A blanket of snow covered the northeastern United States. Two days prior was the only white Christmas the town of Wilmington, New York had seen in the last five or so years. Holiday cheer was still abundant in the sleepy upper middle class suburb. Families were scurrying around town taking advantage of the post-Christmas sales.
It was winter recess at the local high school. The students were off until after the first of the new year. Most were hanging around town or away on vacation. There was not a whole lot to do in Wilmington for a teenager. There was no shopping mall or movie theater nearby. The students still around ended up sitting at home most of the day annoying their parents.
Two of the more ambitious boys in the town were Mike and Rich. They were 18 year old seniors in high school. Rather than waste the entire vacation, they were prepared to be productive. Both had big dreams of leaving Wilmington for film school in New York City once they graduated. However, before they could make that a reality, they needed to first submit an application for consideration of admission.
The majority of the application process to be accepted into film school was pretty standard for most universities. They needed to send standardized test scores, an official transcript and an essay detailing why film making was important to them. The far more difficult part of the application process was the 15 minute short film that the boys needed to create. Luckily, the school allowed them to submit one tape for both their applications. This is what they would work on during their winter break.
"We really need a place to film this thing," Mike said to Rich. They sat in Mike's living room trying to formulate a plan.
With a look of a disappointment on his face Rich responded, "My house is a no go. I have so many relatives visiting in the next few days I don't see how we can film. What about your place?"
"I already asked my mom. She's too worried we are going to break something lugging equipment around the house."
"Come on, what are we going to break?" Rich asked.
"I think she's still upset about me breaking her porcelain vase when I was 12."
Rich burst out laughing. "Yeah I can see her point."
"Come on Rich. Think of something. This is your job as the producer."
They had decided on their roles for the project earlier that week. Rich would take care of production and be the lead actor. Meanwhile, Mike would direct the film and edit it in post-production. Mike was by far the shyer one of the two friends. He was much better suited to direct Rich's far more outgoing personality.
"Oh my god!! I have an idea," Rich enthusiastically yelled out.
Mike perked up from his reclined position on the couch. "What? What is it?"
"Aren't Danny and his family leaving tonight to go skiing in Colorado?"
"Dude, his house would be sick to film in. You think it's a possibility?"
"Doesn't hurt to ask."
Danny Gosher's family was one of the wealthier families in an already affluent town. Most would describe their house as a mansion. It was a new construction specifically built for the Gosher's specifications. The original plans called for a modest home, but as Mr. Gosher's business took off the house soon ballooned to 5 bedrooms. While it still wasn't the biggest house in the neighborhood, its multi-million dollar price tag definitely made it one of the nicer ones.
Mike picked up his cell phone and called Danny. He stayed on the phone for about 5 minutes. Rich was trying to piece together the conversation from what Mike was saying.
"So you think its cool then?" Mike said to Danny.
::Silence::
"You really don't think she'll care?"
::Silence::
"You mind just asking quickly?"
::Silence::
"Ok awesome. We definitely owe you one. Have a good trip."
Mike ended the call and turned to Rich. "We got the house!!"
Rich jumped up off the couch in excitement. "That's amazing."
"But...there's a small catch. Mrs. Gosher decided not to go on the trip. So she will be around in house while we film."
"That's not a big deal, right?"
"No way. As long as she lets us do our thing it shouldn't be a problem."
************
The following day the boys loaded up the car with their film gear. In addition to the video camera Mike owned, they were able to borrow lighting equipment from a local rental company. They drove across town to the Gosher's house, and pulled into their long circular driveway. The front door popped open as they got out of their car.
Mrs. Gosher appeared before them. She wore jeans, a dark blue satin blouse and on her feet were red high heels. It was the kind of outfit a woman who knew she was having company over would wear. While her shoulder length dirty blonde hair was a little bit of a mess, she looked good. There was a big smile on her face as Mike and Rich got out of the car.
"Hi Boys!!" Mrs. Gosher yelled out. "So good to see you guys." She walked over and gave each a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks so much for having us Mrs. Gosher," Rich replied.
"Oh absolutely. My pleasure. I heard you boys were in a bind so I'm happy to help. I'm kind of excited. I've never been so close to a real movie being made."
The boys chuckled to themselves, until they realized she was genuinely thrilled about their little school film project. Perhaps she was unaware the film was so insignificant and so few people would actually see it. Nevertheless, they were pleased that unlike their parents, someone was truly interested in their project.
They unloaded the equipment from the car and started to bring it inside. The front entryway of the house was decked out in marble. It appeared every little architectural detail was given serious thought. Mike brought in the camera and set it down on the floor.
"Wow, cool camera Mike," Mrs. Gosher enthusiastically said.
"Thanks. It's my baby," Mike responded as he pointed to the label. "It's a XCL-6225 digital. It's got some cool features."
"Sounds fancy!!" She smiled widely and gently touched Mike's arm. "In college I slept with a guy who had film making equipment, but he wouldn't let me touch it."
Mike and Rich gave each other a quick glance out of the corner of their eyes. They both knew what the other one was thinking. "Did Danny's mom just admit she to us she used to sleep with some guy?"
It wasn't that Mrs. Gosher was unattractive. In fact, for a 50 year old woman she looked really good for her age. She wasn't trophy wife thin, but you could tell she worked out at the gym. Her body appeared relatively toned and had fair tanned skin. Mrs. Gosher had a pretty face, with nice soft features. The issue was that the boys never had previously thought of her in a sexual way. The two both gave a polite laugh and continued with what they were doing.
"So what's the movie about?" Mrs. Gosher inquisitively asked.
"The premise is a guy that got dumped by his girlfriend," Rich stated. "He goes a little crazy, and throughout the film tries to work backwards in his mind the steps that led her to dump him."
"Rich, I think the living room is perfect for the first shot," said Mike.
"Yeah that could definitely work. It's got good natural light."
They worked to set up the lighting equipment and put the camera on a tripod. Mrs. Gosher stood by gazing at what the boys were doing.
"Do you need any help with anything?" she asked.
Rich replied, "No I think we are all set Mrs. Gosher."
With a somewhat disappointed look she said, "Oh ok. Well, if you need anything you just let me know."
They were ready to begin filming. Mike gave the cue to Rich, and yelled "action." The scene dealt with Rich's character talking to himself, trying to gain gripes with reality. They ran through the entire first scene in one take. When Rich yelled "cut," Mrs. Gosher jumped up and gave a little applause.
"That was good, but I think we should try it again from another angle. I'll set up the camera."
"Really? I thought that was great," Mrs. Gosher said.
Rich stated, "Well we like to have several takes just in case we need them."
"Oh I see."
They ran through the scene three more times. Mrs. Gosher was clearly getting fidgety from the amount of time it took to get one scene right. She had little to do but sit there and watch the scene over and over again. Numerous times she got up and sat right back down since she didn't know what else to do with herself.
Mike said to Rich, "I think we have everything we need for that scene. Ready for scene 2?"
"You know it."
As they started to reach for the equipment, Mrs. Gosher chimed in, "I have a thought." The boys stopped what they were doing and looked up at her. "I was thinking that perhaps I could be in the movie." Rich and Mike gave each other a quick stare. "Since the guy gets dumped by his girlfriend, shouldn't the girlfriend be in the movie? I think I could play her."