Hollywood Tales Part 2 free porn video

The fun lasted until John's phone rang. Nora Biggs needed to urgently talk to John about the movie as it was about to become a major issue with the media. She didn't elaborate, but saw John rush to Boston to talk to her in the office via video-conference. Nora was blunt, telling him, "Woody Demille is up to his old tricks, only this time he went a step further and got a lawsuit brought against us. We are being sued for copyright infringement for copying a story that Woody had written that is similar to the movie but plays out differently. It just so happens to be a lot like how he tries to shape the movie and what the first draft originally was. He wrote the first draft of the movie! The son of a bitch headed us off before your niece came in. He was going to get credit as the screenwriter, not Wes Coen. She scrapped his entire plot and the changes he made, but left a couple of key scenes that went unnoticed. We have to remove them and change the script further." John asked for the scenes and laughed at them. He shot back a happy, "None of those happened. Hannah was so focused on the major storyline, she didn't get a chance to read those parts: they weren't in her copy of the script! The son of a bitch tried to pull a fast one but they aren't in the movie at all. Those aren't even extras, they were scrapped before at the storyboard meetings by our cinematographers. I should know, I was told and had them pull them out one by one over Memorial Day Weekend." She asked if Hannah could go over the entire script again and pull out anything that is questionable and had Woody's fingerprints on them, John shot back an upset, "She's going to do it twice and ensure that it is exactly as she wants before he gets to see the final draft. She knows the book inside and out and will spot something that doesn't belong or isn't her style. Woody has to know that she's capable of doing it and won't stop until the script is wiped clean of his fingerprints." John sighed and told her bluntly, "That's the final straw. Tell him directly that he's on his last legs and if he doesn't act right he's fired. He doesn't get paid until he completes the movie, I specifically added that in so his antics would cost him. He knows this, he's pressed us but never crossed the line- until now." John then changed things around and told her, "Have a press release ready for when Woody is fired. We will name Brice Walsh as the new director and applaud him for stepping into the role with our support and hopes that he'll turn it into a success. He'll do fine, he knows the source material better than anyone but us. Your location and 2nd unit directors as well as line-producers have everything in place for him. All he has to do is say 'action' and things will fall into place. He'll do well, just watch." The meeting ended and saw Woody calling John to complain about scenes being cut from his movie. It was as expected, he knew why they were cut and who cut them. John didn't play his game, he told him it was done to remove extraneous scenes that didn't help the plot- the same argument he used against the use of 'John Finn' in the movie, but with support for why the scenes were removed in the first place. John sighed and told Woody, "The script is set. There isn't time to make any more changes and what you are trying to change isn't getting changed. The scenes removed are for time constraints, they don't add to the movie and are only fluff. We don't need Brice having sex with men in bathrooms in Dorchester restaurants nor do we need Brice strung out and having sex with men for money to buy his next hit. It's simply not needed. It contradicts the other scenes, so much so that they'd clash. But you know that." There were complaints but he couldn't argue that, especially as what he wanted to remove to cut down on run-time were the 'John Finn' and many of the dancing scenes. There was no way that the movie could work without 'John' in it, and the dancing was vital to much of the storyline and for keeping the pacing needed to allow for passage of years at a time. Woody knew what he was doing in trying to advocate for the changes, but he was also in over his head as his hubris could not let him see that what he wanted was already beaten by those who controlled the movie- not him. Woody was told that shooting started in a week and that he had better be ready. Woody threatened him but John casually shot back, "You have nothing to threaten me with. I own the production company and the studio is happy to work with me as it's my production- not yours. Your contract prevents you from damaging the movie in any way, you are only the director and have no say over script, locations, or the choice of actors. You signed it and had it explained in full, so drop the act and threats. And if you are fired, be sure to read your termination clause as any action to sabotage the movie after termination will result in paying Inferno Pictures damages in excess of the full amount of your contract." Woody would be bankrupted by John thanks to Nora's insistence on having a penalty preventing such behavior. He grinned as the woman knew all of the dirty tricks and how to counter them- she should, it was part of her job at Weinberg. She was loyal to John and wouldn't let Woody hurt Inferno. John returned home and told Brice about Woody's actions. Brice shook his head then shot back, "He's a louse who rode his actors' fame into a directing job and needs them to bail him out. He's a hack, but he can get people to get into the roles in ways few can. But without one of his stooges as part of the cast, he is basically just a film school grad with power. He needs full control, if it's not his idea he can't do what he wants and how he wants to do it. He needs the editors to pull his crap together, they are the real heroes- not him. The movies you saw? They saved them from being total garbage by editors. It's why he hasn't had a directing nomination yet and why his editors all won ones. He won for producing, but his actual role in production was debatable and dubious but being a Weinberg guy he got an award too." Hannah called them and asked that they go with her to scout the locations for Brice's scenes as she had a hunch that Woody had made some alterations to the location schedule without their authorization. He grinned, it was going to be him dancing on stage to show what he could do so the club didn't look bad on film. He didn't care anymore, it was a role to him and he'd play it to the fullest no matter what. The drive took hours as they went from location to location and crossed off places that were supposed to be used but were unsuitable, places that should have been used but were ignored, and places that had a lot of potential for night shots and day shots. That led to the finial location: the club. Brice stole her thunder by telling her, "Good thing I brought my high heels," causing laughs from the others. The group went inside and saw Hannah greeted warmly while John was told, "It's all set for next week. I have the guys ready to keep out unruly jerks but you know there's always a few. The lot next door is up for use, you just have to work with the city to get the right permits but that's easy to do." The "ladies" joked with Brice about being "one of them" even if he wasn't actually one and only there to play a role for the movie. Lola showed them what she could do as Brice got ready, then enjoyed laughs as he camped it up for them while then showing what he intended to do on- camera. He had a knack for the dancing, with Jennifer grinning at the reactions of John and Hannah while Lola fought laughs as Brice showed he listened to everything she told him. When he came back out, Hannah was still too stunned to speak while John offered him makeup pads to take off the stuff he had on. He didn't need to say anything, actions spoke louder than words and Brice had one-upped all of John's friends with his performance. None of them could live up to it, it was one of the best comedy bits he'd seen and would get the ladies grinning when they saw the movie. Lola was all smiles as they left, but saw trouble as John spotted multiple media members outside of the club taking pictures of them. Hannah caught his look and whispered, "One slipped into the club and is in the bathroom. The owner called the police and had their cars towed. The one inside is getting nailed for trespassing and getting himself forced to answer questions from his mistress and husband about why he was at the club in the first place when he has a restraining order against him by one of the dancers. He will be lucky to not go down for violating that, but he's toast in the city now." When they tried to leave, the media swarmed their cars. The police forced them to move away from the cars or they'd be arrested, with the media screaming foul. The officer casually asked what laws gave the horde the right to stop cars from leaving private property and detain the drivers until they were forced to answer questions, leading to a war of words about the first amendment. At the Finn home, John growled that Woody had struck again but this time he couldn't nail him for it. It took all of his strength to not swear in front of the kids, but Lola taking them downstairs and out of the line of fire helped to ease his growing anger. She told the kids what happened, with Cat telling her, "He's not a nice man. Mommy hates him for what he's saying about daddy. He wants to ruin daddy's movie. He said daddy hurt his friends when he caused their company to break apart." Lola nodded, adding, "A lot of bad things went on that you are too young to know about. He likes to use money that he doesn't have to make movies nobody wants to see. His friends are in trouble for drugs. It was the one movie he can't do his usual things with and he wants to destroy it to hurt John. The man is one of the worst people you'll ever meet, I hope he never meets you four." John calmed down and had his response to what the media were going to speculate. He grinned as they all had no idea what was actually going on, with John having the ace-in-the-hole in the truth. Whatever they speculated would be countered and likely get the stations forced to apologize for lying to viewers. The next two days were spent at John's house relaxing while the media tried hard to avoid retractions as the truth got out. The fact that they had tried to sabotage a movie that was being filmed in the city that was going to generation millions in revenue for the state and help many businesses that could use all of the boosts in revenue, and would see hotels occupied that would got mostly empty brought outrage. It was also laughable as the fact that John Finn and Hannah Smith were involved, two of the pillars of the community and whose book sales revenue had helped dozens of people find shelter and clean lives. The flight back was done without Woody as he "chose" to fly his own way back while billing the movie for the expense. Lola fell asleep in Jennifer's lap and saw Brice smiling at her sleeping form, the two had a look of love that showed that she was still their daughter after the tear-filled quick offer to adopt her. She was causing maternal feelings in Jennifer that led to Brice softly telling her, "We can see if she would be OK with us adopting another child if you feel the need to mother a younger child." Back in LA, the couple were told to drive to the offices of Jo and Phyllis Kaplan for a meeting about their adoption case. It was a standard meeting, the fact that Lola was emancipated and they were taking her to the next level of care gave them more cause for allowing the adoption. The only holdup was if a judge took offense to her gender change, but given strict laws and it not being a factor and the county having a troubled past with transgender issues- it wouldn't impact the adoption lest they sue. Lola asked what all of that meant, Phyllis smiled and told her, "They are your parents in all but name. It's in the state's interest to rule in their favor and the judge to allow it. Your parents are in trouble legally so they have no right to protest, but as you emancipated yourself their say is moot. You are their child." Lola shed tears of joy with Brice hugging her tightly and calling her "little angel," causing her to say, "Daddy," much to Jennifer's joy. Turning to the twins, she asked, "What about the media firestorm that his adopting her will create? I don't want John Finn upset at us for causing him even more issues than it already has. He's fighting Woody Demille over control of the movie, I'd prefer Brice not get fired." The twins laughed with Jo finally explaining, "I guess you didn't hear much about his family. He'd never fire you for doing what was right for your daughter. He's fought tooth and nail for children like her and would stand beside you and give you every penny that you need to fight to keep her. He likes her and it is a good thing that he does: he wants her to find her way now that she's able to be herself." At home, the family ate then went to bed. Lola hugged and kissed both, calling them, "Mom," and, "Dad," as she smiled at them. It was touching to them, with Jennifer feeling stronger in how she was as a "real" woman now that she could call herself a mother. Brice was happy for her, but did ensure her that being a woman was more than just pregnancies: it was all about love and doing what was right for your kids. In the morning, the couple called Nell and Wendy to tell them the news. The duo were screaming with joy and were happy to help them in any way. Their husbands took the news in stride, it wasn't so big of a deal and they knew their wives would be all over the news and trying hard to get to see their newest niece while annoying their big brother over his fatherhood. Nell's husband Joe asked if they had filed the paperwork, leading Jennifer to tell him that it was going to be done that day. He insisted on being with them when they filed, with Lola's situation getting scrutiny so he wanted them covered legally. He had no intention of leaving anything to chance, the vultures in the media would be all over Brice and he wanted his new niece covered from all angles. He told them to go to social services, get the all clear, then go to the courthouse. Brice didn't question it as it was sound and he'd have to get social services' approval first regardless. He called and booked an appointment for after lunch then told Lola, who was in tears but understood what was going on. Lunch was eaten near social services' office in the Civic Center area, with the trio going to the meeting with their heads held high. Outside the office, Joe met them and helped facilitate the meeting then kept an eye on her as Lola was interviewed alone. He didn't fully trust them but when the questions stuck to the basic questions and showed no intent to trip her up or were against her simply due to her gender change he allowed Lola to meet in private. He didn't have to worry, the social worker rubber-stamped the adoption as it cleared Lola from having to be met with in the future. Her file would remain open, but only as long as her parents and uncle were under investigation and facing criminal charges. The judge would be told that it was the best placement for