by T. N. King
Yes, Jacob thought. Collaboration of minds, hearts and work ethic. He winced at the unbidden thought. Shut the fuck up!
“So, I will have the AD call out the call sheet. Of course, you are both on it. Ready for the meet scene?”
The couple nodded.
He looked between them. “Everything good?”
Oh, shit. Jacob thought. He picked up on something. “Yes, we talked this morning, going over the Shot list and discussing the meet scene.” Whoa up, Jacob TMI overkill.
Nodding her head, Anna smiled at the director. “We will work together just fine.”
The man stared at them for a moment. “Well, great! I hate it when the two leadings don’t get along. Makes my job harder. That shit transfers to the screen sometimes.” He paused. “But with you two, I suppose it won’t.” He walked on.
They both sat quietly. Jacob didn’t know what Anna was thinking but he was panicked. Transfer to the big screen. Would their spark transfer? He tried to reason with Mr. Panic. Only for good chemistry, so calm the fuck down.
Without any more conversation, they both went to makeup and hair.
Chapter Eleven
“Hey, Jacob,” Lynn greeted him at the makeup station.
“Hey, sweet Lynn.” He sat down
She got out her magic brushes as he called them and began her routine. After a silent ten minutes, she said, “You look…”
He paused. “…Like?
“Umm, I can’t pinpoint it.” She set her buffer down. “More relaxed.”
He fought the smile. Yes, like a man would after almost 8 hours of wild sex.
“Oh, my god!” she whispered.
His gaze rose up.
“You got some!” She giggled.
He froze. Now, do not snap back at her. Play this off. “How the hell do you know that?”
She picked up the highlighter brush. “I am good. I know faces. I look into eyes and expressions every day.” She shrugged. “But I am glad.”
He chuckled. “And why are you glad?” This should be good.
She looked around and then leaned closer to whisper, “I think you are the best actor I have ever seen in action. But I knew you held some kind of tension. Not good at all. It transfers to the screen.”
Shit, there was that expression again, he was beginning to really hate the term. “So you are saying, I will walk out there today and the entire set crew will say, ‘Well, just look at that well fucked man!’ ”
Staring at him, she started to laugh and almost dropped the powder cake.
He looked sheepish and gazed all around. His eyes met a startling pair of blue eyes as he locked gazes with Anna in her makeup chair across the set. Her gaze made him feel…oh, shit. What did he feel? He pulled his eyes away. “Just dust my nose Miss Crystal Ball.” He gave Lynn a good natured wink.
She lowered her brush, dusted his nose, and nodded. Her smile was still huge.
After about an hour where the crews all came and got coffee and danishes, the set looked closer to being ready. Then the noise on the set became incredibly loud as all the departments set up for yet another hour.
Then they finally heard the call, “Picture’s Up!” This meant the cameras were almost ready. Next, everyone heard the call sheet. This would be all the actors who would be required on set for today’s shooting, what scenes were scheduled, and which locations would be used
There were a lot of Day Players on that sheet. Extras hired just for the day. Then Jacob already noted there would be a lot of Rhubarb in the background. He always laughed at this term. It meant people would be mouthing words in the shot like in a crowd all around them in the bar. He’d read in acting school that it was because extras were often asked to mutter the word “rhubarb” to produce the effect of genuine conversation, with their mouths moving convincingly.
“Call to Action! Set Points.”
Jacob moved to the set. It looked and felt just like a real bar. People were all stepping back and forth to be in position. Dressed in jeans and t shirts, pool cues in hand. Beer mugs aloft. Next, he heard Hony Tonk music. He stood in a t shirt and jeans himself, his usual neat black hair a bit mussed.
Anna or Eve as her part dictated, stepped behind the bar.
There was more noise and shuffling from all around. The music clipped, stopped and then started again. Then the noise slowed to a mere scuffing, then to nothing.
“Quiet on the set!”
This was it. Damn did he feel a little nervousness? He checked his breathing. No. His lines were all in his head and so was the character. Time to let him out.
