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.
Jacob got there. He was there.
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.
The director laughed. “Yes, Anna said pretty much the same thing. You two are pros. This will be a clean speech, one take I will bet.”
Well, don’t bet your salary on that. Jacob nodded his head.
The director walked back over to his chair.
One camera swung this way and that, centering on the door. The other two were being put into position.
It was almost time. He got up from the chair and his gaze met Anna’s. He’d decided when she’d left that solarium that he would not have her again. This wasn’t having her, but it would be damn close.
Her gaze looked a little panicked.
Now he felt bad for her, instead of himself. Jacob was sick of this shit. All day worried, second guessing, conflicted, panicked. This was his job, his skill, he always used everything he ever felt, ever learned. This would be no exception. He gave her a wicked wink.
Her eyes widened. She knew he was going to just go with it. She seemed to have an inner battle that he could see. How did he know? She clasped her hands together and her knuckles looked white.
Sorry, Anna. It can only happen right…one way. The hell with this. I am going to allow it all to come. He mouthed, “Perfect,” at her.
He noted her chest moving with rapid breath. “Use it,” he mouthed.
Slowly, she nodded her head and unclasped her hands. She stretched them out as if to check and see if they were shaking. They looked steady.
Good girl. Jacob swallowed hard. This is what he’d said to her several times when they’d had sex. He let out a breath. He then immersed himself in the character. Dade was desperate to have her. He would win her back. He would feel her against him, have her begging to be kissed, to be taken hard. Make up for all those lost years. After the fight that is.
Jacob sets a stern, determined look on his famous face.
“Pictures up!”
Cameras were ready.
“Set Points!”
The clapboard moved in.
“Brilliant, 35, Take one,” the clapper announced.
The clapboard goes down with a SNAP!
“Quiet on the Set!”
Jacob stood at the barn doors.
Anna moved to the tackle she would be hanging on the barn wall.
The boom mikes moved.
Three huge swinging cameras moved to the side, overhead, and behind him.
The sun slanted into the barn through cracks in the wooden walls just perfectly, the air swirls with bits of fluff.
Silence echoed like a living thing.
The air nearly crackled with suspended electric energy.
Jacob loved it—he loved it all.
“ACTION!”
Showtime.
Dade walks in