Chapter 696: Taking Takes
Compared to the first time I was put in front of a bonafide studio camera, this time around wasn’t much of a trial-and-error run now that I knew exactly what this director wanted out of me.
Guy had a flair for storytelling through character motions, you see. If you couldn’t express yourself well, or do something the least bit out-of-character, that’s how you wind up getting your ass on the grill.
In every scene he shot of us, dialogue was kept to the bare minimum. If there’s something that needed to be told, it would be our eyes telling the story not our lips, the subtle change in posture, the shift in expression on our faces-all that kind of pretentious shit, and honestly, it ain’t as easy to pull off as those actors on the silver screen make it seem... gained a newfound respect for them now, having to act a persona that a hundred and ten percent did not resemble you one bit.
Thankfully, this time around, I was given the actual full script to add some much-needed context to my actions, and also giving cohesion to this mess of a storyline I was thrust into.
To recap, Leonardo was sent to a strange and foreign land long abandoned by the Divines, and after my fateful meeting with the fish-out-of-water Leonardo and hearing out his plight in a dingy tavern, I vowed to aid him on his quest to find him a way back to his province... for a price, of course.
Information was the game, and I was the grandmaster verging on checkmate for his compliance. Help me out with some persistent debtors on my tail for a lead as to where he could start searching. But in actuality, I was simply talking out of my ass, intending to just simply point him in a random direction and never see him again for as long as I live.
The too-trusting Hero naturally fulfilled his end of the deal, and to show my immense gratitude, I had him marching southbound chasing some empty rumor of an Ancient Magus up in his little magic tower. He thanked me, I thanked him, and we all lived happily ever after.
.....
Two days later, he had me cornered in a dead-end back alley, the tip of his sword to my throat, explicitly yet calmly telling me that this time I really will fulfill my end of the bargain, which leads us all back to the present time... walking the desolate, decrepit halls of this ominous structure long forgotten by time.
All this development... and I don’t remember a single one of ’em actually happening.
No, I remembered a totally different chain of events. Didn’t I try to swindle Leonardo of his coin? Didn’t a bar fight ensue because of it? What happened to me being in awe of his prowess which was the catalyst for me joining his cause?
Was I remembering a different timeline or something?
“Rewrites,” clarified Leon, upon seeing the look on my face pretty much pressed up against the page. “The director didn’t like how things flowed so he discarded the entire first script. We’ll be reshooting those scenes pretty soon in the future.”
Reshooting? Meaning I toiled myself both physically and mentally for nothing? Is this seriously how movies are made? How the hell were there so many if they’re this much of a pain in the ass to make?
For a moment, the blessed feeling I got getting my hands on the script fizzled for a second, before immediately taking a nosedive into despair when I went rummaging through the pages looking for all the lines written out for me.
Page after page I flipped, only to find absolutely nothing...
Again.
“You seem like a natural coming up with your own pieces last time,” The director explained when I brought it up to him less than gracefully. “I put a writer on your character, it might screw with your performance. It’s your character, your voice, make it work.”
Knowing the futility of arguing, and most importantly with an eager-eyed maiden watching nearby, I sucked up my despair and put on my A-game, walking the walk, acting the act, bracing myself for the true test of my skill.
And with a turn of the heel, and a somber gaze from the Hero in blonde, here it comes. “This better not be one of your tricks again, Chester,” Leonardo warned me. “Wasting my time even more than you already have is not a wise thing to try again twice.”
“Tricks? Me?” I feigned shock, a gloved hand to my chest like I’d just been stabbed. “I’d be quite the idiot of a man to try and thwart a person like yourself twice. Is that sincerely what you think of me?”
“So many words,” He quietly muttered. “Yet so many things still left unaddressed. The Elidna are extinct. Knowing that, I see no reason for us to be here other than you stalling for time.”
“Divines, some faith, please,” I sighed. “Approach this in a non-skewed view, would you... pretend you trust me, and if you can do that... then you can pretend my words have significance when I tell you for the umpteenth time that not all of them are gone just yet. Not everything here is as you know, you know?”
“Why?” He haughty crossed his arms, his red robes fluttering as he did. “Because you say so? You got this from another rumor told in mutters and whispers? Or a claim made by some long-dead Magus from beyond the grave? You fed me lies once before, how can I be sure I’m not just simply walking right into another one?”
“Well, I suppose you’ll just have to see for yourself, won’t you?” I smirked at him, lightly patting his shoulder pads as I moved on ahead in front of him. “And if it makes all the difference, I’m walking to it right alongside you, am I not? ”
His impatience audibly reverberated across the empty hall, then as it dwindled, the steps of his boots took over to stamp out the deathly silence.
