Dreams of Stardom (Hollywood SI)

"Finally Bobby's scenes are done," I plopped down on the couch tiredly, "Gosh, who knew acting would be so tiresome."

"I swear sometimes you sound like an old man." Steve quipped with a smile.

"I am an old soul, don'tcha know?" I retorted.

"Tomorrow Amy's scenes will be done as well, then we can begin the post-production," Steve said conversationally.

"Won't we need them for dubbing?" I asked.

"For a few hours at most. It's a short film, and the total length shouldn't exceed 40 to 45 minutes. If it does, I'll have to cut some scenes. Don't want to make it too long."

"How would I know? Until now I was doing acting practice, not making a short film." I grinned at him.

"Smartass," He grinned and put a bunch of movie tapes on the coffee table for me to see.

I picked one particular movie out.

He checked my choice of the movie and shook his head, "Sorry buddy, we cannot do that movie, it's not for you. Remember what happened last time when your mother found us practicing [The Godfather] scenes?"

I shivered mentally at that reminder. Kathy wasn't very happy to know I was trying to be a young Michael Corleone. Still, I held my ground, "But I've already watched [Pulp Fiction] and I want to practice the Big Kahuna Burger Scene!" 

Steve gaped at me open-mouthed. "Why can't you do something like [Home Alone] or [Forrest Gump]?" He asked dejectedly after getting over his initial shock.

"Because [Home Alone] requires no acting talent and for [Forrest Gump] I'll have to fake the voice which is very role-specific," I explained my logic emphatically.

He sighed in resignation, "Just don't tell your mother when she gets back or she'll kill me."

I pumped my fist in silent celebration and snatched the tape to put it in the VCR player. We had this little game going where we would pick up a scene from a movie and I would practice it by observing the performances of great actors. I have already practiced many great scenes of actors like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, etc. 

Now I am trying a scene of Samuel L. Jackson from Pulp Fiction. It was arguably the best and the funniest scene in the movie. Then again, the movie is a classic in its entirety.

(Break)

"Does-he-look-like-a-bitch?" I asked authoritatively.

"No." Steve groaned out in character.

"Then why did you try to fuck him like a bitch?"

"I didn't"

"Yes, you did. Yes, you did Brett. You tried to fuck him and Mr. Wallace doesn't like to be fucked by anybody except Mrs. Wallace." I straightened up slightly as I looked Steve in the eye. "You ever read the Bible, Brett?"

"Yes," Steve answered meekly.

"There's a passage I got memorized,..."

Just as I was doing the Bible verse, Mum walked in. I didn't stop the dialogue and recited the whole passage and in the end, I raised a Nerf gun and made a few blank shots at Steve.

Only then did I see a defeated expression on Steve's face and a furious-looking Kathy.

"Please tell me you're not practicing lines from [Pulp Fiction]," Kathy said, her tone eerily calm.

"We aren't?" I answered unconvincingly.

"Ba-babe I-I can explain." Steve stammered as he got up and raised his hands defensively.

"That you've got loads to do, love."

(Break)

September began with a new academic year at elementary school. Only this time, it was an American school and the environment was similar, yet different to what I was used to in the UK.

On the acting front, things were going great. Shooting of the short home film we made had been completed on time. All that was left was the post-production, which Steve would do over the time as he had to finish the script of [Wonder Boys] as well. He was a little behind on the schedule because of the short film which we had mutually decided to call 'Sex Education'.

Amy and Bobby had promised to redub the parts with unclear sound at a later date, so Steve wasn't in a hurry to finish it.

I was anxious though because I wanted to see my performance as soon as possible, but Steve flat-out refused to show me any of the clips before completing his work on [Wonder Boys].

Next were of course my music lessons. Steve had pitched this elaborate plan for my future career development. I had patiently declined the dance lessons. Maybe in the future. For now, this is too much too soon. I'd hardly have any time left for myself if I did everything according to his plan.

Convincing him wasn't difficult as he easily conceded that it was my decision. His only argument was stuff like music and dance were easier to learn the younger you started.

I had to give it to him, but rushing things is not the answer.