Then there was the Clapper held by an assistant, displaying key information about the scene being filmed scene number, take number, film name.
Standing at his start point which was at the door, Jacob gazed at Anna. Now though, she was Eve. They had chemistry to all hell and had loved each other 3 years ago. Dade wants her back, though he did not know this until he sees her again. He immersed himself in the feelings of sweet sex, angst and a little surprise. All needed for this scene. Closing his eyes for a second, his inner mechanism activated like a click in his head. Ready…
“Action!” the director called out.
The clap board then snapped.
Then the sound of people talking, music keyed and a smoky haze filled the bar.
Camera pan to Dade as he walks through the bar. He is Dade Remming raised in the coal mining community, black dust coats his DNA, he lost an uncle and a brother to cave ins. He swore he would not go the same way. He went off to college, earned a business degree and now landed a job with the very coal mining company that ran this whole area. So, there are mixed feelings by the locals, and from his own family. He is a traitor to them in a way.
Eve is bent down behind the bar to grab glasses.
Dade sits in a stool and says, “Whiskey neat.”
Eve pops up over the bar at hearing that voice. Her smile is a blend of a smirk and a sneer. It does not detract from the stunning beauty that she is at all. In fact, it enhances it. “Well, look who blowed into town.”
Jacob only now catches the southern lilt in her voice. Sexy as all fuck. Yes, the one she used as Miss Red Dress. He pushes that out. Dade pauses as a bit of surprise passes across his face. “Eve?” He tips his head back and takes a long look at the woman in front of him. A long, slow, sexual perusal of her face, tits, body. His expression changes to one of smooth ice, one that belies the heat in his eyes. “All growed up, I see.” His voice purrs just a bit with the same southern lilt that matches hers.
Eve looks a little flustered, just enough to show how she feels but it is fleeting as she covers it. “Still like Jack?”
Dade nods.
She sets him up with shot glass then pours the dark amber into it. She slides it sideways across the bar with accurate precision.
Jacob felt impressed, Anna had definitely studied bartending at some point.
Dade catches it perfectly in his grasp. Takes a long look at her now flushing face as her anger does show. Then he tips it back and downs it. Slapping it on the bar, he grins at her. “Just like fire.” Then he swipes his mouth with a lip smacking. It’s the same thing Dade would say after they fucked, years ago.
The music plays around them but the rapid backdrop conversations slow to a halt.
The extras—bar patrons all turn to stare at the couple at the bar.
Her confident but heated smile drops from her face. An angry wild woman look replaces the barely held rage Eve is feeling. “You sonofabitch!” She then lunges over the bar and grabs his t-shirt.
They tussle for a second.
Then their faces meet.
Camera pans to an OTS‒over the shoulder shot‒then to a close up by the third camera, the boom mike swings silently over their heads.
Dade whispers to her lips, “It is so nice to see you again, Eve.” He smirks.
Eve’s eyes widen and she hauls her arm back then slaps him across the face.
SMACK!
The sound reverberates through the now quiet bar.
Dade winces but tries to downplay that it smarts like hell.
Well shit, that did hurt. Got issues there, Anna? Jacob wondered. Dade raises his hand and slowly rubs his palm across the spot on his jaw. His eyes never leaves her face.
A big burly older man grabs Eve up from behind the bar and pulls her down. “Now, Evie…Now, now.”
Dade stares at her with smoldering eyes, he knows he deserved it, knows he walked right into that. He slaps a twenty on the bar top. “So I suppose this means I got my only shot.” It wasn’t a question.
Eve huffs as the man holds her arms down. “Hell, yeah. You had your shot already!” Her voice raises.
Still smirking, though for Dade facing her anger at how he’d just up and dumped her 3 years ago and left town, he should not be wearing one. He turns away and stops as all the locals are staring at him. “Well, she gets no tip.” He shrugs his muscled shoulders and strolls out.
The patrons all stare as he walks out.
