Art Cinema

All characters involved are over the age of 18.

The audience in Agatha Adler's private theater burst into applause as soon as the credits rolled. As she always does, she had made something special. Her new film,

Dream Forest

, about two ghosts searching for their lost friend in a dark wood, was guaranteed to be a hit for the Sundance crowd. It had everything those kinds of films needed - low-key acting, piano music/acoustic guitar on the soundtrack, a mysterious ending. It was made for that crowd.

Leah Formal was the star and both her and her co-lead, Joel Adler, Agatha's husband, lit up the room when they stood up to take a bow and thank the private audience for attending. It was mostly industry friends of Agatha's but also in attendance were Joel's sister Diana, her husband Dan, who always came to private screenings to support Joel, Leah's mother Marlene and her new stepfather Shane, and of course, Leah's boyfriend of 2 years and Joel and Agatha's son, Tyler Adler. Tyler always felt a little like the odd one out of the family circle as the only one who wasn't an actor or an industry stagehand, but he was close enough to the people in it that he often felt like he was. His boring insurance job felt like small dealings when his mother was always writing and directing features, shorts, and TV, and his father and girlfriend were always acting in the same. Nonetheless he was always happy to be present to support his girl, and his parents.

Tyler was a little bit weary about the content of

Dream Forest

. He'd read the script and he knew that Leah's character had two scenes where she was in her underwear, and another where she appears nude from behind. Granted, it was only her butt showing, and maybe a little sideboob, but he'd always been iffy about Leah showing her body on screen. He knew it was part of the job as an actress, but especially with other family members present at the screening, he wasn't sure how it was gonna do down. Luckily, as she always does with other actresses, Agatha framed it very tastefully and the nude shot only lasted a coupe of seconds. During the post-screening-gathering, no one mentioned it. Leah had already done a topless scene in a low-budget horror movie years ago before she met Tyler, when she was barely 18 and still in drama school, and he knew about that too, but that was years ago, so he didn't really have a right feel any kind of way about it.

Everyone was congratulating Leah and Joel on their great performances.

"Why thank you!"

"Thanks so much for coming, means the world."

"You know how much I love your support. Glad you enjoyed the film."

"Glad you liked it. I'm glad you could make it."

And so on and so on.

Leah's mother and stepfather were the last ones to leave the afterparty and they conversed with Leah and Tyler.

"You've never thought of being an actor, Tyler?" Marlene asked.

"Nahhhh. I don't have the talent for that. That's all Leah, as you'll know, but surely she must get it from somewhere. What about you?" he said.

"No, no, she certainly didn't get it from me."

The conversation turned to future projects.

Shane asked "What's next, Leah? You're so busy nowadays we never see you. Do you have another project lined up?"

"I'm doing some small tv spots next few weeks, and then after that Agatha and I are actually collaborating again." she answered.

"Oh, really? What's it about?"

"A romance from what I understand. All set in one night at a hotel or something like that."

Marlene chimed in. "Awesome, honey, well you know we'll show up to see it. I'm so proud of how your career has turned out.

"Thanks, Mom, and thanks, Shane."

This was the first time Tyler was hearing of this new project. He asked her about it later that night when they were winding down to go to bed.

"So what's this new script my mom's written?" he started.

"Uh, I think she called it

Transit Lovers

or something like that. A man and a woman who are both married stay at the same hotel overnight when their flight gets delayed and they have a single-night romance. I read it already. It's really good."

"Huh. Sounds interesting. I don't know where she comes up with this stuff."

"Good part is I didn't even need to audition. She just gave it to me."

"Well that's good."

A brief pause. She took off her earrings.

"Hey, can I ask you something?", he continued.

"Sure."

"I know it's so silly, but you're not a little bothered that everyone tonight saw your butt in the movie?"

She laughed. "Hahaha. My butt? No, why would I be?"

"Well, your stepdad was there and my dad was in the movie too, and his sister and her husband saw it."

"Yeah so what?"

"I don't know, I guess I don't really understand how actors think."

"Babe, it's a movie. And your dad was literally there when we filmed that shot."

"I know, I know...I just get a little iffy about it sometimes is all."

"When you're an actor you don't even really think about that stuff. It's just all part of the movie. I promise you, babe, it's not big deal."