I reached the classroom after putting my bag in place.

"Hey, mate." I bumped fists with my first American friend my age, Evan.

"It's 'dude'. Not mate." Evan rolled his eyes irritated.

"I'll call you mate, Lil dude," I smirked back at him with a heavy Cockney accent.

"For the last time, we are the same age," He almost shouted in frustration.

I cackled maniacally. I loved riling him up. Evan Spader was a small boy with brown hair and brown eyes. He was a cute kid, but most of all he was the oddball because he liked reading and sketching in a corner. I had kinda forced myself into this friendship.

He comically banged his head on the desk as our homeroom teacher walked in and called out, "Troy, stop teasing Evan."

"Yes, Ms. Lorraine," I answered dutifully with an angelic smile on my face. She was a sucker for my smile, so why not use it properly?

Evan gave me the stink eye. He knew exactly what I was doing.

"Troy, what are you doing tomorrow?" Evan asked me in a whisper as the teacher was taking the roll call.

"Nothing much. Dad will drive me to my music lesson." I answered nonchalantly, "What about you?"

He looked down nervously and spoke slowly, "My Mom asked me to invite you home."

"Why?" I asked.

"She wants to make sure…" He trailed off and mumbled something incoherent.

"What?" I cupped my ear and dramatically said, "I didn't hear you."

"She just wants to meet you to see if you are an imaginary friend." He finished reluctantly.

I couldn't help myself and laughed out loud at his admission.

"Troy Armitage!" Ms. Lorraine shouted at me.

"Here." I smoothly answered and ignored the scathing look she was throwing at me.

Evan hid his face in his hands in embarrassment, "Hey mate," I pushed his hands away, "Sorry for laughing. I don't mind meeting her but I'll have to ask Dad when he comes to pick me up."

Both of Evan's parents are lawyers so they didn't have much time to spend with him. Most of the time, his nanny picked him up from school, so I never met his parents. He had met both Kathy and Steve, however.

"My lesson will start at 9 and last till 11. When do you want me to come?"

"At 3?" He asked with uncertainty.

"Sure mate," I answered cheerfully.

(Break)

It took Steve three weeks after the school began to finish with the script of [Wonder Boys]. Now he could finally begin with the finishing of [Sex Ed]. Finally, I could review the work we shot. As the full movie was shot on a digital camera, we had to go the digital editing route. Luckily, computers and software were advanced enough for the same.

"Troy! We will be late if you don't hurry up." Steve shouted from the living room.

"Coming!" I shouted back as I fixed my hair and quickly made my way to Steve.

"I can't believe I am letting you come along," Steve said in a disbelieving voice.

I smiled like an angel, "How can you say no to your most favorite son?"

Steve rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else as he took my tiny hand in his own giant one and trotted outside towards the car. He turned towards me and asked, "Would you even understand what is going on?"

I opened the car door and sat shotgun. "I may not," I agreed honestly, "but I would love to learn, and what better opportunity than an experimental short film that may not even be released?"

Even if I am a reincarnated person, I am not a movie genius and I have to accept the fact that I will struggle to understand even the basics when I begin working in the industry. 

We drove in silence to our destination which just happened to be a small independent film studio run by a friend of Steve's, Hal. Hal was kind enough to lend us his editing room to finish our work with the movie.

Luckily, they didn't have an upcoming movie for a few months so we were free to use the studio.

"The first task in editing a film," Steve explained, "is to select all the scenes that are to be used for the final movie. That is essentially the director's cut without removing the unnecessary scenes."

I nodded along, showing my understanding.

"After assembling all the scenes together our movie comes to a certain length," Steve continued. "Most directors and producers have a time limit in mind within which they wish to complete the film. To qualify for a film festival, a short film has to be limited to 45 minutes, that would be our goal for this film."

I mutely observed the process without making any comment as he went to work explaining everything to me like he would an intern. That's probably the best quality of Steve, he doesn't treat me like a child. Most of the time at least. While Kathy tries to follow the principle as well, my appearance doesn't help her much.

Like when we announced that I would be joining Steve in post-production after school for a few hours every day, she wasn't happy. Steve convinced her somehow. I don't know what he said, but he convinced her.

