Categories > Theatre > Rent > Someone to Live For
Someone to Live For
Holy Wood Dreams
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In which Mark receives an eye-opener of a birthday present. Approximately a year after the two previous chapters.
Disclaimer: Borrowing from the late, great Jonathan Larson. Will return when finished. This chapter quotes the first few sentences of Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett; it is an excellent book. Will return those when finished as well.
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Watch...
On Mark's birthday, Cindy breezes into the living room and tosses a package at him. "Happy birthday, little brother. Thought you might like this."
He opens the package as Cindy breezes out again, on her way to a class or a date or who knows what before he can even thank her. It's a book - hardcover, and the title suggests it's got something to do with film history, but the dust jacket summary says it's fantasy. His homework's done for the night, so he starts reading.
This is space. It's sometimes called the final frontier.
It's not just fantasy, it turns out. It's satire. Mark can tell that, there are jabs at movies he's familiar with, and if those are so accurate... what does that say for its send-up of Hollywood?
Even if he's not so sure he can break into moving pictures anymore, he doesn't quite want the book to be right. He still wants to go into film, after all; if this is the sort of thing he'd really have to deal with...
He stays up reading, barely putting the book aside long enough to eat dinner, and finally finishes around one in the morning. It's a while yet before he falls asleep, partly because the book's filled his mind up so much and partly because the end is creepy as all hell.
Waking up to thick fog the next morning certainly doesn't help matters.
Except of course that you can't have a final frontier, because there'd be nothing for it to be a frontier to...
Angel notices something's wrong, of course, and keeps giving Mark concerned glances through the couple of morning classes they have together. That's as far as the matter gets for the time being, though, since they both know there's not time. Mark relaxes a bit as the fog dissipates, but that doesn't change the fact that he's bloody tired.
Finally, at lunch, Angel sits down across from him and says, "So what's wrong?"
"It's... my sister's birthday present made me think. A lot. Didn't get much sleep. It might make more sense if I let you borrow the book, but I didn't bring it with me."
"You want to come over and get some sleep after school?"
"Well, if it won't be too much of a problem."
Angel smiles. "It'll never be a problem. And if you want to talk later, just say the word."
...but as frontiers go, it's pretty penultimate.
A week or so later, in history, they get an assignment to write a paper on a topic of their choice, in America from 1900 to 1930. No one's surprised that Mark chooses the film industry. Aside from his usual genuine interest in the subject, he figures it's as good a chance as any to find out whether the book was right.
Doing research makes him feel like he's reading the book again, only without the extra-dimensional nasties.
"This wouldn't be such a problem if I didn't want to get into the business myself," he tells Angel, over the weekend. "I mean, I still love film, but if Holy Wood's really that much of a mess..."
"Well, obviously you liked the book, if you're already using its vocabulary."
"I did. It's a great book, I'll have to see if this Pratchett guy's written anything else... but I don't want to work in it."
"You don't have to. You can still film things and go at it your own way - just because the establishment's there doesn't mean you can't buck the trend."
"You think I could do that?"
"I'm pretty sure you could. You've got the kind of drive to pull it off. Granted, I might be a little biased on that front, but still."
"Biased? You?" Mark cracks a smile. "Never would've guessed."
Angel grins. "Not like I go to great lengths to cover it up. How're your other classes going?"
"Not bad. Still hate math. Spanish is getting easier, though."
"You need any help with that, let me know."
Mark leans over and kisses Angel. "I will."
Holy Wood Dreams
------
In which Mark receives an eye-opener of a birthday present. Approximately a year after the two previous chapters.
Disclaimer: Borrowing from the late, great Jonathan Larson. Will return when finished. This chapter quotes the first few sentences of Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett; it is an excellent book. Will return those when finished as well.
------
Watch...
On Mark's birthday, Cindy breezes into the living room and tosses a package at him. "Happy birthday, little brother. Thought you might like this."
He opens the package as Cindy breezes out again, on her way to a class or a date or who knows what before he can even thank her. It's a book - hardcover, and the title suggests it's got something to do with film history, but the dust jacket summary says it's fantasy. His homework's done for the night, so he starts reading.
This is space. It's sometimes called the final frontier.
It's not just fantasy, it turns out. It's satire. Mark can tell that, there are jabs at movies he's familiar with, and if those are so accurate... what does that say for its send-up of Hollywood?
Even if he's not so sure he can break into moving pictures anymore, he doesn't quite want the book to be right. He still wants to go into film, after all; if this is the sort of thing he'd really have to deal with...
He stays up reading, barely putting the book aside long enough to eat dinner, and finally finishes around one in the morning. It's a while yet before he falls asleep, partly because the book's filled his mind up so much and partly because the end is creepy as all hell.
Waking up to thick fog the next morning certainly doesn't help matters.
Except of course that you can't have a final frontier, because there'd be nothing for it to be a frontier to...
Angel notices something's wrong, of course, and keeps giving Mark concerned glances through the couple of morning classes they have together. That's as far as the matter gets for the time being, though, since they both know there's not time. Mark relaxes a bit as the fog dissipates, but that doesn't change the fact that he's bloody tired.
Finally, at lunch, Angel sits down across from him and says, "So what's wrong?"
"It's... my sister's birthday present made me think. A lot. Didn't get much sleep. It might make more sense if I let you borrow the book, but I didn't bring it with me."
"You want to come over and get some sleep after school?"
"Well, if it won't be too much of a problem."
Angel smiles. "It'll never be a problem. And if you want to talk later, just say the word."
...but as frontiers go, it's pretty penultimate.
A week or so later, in history, they get an assignment to write a paper on a topic of their choice, in America from 1900 to 1930. No one's surprised that Mark chooses the film industry. Aside from his usual genuine interest in the subject, he figures it's as good a chance as any to find out whether the book was right.
Doing research makes him feel like he's reading the book again, only without the extra-dimensional nasties.
"This wouldn't be such a problem if I didn't want to get into the business myself," he tells Angel, over the weekend. "I mean, I still love film, but if Holy Wood's really that much of a mess..."
"Well, obviously you liked the book, if you're already using its vocabulary."
"I did. It's a great book, I'll have to see if this Pratchett guy's written anything else... but I don't want to work in it."
"You don't have to. You can still film things and go at it your own way - just because the establishment's there doesn't mean you can't buck the trend."
"You think I could do that?"
"I'm pretty sure you could. You've got the kind of drive to pull it off. Granted, I might be a little biased on that front, but still."
"Biased? You?" Mark cracks a smile. "Never would've guessed."
Angel grins. "Not like I go to great lengths to cover it up. How're your other classes going?"
"Not bad. Still hate math. Spanish is getting easier, though."
"You need any help with that, let me know."
Mark leans over and kisses Angel. "I will."
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