her and as she was emancipated and they passed all inspections she was cleared to go. Their next stop saw them in front of Judge Uriah Katz. He looked over the paperwork, noticed that she had been emancipated, then announced, "This is a simple adult adoption. She may be a minor but in the eyes of the law, she's an adult. As such, you are legally her parents now. Congratulations, and good luck with your next movie. I personally know the family and am proud that their story is being told." Brice wanted to say something but his brother-in-law moved him along. Outside, he was told, "There's a few rumors going around of the family having gone head to head with social services in the past so if he knows John then he had to have heard the case. It's a great thing, especially as your name had to be in the papers and on gossip shows regarding the movie for someone as detached as him to speak of it. You have a daughter now, enjoy the gift. The kids will want to meet her soon so I suggest when our nephews film their bit parts in a few days." He had a crooked smile when he said that. Brice sighed and explained, "Your son didn't fit the right age. He's 6, too young for the part. Maybe there's a chance he could play the part of John's nephew?" That caused his brother-in-law to laugh, then add, "He offered the kids roles. His twin sister is Hannah to his Bryan Smith, you nieces are playing older girls but won't have any lines. John likes the family to be involved as it lends some more authenticity, but it's really so there's no hard feelings between them." Things were left alone as they returned home. Lola got to meet her new cousins that evening as the kids came by and had Nell and Wendy trying their hardest to make Brice blush. The fact that Lola had more in common with the boys than the girls wasn't talked about, but Brice did notice his nephews blushing at her as the girls talked about the movie and what they were going to do. The girls took to her quickly, loving that they had someone to look up to now that she was their cousin. Lola hugged them tightly and shed tears of joy as they asked her to show them how to makeup like her. It was something she wished that she could do with her own cousins, but none of them wanted anything to do with her because she was so feminine and made them look bad because she was better than them. The girls dragged Lola to their house, with Lola enjoying her first sleepover and helped get the girls to get used to makeup and boys. They giggled at that, but Lola was serious about boys and makeup and it having an effect on them the wrong way. Wendy had to stifle a laugh at their discussion, it was just like she and Nell had when they were the same age- only, with their mom offering the advice, not a cousin. The girls spent the next there days together before Lola went home, with Wendy proud to have had her over and telling her that she always had an ear for her when Jennifer was too much of, "Mom," to help. It was the same thing she did with her other niece, but she didn't expect her to come to her for years. Lola gave her a chance to prepare for that, and a chance to needle Nell over some of the memories dug up. The day finally came to start principal photograph, with John making the trek out west to see the movie in person while offering the actors some advice on how to pull things off. His actor, a larger yet not fat man by the name of Adam Nicholson, got along great with him, with John happily telling him how it was a funny coincidence that someone who had worked on one of his favorite shows, "Graduated," to serious work playing him. Adam laughed it off, the role was a favor to his agent's friend who happened to also owe Nora a favor but turned into a great catch as he loved the script and the chance to flex his acting muscles without going too overboard. Woody was complaining about "undesirables" on "his set" even though John had a right to be there. He looked over at Valerie who told Woody, "Try to remove me and I remove you. I'm here on behalf of my daughter, who just happens to own an equal share of Inferno Pictures. My sons and daughters are here on behalf of themselves as owners of Inferno and and representing the minority shareholders." Woody complained but had nothing to counter her. Ella and Logan walked around the set and greeted the kids with big smiles, with the two unintentionally getting the Walsh family to remain calm and be on their best behavior. Wendy's daughters were smitten with Logan, with the poor boy stuck with a pair of girls who were younger yet trying hard to not appear younger and falling hard for him. The initial scenes were ones involving the kids, which happened to take place indoors allowing them to film in LA avoiding the trip to Boston. The scenes were flawless as the kids loved playing the parts of Roland and John and camped it up for their uncle. Woody wasn't impressed and sneered the whole time but he couldn't complain about getting the whole "first time out" scene done in one take. The boys were teased by their sisters and cousins over enjoying what they were doing, but they took it in stride and had John smiling at the boys stealing their thunder over telling them that they loved to be there but were happy to not have to dress as girls all of the time. John happily posed for pictures with them between takes of Brice fighting a losing battle to avoid dressing, with the boys smiling at Brice's performance. It was amazing for them to see, he did a great job and captured the struggle without being able to say any words as the scenes were ones done during voice-over montages. One of the strongest images was one that Brice and the his nephew improvised, that of them holding a dress up to a "mirror" to start off the flashback sequence. The duo made Jennifer cry as it was so sweet as they matched looks perfectly while slowly lowering the dress before Woody yelled, "Cut," to end it. It showed why the boys were perfect for the role, and also served to show why Woody was wrong to try to cut out all of the dancing sequences and most of the initial dressing. Woody found any reason whatsoever to cut a take after that, with Brice steadily growing angry over his attempts to get him to make mistakes while John saw through it and called Woody out over what was wrong as it was all bodily expressions and not dialog nor interaction between characters. Woody tried to find any excuse that he could, but nothing was found as he had nothing to object to except to cause trouble. The crew were getting upset at his constant annoyances and let him know that it was wasting time, with the line-producer complaining about overtime pay for the crew costing them thousands. The next day was even worse as actual dialog between Brice and his costar Adam went like a natural flow between two hotly contested brothers but Woody kept having them redo the scenes until he had the "right" take despite lighting, sound, and dialog being perfect each time. Woody argued with the two until he stormed off, with Brice and Adam having them get ready for a final take and using that as the take. Woody fumed over getting upstaged by them, but he had nothing to counter as it was better in the flow of things as their natural frustration oozed out into the take giving them more fire and fury. The week dragged on as scene after scene had to be redone due to Woody tweaking something or some issue arose that caused them to move the set or lighting or props around. Brice made notes of all of the actions and confronted Woody about why he was purposely wasting time when there was no reason to be concerned about any of what he was changing as it had nothing to do with the movie itself. Woody was about to smack him for, "Daring," to tell him what to do but was escorted off by security while Brice finished the scenes without Woody's further stalling. Filming of the LA portion of the movie wrapped and saw the crew and Brice's family flying East for the start of full production on-location. The kids were ecstatic to join them as the girls and twins were going to film their scenes while also enjoying Boston. The twins had more scenes as they had a larger role in that they were bargaining chips, got caught in the middle of fights, and finally suffered some of the family's abuse during the final descent of Roland Finn towards his years of drug and crime before John's final gesture of getting him clean resulting in Roland's inevitable incarceration and redemption. The kids were in their uncle's care while Joe had to work for two days while Nell was busy with clients and unable to reschedule. Lola appointed herself as their guardians for the trip to both spend a lot more time with them and give Brice and Jennifer chances to be alone. They had a look of wonder as she told them she wouldn't let them get into trouble or make their parents upset, with both getting upset that their fun was spoiled by their cousin before they could try. John met the Walshes and drove with them to their hotel, with the three liking that they had a suite fit for the star but had Brice wincing at the luxury. John explained, "It's for the best as it prevents vultures from harassing you. It's also centralized so you just hop in the car and head out. I have a driver ready to take you where you need to go, he's discrete and reliable- he's my own son Miles." Miles greeted them and explained, "I'm involved as both an actor and because dad can trust me to get to places without interruption and temptation. You are the most important member of the crew, you are the only person who can't be late nor miss shooting. Unless you are sick, there's no reason to not be there. I am also the only one dad trusts to not let Woody Demille's words impact. My brother is too sensitive and would hurt him, my brother-in-law is busy with training for his football season, and my cousins are busy with National Guard training down south." In the car, he explained to Brice, "Woody Demille is in deep trouble. He tried to make purchases that are of no use to the movie yet work for him. I think he's been filming on the side and planned on including a few scenes into the movie without dad's approval. He thinks he can get in on a 'director's cut' but it's a tough thing to do when he doesn't have the rights to do it and his cuts were unauthorized. Hannah has a strong ground to sue him for copyright infringement but we'll wait and see what he does. My gut tells me that he's also filming another movie on the side in breach of his contract with dad, using this movie as a cover for that movie and likely using the movie to pay off the other. He's double-billing, he doesn't know that either my cousin or I are working with the line-producer to keep things on budget." Brice didn't press further, something was up that Miles didn't want to mention. Miles finally broke the silence by stating, "Your role had all of the guys in our family forced to dance for our wives. If you are man enough to do it, we had to do it too. My brother Michael is still complaining about tripping in his heels, while my brother-in-law Richard had to endure his sister fussing over his dress and hair." The kids giggled while Brice shot back, "Don't worry, you'll get used to the clothes." Miles grinned as it was clear why he said that, his nephew had a mischievous look that showed he wanted to make a joke. It was funny, and showed that it was no big deal to Brice- it was just clothes and shoes. The hotel saw the kids giggling at the size of the suite while cheering at there being a pool. Lola had to fight a smile as Jennifer quietly told her about the spa, with her nodding at getting to do a bit of mother/daughter time. Miles wisely left, leaving a card with Brice that had his and John's numbers on them. Their evening was interrupted by an angry Woody barging into the suite and demanding to speak with Brice about the movie. Brice refused, telling him that there wasn't anything to say and he had nothing scheduled so unless he had to cancel the shooting for the next day they were finished. Woody tried to think on the fly but Brice grinned and told him, "I'm not going out to any club so you can set me up to get fired. Sorry, but I have obligations to my family- unlike you. Enjoy your night, though. Perhaps you can find someone to stroke your 'ego' for you since Heath Downey isn't here." Woody stormed out, vowing to get him back. Miles happened to be there and asked Woody why he had charged $25,000 for clothing and extras when there weren't any additional needed. Woody glared then walked off in a huff to his suite, with Miles smirking as he texted someone to look closely at Woody as it was clear that the man was up to no good and had just confirmed that he was defrauding John. The family enjoyed a quiet evening together before the kids had to perform. Brice helped them learn a few lines that they'd have to speak then helped them get into the role by telling them to act naturally as it was what they had done many times before: defended him from people insulting his job. The two had a look of confusion but realized that they didn't have to really act as they would be themselves in it. The drive to the set was quick, Miles didn't talk while the kids were in awe of the scenery. Miles did let loose a quick mention that his brother and sister were asking about them which got the kids smiling. It also led Brice to ask why they weren't acting, with Miles happily saying, "They don't look like you but your niece and nephew do. It helps a lot in keeping things similar, it's why your nephews were chosen to play dad and the piece of garbage. One looks like his dad, but the other is a dead ringer for you." The scenes with the two were long as they had to sit silently before their lines, with each fighting then crying on cue when, "Roland," tried to force them to go with him to hold them hostage for more money. It was terrifying to Jennifer but when Woody called, "Cut," they laughed at the whole thing. Brice could only smile at them, they hit the mark and showed how well they could play with your emotions. Woody wasn't impressed and called for more takes, with the kids refusing after the third take got ruined by Woody's attempt to make the shadows hide their faces. Brice stepped in and ended Woody's fussing, it was clear that he was wasting time and the kids were upset at his complaining about them. They were doing what was asked, Woody was actually the one making mistakes. John watched and made notes, Woody was acting odd and seeing his glazed eyes it was clear that some old habits were dying hard- Woody was high as a kite and was acting out of character due to it! John sighed and made a call to Nora, telling her that he gave it a day before Woody's desperation got him as he couldn't hold off going after Brice and the movie. The next scenes were the dancing montages, ones that Woody hated filming naturally instead of how he envisioned them to be filmed. During lunch, Brice was told about John's suspicions. Brice looked over at Woody and asked if he was keeping an eye on his twitches and nose itching. John asked what he meant, Brice shook his head then told him, "He's a master of quick actions. He snorts a quick line before shooting starts and has to take a quick hit from his finger to sustain his momentum. He'd crash otherwise. Those