I shot this one out in a couple days. Didn't think it was worthy of more edits, but should be a fun one for those into the ENF genre. Almost all softcore, until the end.
*****
Fraternity Initiation was yet another teen comedy being produced by Albert Sizemore. He'd made bank with his American Made series, not to mention several financially successful remakes of popular '80s teen comedies. Most of his movies only cost between five and ten million to produce, while returning vast sums in comparison to the budget. They weren't going to win any significant awards, but they performed well with young crowds.
While it was mostly low-brow humor, Albert Sizemore's production and distribution deals kept him on the A-list of producers in Hollywood. He may not have been the most respected producer in Hollywood, but at least he was in the club. Frankly, I was just happy to be working again. My gig as a script girl on Night Beat, a syndicated TV-cop show, ended with the series finale five months ago. I'd been scraping for anything until I finally got the call from someone at Sizemore Studios.
"Phyllis Lavender at R&A said you were great on Felix Lester's movie. Best script girl he ever had," said the man on the phone.
I hated that they still called us "script girls." Our jobs were to ensure continuity in the script, dress and stage. It required a lot of attention to detail, diligent note taking, photo logs and more.
The man on the phone finally introduced himself as Harry Bixley and continued, "We'd love to try you out and if you're a good fit, maybe we'll bring you on for other productions."
I was ecstatic to hear the news, but remained professional. After some back and forth, we'd arranged for a meet and when we did, Harry offered a wage package that was considerably handsome for the short stint. Hopefully, I'd do well enough for them to hire me on for others. I didn't jump up and down in cheers in front of the man, but it was happening in my mind.
Now, on the first day of production, the main cast and critical staff members were together to perform a reading of the entire script. It was also the first time anyone actually got to see the full script, other than the director, Lane Drexler. It was a day many of us looked forward to.
The two leads in the film were Casper Kane and Amanda Hitchens. Their sidekicks were played by JoAnne Pitts, Greg Banks and Wendy Coleson, all actors and actresses who had played in bit players in television before. There were a couple other actors at the table who also would be in the film, but they weren't in any significant roles. However, they read any extra lines while at the table reading, so it helped moved things along to have them here. After introductions had been made, Lane Drexler, the director, got everyone straight to business.
"Albert wants a twenty-day shoot. I intend to do it in fifteen, so I expect all of you to know your lines and have the characters embedded in your head. After today's reading, we come back in two weeks to start shooting, while we finish story-boarding and set building."
Lane turned to me. "This is Hannah Puller. She's worked as a script girl on a couple TV series, even did one movie with my buddy, Felix. Anyway, we have a lot of extras in this thing, as well as all of you to manage, easy to fuck up continuity. Do me a favor and ensure you do what she says and that she logs all scenes with you. Don't want to have the kinds of errors we had with that last guy on American Made 6."
Some staff affirmed with nods, while the actors all agreed verbally. "Sure thing, boss.", "No problem, Lane." "Got it!" I was pleasantly surprised the director mentioned my role before beginning the table reading. It was going to be nice working with someone who appreciated the effort it took to handle this job.
Moments later, the cast was flying through the reading. I noticed the pages were being performed in fewer than 30 seconds and there was very little written in the script that would make them longer when filming and editing. That could be a problem.
On page 7 of the script, the "lead sidekick" character is first introduced to the audience through a wet dream he is having. He sees himself in an empty classroom with the teacher standing directly in front of him as he is seated.
"Adam, are you listening to me? Did you bring a number two pencil? Are you prepared for this test? Adam?"
Adam stares straight ahead, mouth aghast. The only thing in frame is his face. As the camera pulls back and the berating questions continue, we see an enormous pair of tits on the right. The yelling continues more as the camera is pulled further back. Just as the teacher's face is about to be seen, cut to...
Adam being awakened by his mother. She's screaming at him to get ready for school.
Throughout the script, the gag is repeated in various forms. Adam's shtick is his fetish for huge boobs, and one of the many female characters, Penny, who is crushing on him, appears to be flat-chested. The characters of Adam and Penny are both as supporting characters, but the dichotomy between the fantasy and reality of their parts had a humorous undertone, with a charming finish, and I thought their story was almost interesting as the leads' as the table reading continued.
Less than eighty minutes from when we started, we finished. I made note of that to the director, but he seemed unconcerned.
"No worries, it will fill out," he said. "Okay, everybody has seen their schedules for rehearsals. We begin shooting Monday after next. Be ready."
When I served as script girl on a low-budget feature a few years back, I actually assisted in casting. Considering this was an A-list production (if only barely), Karen Reynolds A.C.E. had been hired to do the work. The producer, Albert, was reportedly thrilled when they had successfully signed Casper Kane and Amanda Hitchens. They were both young actors coming out of two popular cable TV series. Casper was expected to have a very bright career and I knew he had made over a quarter million on this deal. Not bad for a few weeks of work.
I was surprised then, considering their youth and wealth, at how kindly they treated me and the rest of the crew, Casper especially. He was almost six foot tall, with a slim, athletic build and a head of light brunette hair that looked like Warhol and Picasso waged war with each other. Regardless, it worked.
I was also impressed with Casper's work ethic. He arrived on time, every time, and always knew his lines. He engaged with the crew during rehearsals, ensuring he understood our needs, as much as we did with him. His co-star, Greg Banks, seemed almost as nice, though he wasn't as talkative.
The director, Lane, seemed very happy with the crew, especially after the first official day of shooting. He wasn't so happy, however, after viewing some of the second unit's dailies from that same day. Two of the bits they filmed were where the sidekick, Adam, fantasized about big boobs being practically shoved in his face. I attended that first viewing of the dailies and remember Lane's aggravation clearly.
"What the fuck is this?" shouted Lane to George, the second unit director.
"What? It's who showed up. I thought you cleared the cast. Everybody knows who Diamond Dees is."
What Lane was so furious about was the actress who came on set to film the topless bits had very fake-looking boobs and considerable scarring. From what I understood, Diamond Dees was an internet sensation, and she toured strip clubs throughout the nation. She was notorious for having fake, oversized tits.
"Makeup can't fix those tits!" screamed Lane. "And I'm not about to spend money on CGI. We need these scenes in the bag to stay on schedule. I want this re-shot now!"
"Well, who am I supposed to use for the shot, Lane? The script specifically calls for "mountain-sized" tits. It's supposed to be a farce, Lane. Tits like that aren't real. Fake tits are fine for this shot."
"Not those fake tits," said Lane. "I don't care if they are real or fake, just get someone, anyone, with a better set of cans than those. Yes, the tits need to be huge, but they also need to be nice. This is a teen boy's fantasy, remember?"
"If I spend half my day tomorrow looking for someone, I'm not going to be able to shoot the basketball scenes we discussed. Then I'll really be behind."