After the Tony Awards triumph of Taryn McCormack and Brian Beckett, Michael Macquarie became convinced that "The Fallout Shelter" could be adapted into a film. Taryn was on board with the idea immediately, but Brian was rather skeptical that the play would work on screen. Brian joined only after Michael promised him top billing in the film's advertising, and a slightly higher salary than his costar.
First Fleet Pictures agreed to finance and distribute the film, and Graham Noonan set about to adapt his work into a screenplay. Michael just needed to find the right director--and once again, he contacted an old friend for a favor.
Sam Sutherland hadn't directed a film in over fifteen years: having grown tired of what he called "Hollywood bullshit," he had retired to his farm in Gunnedah and politely turned down every offer that came his way. However, Michael had always looked out for Sam during his early days in Australian television, and this time he was hesitant to say no.
"I always liked Graham," Sam told Michael over dinner at his house. "Great writer. I don't watch a lot of your show, but I'll take your word for it that Brian and Taryn are great. I like the message, too--you know, life over death, hope over being cynical, all those good things."
"So, you're in?"
"Yeah, sure. I think it's a great way to come back. But I need a favor from you, as well."
"Sure, Sam. Anything."
"Can we get Dori on this picture? I mean, I've never worked with her--she started right about the time I stopped. I'd love to work with her."
"Well..."
--
Dorothea Sutherland had a reputation for being the best costume designer never to win an Academy Award for her work, despite four consecutive nominations. She was a master at every look for every style--period dramas, modern comedies, futuristic sci-fi thrillers. "Dori," a producer once told the Hollywood Reporter, "can do it all."
Dorothea also had a reputation for being able to "do it all" with virtually everyone she took a fancy to. "Not a cock or pussy is safe when she's around," the joke went. It was also said that there wasn't one major director, producer, editor, cinematographer or composer, male, female or non-binary, working in the business today who didn't know the color of the walls in her West Hollywood bedroom. The rumor was that she had yet to secure an Oscar due to fears that her sexual history would be front-page news were she to win.
Michael was one of the (few) producers who had never been with Dorothea--she wasn't his type, what with her sleeve tattoos, pierced nose and dyed pink hair--but he had heard the stories, and politely tried to let her father know that Dorothea was an increasingly controversial figure in Hollywood. Sam smiled when he heard the caution in Michael's voice. He responded with a look that said: "Look, I know she's a freak, but she's my daughter, and I love her."
Michael nodded. Dorothea was going to work on this picture.
--
Taryn and Brian had never met Dorothea, but they had also heard the stories about her. However, when Michael asked the two leads whether they were concerned, they both made it clear that it wasn't a problem. "Hey, some people just like sex," Brian observed. Taryn was more direct: "I think it's probably just made-up sexist bullshit. Plus, she went to NIDA too, so you know she's good."
Taryn and Brian separately visited Dorothea's home to discuss costume ideas for "The Fallout Shelter." Taryn was overwhelmed as soon as Dorothea opened the front door and smiled at her. Dorothea wore a tight dress that emphasized every curve on her body, and Taryn could not stop staring. Taryn had never even thought of dating another woman, much less being intimate with one, but in a matter of minutes, her mind was racing with the thought of what Dorothea must look like in the nude, and what it must be like to kiss and lick her pussy.
Dorothea immediately sensed a connection that had nothing to do with NIDA, and began casually flirting with Taryn, adjusting her dress to reveal a bit more of her cleavage and playfully touching the actress on her shoulder, arm and hand. After an hour of discussion about the character and the costumes, Taryn got up to leave. Dorothea brushed a strand of blonde hair away from Taryn's eye and said she was looking forward to working on the film.
Taryn embraced Dorothea and drove back to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Once in her room, she thought of Dorothea, and touched herself until she came.
__
A few days later, Brian visited Dorothea's house and also found himself spellbound by her. Dorothea's dress was even tighter than the one she wore when she met Taryn, and Brian immediately thought she was just a little sexier than his costar. He also felt a pang of guilt: after all, he was lusting after the director's daughter!