expenses Miles found in the accounting is likely him working overnight on that other movie while he rests between scenes. I'd venture that he's off in his trailer sleeping with the production assistants ready to wake him. He'll have a line of coke ready for when he's awoken." John made a phone call to someone then had the person knock on the door to Woody's trailer and enter. A few minutes later, John was told, "He's got several baggies and a mirror in plain sight. I doubt that it's for makeup, judging by the residue on it and pipe next to it." John grinned and told the man that he'd be in touch, with Brice asking, "Did you just send a cop to check his trailer?" John countered, "It was a wellness check by a doctor. Dr. Richard Samuels, MD. He is the on-site doctor for us, I wanted him to do it instead of someone who could be tempted by Woody." Woody left the trailer angry at what happened. John grinned and asked if he was upset that he just got himself fired for drug use or if he was upset that he couldn't get his next hit due to having to beg for his job. Woody screamed at John, John simply told him, "You're fired. I warned you about your behavior, I won't tolerate your antics. You think that this is like any other movie set, it's not. This is my movie set and I'll be damned if I let you destroy it with drug use!" John grinned as Woody was escorted off by security, with the officer telling him, "A search was made of your suite. You are under arrest for possession of narcotics and loaded firearms." He tried to claim that it wasn't his drugs, but the officer countered, "Unless you are claiming that someone broke in, they were found in your suitcase in your clothes. We had our eyes on you all night, your arrest has nothing to do with John Finn catching you getting high- your 'fun' last night was observed by undercover officers and a search warrant was issued for the drugs that you were observed buying and using." Woody was led away in tears as his high started to fade and his addiction started to show. He was in for a long night and likely a trip to the hospital for treatment, but it might have saved his life. He'd recover from the shock, but it'll take a while to recover his reputation in Hollywood. John told Brice to take over that night until they could find a new director, with Brice being one of the few who knew the movie inside and out. Brice would struggle juggling acting and directing, but with a lot of the work already done and the cinematographer setup at the club it was merely a matter of Brice giving the sound and camera personnel their cues. He would manage it on his own for a bit, it was light and they had planned extra takes just to find the right dance sequences since little changed during them. The filming took hours as the club's normal patrons got to enjoy a night of fun between normal dancing sets as they were hired as extras for the filming. The club wasn't the same club that was around in back in the 2000s, but it was close enough that nobody would complain. By coincidence, two of the dancers were actually from the same club and knew Roland giving the scenes unintentional authenticity. John oversaw the production alongside Brice, with Brice making note of lighting and getting the gaffer to make subtle changes to the lighting to obscure features and emphasize others. Brice had to do more than one take on the first attempt so that he had things right, then worked with the crew to make needed alterations on the fly while the dancers changed and he applied his makeup. He was able to do it under pressure, with the ladies joking that he was doing what they always did but without people cheering in the background but still doing it like they had to do between sets. Brice was in the zone during his dancing. He focused solely on the moves and making it look like there was hundreds of performances that he had done while it was really only his 20th overall. The ladies had a standing ovation for him while the club patrons were abivellant about of his performance- it was how they were told to react and what came natural as it was the same thing over and over again while other dancers were new to them- the dances they were there for in the first place. The shooting ended for the night with John telling Brice that he'd be in charge until further notice due to the severity of the situation and Heath Downey muddying the waters in retaliation. Brice tried to say that the assistant director or cinematographer were better choices, but John shot back, "You know things inside and out and we need to keep things moving. I can't be here for everything and I don't trust any of the others yet. You earned it long ago and you proved it time and again, especially last night." The two went over the schedule and saw Brice nodding at them working during the early hours at the school where the teenage Roland and John would have their scuffles. John added that his family were in the next few scenes as extras and as their aunts and uncles with Brice knowing that it was so there'd be someone in the family there each day just in case something happened. The teens were all investors in Inferno Pictures so they were all officially producers of the movie. The school would be mostly closed-off and John handling the liaison duties for Brice. Miles was there as the go-to person and saw him having to hold off a lot of teens trying to sneak a peak at what went on while being told that it wasn't the right time to bother them. John kept the peace, with Miles reluctantly telling Brice, "They'll expect to meet you at some point but it's a small price to pay for inconvenience." The teen actors hired did well and saw Miles trying hard not to grin at hearing, "John," and, "Roland," as the shooting progressed. When Miles himself had to do a couple of scenes, he prepared mentally while Brice game him space and worked with his teen counterpart so he knew that it would be emotional for Miles. The fact that Miles was playing his biological father and trying to showcase just how much of a scumbag he was hit the teen hard but got Brice to tell him, "Use that. It's what you need to show." The scenes required multiple takes as they had some issues with Miles getting too aggressive with the "John" actor while "Roland" wasn't being as forceful with "John" as was required. It was what he had expected, they weren't used to pulling punches in fighting and were afraid of overdoing things so that the other ended up hurt. Brice worked with them an taught them what he had learned in school, giving them a good idea about what moves would work and what looked terrible on camera. They spent hours filming the scenes, with John catching half of it after the students were let go for the day and had finally left the school entirely and weren't trying to take pictures to sell to the paparazzi. He sighed at the fighting and scenes between "Felix" and "Roland" but was glad that Miles hadn't had a breakdown that John could tell was building inside of him. When Brice called it a day and had them get ready for the next day's filming outside, John grabbed Miles into a hug and led him off to his personal classroom to cry in private while Brice told the crew to not make mention of what John had just done. When he was called on that, Brice growled, "He's playing the role of his biological father: the same man who ends up murdered later on in the film. He was interacting with someone playing the role of a man who tries to kidnap him multiple times and beaten so bad he had to have surgery and nearly died. He is doing what you'd do if you had to recall painful memories, John Finn is doing his job as a father." Miles looked better but had John telling Brice, "I'll drive you in, he's in no condition and needs his wife and daughter. That bastard still knows how to leave a mark six years later. I loved Roland, but what he did to Miles without knowing it was unforgivable and I swear if I ever meet him up with him after I die he'd better have the Devil protecting him because I'll haunt him for eternity for what he did!" John drove him to the hotel then followed him up to the suite, waited for him to sit down, and revealed to the group, "Woody Demille muddied the waters again, this time he went to Director's Guild claiming that he was fired without cause and was being defrauded out of his producer and writer credit. We had a claim lodged against him via a colleague, one that showed that he was working two productions at the same time with his second production being a non-union production and using money from our movie to fund it. His complaint was dismissed and he was kicked out of the DGA for violating the rules. It's not his first violation, he's done it three times before and somehow got someone to help keep him in." Sighing deeply, he announced, "His impact is still hurting us. We can't find someone else to take on the movie so we have no choice but to continue with you. The hardest filming is up next: night shots. It's a tough job but you have been to the locations and know where the cameras will be. The hard part will be keeping the actors and extras in line, but that's what we hired production assistants, script supervisors, and assistant directors. They will keep things rolling while you handle the actors and Hannah's vision." Brice agreed to do it, with John adding, "We will be paying you what we were going to pay Woody. It's a big increase, you'll have over $1 million for the two jobs. We found additional money in the budget to give the co-stars more money so there aren't hard feelings about your promotion, and recovered the lost money from Woody's bank account via a lawsuit and court order. I hope you and Jennifer do the smart thing and move to a more secure neighborhood, you'll have enough money coming in from the movie and the additional movie projects we have lined-up for you to afford a nicer home." Jennifer looked at him with a smile, with Brice telling her, "My brother-in-law has a loan ready for us if I know him well enough. Nell and Wendy knew how to marry well, those guys are amazing. But then again, those two always loved dating guys like me!" That got them laughing while Lola and the twins gave them odd looks before deciding that it was an adult thing and they'd learn when they were older. The next day was chaos for the crew as Woody showed up with the intent on resuming his job as the director. The crew ignored him and the few who did listen to him were quietly told to pack it in for the day as they were no longer needed. They tried to protest, but the line producer, their de-facto boss for the various grips, gaffers, cameramen, and sound technicians, shut down any argument and invoked the contracts that they signed to work on the movie and how they were violating them by supporting him. Woody went after Brice and berated him for, "Stealing his movie," but when John countered that Woody put the cocaine in his nose, kept snorting it in plain sight of officers, and bought more from multiple known drug dealers he went after John for being a fraud and making a mockery of "his baby." John let him talk himself into being on every media outlet that evening then countered, "This movie is not your baby. You were only hired to direct- not write, not shoot scenes that you have no business shooting, not billing my company for people who aren't involved in the movie. Your personal chef, masseuse, drug dealer, prostitutes, chauffeur, private plane, and limo aren't being paid by us. I'll say this once and only once: this is my movie. My money is paying for it. My movie rights are optioned. My life is being told on screen. My family's life is being told on screen. We won't let some two-bit hack who blew his way to a passing grade in film school destroy our lives. You don't give a damn about the people portrayed in the movie, it's not you who will be laughed at or pitied. I'm not letting our story get sullied so you can get another eight-ball from your dealer and scam your way to another film you don't deserve. We made a mistake in hiring you, one that we rectified by hiring someone who earned the job by hard work!" He nodded to a State Police trooper who led the ranting Woody away. Woody's threats were recorded as was the previous rant and John's retort. The large, towering trooper happily told Woody, "You are on state property. This park is closed for the day so leave before I arrest you for trespassing. Officer Finn is being easy on you, he could have had you booted earlier but he smartly got you to talk yourself into killing your career. I'd expect that you'll have phone calls tonight from some very upset people." Woody was escorted out while the trooper was told to bring Woody in for violating his bail conditions for returning to the set. Woody tried to fight the trooper but ended up being Tazered by the trooper as he radioed for help. Woody's day got even worse as the media were awaiting him upon his return from the hospital and them asking questions about allegations of fraud over his expenses on previous films. Woody tried to blame John Finn but the Boston media laughed loudly. He was heckled by them, it was easier to go after the Pope than going after John Finn in Boston: John's reputation was stronger than the religious head and saw more help to those in need without sexual abuse or political maneuvering. John was someone that they feared yet respected, an unsubstantiated claim from a known criminal was not only laughable to them- it was something they took pride in lambasting for weeks. The national media were a different story entirely as they were eager to tear apart someone with such a spotless record. Woody's rants ad claims were taken seriously to the point it was seen that John was hiding something. Claims that John was funneling illegal money through the movie or that the movie was a front for sex trafficking made the rounds of the gossip scene, with John as a target because of how unknown and forthright he was over the movie. Overnight things got worse as dozens of paparazzi flew into Boston, with Nell, Wendy, and their family having to endure the swarm after their flight landed and saw the State Police forcing them to leave as it was known to them that whomever they were searching for wasn't going to appear anytime soon. Brice wisely told them to go directly to the hotel and meet their guide, the paparazzi wouldn't be able to get to them and the kids would need time to relax before they met with him that evening. The kids were happy to get the chance to swim before going, Brice smartly wanted them to tire out quickly. When they met on set, the kids asked when he was filming his dancing. Brice snickered and told them, "I filmed that already. We are trying to get things done as fast as possible so did the dancing and school things first before going on to outdoors shooting. Yesterday we filmed in a park, today we filmed in a parking lot. Tomorrow we film on city streets. It's a lot of short scenes and not much dialog, much of the movie I am doing voice-over work. There's some stuff that comes in four days that is pretty heavy, taking place in a jail and one in a prison. They are the climax of the movie. I don't want you to be here when I have the scenes where I'm selling drugs and assaulting people, I'd rather you not see that stuff. You might be older