Rob Reiner (POV)
Jack – no-no, 'Chris' grins, almost too cocky, trying to shrug it off.
"Yeah, I took the milk money. What'd you expect, right? Chris Chambers, bad seed, front page news – film at eleven."
"But I gave it back, Gordie. every damn penny." He looks up sharply, eyes locking with Marty to his left, desperate for him to believe it.
"She… She kept it. Smiled right at me like I was doing the right thing, then kept it. And after everything was said and done… I was still the thief. You know what that means– no, do you really? That means I don't just do bad things… I am bad.
A beat goes by, as he displays a surprising amount of tension for someone reading lines on the fly.
He swallows hard, then cracks a bitter half-smile, shaking his head.
"Whole town believes it. My folks believe it. Even my brother… Yeah, especially him. Doesn't matter if I ace a test, help an old lady cross the street, hell- even save the damn President – they'll still look at me and say… That boy right there-" He points out into the distance in a bout of improv, his face twisting, giving a subtle sense of agony, "That's the thief."
He exhales, shoulders shaking, and says in a softer voice, a kid's voice… "You're the only one who sees me, Gordie. Everyone else just… Sees what they wanna see. Guess that's why I hang around you. 'Cause maybe if you believe me… I can believe me too."
His smirk as he finishes the line is the perfect concoction of hope and self-degradation.
A few seconds pass, as we stew in the agitation. He glances down at his lap, clenching his eyes shut… before opening them, directed right at me.
"So, how'd I do?" Eyes wide, filled with hope and yet… I couldn't help but detect a hint of smugness.
Couldn't even hold it against him, not after what I had just finished witnessing.
Marty continued to stare dreamily at his face, unblinking. I clapped my hands with a bang to snap him out of it, before turning to him… the wunderkind.
"All right Jack, that was… Not bad." I managed, as I struggled to find the right words that wouldn't give him a big head early on. "Good, actually. It's clear how well you've understood the character of 'Chris', done your research right if I'm not mistaken."
Marty did an uncanny impression of a bobblehead.
"Oh, thank you, Mr Reiner, truly." He made his way to my chair, eagerly shaking my hand with two of his. "In the spirit of disclosure though… I was terrified on my way here. I mean, there were just so many ways I thought I could play that ya'know, and– well I'm just glad to be here, to be honest!" He said, flashing his shiny teeth right in my eyes.
"So, did I get it?"
I met Marty's eyes for a second before swivelling back, "You know what, Jack? You gave a special performance, you really did! Should be proud of yourself and all, but… There were other kids too, whose auditions were rather unique in their own way now. So how about this? Go back to your home, and by the end of this week, we'll give your agent a call with the results." I ruffle his blonde hair playfully, enjoying the chagrin betrayed by his facade before patting his shoulder.
He nodded, trying to stroke his hair back in place, before promptly exiting the room, leaving me alone with Marty.
…
"... Ok, quit with the face, yeah? You made your point-"
"HA! I TOLD YOU! I told you! Come on Rob, jog my memory a little. What'd I say back then? Somethin' along the lines of- 'He is perfect!' And what'd you say to that?!"
I held up my hands in surrender, reluctance bleeding from my posture… but even I knew when I was beat.
"All right now Marty, no need to gloat-" Unfortunately, he was on a roll.
"He is a wriiiterrr, not an actor! Well, guess what, Rob? There's a reason why you're the director, and I'm the casting director-"
I finally snapped, "All right, fine! I get it, yeah?! Should've trusted your instinct I guess-"
His eyes widened dramatically as he scoffed, "Oh, now you guess-"
"All right buddy, you've had your fun, let's get back to business, yeah?" I cut in quickly before he could get another word out.
Marty bobs his head along, not meeting my eyes. "Penny for your thoughts, buddy?" I reached out.
He shakes his head, "No, just thinking of his place in the ensemble. If he's Chris, then River's Gordie, that's pretty clear… Now what about Whil? Cause Corey's perfect for Teddy, practically typecast. As for Jerry-"
"We'll swap him out. Kid's a newcomer, let's just call it unfortunate and get it over with." I wave my hand dismissively.
He winced slightly at that. "Eh, feasible I suppose but… Would he agree to put on weight? Vern's chubby, also goofy as hell, and Whil will be playing against type. Not to mention the on-set friction if he finds his screentime bumped down due to a newcomer to the industry… Now that's a recipe for disaster if I ever heard of one."
… Sigh. As always, he has a point. They are kids at the end of the day, not seasoned actors used to rejection. Their chemistry will no doubt be thrown into disarray if a conflict occurs early on, which I'm willing to wager will, considering we already notified him he all but got it.
Fuck.
I gotta ax him, no other way. God'll hate me for it, but the suits over at Columbia… They'll tickle my balls for it.
Then Marty's eyes turned wide. "How about we put him in Ace's gang? Say, Billy Tessio? Tonal shift in character sure, but nothing physical! And he's relatively minor, the few interactions they have could be monitored easy enough. If he's not part of the quartet, no chance he messes it all up, yeah?"
… That's actually perfect. Billy's still not cast, so that reduces our burden, and he'll still have a role, just a smaller one. We'll blame it on a studio exec, say it was out of our hands if it comes down to it, a little white lie ain't never hurt anybody after all… Hmm.
"Yes." I thump my hand against the table, "That's sorted then. Now… let's get back to our resident prodigy, shall we? Specifically, what we tell his agent-" Before Marty interrupts me again.