Dorothea also turned on the charm with Brian, at one point removing her shoes to expose her bare feet. Brian could not stop his eyes from glancing at Dorothea's pale, flawlessly manicured feet, and she could barely suppress a smile at the thought of his penis straining against his boxers.
Dorothea soon began pouring on the compliments about Brian's physique, saying that she knew he'd look powerful and graceful on film, declaring that it would only be a matter of time before he'd be declared the Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine. She was fucking him with her words, and she knew it.
Their costume conversation went slightly longer than the one Dorothea had with Taryn, and by the end, Brian was more than just creatively stimulated. When Dorothea lightly touched his arm before he left, it was all he could do not to embrace her and kiss her soft, lovely lips. The combination of her pink hair and blue eyes was driving him mad. Then, she winked at him before she shut the door, and he found himself gasping for breath, almost dizzy and aroused as hell. He wanted to knock on that door, fall to his knees and beg her to fuck him. Yet, he thought, I can't do that. She's still the director's daughter.
--
It was a mild March day when the Academy Awards ceremony took place, and Brian was as anxious as Taryn was confident. The filming of "The Fallout Shelter" in Broken Hill, New South Wales went smoothly, and the film had earned raves upon its release. It wasn't an international box-office juggernaut by any means, but it had already made enough money to recoup its production and promotional costs.
The box-office juggernaut that year was "Urgent Fury," an action-drama about the 1983 Grenada invasion directed by William Henry Thornton and starring Hamish Moore as President Ronald Reagan. Sam had a long-time rivalry with William, a Melbourne native who always seemed to get the bigger budgets and bigger stars for his Australian and American films--and he absolutely couldn't stand Hamish, a Brisbane native who once had Sam fired as director of a Norman Lindsay biopic that Moore ended up directing himself. "Whoever heard of an Aussie playing an American president? It's ridiculous," Sam fumed. "And yet, the world's eating it up!"
For weeks, Hollywood insiders predicted that Taryn would win the Best Actress Oscar, but that "Urgent Fury" would beat "The Fallout Shelter" for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. Michael, Sam, Dorothea, Brian and Taryn all set next to each other in the Dolby Theatre; Michael, Sam and Brian wore normal tuxedos, while Taryn wore a crystal-pink dress designed by Dorothea--and Dorothea herself wore a white dress modeled on an infamous outfit Sonia McMahon, the wife of former Australian Prime Minister Wiliiam McMahon, wore to the White House during a visit to America in 1971. The dress was split in such a way as to completely reveal Dorothea's bare thighs--she usually didn't wear underwear, but this time she wore a pair of white lace panties to hide a bit of her modesty in front of the world and her father. Sam smiled awkwardly as he sat next to Dorothea; Brian thought that he seemed to be proud and ashamed of his daughter at the same time.
Pride beat shame early on in the awards ceremony, as Dorothea shockingly won the Oscar for Best Costume Design. She smiled as Hollywood's finest stared at her legs on her way to the stage; she knew that for a number of folks in the audience, it wasn't their first time doing so.
"Well," she smiled as she kissed the Oscar, "I first want to thank my dad, the great Sam Sutherland--as a proud nepo baby, I know I wouldn't have these opportunities were it not for him. I'll always be daddy's little girl. All my love to you!" She blew Sam a cartoonish kiss before continuing. "I'd also like to thank Michael Macquarie, the great folks at First Fleet Pictures, and especially Brian Beckett and Taryn McCormack--Brian, if this were the golden age of Hollywood, you would have been right there with Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte breaking barriers and making history, and Taryn, you would have been ten times bigger than Marilyn Monroe. I love both of you, and I'll see you later!"
"What does she mean?" whispered Sam.
Brian gave him a puzzled look as Dorothea returned to her seat. After accepting congratulations from Michael, Sam and Brian, she embraced Taryn, who suddenly kissed her full on the lips to the shocked response of onlookers.
"Wow," said Taryn, "I got a little carried away there. Look, I'm just gonna run to the ladies' room for a brief moment, OK?"
As Taryn left, Dorothea playfully elbowed Brian.
"Didn't expect that one, did you?"
"Uh, no."
Dorothea chuckled. "Look, I know what people say about me."