and see it on TV but it's not something that I want you to see." He sent them on their way, with their parents getting the gist of what he meant: keep them away so the media didn't disturb them or create something to hurt them. They were fair game in their eyes, family was gold to them especially family without clout to keep them away. John offered them an alternative as he had his kids ready to spend time with them and give his wife a chance to help in her own way as she would have tried too hard to act like a lawyer when she wasn't needed as one. Brice had another reason for having the kids away from filming that night: he was doing it in drag and needed them to not see what some people did to get money to feed their addictions. Roland Finn used his dressing to lure guys into a false sense of security then rob them blind, stealing money and drugs from them. Brice hated that it was part of the movie, but he understood how things were tough for addicts as he'd seen it himself in college with guys caught in the endless cycle of addiction. Adam Nicholson helped him get over the issues with the scene by having him see that it's a major part of building to the story's climax and with their fight scenes coming up in six days it was the reason those took place as it was Roland at his lowest point and where he fell of the cliff into addiction. Adam grinned while Brice asked if he borrowed his sisters' psychology books, but he was right. Brice heard countless laughs and catcalling as he exited his trailer en- route to the set. The police escort didn't say a word, the huge man told Brice boldly, "We've been there before. My wife made us dress as punishment for losing a bet. Cat Finn made countless messes for us to clean just because she could." Brice wasn't sure if he was joking or telling the truth, Miles wisely told Brice, "It's your fault for taking her bet- never bet with Cat or Daisy or Hannah! Thankfully Claire was busy with Simon or she'd have made you too afraid to show your face in the city again." Brice asked who they were, Miles shot back, "Cat and Daisy were the piece of garbage's daughters. The story behind them wasn't included in the movie due to their request. They don't like to remember what he did to their mothers. Daisy was 'the Chicago trip' and Claire was 'the Rutgers trip' chapters in the book. The scenes with their mothers didn't advance the plot and Daisy's story would have taken from the movie as a whole as it was so complex that it would be a movie in itself." Brice didn't need to know more, he remembered those chapters and kept forgetting to ask why they had not been included in the movie. Hearing the truth he agreed and would have removed them anyway as the film was being edited. The joke John made before about his mother's family made sense, it was in the female line that the family had some of their biggest fun even if it was at guys' expenses. Brice got the filming started and worked with the cameramen and lighting techs to get great angles for their shots, with Brice having plenty of light while keeping the eerie and dangerous feeling. He saw the shadows and grinned as it would be a great shot, especially when his bit of action took place. After a a blown take for the blooper reel they got it and had several successful shots from different spots with Brice changing outfits on the fly in his trailer as he rushed to get the shoot over with fast. Miles dropped him off at the hotel late and ensured that nobody followed him upstairs. The hotel was a strong investment by John so kept him happy by keeping out anyone not staying there or not eating at the restaurant. Miles was known to them by sight so didn't get stopped, especially as he was escorting a known guest and talking with him about something instead of following him as a few tried to do. By morning, pictures of Brice in a skirt, blouse, and makeup circulated the internet and were all over the news. The kids were upset that they couldn't see his acting, Brice angrily told them, "What I did for those scenes is too far above your level of understanding. It was needed for the movie, but it was bad behavior by the man I am portraying. Some things you are too young to see, that was one of them." The kids apologized but Brice hugged them to show that he wasn't upset. He left to get things set for a day of filming in John's former neighborhood: the toughest in Winnisimmet back in the 90s. John was on scene acting as an adviser, with the crew knowing that this was personal to him so worked harder than normal out of respect for the man who paid them above standard for the movie. The group spent several hours working hard but had to constantly stop as the media kept trying to force Brice into an interview then kept getting into shots of the neighborhood in the hopes of forcing Brice's hand and talk to them. After falling an hour behind schedule, John called in the big guns and asked his mentor and the one person who knew John best to intervene and get the vultures away from the movie. Louis Reagan was happy to help, especially as he got to spend two days with one of the best actors in Hollywood in preparation for the filming and would best quell neighbors' issues with the filming. Louis grinned and asked the media if they had consent from the homeowners to film on their property, then happily pointed out that the city owned several of the buildings that they parked their vans on and the crews had camped out in front of and would be removing them if they didn't leave on their own. John gave a nod, with Louis telling the officers that the city hadn't consented for any media member to film on their properties and were invoking no-trespass laws that protected residents forcing them out. The reporters claimed they had a right to be there, but the officer arriving angrily stated that they had a right to film on public streets- not in yards and driveways. He then showed the official trespass orders to the reporters followed by statements that the stations were recalling the reporters. Louis nodded to John that it was finished, then joined John to watch the beginning of Roland Finn's further decent into a world of drugs, violence, sex, and finally incarceration. Louis' closeness to John showed why John's character was needed, especially as the scene where the "Louis" character confronted teenage "Roland" was filming the next day with teenage "John" and "Louis" were filmed after. It was tough on John to see Brice nailing Roland's weaselly ways while also keeping his drug addiction close to the surface with twitches and subtle actions that John recognized as classic drug signs. Brice had the nonverbal actions nailed and coupled with the accent and the way he had the aggression it was perfect. Lola was on set with Brice as Jennifer took the kids to the beach. Her self-consciousness was evident so John had her stand by him so she got the full force of Brice's performance and was able to critique it between takes. He listened to her and agreed, with John and Louis offering their own observations. Lola being there caught the eyes of the paparazzi who kept off of private property and tried to get Brice to say something about her that they could used against him. He didn't play their games as they blurted out that she was his new girlfriend and he had broken off his engagement with Jennifer. Brice had to quell his anger, but Louis angrily told the two men making the claims, "You just accused him of dating his own adopted daughter. You were told before she's with them. That's both slander and libel." Lola shot back to the two, "Are you upset that your sources are all in jail or my father is going to be the hottest new thing in Hollywood? He's got a three-picture writing deal, two picture acting deal, and a directing deal. Your sources? Their drug convictions will send them to prison instead of jail, with your connection to Woody Demille getting exposed soon when he starts squealing." John grinned as the neighbors who heard them jeered them and started to toss trash at them for lying. It was clear that if John was around Brice then Lola wasn't what she appeared and if she was his daughter then they were going after someone who was untouchable as family were supposed to be. The two ran off scared while Louis walked off to quell the neighborhood to keep them from hurting the paparazzi. Brice ignored everything and focused on the movie, going through the motions and getting the actors to emote without any dialog while he himself had to recall what was being said but wasn't being said. He had a hard time not speaking during it, but he soldiered on and let the cinematographer work his magic and capture the scenes. He was impressed with what was captured, so much so that he confessed that it should have been him that got the directing job Brice. The man laughed and brushed it off, he didn't have the patience to direct and liked letting what he saw do the work for him. He liked what he saw, he could tell that Brice was creating something special and it was only just getting started as the non-Brice scenes were scheduled the next week with Brice being able to do more from the director chair then than he could do from in front of the cameras. Brice had an uphill battle as he kept himself from being too hands-on but so far he hadn't shown that tendency yet. The day ended and saw the kids telling him about what the had done in Boston while Lola told Jennifer about the paparazzi trying to lie about her and Brice. Jennifer grinned and told Brice that it might be wise to go out on the town and enjoy the evening, that way they'd head off the claims and show that the claims were bogus and were clearly targeting him while harming people who weren't in the spotlight. It was devious yet to her it was protecting both her future husband and their daughter. That evening saw Brice taking Lola and Jennifer out for a walk around Boston. They visited the Public Garden and Boston Common then enjoyed a performance on City Hall Plaza. It was hard not to spot a few paparazzi following them, but the fact that both had their arms over Lola's shoulder and kissed one another passionately several times worked in their favor as it was hard to claim they weren't together. Lola had a smile the entire time, the couple were just too lovable and she couldn't help but feel close to them. Seeing people saying hello and not having an idea who they were made her happy, especially as it was likely the last time they'd be left alone by people. Brice was on the verge of stardom with money coming in that would bring them attention as he rose the ranks in Hollywood, she'd end up having the paparazzi hounding him giving him few chances to be alone and unmolested by paparazzi and fans. Lola smirked at the ones who tried to lie earlier, she asked them if they were still going to lie about her father and mother breaking up or were they going to tell the truth. That led to swears and threats, which only led to the two being arrested for criminal threats while their colleagues tried hard to back away in a futile attempt to not appear to be with them. The ones who had actually filed the false reports with the duo as their sources received emails that they were being sued by Jo and Phyllis Kaplan immediately while the video that were submitted were taken down and the gossip sites forced to apologize. Brice hugged and kissed Lola's cheek then kissed Jennifer deeply, asking her if she had picked a date for their wedding. She grinned and told him, "Why wait? I'd rather we get it over with tomorrow." Brice blushed while Lola shot back, "You have the time, why not have some fun. You already have all of your family here, just do it and stop them from making stuff up. Mom needs this, do it for her." Her look was hitting him hard. Jennifer happily told her, "You are such a daddy's girl! It's hard not to be proud of you for doing the right thing in the one way he can't deny. Believe me, it's something all of us women can do to our fathers. And he'll never grow out of it, it's his weakness- loving his daughter." The trio walked back to the hotel and had to reluctantly tell the family about the wedding. Wendy and Nell teased their brother over finally taking the plunge after 18 years with Jennifer while the girls asked if they were getting married in a church. The guys wisely let them hammer it out, it was the best thing that they could do as neither husband wanted to have their own small weddings mentioned. The kids went to bed with Lola's help, allowing the adults to talk about the wedding and how they'd do it without causing a big scene. John's timely call got them their answer: do it in Winnisimmet city hall with Louis and Valerie as witnesses. The paparazzi wouldn't be able to harass them due to having to go through security and by the time they had cleared them the couple would be married and look like they were getting a tour of city hall from one of the consultants on the film. The couple went to city hall early, with Louis happily telling the media that the city wouldn't allow any filming inside without a permit and as they had no business there they had to leave. The city manager took over from Louis and dealt with their complaints, while the couple paid their fee, signed the forms, and were married in a matter of minutes. When they came out, they joined Louis on a tour of city hall and giving them the barest of information while wasting time of the paparazzi as they lost interest. The trio went to the set and were treated to a classic performance by Morgan Jackson as his scenes with Brice were scheduled that day. The kids were already there talking with Morgan and saw Morgan liking the group as they weren't trying to show off and reminded him of what his character was as a person. It was unintentional, Brice had to laugh though as it was ironic that their delay in avoiding the media with the man whom Morgan was portraying that led to helping him get in character. Louis tried hard to not show his pride, the man was doing him justice and showing the real side of him that few got to see and fewer understood. The fact that each had grandchildren who were transgender and had endured the same issues over the decades was coincidental but led to Morgan empathizing with Louis more thus helping his character. He was playing Louis as the kindly mentor who saw through the plots of Roland Finn and wasn't afraid to call him on his actions- the way Louis really was. Brice talked with Morgan and got an understanding immediately, with both adult and teenage "Roland" playing the scene as false bravado and arrogance but backing down when "Louis" cut through all of the bluster and exposed the bully underneath. Brice had to hide his pride as the man genuinely made you think that he was telling them off like an adult to a child and a mentor to his protege. Had he not had to direct the movie alongside starring, he'd struggle to continue as he felt the shame "Louis" dealt hard. Wendy and Nell had managed to get to the set to see Brice in action, making their appearance after they were finished with the final scenes with the teen "Roland." The subtle makeup and styling of Morgan's hair caused them to ask how so little was being done to age him to look younger, with Brice showing a laughing Louis to them and telling the bewildered