"Okay."

They kissed and went to bed.

The next two weeks chugged by. Tyler put in overtime hours at his insurance job and Leah did three small tv spots. In one, she played a school teacher with one scene, in the second she played a waitress with only one line, and in the third she played a murder victim who doesn't say anything at all. They weren't the most exciting gigs in the world but they paid the bills and got her some proper IMDB credits and at the end of the day and that was what mattered. She looked forward to getting enough financial security to be able to have free time to collaborate with real writer-director types like Agatha and some others, which is where her real acting passion lied.

"

Transit Lovers

final draft is finished." Agatha said one morning over breakfast.

"Congrats, hon. I can't wait to see who you chose for the co-lead." Joel said, banana bits in his mouth.

"Well, to be honest, Joel, I was thinking about you."

"Me?"

"Dad for the co-lead?" Tyler said.

"Sure, why not?" Agatha explained. "He fits the age and the description of the character, he's super easy to work with and I know he'll deliver."

"Well, thanks, hon, I'd be glad to."

Tyler looks at him mom directly. "So Leah and dad in a romance?"

"Yes, sure. I think they will be great. They had great chemistry in

Dream Forest

and I hate watching boring audition tape after boring audition tape after boring audition tape, so I'll just cut out the middle man and cast people I know. I use the same cinematographer and editor so I'm just expanding my network."

"Makes sense to me." Joel said.

"Alright....I trust you." Tyler eventually settled.

Transit Lovers

was a simple story and it wouldn't take very long to shoot. 89 page script, only 4 locations, and pretty much all dialogue. Kate and Chet, 29 and 55, meet at a low-rent motel after their flight is delayed to the next day and they discover they are the only ones there. They are both stuck in unhappy marriages, and when they decide to spend some time watching TV together in Chet's room, things escalate.

Tyler and Leah conversed late at night after the first day of shooting.

"So how did the first day go?" he asked.

"Pretty easy. Your dad is so easy to work with. We did so much dialogue in one day, I thought my lips were gonna fall off, but it was super easy."

"Is it good?"

"You didn't read it?"

"No, I didn't get a chance."

"You should if you have the time. It's really good and really short. It's gonna be rock solid."

"I'll let myself by surprised on this one, I think. I'm intrigued."

And this became their routine. Shooting mostly inside the motel room allowed production to have a very easy schedule of shooting mostly during the day and wrapping at night, so bed-time conversations became the norm for Leah and Tyler as their days unwinded.

After the seventh day of production:

"Why is your hair wet?" Tyler asked Leah.

"We were doing a scene where I come out of the shower, so I was wet all day."

"I guess I should have read the script." he joked.

"You still can. It's literally right over there." she points to their dresser. "It was a beautiful scene. The character Chet, he admits to Kate that he doesn't find his wife attractive anymore, so when she comes out of the shower, she shows him her body and he gets so emotional he almost cries. It's a really well done moment. When you see the film I think you will agree."

"That sounds intense. Did the body double and my dad get along?"

"No, no. No body double, babe. All me."

"Oh...so you're doing a nude scene."

"The character is actually naked for the last 20 minutes of the movie. So I was basically naked all day."

"Oh..."

"What's the problem?"

"You were naked in front of my dad?"

"I mean, yeah, but also your mom and the lighting crew and the sound guy and the 2nd AC and everyone else. That's how it goes."

"I wish you would have told me."

"You would have known if you read the script, Tyler."

"I didn't think my mom would write something like that and then put you in it."

"It's a great part, babe. These are the kinds of roles I really want to be doing. Meaty intellectual roles with dramatic heft and intimacy. Not just Cashier #3 on Law & Order. You know."

"I know, I know. It's just hard for me to deal with."

"What is? Your dad seeing me naked? I don't care about that, Tyler."

"I know..."

"We're both playing characters. That's all acting is. It's part of the film and it's a really tender beautiful movie. It's a two-hander, which I love."

"Please just be safe, alright. I trust my mom runs a tight ship - I've heard she's very routine and all that - just let me know if it any point you feel uncomfortable."

"I will, babe. I hope you enjoy the film when we finish."

"I hope I do too."

Production ran on and one morning, Leah and Tyler joined Agatha and Joel for breakfast on an off-day.

