Part of her was afraid if her cheek bumped it, it would pop and get pus all over her face. Or even worse, in her mouth. Yuck! The mere thought made her sick to her stomach, so she tried to send her brain somewhere else.
It wasn’t too hard to distract herself from it as he grabbed her breast again and squeezed. She resisted the urge to pull away as she undid his uniform shirt and pulled it off him. This is where she had to really be an actress. Not only was she not attracted to this guy, but she was flat out repulsed by him. Yet she had to act like she was in love with him and wanted to fuck his brains out. Not an easy task.
Once his shirt was off, he began tugging at her tank top, pulling it over her head. This would be her first nude scene, so she tried not to think too hard about it. He then began fumbling at her bra; she reached up and undid it herself letting it fall free. He pushed her gently onto the couch as they continued kissing. He undid her jeans and began pulling them off.
She glanced over at Brody who just nodded. They never told her just how nude she was supposed to be. This was making her extremely uncomfortable but figured she’d go with it. So she kicked off her shoes as he slid her jeans off. He then slid her panties off her as well. At first she hesitated, but let him keep going. One thing was certain, she better get her sixty fucking grand for this.
Though looking at Clarence’s face, he was either a really good actor or extremely turned on. His eyes were almost glazed over as he made animal like grunting sounds with each movement. He leaned in and they began kissing some more as he fondled her breasts, even pinching her nipples. It wasn’t enough to hurt, but it didn’t feel good either. She scooted herself back onto the couch as he pressed against her.
As he moved in, she felt something warm and fleshy on the inside of her leg. Looking down, his dick was out and fully erect. Immediately she jumped off the couch and punched him in his flabby chest.
“What the fuck?” she screamed.
“Cut!” Brody called out. “What’s your problem?”
“Look! He took his fucking dick out!” She began pulling her panties on, and then her jeans. Clarence was quickly tucking his now limp penis back into his fatigues.
“I’m sorry, I got carried away,” he said.
“Are you fucking kidding me? You think this is a porno or some shit?”
“No, Chloe, I’m sorry. It was a mistake.”
“Mistake my ass. I’m out of here. I’m done. And I’m telling the rest of the cast how you acted here today.”
“I don’t think you will,” he said.
“Pretty sure of yourself are you?”
“You signed the confidentiality agreement after auditions, remember? If you tell anyone about anything that happens on set, then you will be fired from this production and sued. Not only will you not get your sixty grand, but you’ll owe me money. Do you want that?”
“Whatever,” she said as she stormed out.
Chapter 8
Brody left the shoot trying to figure out just what the hell he’d just witnessed. Clarence had met with him an hour before filming to go over the shot. He never bothered to mention there would be nudity or him whipping his dick out at the poor girl. Clarence had emphasized to him that no matter what happens, to keep filming and they would be improving much of the scene for authenticity. Boy, he wasn’t kidding.
After Chloe left, Clarence just shrugged.
“She’ll be fine. Just nervous is all,” Clarence had said.
“Dude, seriously? Were you trying to fuck her? You whipped your dick out.”
“I didn’t whip it out. I mean, ok I got excited. But the button on my pants came undone and it just popped out.”
Brody shook his head, he wasn’t buying it. Every part of his being told him to turn around and walk away from this mess right away and never come back. Then he remembered how much this was supposed to pay.
“I should quit right now. That was completely disgusting here today,” Brody said.
“I know Brody, I know. You’re a man of principles. I respect that. But think of your family. Isn’t your mom sick?” Clarence said.
Brody bristled as soon as Clarence said it. His mother had been battling breast cancer for over a year. He made the mistake of sharing that with Clarence not long after he was hired. As much as it killed him, he didn’t want to admit he was right, but Clarence had a point. Their insurance was running out and his mom’s treatments were getting more and more expensive. The money from this film would cover some experimental treatments the insurance wouldn’t cover and maybe save her. No way could he walk away from this. He had to stick it out.
“Yes, yes. She is. I know.”
“Well ok then. I mean, if you want to walk out of here, there’s the door. But you’d be throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Brody rubbed his eyes. He was stuck and Clarence knew it.
“All right. But in the future, could you at least let me know ahead of time before any nude or sex scenes? And maybe inform the actress as well?” Brody said.
“Sure man. Sure. This was just a misunderstanding today. That’s all.” Clarence took the tablet from the camera guy.
“You want me to go over the footage?” Brody asked. “I mean, I’m not sure what we can even use.”
“No, I go it; it’s fine. I like to do my own editing. That and no offense, but just like the script, I don’t want anything leaking. You know piracy and all.”
“Right.”
“Oh, one more thing,” Clarence began. “In case you’re thinking of talking to anyone about today, remember you signed that confidentiality agreement. That is enforceable and not only will I take legal action but I have a lot of contacts in this industry. I’ll see to it you don’t produce so much as a wedding video.”
“I get it,” Brody said.
When Brody got home, his mom was sitting on the couch watching TV. She was wrapping a blanket around herself as she watched him walk in.
“Hey Brody,” she said. “How’d it go today?”
“Eh. Ok I guess. Not as I had planned, but I’ll make the best of it.” How would he even begin to explain what happened to his mother?
“By the look on your face, it looks worse than t
hat. Did you get fired?”
“What? Oh, no no. Nothing like that. Just, wasn’t what I was expecting is all.”
“Well, if it doesn’t feel like a good fit, you should just move on,” she said.
“It’s not that simple. This isn’t bagging groceries; it’s the film business. Good opportunities don’t always come along. I can’t pass this up no matter how weird it gets.”
“I just don’t want to see you lose yourself, Brody.” She paused and started coughing. The treatments were sometimes worse than the actual disease. “You’ve always stuck to your guns.”
“I know mom. It’ll be fine.”
“I know. And whatever you do, don’t stick to something just for me. I don’t want you to be miserable.”
“I won’t,” he lied. “This is what I do, what I’ve always wanted to do.”
She squeezed his hand and he went into the other room. He turned on the TV and pulled up an episode of “The Lurching Deceased.” As he watched zombies creep across the screen as hapless survivors shot them in the head with everything from arrows, spears and guns, all he could think about was the time he spent there as an intern.
His final year in film school, he got to intern for the director for part of one season. Everything ran so smoothly. They had nicely catered meals each day, shooting schedules ran on time. They even had top of the line equipment. When he was offered this job for “Zombie Reign,” he’d been told it would be the same here. This was the first day of filming and it was nothing like that. Hell, they were filming on tablets for Christ’s sake.
He hoped Clarence was right about just getting some footage so they can get their budget. Not to mention, he hoped that would be soon. Not only did he need to cover his mom’s treatments, but he had rent and bills to pay. Maybe give it a few months and see how things go. Clarence assured them they’d be paid within the next month. Brody had nothing else going on, so no harm in waiting a month or so to see how this all panned out. Hopefully there would be no more incidents like today.