ladies, "It's good genetics. Meet the man himself, the guy who somehow looks like he hasn't aged a day in 30 years. It helps immensely, just some subtle bits and change of clothes and two decades pass by in seconds. If I hadn't seen the pictures myself I'd never believe it- but he saved us from having to hire another actor and gave Morgan a plum role." Louis talked with the ladies and grinned at Lola getting forced to miss the day due to the girls her age taking her out. He happily added, "I suspect my granddaughters and their friends have your nieces and nephews doing the same, Logan will keep them in order or his girlfriend will skin him alive. She won't let them have a bad time and she is happy to endure your nieces drooling over him." Wendy asked if they were going to be alright with Lola, Louis laughed hard then shot back a happy, "I'd trust nobody else with here. One's a trans boy, another was forced to be a trans girl. They are all dating and have a lot of money in their bank accounts. Only Trina Phillips doesn't have much but only because her family hasn't had to suffer through the hell the others have. And before you ask, I meant what I said about one being forced to become a girl. A nasty car accident that killed her parents and two others also mutilated her forcing her to live as a girl or a sexless eunuch. It was her choice but she accept it." The two doctors understood, with Wendy asking she was getting proper care. Louis smirked then shot a quick, "She ended up in the care of a doctor and nurse, one of the leading doctors on a genetic condition that makes girls appear to be boys at birth. His son dated and married a trans girl: John's daughter. The only person more accepting of her is John, but then again he accepts everyone for what they are." That was the segue they needed to move on, they watched some additional scenes as teenage "John" did some talking while "Roland" looked on then saw Brice and Adam doing the same but in a more animated and upset fashion. The transition between the two was a trick of the camera as the teen actors setup in one spot while the adults were in another but out of view then saw the camera pan to the duo with Brice not having to say a word as the cameraman was on the money the first time. There was little room for error in the shot, they made it in the first take but did a second and third just to be sure. Filming ended for the day with the teen joking that he was glad to be out of panties. Brice asked what he meant, then was handed a memo supposedly sent to him from Brice but wasn't his memo. Brice just shook his head and explained, "I never sent this. I wouldn't ask you to do that as it's ridiculous- nobody will see them so why bother? You did something that none of us would have done, you set the bar high. I'll have to do the same as you now just to show that I'm as big of a man as you are." The teen left with a shake of his head for falling for that trick but glad that Brice was doing that too to show support. Brice went right to John and told him what happened, who then called someone to check the email, and was told, "My niece found the source: Woody Demille again. This was sent BEFORE the movie started filming and done with followups threatening to fire him if he didn't go through with it. The bastard tried to get their parents upset and pull their sons from the movie, if not for their parents believing that the boys needing this role to get a Disney movie role they would have done exactly that." Brice called over to Adam and told him what happened. Adam shot back, "Bra as well? Screw it, if they are man enough for panties I'm man enough for a bra!" That got Brice nodding as the two weren't going to let Woody make them look foolish and would support the boys. The fight scenes were on a closed set with only cast and crew allowed inside. Brice's family as well as John's family were allowed in, with Adam's family and Morgan's family joining as they were scenes to make things fun as John flew both out for their prank on the crew. When Morgan was told what the two were doing he insisted on joining them, if he did there was no complaining as he didn't care one bit. Morgan's wife Cecily wasn't happy to fly out but was glad it was in luxury. Her son and granddaughter were happy to get a free trip to see Morgan on set- a rarity for them. The fact that it was for something they didn't know about made it intriguing, but Cecily kept them grounded in reality. Adam's family were quiet and saw his kids playing with Morgan's granddaughter. When they fell asleep the young girl kept to herself but saw Adam's wife thanking her for tiring out the two kids. It was what she needed from her: no mention of her transition, just seeing her for herself despite knowing the truth. The group were met at the airport by Miles and several police officers, with Miles having to tell them it was due to the paparazzi trying hard to get images of Morgan's granddaughter, she was highly sought out by them as her picture was worth their weight in gold. They were able to avoid the paparazzi thanks to being in a secondary airport, but that wouldn't stop them from trying to scope out the set. The officer in charge grinned and happily told the kids that nobody would harass them, not with his uncle there. On set, his granddaughter ran for Morgan and cried at seeing him. Cecily smiled and added that she had been on her best behavior and hadn't fought boys in weeks causing the girl to look down in shame but it was followed by him telling her, "They deserve their broken noses. You don't do what they did to you." The officers asked what he meant, her father tried to deflect but Morgan angrily told of the boys putting their hands in her panties to see if she really was a boy "down there" and her fighting back. That saw an upset response and Miles asking if they had done something about it then saw him going off to call for help and coming back smiling. John saw his look and told Morgan, "The wrath of my lawyers is coming. They duo don't like people hurting children, especially ones so vulnerable. Please don't fight them on it as it's personal to them: they hate sexual abuse, they refuse to not help fellow survivors." John sighed and told them about the Kaplans being victims in law school and winning against the men who had drugged and raped them while causing their law school to fire several members of the faculty in response to the bad publicity. They fought back ever since, and doing so to protect vulnerable young children like Morgan's granddaughter. They were going to force the boys to face justice and force those who were responsible for allowing it to pay even if it bankrupted multiple people. Morgan thanked him for doing so, with Cecily having to hold her son off from refusing the support as it was for his daughter's own good as well as others who were likely hurt. It was something in John that they had seen before while researching the man, it was his compassion and understanding and nothing could stop him when he felt that he had to support someone in need. They left it alone an focused on the kids and watching as they got along well and even giggled at some of the funny things they had to say about Brice, Adam, and Morgan. The set was booming and saw the Walsh family meeting the Nicholsons and Jacksons. Brice, Morgan, and Adam left their families to get dressed and saw the Finns giggling about something that the others weren't privy to yet. It was going to be hilarious and see the kids rolling on the floor laughing hard. When the time came for them to exit, all three exited and saw them in blouses, skirts, pantyhose, bras, and fake breasts, They played it off as not being out of the ordinary but the kids were struggling with it as they weren't sure if they were serious or not. When the scene played out as planned and Morgan did his consoling of Adam followed by Brice doing his scene with Adam that saw Brice looking scared as Adam's voice boomed in a serious and authoritative tone. The poor actor who was serving as the lawyer for "Roland" had to hide his fear as Adam looked like he was legitimately going to kill Brice. When the scene ended, the trio hugged their families and saw Morgan's granddaughter crying into his chest while Brice's nieces teased him and Adam's kids were unsure about what just happened. The trio went back to their trailers and changed into their regular wardrobe and re-shot the scenes, this time it was serious and showed why Morgan and Adam took the roles as their performances were epic and had the kids in awe of them. Brice's reaction was one that had the kids scared for him, and saw him smiling as Adam's mastery of the role had Brice reacting as Roland had giving John a big smile at the memory. The families left and saw the paparazzi trying to clamor for pictures, with John happily telling them to back away from his property. John grinned and told the paparazzi, "When you make your claims about what happened here today, be sure to get them right. It was a prank done to show the crew that what the young actors had been forced to do by Woody Demille wasn't lost on their costars and they went even further by humiliating themselves to show that they were man enough to be women on camera." Morgan grinned and shot back, "We are man enough to know that women are tougher than men and we are fine with our masculinity. I doubt any of you people have ever done what we did. I haven't had to in years and remember why I didn't do it: I could never pull it off. Adam, you had us beat with your style but your makeup skills need a lot of work. Brice here had us beat but he trained for doing this- not us." That got laughs as Adam shook his head and happily kissed his wife while Morgan hugged his wife and kissed his granddaughter. The group left with the paparazzi fighting for words as whatever they tried to post would only backfire on them as the quotes were too good to not feature over their lies. They were left to look sexist and homophobic, and likely transphobic with Morgan's granddaughter with them. The rest of the day was spent enjoying time with their families as final preparations were being made on the streets for the big finale: Roland's murder. There were smaller scenes being played out in smaller locations that setup the big finale as the criminals panicked and tried to cover their tracks but those were coming after and Brice wasn't acting in them letting him focus on getting the car crash done right. He agreed with the stunt coordinator that they just use the actual footage of it for the scene as it was tough emulate and using the footage made it feel closer to the truth, especially as he realized the perfect way of supporting it: having actual news footage and newspaper headlines in it too. He ran the idea past John and saw John practically screaming at him to do it fast. John saw it for what it was: the final piece of the puzzle to make the movie memorable. He'd seen the footage too many times to count and it didn't affect him anymore, the murder would be done with actors but it was what would work best as the voice-over after the shot was fired would take them out and feature an epilogue with the outcome of the whole case and make mention of events being real with some artistic license taken. The fight scenes were next day and saw Adam and Brice talking for hours about how they wanted them to go. They'd change clothes and have to endure makeup sessions to show the after-effects of them as it required fake blood and fake bruises. Brice refused to follow Woody's insistence on real blood and fight scenes, he respected Adam too much to put him in danger or put his own body on the line to get, "Real," blood and bruising when it wasn't necessary for the few minutes of the scenes. The kids were in awe of the two fighting, especially as Morgan got to be involved in one scene then be the person who talked "John" out of leaving his family to the mercy of "Roland." It was one of the few manufactured scenes, but done because John and Hannah Smith felt it was better than the real scene: he had simply endured Roland's punishment for the sake of the family. John chose to help both actors as it was one of the better scenes between the two adult actors and worked better with how Brice was acting. The kids were upset that there was no more dressing, leading Brice to have them enjoy some time with the outfits in the wardrobe department. Adam's kids played with Morgan's granddaughter and saw the boys enjoying dancing with her and flaunting their dresses. Nell and Wendy's kids joined them and had fun teasing their siblings and cousins about dressing leading to all of them losing track of time. Adam and Brice didn't say a word about what was going on, John happily told them, "Give them half of a chance and kids will find their own fun. Their reactions are all learned responses, they don't care and it's for the best that they not care. It's harmless fun, it's normal and the kids will be tired tonight." He was prophetic as the kids fell asleep early. The adults prepared for departure and saw the kids being saddened that it was time to go. They were too young for the final scenes and Brice was only directing them. His one acting scene was part of a montage that set up the finale and saw Morgan and Adam's characters joined by all of the family and friends of the family as they dealt with Roland's murder. The family left early the next morning and saw Lola heading west with them. Her job was done and she didn't want to miss time with her cousins.. She had strong reason for returning home: the kids had to go to school in a week so wanted her to be with them more before it started. For the first time in months, Jennifer and Brice were alone. It felt odd to not have someone with them, like they were missing something. Brice smiled and knew what they had to do, with Jennifer crying as it was their sign that they should adopt soon so the empty nest feeling went away. The couple made love like never before, with Brice happily enjoying the moment while Jennifer felt a surge of love from him that she hadn't felt in ages. She wished that he could give her a child, but it was a tough reality that she was unable to have a child so their passionate love was all for nothing. It was all physical, but it did the job for them as Brice went to sleep happy and able to work hard the next day. Filming took all day as the scenes were tough on the actors as the duo had to do several takes as their blows missed or didn't look that good. Their stunt coordinator tried to get them to use doubles, but the two felt they could do it and as the takes went on they got better and better until they had them down. It was his longest day and toughest physically, but Brice had what he wanted and Adam had few marks on him- much to his satisfaction and John's relief. The ladies portraying John's mother and sisters struggled at times to keep from legitimately separating the two as their fight seemed so real, especially the heated dialog before Brice threw the first punch. It was what he wanted, with Adam thanking them for caring even if it was Brice's idea to go heavy. They gave him a glare but it did the trick: they were fooled, which would translate better on screen. The next day featured more of the same, only this time it was