"So how's production going?" Tyler said to the group.

Agatha answered first. "Wonderful. Leah is the easiest actress I've ever worked with. I'm gonna put her in all of my movies from here on out."

"Oh, stop." Leah smiled.

"I'm serious. No one takes direction as easy. I remember on

Incident on Marlboro Avenue

I had to give that damned Sadie Sink line readings and even after 11 takes she couldn't do what I was asking. With you, it's 3 or 4 maximum. You watch, Tyler, in a couple years she's gonna be getting offers from all over."

Leah laughed. "Thanks so much for saying that, Agatha. It really means a lot. Your writing is so brilliant."

"How much shooting days do you guys have left?" Tyler asked.

Joel answered. "Only three. We're doing some of the lobby stuff, tomorrow right?"

"Yes." Agatha answered.

He continued. "And then 2 more days in the hotel room. The last days of shooting is actually the last scene in the movie, which rarely happens, but it should be fun."

"How long till I get to see the thing?" Tyler asked his mother. "Pretty short movie right? I heard the script was only 89 pages. Shouldn't take too long to edit."

"No, not at all, and Janusz is a wizard. He literally edited all of

Dream Forest

in 3 days. He will snap this together in no time."

"Are we gonna have another private screening before it premieres?" Leah asked.

"Of course!" Agatha answered. "That's our tradition."

Joel chimed in. "I told Diane about it and she's very eager to see it."

"I'm glad!" his wife replied.

They finished up their breakfast. Agatha and Joel went home for a relaxing day and Leah and Tyler went to meet with some friends.

4 days later, the last day of production has wrapped.

"How was shooting today?" Tyler asked, as he always does.

"Ugh. Exhausting."

"Oh no, everything cool?"

"Yeah, it was just long. We did the handjob scene at the end of the movie like 5 times. It took forever."

"Handjob scene?"

"Yeah. It comes at the end of a 10 minute unbroken take with lots of dialogue and we kept messing it up and every time we had to do it all from the beginning again. so we were doing that one scene for like 6 hours."

"Why was that? Something wrong with the prosthetic?"

"Prosthetic? No, there was no prosthetic. We just kept getting the timing wrong."

A brief silence.

"No prosthetic?" he asked curiously.

"No."

"So like.....what does that mean?"

"What do you mean what does it mean?"

"You're performing the scene unsimulated?"

"Yeah. I thought you knew."

"How the hell would I know that?"

"I don't know, I thought maybe your dad told you or something."

"He doesn't tell me anything. Why are you doing it unsimulated?"

"It saves on budget, firstly, and it adds to the realism of the movie. It's a very grounded, realistic depiction of an emotionally charged night and we all thought it'd be a good idea to depict it that way."

"Who is 'we all'?"

"Myself, Joel, Agatha and the first AD. We all talked about it in the morning meeting and that's what we decided. Plus with a prosthetic, the cum never looks right. You can always tell it's fake."

"So...he finishes, and goes all the way."

"Of course. That's the point of the scene. That's basically how the movie ends."

"And that was done for real also?"

"Yeah. That's why it took so long. It's hard to do that more than once or twice in an evening. You're a guy, you know."

Tyler sits in silence. He doesn't know what to say. Leah looks at him.

"Oh babe, please, don't tell me you're upset about this." she eventually says.

"I don't know how to react."

"What are you upset about?"

"Leah, you've just told me that you spent all day giving my father multiple handjobs...and he came for real."

"I mean, sure but you're leaving about the part where we are actors in a movie."

He sighs. "Surely you can understand why it's a hard for me to deal with."

"To be honest, I really don't, I'm sorry."

"You and my father were both naked."

"Yeah."

"And you grabbed his erect penis."

"Yeah."

"And jerked him off."

"Yeah."

"And the he ejaculated."

She sighs. "Babe, you're looking at it the wrong way. We are both playing characters, and my character does that to his character. Sure, the act was real but every step of the way, we were still acting. It's like when two actors kiss on screen or touch the other person's boobs or something. It's part of the job."

"How much acting does it take to cum?"

"A lot, you'd be surprised. By the third take your dad was saying he couldn't cum anymore so we took a break for like 2 hours, and even then, he had to really fake it because he basically shooting blanks. He did a really great job."