"Hey Rob, don't know if you noticed, but the kid… He looks just like-"
"James Dean? Yes, uncanny resemblance," I throw my hands up. "Few tweaks here and there, but the old folks will be seeing a ghost if we get the makeup right. Now, the agent…"
And as we continued bouncing ideas off each other, my thoughts went back to the kid, no doubt making his way back home to tell 'em how well it went.
'… Pretty sure he knows he got the part but hey, I'm not the actor, am I? I don't tell convincing lies, I just craft them for the world to see.'
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Jack Ellison (POV)
"... Okay… yeah sure- no I'll tell him after this, he's sitting right here in fact, one sec-" He plucks the phone away from his ears, stretching the wire a bit. "Jack? It's Marty. He says you got it, congratulations!" He grins before getting back to the call. "Yeah, just told him… no we'll do the needful yes- ASAP, you got it. The SAG, the agent, the whole nine yards- don't worry your head off man- I'll have him prepped by the time of shooting… Oh, you need him before that? …Chemistry? With the other kids… So something like a playdate, but they sit around and talk 'bout themselves instead of horsing around yeah? …Got it- No, I got it, will have a word with his parents, and hey- probably the last time we talk so- good luck yeah? Break a leg or something."
CLACK
I hit him with my signature deadpan. "... Playdate?"
"Really? That's all you got from all that?" He sighs, "Yeah, they want you to spend a few hours every day for a week with 3 other kids, your co-stars, to develop chemistry. They want the on-screen friendship to look authentic and believable, not forced. Particularly with this kid named River, apparently, he's the lead."
Makes sense I guess. They probably did something similar in my past life; no other way to make kids act the way they managed to do back then.
"Got it. And… last time?" I ask him, eyebrow raised.
He stares deeply at me for a sec before shaking his head. "It's not my job to deal with this Jacky, and you know it. You got another book deal to negotiate, I'm your guy, but movies?! No, you need someone else for that. Someone connected, who knows what they're doing, not just what you want them to do. Now Rob, he told me they'll pick you up tomorrow morning, 9 latest to get your headshots and stuff, so you better ready yourself by then, capiche?"
I nodded, "Loud and clear, Vince and hey… stick around, yeah? I still got some juice left, I'll be needing you soon enough in fact, so don't go getting another kid to replace me, you're still my guy, you know that right?" I ask, eyes wide.
He scoffs before cocking his head to the side, "Yeah I know, Buddy. We had some good times and all, but we've still got more so… I'm going nowhere."
We stare at each other for a second or two, conveying more with our eyes than mere words ever could.
This guy… he stood by me, through thick and thin… And now I'm getting someone else.
"Also," He started, how's your new stuff coming along? On its way or – fizzled out?"
I snap myself out of my reverie before promptly replying, "No, it's on man, it's going great. In fact," He raises his brows at that, "I kinda scrapped it. And now-"
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah," I say sheepishly, "I realised the written word as a medium was simply too limiting to truly convey the depths of the themes I wanna explore in this so… Eh." I finish, cocking my shoulders in a 'what can you do?' gesture.
"... Okay. So what're your plans now?" He inquires with folded hands.
"Comic book. Best way to show it all. Also – I'm gonna be departing from my style a little in this one, a little more tragic, little more comedy – they'll go hand in hand really for this."
"All right… How much more tragic?" He asks, clearly realising my underexaggeration for what it was.
I scrunch my brows as I gesture with my hands, "Well… It's gonna be inspired a little by Hamlet, so… you know."
"No, I do not know, in fact, young Jack. Mind elaborating a bit? Just cause I help books get published doesn't mean I read 'em all." He says, sitting on my sofa, one leg over the other.
I take a seat myself, realising what's about to happen won't be a walk in the park.
"Tragic as in – my MC's heroic dad trying to save him from a herd of wildebeests, only to be betrayed by his brother and thrown in a gorge, subsequently ending up trampled by those very wildebeests while his 2-year-old son watches from atop, wracked with guilt and proceeds to run away chased by hyenas, away from home – and then collapsing from fatigue and dehydration in the middle of a dessert."
…
'... In hindsight, not that dark-'
Vince jumps up, looking left and right, peering through the kitchen door before clutching my arm and dragging me to another room and then summarily closing the door shut.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
'... So maybe a little dark-'
"No seriously- What in the ever-loving fuck-" Oh, he's whispering now, "-are you trying to do here? I-I thought you wanted to make kids think, not traumatise the living shit out of them?!"
I sigh tiredly as I stretch out my arms, cracking a joint or two, knowing this was gonna be a hard sell.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay... again. This time, I got a legit excuse though. My dad kinda met with an accident. A bike just throttled him, speeding well over the limit while he was crossing the street. Fairly serious considering his age (75), but nothing fatal (thankfully). He's still immobilised and requires a wheelchair to get anywhere. So naturally, I had to be a dutiful son and all, at least until we got around to hiring a full-time manny (male nanny). He's getting better now, and is expected to make a full recovery with a couple of months of rest... Pity we never caught the SOB though. Police in my town are woefully, famously incompetent... so there's that. Not to worry though, he's doing far better, and I am back!
This did kinda give me a ton of time to ponder on the direction of my story, on the plus side, and boy oh boy, what an absolute masterpiece of filmography have I crafted for my boy Jack... Trust me, you guys've got something to look forward to.