involving Brice in prison, with the master of manipulation undergoing a transformation as he saw John's family growing and eventually learning he was going to be a great-uncle leading to his reflection and redemption. This is was coupled with his growing power in the prison with his followers taking over the cellblock and cornering the market on drugs and goodies while he kept himself clean. John had him include that as it was working with their next day of filming: the montage of Roland being forced to undergo aversion therapy at the clinic John had sent him to get clean but not knowing what they were also doing to Roland. Brice had the brilliant idea of splitting the prison scenes up so the movie became a series of flashbacks to various events over the course of his lifetime instead of a linear timeline. They would unfurl in order, but they would be spliced together with Roland reading newspaper articles about his family's actions over the course of his incarceration leading to the big redemption. He needed Hannah Smith's approval but hearing what he wanted to do she kissed him on the cheek over doing the one thing that would tie it all together in a cohesive way and make it more than a biography: it was now a watchable story. John had to hand it to Brice, he had hit gold with the idea and done so at no cost as they were all scenes that were going to be shot and included but gave them more impact. It also made his struggles with the dressing have a bigger impact as he would be holding a gag gift the whole time he was contemplating his life as he tried to write: a pair of panties and a bra. The gag gift was from someone who know him outside of prison and who knew his dancing, with the gift as a warning but setting off his confession and causing the chain of events that led to his death. That wasn't in the book: it was something that the family thought was best to not mention as the inmate who did it did it for nefarious reasons and got himself stabbed for it. It was best to tell the truth about it and let the man's family see what he did but as time had passed it wasn't going to hurt him anymore. It was also a warning to the man, they knew the truth and held his freedom if he crossed them. The non-Brice scenes were filmed on the final two days. Adam and Morgan did their scenes and went to the hotel in tears, it was taxing on them emotionally. Brice hit them hard, they loved that he did that. Brice simply told them to remember what they had seen John and Louis doing and from there they had a template for what they needed to showcase. It wasn't hard to do, both shadowed their counterparts so had strong understandings of their mannerisms and actions. The two men put such strong emotion into their scenes that by the end of the day they were wiped out and were glad to only have the wrap party on the agenda after the final day of filming. Those final scenes were the ones that Brice wasn't needed and were done with other actors he had few if any lines and would leave in a few minutes. Miles' scenes with him were put off until that day, Miles had needed a lot of time to prepare himself emotionally and the way he was playing the role he needed a lot of leeway from Brice to nail it. His lines were short and manipulative, with Brice's "Roland" being used by "Felix Arnold" without knowing it then saw "Roland" ordering the hit on "Felix" in the jail so he was able to get his missing money back and show that he was still the king of Winnisimmet. Miles enjoyed the hit so much that it was almost ruined. Brice had to tell him that it wasn't a good thing but realized too late that it was therapeutic to Miles and let a lot of old wounds finally heal. Brice gave it a lot of leeway once he realized why Miles was acting that way and used it to his advantage, helping him out while also allowing the movie to benefit from Miles's performance. The last scenes were the murder and grand jury testimony scenes. Brice had the scene play out with it being a montage instead of dialog that wasn't need as it worked with what they had already planned. The actual murder was done with one man looking into the crashed car and firing shots, little was said by him, but what he did say was actual dialog from court testimony by witnesses making the murder scene even stronger in the eyes of Brice. Filming wrapped, with the wrap party held in a nightclub and featured the drag performers enjoying a last performance for the crew. Brice didn't dance, he happily joked among the cast and crew and saw it as their final time together and didn't want to spoil it with doing something to make headlines. It was a big hit with the cast and crew, especially as the teens go in on it and hammed up the dancing with Brice grinning at the actors having their spotlight for the night that they had earned. The media were all over the wrap party and tried to spread rumors about underage drinking and drug use inside. The police ignored the claims, the night club was owned by John's family and were strict in their adherence to, "No drugs," and even tougher on underage drinking. When the paparazzi demanded to be let inside, they learned the hard way who owned the club and just how strict they were and what the club would do to anyone caught breaking them- including paparazzi trying to plant drugs and alcohol. The wrap party ended and everyone said their goodbyes. It would take a few months to do editing and have Brice do voice-over narration, but the hard part was done. "Closet Secrets" was going to hit the world by Christmas and see Oscar nominations for all of them. Brice wasted little time in working with the film editor and narration director to splice together what he had envisioned for the movie. The fact that he had planned for multiple takes and included changes of wardrobe and scenery allowed for much of the editing to be faster than normal. The worst issues were the fight scenes as the takes were tough to splice together but saw them get the right balance in them. Narration too two weeks, with breaks each day to allow for Brice's voice to rest while he listened to the dialog over and over again to determine the best takes. It was arduous, but it was rewarding as his voice drove the story more than the acting did. He hated the insults to John Finn, but Roland Finn wasn't one to hold back his ego and showed just how nasty he was as a person and had Brice emulating it. The special effects were minimal, in fact a lot of the movie was done "on the cheap" as John owned a lot of the places where trailers were parked and got great deals on those trailers, cars, trucks, and had a good deal with the various unions thanks to being a union leader himself. The biggest expenses were in the actors, and with the movie coming in well under 1/3rd of its planned budget despite the fraudulent charges added on by Woody Demille it was still done on a budget of $10 million. John shook his head at that figure, it was considered "low budget" by Hollywood standards and would be mocked by many. Brice met with John over Columbus Day Weekend and was joined by Percy and Faye Turner. The two were proud of Brice's work and were happy to report that their studio were going all-in for trying to get the movie out before the Christmas Oscar deadline, with Brice working endless hours with the editors on it. The work was tedious, but he had much of it done by that day so needed only to have them send it out to theaters and start the publicity machine. Brice finished the movie the next day, falling asleep at the console as his editors called Nora Biggs and Percy to tell them that it was complete. Jennifer escorted Brice home, then told him that he was to stay in bed until she gave him the all clear or she'd call his sisters in to force him to rest. She wasn't joking, she had already done so and got them to order him to rest for several days to recover. Woody Demille's woes started once the movie was completed and all expenses ended. His fraud cost Inferno $1 million in total and saw Inferno suing Woody to recover the money. He had no defense for any of it, there was no reason for him to bill the movie for actors, writing, and cinematography when it wasn't in the budget, wasn't authorized, and none of the actors were hired by Nora. His drug arrests only compounded his legal issues as he pled guilty to the theft charges to focus solely on the drug charges. The problem with that was that he couldn't escape that he was on probation of his past issues that he hadn't told anyone about and would have prevented him from getting hired by Nora, those issues bit him in the rear as he had to go to jail for six months on top of 10 years of probation. It was a lose-lose situation, but in a drug-fueled place like Hollywood it was fine to his friends. Lola enjoyed babying him while she studied for her GED so she could attend estethician school. She had a standing offer from GCW Studios to work for them, one that she wanted to take but had to go to school to give her proper training alongside learning from their employees. That was in addition to her working towards paying for her surgery, something that Brice and Jennifer hadn't yet told her that they were going to pay for when she turned 18. During this time period Jennifer received word from her doctor that she was able to harvest her eggs so she could have a child despite not being able to give birth due to her health issues. A surrogate would be used, someone who was paid for her services and had no connection to them once she gave birth. It was cause for celebration, she hadn't thought of it before but her talk with her doctor about adoption had her doctor look into potential ways of parenthood with that being the easiest route. Wendy volunteered to be her surrogate, since she felt it best to have it done by someone who wasn't in it for the money and it meant a lot to her to do it for her brother. Jennifer broke down and cried, with the kids hugging her tight as she calmed herself. Brice simply gave his blessing, they'd do it during the Thanksgiving weekend so the little one could be ready by the next summer. The movie's music and sound departments worked throughout October to get the last touches on how it sounded while the few special effects were added. When it was completely finished the PR tour started and saw Brice enduring countless talk shows and public appearances to support it. He hated to endure the questions about Woody but they were unavoidable- he took the high road and didn't say much. The movie was slated for early December, with theaters needing something to put out in the slot that a major motion picture had given up due to backstage issues and in-fighting with producers. Nora knew it was a blessing: they had no competition as it was up against movies that flopped or were out for three weeks then. It was new and it was different, something the other movies couldn't claim. The premier in Boston was a huge event for the city as it brought a lot of celebrities with local ties as well as people who were known to the family and who were going to be helped by the movie's success. The fact that Inferno Pictures was officially owned by charities and a family caused a lot of buzz as it was tough to go after something that would make a lot of lives better. Hollywood loved a good story, it was one story that even they couldn't trash behind the scenes. The main cast as well as John's family got a lot of attention, especially as Lola was hugged deeply by the kids and saw Cat Finn teasing her about looking so girly in her dress. Lola did the same to her, Cat hit Lola right in the heart and knew it yet Lola wouldn't let the little girl know that she had done the best thing she could have don: made her feel beautiful. It helped a lot that Lola had two prominant growing bumps on her chest that Cat giggled at while her twin JD blushed at seeing on her, but Lola loved that Cat knew to say just the right thing to make her happy. The cast took pictures alongside their counterparts, giving the media big shocks as John and Brice had chosen the right actors with the right looks for the parts. Miles didn't make a big fuss about his role, he told the media that he wanted a true representation of Felix Arnold even if he had to play the role. The quote made the rounds and gave Miles more notoriety as the already famous young man had given the media a classic quote that summed up the movie perfectly: truth and nothing but the truth. There was huge buzz after the premier since it was both a movie that featured a director fired for trying to sabotage it as well as an unknown actor playing the role of a cross-dresser. Add in that it was a new movie without competition and it led to something nobody expected: it took in $15 million. It was a hit and had made back every penny that John had invested in it. That was just the start of things as it saw another $10 million the next week as its competition was just an animated movie and a few small Oscar-bait movies. The shock of it being a success only added on to the buzz of it as clips of Brice dancing and of the work of Morgan Jackson, Adam Nicholson, and of the young cast made the rounds online and got people thinking that maybe it was going to be one of the sleeper hits that kept going on and on. Brice's dancing alone got a lot of people talking and it was what John had hoped: it exposed a lot of bigotry and showed the true face of people in person and online. The movie spent four weeks in the top 5 before falling out after New Year's Day. It had made a total of $30 million and was still seeing money brought in. It was further boosted as Oscar buzz hit full swing and it was expected to be a top contended for multiple nominations, with Brice leading the way for the "Best Actor" category followed by either Adam or Morgan for "Best Supporting Actor." Few thought it could earn "Best Adapted Screenplay," "Best Director," or "Best Picture," but lo and behold- it did just that for all three with John and Valerie Finn as well as Nora listed as the producers. John grinned as Nora earned the credit as she was the brains behind Inferno and had the connections to get the movie off of the ground so quickly. She used his money, but it was her insistence on Brice and then getting Adam and Morgan to join that caused the movie to get where it was. Brice was the vital link to everything and had she not supported him despite agents forcing their choices the movie would have flopped and John's company would have been a laughingstock instead of rising power. The total number of nominations topped at nine as their makeup artist, editor, and cinematographer all got nominated for their work. It was easy to see why the makeup artist got nominated just from the way Brice and the drag performers looked as well as the subtle aging of Morgan throughout the movie, but the editing and cinematography nominations were surprises to both. The editor happily accepted it as a big coup for him while the cinematographer took it in stride- he'd earned a few before in the past. The buzz kept going, especially as the movie was set to be released on DVD, digital, and Blu-ray after the awards were handed out. It was one of the top contenders that year, with the movie's take rising to a new level since it was deemed a "must see" now that it had "nominated for an