The bar…the set grows quiet.
The director even stilled as he stared. Then he finally seemed to snap out of it and yelled, “CUT!”
A flurry of mutterings and awe inspired voices echoed from all around.
Jacob turned around to face the set.
“Well, shit!” the director exclaimed with a stunned laugh.
The AD next to him just nodded rapidly while looking floored.
“God damn perfect!” the director says. “One take!”
Jacob swung his gaze over to Anna.
She beamed at him and mouthed, “Perfect.”
Jacob’s elation plummeted. Just what was said when they were together two days ago. Perfect. Fuck!
He felt…
No fuck that. He turned and headed back to his chair to await the next shot.
Chapter Twelve
The next scene had them meeting again, at a local town festival. It required a lot of what they called blocking. This seemed to take fucking forever, Jacob felt but this was all part of the filming. Blocking meant they had to go through the process of running through a scene prior to filming to decide where the actors will move and where lighting and cameras should be placed.
In the scene, the Eve and Dade stay away from each other but are always watching each other. Both characters interact with other actors, characters in the script. These scenes had retakes. The director had called, “Back To One,” too many times to count. Too many ones, twos and damn threes, Jacob felt. Couldn’t anyone get their lines and methods right? He looked over at Anna. She did. He did. He had to admit, his agent had been right about her.
The director called for lunch.
7 hours into a 14 hour day. Jacob still felt like he’d just started.
He sat and looked at the sides. Next scene…shit. It was where they have a run in, it was a fight where they end up showing all their true emotions, then it turns into sex. He’d known this all day. He’d just avoided thinking about it. Now it was here. He had played this in his mind last week. Now...he knew he’d better replay that fucker. If he just flowed, it would be natural. If he got stopped up with fear about the sparks that were truly there between him and Anna, everyone would see it. The scene would be ruined.
“Yes, that shit reflects across the screen.”
His head shot up to see Anna standing in front of his chair. He gave her a half grin. “You know I never thought I would hate that expression as much as I do today.”
She chuckled and stepped closer to look down at the sides he held. “Yes, I thought so. It is what you’re looking at too.”
He watched her. He could smell her sweet scent. Damn it. He shrugged. Then he looked around. Everyone seemed to be busy with food, talking. He got up and walked over to where her chair sat and pulled it all the way over next to his. “I’m actually glad you came over.”
Nodding, she sat.
He then sat back down.
They both stayed quiet for a few minutes.
“So, the scene in the barn.”
He met her gaze. “What do you usually do when you have a semi sex scene coming up?”
She grinned and gave no answer.
He laughed, as he suddenly realized that was a loaded question with 2 bullets.
“Yeah, I can handle it great,” she finally replied.
His shoulders slumped a little. So she would not be affected. Probably better discipline than even he possessed. “Me too.”
“But…”
He glanced up.
“This is gonna be different. Way different.”
He wanted to shout, fucking right! Instead, he muttered, “Do we let it be natural?” He did feel a little better that he wasn’t alone in this mini panic he was in.
She sighed and clasped her hands together. “It’s so risky.”
Nodding, he agreed, “It is. But this is our craft. If we put in a stop gap. It will fall flat.”
“I know!” She lowered her voice and looked around. “What in the hell do we do, Jacob?”
Wow, she did feel the same exact fear he did. “Glad I’m not alone in this bit of quicksand.”
“I am in it neck deep. I thought maybe it would be cake for you.”
“Usually is. I mean I am a womanizer, ya know?”
Her lips spread out in a grin. “We even have inside jokes.” Her smile dropped. “Crap!”
He nodded rapidly. “Again, we are on the exact same page.” They were too, it seemed. She was having issues as well.
“Okay, well. We both are method and memory actors.”
His gaze met hers. “Yes, we are. Both perfectionists and we sacrifice everything for the scene.”
She actually let out a laugh. “So, we just let it happen?”
He nodded when all the time he wanted to shout, HELL NO!