It took Steve nearly two hours to put the scenes together and then he finally played the first directorial cut.

The plot was very simple, yet good enough. It was the story of a small boy named Mark, played by yours truly. Mark's parents are both corporate workers with little time in their lives for their children. They go to work early and come back late. Sometimes they don't even stay for the weekend.

In the whole movie there is no appearance of the parents, just their voices that were played by Steve and Kathy. They have an older daughter Jenny, played by Amy, who is a college student. Although her college (UCLA) is nearby, she prefers to stay on campus, away from babysitting her brother, who is only eight.

One day, Mark called Jenny and sobbed as he told her that he suspected that their father was abusing their mother. Hearing this, Jenny came home and asked him why he thought so. He told her that he heard painful noises from their room at night when they thought he was asleep.

Jenny is embarrassed by the revelation but doesn't tell her brother the real reason for it. She gives him a very censored version of the talk about love and how it's not abuse and he will understand when he grows up. However, Jenny realizes how lonely his brother is as he has no friends at school.

Another plotline is the involvement of Bobby's character, Dylan, who is a typical 16-year-old jock in high school who is horny most of the time. Dylan lives on the floor below Mark's and his parents are good friends of Mark's parents'. Thus he was given the responsibility of being Mark's babysitter.

In one scene, Mark finds a condom in Dylan's wallet and asks about it. Dylan being the responsible adult (almost) rolls the condom on a banana and then comically goes on about how it goes up a 'pussy cat' belonging to a 'female dog'.

One day when Jenny is home to check up on her brother, Mark asks him about her breasts, explaining that Dylan told him how girls' breasts were filled with milk that is pumped through a pumping machine monthly. How it leaks sometimes and thus women even have to wear diapers so that it won't leak.

Jenny is flabbergasted by the description but still explains to Mark about lactation and Menstruation. She is worried about this Dylan character and decides to do a surprise visit one day to check up on his brother and Dylan when their parents are away. Also to chastise Dylan about destroying Mark's innocence.

Then there is one incident where Dylan tries to touch Mark but Mark, feeling uncomfortable, runs back to his apartment. Dylan didn't follow him as he was hesitant to do anything else.

Dylan was talking to a friend on the phone about how he wanted to fuck a pussy so badly but his girlfriend refused as she wears a chastity ring. Just then there's a knock on the door with Steve's voice asking Dylan to go to Mark's place today as Mark's parents had to go to a weekend luncheon party and had prepared food for Dylan and Mark.

Dylan went over to find Mark doing his homework. He suggested playing some games while eating snacks instead. Mark was a little hesitant but he had known Dylan for years so he didn't think much about it. They played chutes and ladders and had potato chips with Coke.

That's when Dylan pulls Mark towards him playfully and drenched him in coke. Mark was angry and shouted at Dylan. Dylan says that it was just a joke and then jokingly spills Coke on himself as well, saying, "There, now we're both wet."

Then he takes them to the bathroom and after getting out of their clothes, they are under running water when Dylan tries forcing himself upon Mark. Mark shouted but was silenced by a large hand over his mouth. Luckily, just then Jenny comes in and smashes Dylan's head in.

After crying and consoling his brother, Jenny calls first the police, and then their parents.

A few days later, Jenny explains that what Dylan did was a crime and he would go to a Juvie where he would probably receive the same treatment he was giving Mark.

She apologizes that she should have explained to Mark all about sex so he could differentiate good touch from bad touch. They had arranged weekly therapy sessions for Mark so he could understand why what Mark did was wrong and how to get over it to stop it from developing into something severe like PTSD.

Then it comes back to the clip of Mark saying, "Hello Big people!"

From that point on, it was essentially a monologue with detailed knowledge of sex. The best part was that the whole scene was improvised and I didn't even take meaningless pauses while delivering.

From what I am seeing, it seems to be scripted.

When that scene ended, it showed a final scene of Jenny, where she talks about the difference between a good touch and a bad touch and how to differentiate between them. What to do while facing sexual harassment and helplines they can contact.

With that, the movie ended.