Oscar" added to it. Brice and the cast kept a low profile during the intermediate time, enjoying the calm before the storm as the awards show would be bigger than anyone could imagine. Dressing for the awards show took a lot of time as Brice fought with multiple top designers trying to exploit him and his growing fame. John had a suggestion that floored him: a small boutique owned by Hannah's 4th cousin and her mother-in-law. She would also design Jennifer's dress and make her look like she was the most beautiful woman there- even if she likely was, and without any sort of plastic surgery to boot despite some nasty claims to the contrary. Jennifer was handed special jewelry from John, a gift from him for being so patient and supportive of Brice and for helping keep his own children away from the set and enjoying their summer while Brice and John worked on the movie. It was a beautiful gold and diamond earring and necklace set, but also had the birthstones of Lola and her unborn son- something she didn't want to tell Brice just yet but he seemed to know based on how she was dropping hints about his little partner. She looked beautiful in the jewelry, with John telling her that they were by a jeweler in Boston whom his family frequently had gone to for their traditional pendents and felt that it was the perfect accompaniment to her dress. Brice had a limo picking him up for the drive to the theater and the awards ceremony. He looked at his beautiful wife and was at a loss for words as both stepped outside. They were met by a blinding flash as thousands of cameras took pictures of them, but the images that were captured were of the couple in a passionate kiss as the two locked lips upon seeing how they looked on closer inspection. The actual awards show was slow and boring for the most part, but did see shocked gasps as Adam won over Morgan for "Best Supporting Actor" while Brice lost for "Best Actor" to a period war movie but it was hard to argue the win as it required a lot more effort to prepare for the role than Brice had needed and was a great job by a guy Brice knew and liked. There were huge cheers as he surprisingly won for "Best Director" and saw him giving praise to his crew and John for supporting him in the movie while also not making light of why he was appointed director in the first place. Woody Demille sneered as the camera panned to him in the audience, with him complaining to his friend/fellow drug addict leading to harsh criticism from critics and the media over Woody's behavior. The movie was the surprise winner for "Best Picture" with Valerie Finn going up on stage with Nora to accept the award on her her husband's behalf as well as accept her own award. She didn't try to make a speech, but did make the news as she accepted the award on John's behalf due to it being a school night and it would set a bad precedent for his students to be out so late. Nora was quiet and smiled the whole time, she didn't try to say anything and knew to let Valerie take the spotlight since it was so perfect. Valerie's joke made the rounds of the media and was the highlight of the night. John's name was known around the world now, with his life being on film for all to see. It was one of the most provocative ones that had come around in years and had a lot to be told, with calls for a true John Finn story to be made. The awards saw the movie making more money from home video sales and then selling the streaming, TV broadcast, and premium broadcast rights. John's initial investment had quadrupled to $40 million, and was only going to grow over time. "Closet Secrets" was a smash hit and would be talked about for a long time as both a precautionary tale as well as a tragedy. As the year progressed, Brice got to work on his three picture deal with Inferno. He found motivation in his sisters and their struggles with patients as well as brothers-in-law in their complaints about their clients at the law firm and bank. The mundane seemed to give him inspiration, odd as it was entirely different from what he was writing about yet was giving him inspiration. The comedy was tough to do but he loved the irony of its premise. The lead male hated how much his girlfriend kept trying to make him do things that were outside of his comfort zone while the lead female hated that her boyfriend was so set in his ways and kept her from doing dangerous hobbies that she had started to enjoy doing. The way the movie flowed saw the two seeing more and more that they needed one another as they kept each other going and what they wanted wasn't what they needed and what the two were giving to one another balanced them out and proved stronger than their friends' relationships as a friend on each side ended up divorcing due to their friends' unknown issues coming to light. The action movie saw him grinning as he could be as violent as he wanted to be as the main antagonist wasn't human: it was a machine. The island was dangerous due to the creator not trusting humanity and anyone he didn't create. It was basically one man vs. unseen enemies while people who knew him tried to find the best way of getting him off of the island alive without knowing that his being there may be the only way of destroying the dangerous island. Finally, the drama was basically what you'd expect from a character- driven drama. The lead had to be a Luddite who had experienced changes over the years that had cost him friends and family but who had not seen that the changes were due to need and his colleagues' lives were on the line despite his belief that they were destroying all that he knew. It was going to be heavy on reaction shots and have him see that no matter how hard he tries to keep the old ways alive, things changed for good reasons. Brice had a smile as he kept hammering at the plots and dialog. Throughout the Spring he was behind his laptop so much that unless you sent him an email he couldn't acknowledge you. Jennifer wasn't sure if she should have been offended or concerned, but speaking with Hannah got her to see that it was the best thing for him as he was "in the zone" and so long as he kept eating and drinking it was OK. Nora was kept in the loop regarding progress and didn't try to get him to slow down or hold off until it was finished, but did ask that he not try to overdo things. Wendy was constantly over and showed him her growing baby bump, with Nora smiling at it while Brice joked that Nora was due for parenthood as her job was firmly in place. She shook her head at that, but he shot back a terse, "Screw what others say. You have earned the right to be a mother even if you are a single parent. You'll find a man, hell I'd say date Wendy's colleague- he's looking for a woman to date who's not afraid of being herself!" Wendy was already on the phone with Nora trying hard to back out of it without hurting Wendy. Brice grinned, it was too late and Wendy wouldn't let her back out no matter what as the hormones in her had her acting protective of Nora. Nora would get at least a date, even if she had been tricked into it. Brice worked with John on how he wanted to film the movies and when, with Brice being given a lot of free reign with his baby: the dramatic movie. That was entirely up to him as nothing could be done if it didn't have him free to direct and act. He was happy to do it but asked that they do the action movie first as it was his weakest and he'd have the least impact on it. That summer, their son was born and saw Brice happily taking to fatherhood of a newborn Nora was blushing at having succeeded in her dates. She wasn't ready for it, but her boyfriend Lance Mace was a great person who didn't care that she was transgender. He blushed as he admitted she was the only girl he had dated who had breast implants, but knowing that she got them due to her needs he was proud to break his personal rules against dating those with implants and found her to be the ideal woman. Brice moved out of his apartment and into a new, luxury house that happened to be financed through a loan from his brother-in-law Carl's bank. It was underwritten by John Finn, who helped ensure that the bank got to co-finance Brice's movies with the bank earning a bigger profit from that than the loan. John had a reason for helping: he wanted Brice to help his niece Francesca Herman with her budding career as an actress and hoped that Brice would keep her out of trouble that summer. Francesca was one of the young ladies Brice had met briefly before and whose acting career only got a start thanks to a talent scout liking what he saw in her at a high school performance and in the movie. It led to a couple of small roles in movies filming around Boston but she had roles lined up that were a huge boost as they were big-budget movies starring huge names. She was chosen for her looks and a fact that few knew but was making the rounds of Hollywood- her former mother's book series. Keeping her out of trouble and away from predators intent on getting her to sign the rights to adapt the books into a movie was perfect for Brice, it was what he was known for already thanks to his prior jobs and closeness to John Finn. What wasn't know about Francesca was that she wasn't one to party or do any kind of drugs or even drink- she was more of a "stay at home" girl. Lola loved having her there and as the filming finished she helped Lola get used to boys and starting out in her esthetician training. She happily told her, "My friend Reyna is transgender so it's not a big deal. Believe me, the ones taking issue with what you have in your panties are the same people who trash customers and will struggle to find a job. Talent speaks more than who you know: eventually, the cream rises to the top. They are just whey that'll get discarded and need to work for someone else while you have a stead job for life." Brice had to help Francesca with something that he had suffered so many times before: jealous rivals. It was on the fourth day of filming and with her having a major role that day due to having the director be impressed with how she simply did what he commanded and understood the material. The young lady who had been slated for that part confronted her and tried to throw her off of her game, but saw herself end up getting laughed at as Francesca showed just why she had earned the part: it was exactly what her character was doing in the movie and got the extras and background actors to laugh hard. Aubrey Woods grew outraged and screamed at Francesca, but saw Francesca ignoring her and simply read the script and observing what was going on not far away. Aubrey was so loud that she got the attention of the director for all of the wrong reasons: he fired her immediately for ruining three straight takes due to her ranting and raving. Francesca did her lines, performed as she was supposed to in the background, then walked off on cue with the group she was with. Brice had to smile at her for doing something unthinkable in Hollywood: making a Woods family scion look like a fool and not break character. He explained to her, "Aubrey Woods is Hollywood royalty. Her family have been acting since the earliest days of film and own a vast fortune thanks to wise investment choices and huge hits that are still earning money to this day. What you did was ignore her, nobody has been able to do that to her. She's an overgrown child whose parents constantly baby and blame others for whatever happens to her. She's likely out partying now, getting drunk and high to take the edge off." He looked upset then added, "The only member of her family who isn't nasty and willing to stab you in the back is her younger brother. He's just 13 but he's different than his sister and parents. I'm sorry for him, he's got to live up to their shadow but has the family knocking him down every chance they get. He has great support from real friends, he'll have no shortage of offers for work if he chooses to act." He looked over at Lola and thought of her and her issues, seeing that money doesn't buy you a clue and some people didn't deserve to be parents made him glad that Lola had been lucky in life and found them to be her parents. Francesca and he spent hours going over her scripts and when it was time for bed she casually asked him if he was going to get in on her mother's book adaption. He shook his head and explained to her, "I'm too old for it. I'd rather help produce it than star in it. There's a few people who'd be great for the role, like you. Before you say no, consider this: there's likely nobody who know the books better than you. If you have the right screenwriter and director you'll be able to do an amazing movie from three books. People will complain about condensing them, but they are a lot of fluff and padding any way. I'm not ashamed to admit that I read them in college- I was bored!" She nodded, adding, "Uncle John said that he'd have additional financing for the movie. It's going to be a bigger budget and he didn't want me or my friends putting money into it. I'm investing in it, as is my brother. Uncle John has a company ready to help, ones who are 'hands-off' producers. He said they had a hand in two of your previous movies- Marshall Pictures?" Brice grinned, if they were investing in a movie then they knew it was going to be a hit. They were as big of a Hollywood family as the Woods family, but their pockets were deep and had their hands in the biggest movies most people had seen but kept a low profile due to not wanting the spotlight. They had a strong connection to the Woods family as well: their son was close with the Woods' son. Francesca co-starred in four movies and found her way onto two TV shows over two months, with her agent happily taking a cut but being told to hold off of roles until the summer due to her studies. Brice was more than happy to tell the man to back away- he worked for Brice's agent and had to answer to him if there were issues with his clients. Brice was too huge to lose, so upsetting him would cost any of the agents their jobs- that was before John Finn got involved to protect Francesca. After Francesca left, Brice found himself being tasked with filming his movies. Due to issues with the director and actors of the action movie the comedy was up first and would be a challenge for him as he wasn't used to it. He changed his look for the movie with a new haircut, dying his hair a lighter shade of brown, and cutting back on his workouts so his muscle tone started to go away giving him an average body but one that Jennifer loved. Parenthood caused a change in Jennifer as she devoted herself to caring for their son and loved how it had made her feel like a new woman. Lola felt terrible about it but the first time her brother tried to get milk from her breasts she shed tears of joy and caused her to realize it didn't matter to her anymore: she was still a woman and loved being one. Her brother loved to cuddle with her and did force her to try to feed him milk, but suckling from her breasts was more for bonding- which she happily endured. Filming took two months as his costars weren't happy with the script and wanted things changed to the way they felt that the should be portrayed. Brice ignored their complaints, especially as his lead actress was known for antics and really wanted to get a