Sighing, she looked around. “I suppose we have no choice, cause that shit—“
“—reflects across the screen. I KNOW! That is going to be on my fucking gravestone I just know it.”
She again laughed. “Well, like they say, the game is on. We just have to truly stay as Eve and Dade.”
“Only they are hot for each other, Anna,” Jacob reminded her.
“Well, so are Jacob and Anna.”
He smiled but he didn’t feel the smile “Touché.”
“Okay, we will be heading to what? Building C for this? See you there and…”
Well really, what could she say? Don’t kiss me too hard or I will melt. Do not touch me like you mean it. Then do not grab my ass. Even though the scene called for all of those things. This would go naturally and they just had to hope everyone thought it was acting. He laughed loudly.
Her eyes widened at him. “Something funny?”
His laughter halted. “I just never thought I would ever have this problem. Hoping that everyone would just think it WAS acting.”
She stared at him “Me either! Wow. Always striving to make it real, feel real, look real. Now—”
“Last Looks!”
“Okay there’s the makeup. I will see you…” Her voice fell away as she got up from her chair. “…in the barn.” She gave him a sweet blue eyed wink.
At the wink, he got hard instantly. Oh shit, they were in HUGE trouble.
He did another two hours in makeup and hair. Dress changing and then heading over to building C, Jacob fought a cold sweat. The jitters…the makeup would wash off if he took a cold shower, right? He stood in the hall by the door to take a caddy car to the other set.
You are Jacob Cooper actor. She is Anna Halloway, actress. This is a film, this is a movie.
Then after the short golf cart ride, he entered the set.
You are Dade Remming, she is Eve Harlow. You want her, she hates you. You need to tear down the walls of her rage. Get at her center, remind her how good they were together. Let her express her anger, toss everything at you including the fucking kitchen sink until her ammunition is shot. Then take her by storm.
The crews were all moving about.
“Hot Point!” a Lightman man shouted as he crossed in front of Jacob with a light stand. They shouted this when they were moving stuff around that could in fact, hurt you.
Surprised, Jacob stepped back. He hadn’t even seen it. Man, talk about in the zone. Yes, the zone. The fucking twilight zone. He then stepped forward again.
The Obie light was doing its work casting just the right slants of sunlight into the barn set.
The mister was spitting out tiny flecks of suspended fluffs of air that would make the interior if the barn have bits of natural material floating, right through the sun slants. Magic. He thought. What he loved about this business. Creating reality in a fake environment. Hoping it transferred to the screen. If it didn’t, they would end up adding it in CMI.
He knew where his start point was.
The activity had died down. He looked over to see the director and the AD looking down at their laptops. Traitors. He smiled. He always liked the old paper. He’d always used the side scripts.
The man who was the Scripty rushed up to him and handed him a colored page. Oh, shit. Change pages! If a script is altered while filming is underway, any changes are handed out onset in the form of “change pages.” These were normally a different color to the original script. A script with a lot of changes during filming could end up looking like a beautiful rainbow.
Jacob remained steady as he went and sat in a set chair. Gazing down, he felt flushed. They were going almost all bare! Fuck! Could this day get any worse? He looked up to see Anna in her chair holding a green page in her hands, her stunned gaze rose up and met his.
YES! This would be the ultimate challenge. He looked back down. He would rip her shirt off and her bra. Oh, man. Forceful, alpha and right up Jacob’s alley of sex. His heart pounded hard in his chest. Could they do this? Do it right but fuck…not too right?
“Yes, sorry about that. The producer saw your dailies today. He says the heat between you two will make this work and the movie is on the R.”
Jacob kept his expression blank as he looked up at the director and shrugged like he didn’t care at all. Rated R, yes. Not rated fucking X! Get him and Anna with their skin touching? It would turn into semi porn! He took a deep breath and raised his calm gaze to the director. “Well, no actor likes change pages.” His voice sounded even and calm while his mind was screaming NO! His dick was already stiffening at what the scene add had in it.