Page 13 of The Location Shoot
“Be careful,” Finn cautioned. “The last thing you want to do is piss off the filmmaker.”
Michael shrugged. “They’re just friends. He said so himself.”
“She’s important to him. He went to a lot of trouble to have her here. I don’t think he’d want her, well, upset in any way.”
“I can be very charming, I’ll have you know. Women go crazy for me,” Michael replied in a joking tone.
Finn didn’t respond. It was clear to him that Ella had no interest in Michael.
After Ella and Jean chatted for a minute, Jean yelled, “Places, everyone! We’re going to run it again.”
Finn glanced at Ella, and she smiled at him before looking away with a bashfulness that surprised him.
“Rolling . . . Action!” Jean called.
They began shooting the dancing scene again as multiple cameras spun around the room, capturing it fromdifferent angles. Ella stood on the sidelines to watch the action, but after only three minutes, she pecked Jean on each cheek and quietly slipped out.
When they cut the scene, Michael said to Finn, “She didn’t stay very long.”
“We couldn’t have been that bad,” Finn joked. “We didn’t even have any dialogue.”
Michael laughed. “What exactly do you think she’s meant to do here? Jean desperately wanted her to join us, but then she drifts in and out for a few minutes in the middle of the day. I don’t get it.”
Finn shrugged. “Beats me. But I have a feeling that whatever she brings to a project is something we’ll all be grateful for.”
AFTER A LONG DAY, THEY ALL SAT DOWNto break bread, as had become their tradition. The women and Jean sat in the booth, and the others sat in surrounding chairs. The staff promptly served drinks and announced, “The dinner buffet is open.”
“Shall we toast?” Ella asked, raising her glass.
“Before we indulge ourselves, let’s hear your thoughts,” Jean said. “Have you figured out what the film is about?”
Ella smiled coyly, all eyes upon her. “All right,” she said, rolling the glass of amber liquid between her palms. She leaned back and continued, “Obviously you were filming a party scene, but not just any party. It’s a massively grand celebration befitting the obscenely rich, and since there were no bridal gowns or caskets, it must be a birthday. His, I imagine,” she said, gesturing at Albie.
Everyone smiled, absolutely riveted.
Jean smirked. “Well, that was easy. Eventheyknow that. Tell them something they don’t know.”
“Ah, good. Then I’m right so far,” she replied. “Well, you always use metaphor and symbolism to examine one theme central to the human condition—love, sex, death, violence, the environment. This time you’re trying to tackle the biggest theme of them all, which is why you wanted me here. Your film is about the meaning of life itself. Given your dire view of the species, it’s about the tragedy of human life,” she said, crinkling her nose and giggling.
Jean glanced down and shook his head in wonder. He looked up, his eyes on Ella, and caressed her cheek. “Oui,ma chérie. Tell them more.”
She smiled. “It’s about the meaning or meaninglessness of a single life, and by extension, the human race. It’s about our struggle to matter, and the deep fear we hold that perhaps we do not, that we could not. I imagine there will be an exploration of regret, missed opportunities, pride, and longing.” She paused and added, “The party scene is the center of the film. It’s trivial, meant to imply that our lives are often trivial. The characters will start coming apart at the seams because, deep down, they know it too.”
Jean smirked, faced the group, and said, “She is exactly right. It’s an exploration of the meaning of human life, which of course is impossible to capture, and thus is a great white whale of a beast.”
“Oh my God,” Finn mumbled. “It all makes sense now. The script, the . . .”
“My character represents death, mortality,” Albie said, as if he were figuring it out as each word left his mouth.
“My character must be meant to represent hope or naïveté,” Willow said. “She still believes that a human being can matter, even in the face of all the pettiness and conflict she has with the others. She continues to feel this way even though her family can’t rise above their own pathetic, selfish desires and cruelty toward one another.”
Ella smiled as the actors began to understand their part in the mysterious, grand plan that suddenly seemed clear as day.
“Did anyone show her a script?” Jean asked accusatorially.
They all shook their heads.
Jean turned to Ella and said, “The title. Have you guessed it?”