“You come a complete stranger to our province, and you’re demanding answers and a solution to your problem,” I said out loud. “In that case, the Elidna are your best bet, aren’t they? Mysterious, elusive, dangerous... just like you. Who knows, maybe if you talk, you’ll find that you share more things in common too.”
“A far-fetched plan.”
“And yet the best you could ever hope for, you’re very welcome,” I said, rounding the corner. “Now, hurry it up. If the little birdie I met last night is right, we’ll find what we’re looking for just up these steps. After that, we’ll shake on it, and gladly part ways, never to see each other ever again. Oh, here’s hoping.”
Between takes and set-ups, I found myself always coming back to Ash, who was positively glowing at watching me act my ass out... apparently, she found it all absolutely amusing to witness.
“Don’t know why you even want to do this...” I said to her, wiping the sweat off my forehead and chugging down a drink. Then a moment after, I paused, staring at her. “Wait, do you even wanna do this?”
“Depends, I suppose,” Ash responded, taking the damp handkerchief from my hand and taking over. “Will doing so allow me a chance to spend more time with you?”
“Um, I suppose so.”
“Then, yes, Master,” She smiled at me. “I do want to do this.”
We took a few more takes of walking and talking, sprinkled alongside some environmental storytelling, all the while, doing my best to hide my unsettlement as to how dead-on Leon was capturing the brooding, sullen character that was my father.
Seriously, at times, it felt like I was walking right beside him. He’s got his entire demeanor locked down to a tee. All that was missing was a lighted cigarette tucked between his lips, and he needed to lose the blonde too.
And then deep in the back of my mind, it had me thinking again of the notion that this all actually happened. Getting sent to a forgotten place, meeting a member of a species thought to be long-extinct, maybe a few things altered here and there, but overall, Dad has been there and done that. My only question now was... how in the hell did he even manage to get out?
Guess it was just another question to add to the pile I plan on asking him once I find the time.
After an exhausting two hours of retakes in different positions, different floors, and different lighting, I finally heard the magic word, “Cut!” echoing aloud, releasing from this suffocating confinement of a split personality I was wearing over me.
“Good, that was very good, guys,” The director came approaching, wearing a straight face that clashed starkly with his praise. “Leonardo, flawless as always. Chester, your pronunciation could still use some work. Lose the accent.”
What accent is he talking about? I sound just fine to me.
“Overall though,” He adjusted his shades, giving slow approving nods at me. “You’re turning out to be a good find. Seems you aren’t just a stupid excuse for Tressa to put her boyfriend in a movie, after all.”
“Uhh,” I blinked at him. “Thanks?”
“Keep it up,” He said, turning back around, as if he thought he really just paid me a compliment there. “Alright, one final scene, and that’s a wrap! Elidna, you’re up! Screw this up, you’re done! What are we waiting for? Let’s go, let’s go!”
“One moment, boss!” Leon quickly reached out, clamping down on his shoulder and halting him in his tracks. “We’re done, aren’t we? Time you heard me out, right? You promised.”
The director gave a grumble, huffing as he turned back to us, a visible crease in his brows. “Just make it quick, alright?”
Eyes twinkling, Leon raised his hand to signal Ash over, wearing a smile as he spoke, “Still no luck with the Elf castings, right? Well, I think I might just have the solution to that.”
At that, the director hunched forward with interest. “Do you now?”
“Yep, and I think you might just find that she’s everything you could ever ask,” Leon affirmed, gesturing over towards Ash as she quietly drew up beside me. “Boss, I’d like to introduce you to your brand new star-meet Ash. An Elf through and through, or as through as you can get anyway.”
For the first time, behind those thickly-tinted shades, the director finally acknowledged Ash’s presence.
Even more than that, slowly and gradually, at the sight of her, he started assessing her from head to toe, circling around her thrice, with every full circle swelling the look of amazement on his face even more... and I know now enough about subtle storytelling to know that he likes what he sees.
“Well?” Leonardo asked, practically beaming seeing his reaction. “What do you think?”
The director ignored him, removing his shades completely and addressing Ash directly instead. “Speak for me, please?”
“Hm? Ah!’ Ash cleared her throat, snapping immediately into character and tossing herself into a bow. “Yes, greetings. As you’ve already been informed, I am Ash. Merely a hopeful candidate to your aspiring craft, if you would so have me, of course. It is a great honor to make your acquaintance finally.”
“By the Divines, she’s bloody perfect,” The director said at once. “The speech, the looks, everything. She has it all there.”
“Right?” Leon said, then clasping his hands at a done deal sealed, said. “So, now that we have our Elf, when do we start filming the-?”
“She’s also rejected.”
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