writing credit for barely doing anything. When he did confront her about it, she tried to lie but couldn't evade him and told him that he was a hack and that it was pure luck that he got himself the job when her stuff was gold but nobody wanted it. He didn't take offense, it was jealousy. She had great ideas, but couldn't string the dialog together. She needed someone to work with, but her ego wouldn't let her work with anyone but herself despite need. Brice endured a long learning curve as he worked with several of his costars on his timing and how to be funny while not trying to be funny. He wasn't used to slapstick action nor giving a few seconds for a chance for the audience to laugh, but learned it as time went on. His costars, except the leading lady, had a bunch of laughs at his expense over his issues but when finished they applauded his work. Once filming was done, he started on the drama. He waited until Spring and spent hours talking with a slew of firefighters at various departments to get an idea about their job and the changes they endured. When told the concept for the movie, it hit them hard as it wasn't too far from the truth and many did admit to feeling the same way as his character and found the same revelations the hard way. The movie was slow to be made as he dealt with weather and finding a cast, but basing it around just a small number of people and limiting special effects to just a couple of fires set on a backlot with a lot of the action taking place at a firehouse and fire academy. The idea came to him from talking with the firefighters, there was a lot more to fighting fires than just fighting them, training and studying for their promotion exams took up most of the time when not on calls. This was what he needed most, those bits of information was what separated a lot of the "old school" guys from the "new breed" as the old-timer guys had no ambitions of being promoted and were either driving the trucks so didn't have to do much more than know how to operate pumps and raise the ladders or didn't bother learning new techniques. Brice worked with the local departments to find a firehouse to use for exterior shots and found one that was perfect, but saw them having to endure local pressure from the neighborhood as the location was in a heavily LGBT neighborhood. Many members of the crew and cast voiced their displeasure over their going to a neighborhood that would hurt their image, with Aubrey Woods, who somehow got herself a role in the movie, arguing that it was a terrible location for a movie to shoot. Brice ignored them, and fired Aubrey as she was going to be a problem and needed to be removed before she undercut him. Brice worked with the community and helped some of the local businesses with opportunities to make a lot of money from the production, while also using an abandoned building that was vacant yet had a look that he needed for the movie and enough space inside to accommodate filming. The fact that the building was close to gay businesses and catered to many gay people didn't matter, it only made what was going on in the movie all the more poignant as he realized that it could be worked into the movie as part of his character's long list of issues that would be dealt with. Thinking about it, he realized that there might be something more: a transgender character. It wasn't a token character either- this lady would be someone who transitions and endures bigotry. Realizing that it was a major idea, he had to rewrite the script then tell Nora why there was a delay, hoping that it was approved and things got rolling after he got the rewrite done. The cast was told that there would be a change, with several leaving for other projects while some of the smaller role actors stayed on but worked with other movies first. Brice was told by Nora that he had a major idea that could end up getting him an Oscar if he wrote it right. He told her firmly that he had a few people in mind, but his heart was set on an actual transgender woman playing the role so it had not only the drama and headlines, it had some reality to go along with the morality. She had no way to say no to it, there were a few transgender actresses who'd fit the role with each in a position to make the role something bigger than a token role or attention-seeking role. The actress that he had envisioned was even from a similar background as the character, making her tough to not hire. It all depended on how she felt Brice was trying to use her: to further the movie, or to get an Oscar. Lee Meyer, one of the few openly transgender actresses in Hollywood who refused to play transgender roles and a frequent competitor to Brice for his character actor role before she transitioned, was offered the role. She thought it was a joke before Brice explained who was involved and why. She had to hide her weeping, it was a role that she had hidden from but with desperation and no role, she had to take it. Brice was blunt, telling her, "I immediately thought of you for the role as I know how your mind works. You are the right person for this: you have the strength, have the endurance, and have experience all of the pain and suffering that she went through. You are one of the few who doesn't use your transition to get roles- you let your work speak for itself. I want you to do this for your own sake. Please." Lee had little choice but to accept, with him calling Nora to get her to agree to the hiring. Lee got a big shock when she was introduced to the arriving Lola with Brice's son Lee trying hard to go to the new lady. Brice blushed deeply and told her, "I named him Lee. I hope you don't mind it but neither of our fathers had good names and my brothers-in-law used their own for his cousins." Lee shed a tear, with the infant cuddling her shoulder and trying to grab her breasts much to her shock. Lola complained that he did that to every woman while Brice blushed at Jennifer holding off saying the brewing dirty joke that was on the tip of her tongue. Lola caught her look and laughed, with Brice all but rushing off to the kitchen to cool off while Jennifer blurted out, "He's his father's son- he's a tit man." When he came back, Lee shook her head while Brice explained, "One wasn't enough, I'm just glad that she forgot about our original plans to adopt a child." Jennifer added, "I didn't forget, I held off until Lee was older before I asked to adopt a child in need. We have one, a little boy who needs a home badly. I met with social services yesterday while you were at the office, they are all set for us to take him in." Brice sighed and asked what the issue was, Jennifer bit her lip and then explained, "He's transgender too. I put down that we preferred a child who was transgender so they didn't have to suffer. He just had his diagnosis two days before I was contacted and is suffering badly. If we didn't take him in he would be in a psychiatric hospital as he was getting violent and possibly borderline suicidal." Brice looked over at Lola then at Lee and told her, "Alright. Your heart was in the right place and we are able to do what others refuse to do. Hopefully he accepts Lola, but she should be a good influence." Lee got up to go, with Brice telling her that Nora would send the contract to her. It was her biggest role yet, with her getting a hefty payday for the role. She had to hide her glee as her agent desperately called her to demand to know how she had gotten such a major role, with Lee explaining, "Brice Walsh is the writer, director, and star. I don't know how in the hell it evolved into what it did, but he wants me to be his co-star and it's too big of a payday to refuse the role. I'll show you the script so far, it's pure gold!" Her agent was pissed at her and struck her for not running it by him first. He angrily told her, "I had you a role that was perfect: tranny hooker who sleeps her way to the top at a strip club. You would get huge interest! A completely nude scene and everything: folks want to see your dick!" She rubbed her cheek and shot back, "I told you a hundred times: no nude scenes! I sure as hell am not playing someone who is nothing but a whore! This role is for $1 million and includes the option to be a screenwriter for future movies. They want me and they want me bad. I'm not going to get that amount of money playing trannies and hookers. I know you, it's for barely scale and not starring." She looked away and told him, "You're fired. I made this deal on my own, don't bother suing. You struck me, on camera- I told you all of our meetings are recorded. Don't come back." He threatened her, to which she countered, "And now I'm going to the police. I'll be sure to tell Inferno about your firing to head you off. I know Nora Biggs well, we have the same psychiatrist." She phoned Nora who sighed and offered her a room at her place to get away from her agent. Lee took the offer and left right away, hugging her deeply when Nora opened the door. Nora saw the mark and told her that if he tried to go after her they'd have him by the balls and his career destroyed- Nora was already letting her colleagues and a few influential actors know about the agent's actions against Lee. The two sat and watched TV before Lee went off to her room to write something to calm her nerves. It was followed by Nora checking in on her and asking to see what she had. Nora's eyes went wide at the outline that she had, with her trying hard not to say something but failing. Lee sighed and told her, "It's a bad idea that I had banging around for a while. I figured that if Brice Walsh can write then so can I. I'm good at dialog but terrible with setting scenery and tone." Nora had to hide a smirk then countered, "I think Brice has someone to help him. I'm serious: the two of you have similar ideas but his dialog needs work. I love the idea, work with him on it and maybe we can get this made. It's not going to do much more than break even, but it's a strong credit nonetheless." She called Brice and got him interested, with Lee having to hide her shame in Brice being forced to be her collaborator for her sake while having someone know his weaknesses. Brice listened and told Nora that he'd rather work with someone he trusted than someone who'd screw him over, Lee was one of the few that he trusted even if they weren't as close as he hoped they'd be. Lee realized that Brice actually cared about her, with Nora softly telling her that he valued her more than he let on in the past. Brice called Lee and confessed, "I love you, Lee. I've known you for too long and helped you through a lot of crap that went unpunished. You told me first before your agent, you asked my thoughts on what it would do to your career. I was honest with you, but even though you tossed it in my face I knew why it hurt you and didn't hold it against you. We've been friends for years, I'd rather someone that I know and trust tell me what to do on a script than someone who only sees me as a dollar sign." She was in tears, with Nora hugging her deeply. Brice hit her hard, even if he didn't realize just what it had done to her. She hadn't had anyone care about her since she started acting, yet he did regardless. Nora acted motherly toward Lee and helped her calm herself. She smiled at the sleeping Lee, with Lee being like her own family before her cousins cut ties with her when she transitioned. It made her realize what she was missing: a family, someone to care for and love. Lee was the closest she had to a child and she was too old to be a mother. Her boyfriend was older than her and had two fully grown sons and grandchildren. She looked at Lee as she slept and felt a tinge of disappointment, but realized something else: she was old enough to be her daughter and she treated Lee like family even if she had to keep things professional outside of Dr. Gomez' office. She leaned down and kissed Lee's forehead, with Lee instinctively hugging Nora then crying into her shoulder. Lee whispered to her, "Thanks, mama," causing Nora to shed a tear. It was her sign. Lee fell asleep in Nora's arms, with Nora kissing her cheek several times to show love and care. When the awoke, Lee was embarrassed while Nora hugged her tightly and cried into her shoulder. Lee asked what was going on, to which Nora explained, "It's just what happened last night. You called me 'mama'. I was thinking about my boyfriend and having children to love and you gave me that gift. I'd love it if you would become my daughter- I love you too much to not ask that of you." Lee was in tears again, Nora had given her something she didn't think she'd ever get: an understanding mother. She tearfully agreed, hugging Nora tightly until it was time to rush to the bathroom. Nora had a big smile, with Lee giving her a lifelong dream just by agreeing to be her daughter. Nora entered as Lee was showering and did her business, with Lee showcasing her beautiful body and causing Nora to ask, "Are you ever going to have surgery? It'll help you accept yourself and keep those who only want you for what you have in your panties away giving you serious roles and letting you be a woman instead of typecast. The typecast is being broken, but you know how things take time." Lee covered her privates, blushing at the unexpected question. Nora stood up and showed her own vagina, telling her, "I couldn't live with myself any longer and had surgery the first chance that I could. Herb Weinberg was upset at me for doing that, but couldn't fire me. The ladies of the office had a change of heart and saw me as truly one of them, even if I had been castrated I still had a penis. You'll see people changing their views on you, once you go the final step there's nothing to be offended by and they either accept that you are a woman too or they are exposed as bigoted frauds." Lee asked if she could see closer, with Nora showing the handiwork. She was shaved so Lee got a good look and blushed at seeing only subtle scars that would go unnoticed. She didn't touch her, but did feel a longing that she had been lacking as she realized that it was what she really wanted to feel "whole." Lee got dressed and had Brice phoning her to ask how she was doing. She confessed what Nora offered and got a surprising, "She's a great woman, and she does seem to mother you. Trust me on this, I heard her talking with you when you were struggling with your hormones and getting rejected for roles. Her talking you out of implants was a classic, especially as she didn't want to hurt your taking roles due to looking fake and recovering. I agree with her, you look great as you are." Lee blushed while Nora got ready for the day. Lee opted to go with her to the office and meet Brice so the two could work on her script ideas as well as work on the movie project. The day was long, but the two had managed to work so well together that it was pure gold in Nora's eyes as she read their draft. She was blunt, telling them, "Fix the action movie's flaws. The comedy was salvaged by the actors, sorry but it's true. You have a great idea and her dialog should bolster it, especially if it focuses on the main computer trying hard to destroy the 'invader' to the island. You two have 'it' and I'm glad that you are a duo. You have the makings of Oscar gold and big hits- hell, you proved it already."