"I'm trying really, really hard not to be upset by this."

"You shouldn't be. Your dad is a terrifically talented actor and he is super easy to work with. Your mom doesn't put him in all her movies for no reason. The fact that we already knew each other in real life and were comfortable around each other made it a lot easier too."

Tyler takes a deep breath in. He knows she's right.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Babe, when you see the movie, you'll see how beautiful and tender it is. You don't have anything to worry about."

When Leah texted him five days later and asked him if he wanted to join Leah and Agatha in the edit bay to watch a rough cut, he politely declined, saying he had a busy work project. Leah texted him again after and said she is so proud of Agatha and that she thinks its the best work she's done. He replied with general positive affirmations and agreements, trying hard not to think about what we knows about the content of the movie.

As post-production rolled on, the four of them had several lunches and dinners and none of them talked even once about

Transit Lovers

. Joel had already landed another role in an indie film, playing the father of two young boys all on the run from the law, and he was very excited about it. Leah was in between roles, auditioning for some more small tv parts and something she didn't quite understand for a video game. Agatha said she wasn't working on any new scripts yet but was "rolling some ideas around." Tyler's job had merged with a new company and this meant a lot more clients and a lot more hours on the phone. He complained that his butt sometimes gets numb from sitting all day.

Transit Lovers

was done, already in the past, and they didn't need to talk about it anymore.

The day of the private screening arrived. As expected, Joel's sister Diana and her husband Dan arrived early. They were always happy to support Agatha and Joel's artistic endeavors. Leah's mother Marlene and her new stepfather, Shane, showed up a little later. Some of Agatha's industry friends showed up too, but it was a smaller crowd than expected, certainly a smaller crowd than there was for

Dream Forest

. But it proceeded nonetheless.

Tyler sat next to Leah who in turn sat next to Marlene and Shane.

Agatha got up to speak: "Thank you, everyone, for coming to our screening of our new film

Transit Lovers.

I say 'our' instead of 'my' because the film belongs to our two great leads, Joel and Leah, as much as it does to myself and the rest of the crew. This is the easiest film I've ever made, and so far, the one of which I am the proudest. I see we have a smaller crowd here tonight than usual, which is perfectly fine, since it's very a close and intimate film anyway. I hope you all enjoy the film and I will happy to discuss it with you after. Please remember we have some drinks and snacks over there if you want to indulge. Thank you everyone and enjoy the film!"

Applause from the small crowd as the lights dim.

In the first act of the film, Leah and Joel's character's, Kate and Chet, find themselves pulling into the same motel at the same time. They recognize each other from the airport. "You were going to Dallas too?" she says, and he says yes, he was. They check in with the only other actor in the movie, the hotel clerk played an old woman Tyler didn't recognize. She did a good job.

The night rolls on in the first act and Kate and Chet once again run into each other at the outdoor smoking area. They comment that it seems like they are the only ones there, which turns out to be true. A little rundown motel on the side of the highway. They talk about what they were each doing in Dallas. She was a traveling saleswoman for a fashion company coming home from a sales event, and he was a going to visit family. They talked about their spouses. Kate says she married too young and she and her husband didn't have anything in common anymore. Her husband cheats and she knows about it but doesn't care. Chet hasn't been attracted to his wife for years. She's gotten heavier, developed unhealthy habits, doesn't clean the house. He wants out. They tell each other they find each other attractive and they both giggle.

In the second act, Chet knocks on Kate's door with a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon and asks her if she wants to come watch TV. She does, and the film rolls on with funny scene after funny scene of them watching reality shows and making jokey comments. Gradually, they begin sharing stories about their marriages and realizing how much they have in common - they both wish they had waited longer to marry, they both wish they knew their spouses better before committing, and they both wish they weren't both cowards who had the backbone to end their arrangements. She tells him how when her and her husband have sex, she always fakes it because she doesn't enjoy it anymore, and he says he does the same. He tells her that when his wife complains about her job, he doesn't really listen, just smiles and nods, and she says she does the same. There is finally a tender moment where they sit close to each other and hold hands on the bed. Tyler watched this on the screen and he felt a little whirlpool in his stomach because he knew what else was coming. He looked around at crowd of faces in the screening room. No one was looking anywhere except the screen. They were locked in.