Chapter 263: Fix it Felix– No, Edward!

(Sorry was out for the week cause I was focusing on writing a Community Crossover arc)

[Edward POV]

Paige sighed and said, "The movie…"

"...Is really bad." I finished her thoughts.

She widened her eyes and panicked, "No, that's not what I was going to say." Pepper and Judd turned towards her, making her feel self-conscious. 

Pepper chuckled as he turned towards me again, "It's not bad Edward. I'll go watch it in the cinema, granted that there's no… other alternatives."

"It's still a good movie if the execution is played right." Judd said as he stood up and pointed at the whiteboard, "I especially like the brother character. There's a lot of funny ways he can interfere with the main relationship."

As a director focusing on comedic movies, Judd has a lot of ideas on how to make the movie funnier. 

"But it feels too one-dimensional." Paige commented on her own works in a critical manner. "The brother doesn't feel like a character. It's like he's just there to progress the plot. They were shaken up with the relationship, the brother is there to help. The main lead forgets to plan a date, the brother is there to help."

"It's good for a low budget movie. You can get the budget back, not really create a masterpiece.." Judd said from his director's perspective.

Spinning the marker in between my fingers, I thought about it for a while before I agreed with Paige, "It is quite one dimensional. I mean, it's a story about an actor who doesn't know what love is, and the feisty hot shot lawyer who agreed to test out the curse with him, only to find out that the both of them were in love with each other."

"And at the ending–" 

"LALALALA~!" I glared at Paige before saying, "Not with me here."

"Come on! We're almost done! There's just a little bit left on the ending." Paige retorted angrily. Realizing that she had lost her temper, she apologized to Pepper and Judd, "Sorry."

Ignoring the fact that she didn't apologize to me, I continued on with my ramblings, "I mean, don't get me wrong, this kind of feel good movie does sell tickets, but it was not what I envision to have for the movie."

"What's your vision Edward?" Judd asked. "Maybe you can fix it up a little bit."

"Hmm, alright." I uncapped the pen and made a few suggestions on the board, "So, in the story, the lawyer and the actor– male and female lead, know each other pretty well. She already knows about the curse. And there's nothing left to explore there since they know each other. I'll tweak this a little bit."

"How?" Pepper asked.

"You see, actors are usually narcissistic, especially those who're really famous like the setting you cooked up." I pointed at Paige. "If he can live his life just banging 19 years old, why would he even want to date someone properly?"

"I don't know. Loneliness?" Paige retorted with some slight dissatisfaction. 

"Yeah…no…" I dismissed her comment.

 "You're talking about Leo aren't you." Pepper chuckled for a bit. Judd burst into laughter and said, "Yeah, if the movie wants more realism, then that is accurate. Women will throw themselves at him. Why even settle?"

Paige groaned in disgust before looking at me. Startled, I instinctively defended myself, "Not me though. I want to enjoy romance."

"If you want more realism, you need to start from the very beginning of the story." Pepper suddenly interjected. "Maybe a scene of his dad telling him about the curse when he was very young?" He added.

"Yes, a deep seated belief that builds his entire character." Judd added in excitement. "We can have a cameo here."

"There's also an opportunity to show him as a hopeless romantic, but he slowly grows weary of getting into a relationship as he grows older. Therefore, he opted to become a human trash." Paige chimed in.

"Human trash is a harsh word." Judd looked at Paige with disbelief. However, I agreed with Paige and put down the word 'human trash' in the character introduction for the male lead.

"So how do we fix a human trash?" Pepper asked with a weary tone. "If he's trash, he won't even try to break the curse in the first place, so there is no movie to make."

I smirked and then circled the word 'brother' on the whiteboard. "He is the key. And it will even explain why he acted the way he did in the entire story. Well, if we want to save anything from the draft."

"How?" All three of them were curious.

"Simple. They are brothers. So, will the younger brother get away scot free from the curse?"

"Oh, I get what you mean!" Judd immediately understood my idea. Paige thought about it for a while and said, "It does explain the stuff of why he desperately wants to help his brother break the curse."

"Because he has the curse too! I finally got it now!" Pepper exclaimed excitedly after he understood it. 

"The younger brother, who seems like he doesn't believe in the curse, fixed his big brother up with a screenwriter, a woman way outside the type his big brother would usually date." I made some corrections on the whiteboard. 

"Or, maybe even blackmail him into it. The main lead, if he's a self made actor, may have some dark history that will damage his reputation if it comes to light." I thought about it for a while and wrote, 'Gay Softcore Porn' on the whiteboard.

"That seems too dark for a rom-com." Paige commented. 

"Not really. It played exactly into the trope." Judd chimed in. "The comedic trope."

I nodded and said, "We'll iron out the nitty gritty later. So I want to add an emotional stakes into the film. A crucial thing to make this entire movie believable. Although he was manipulated, the main character does fall in love with the female lead."

"Yeah, you said scriptwriter. Not a lawyer." Paige asked.

"Ah, sorry about that. I want to make it more of a 'Power Play' kinda thing. That's how blackmail becomes believable. In the scriptwriter's case, she's in it for the favor she'll get from the younger brother if she tested out the curse for him. To produce her script perhaps."

"That paints a bad image on the female lead." Pepper said. "But, Julia Roberts was an escort in the movie Pretty Woman, so I guess people don't really care if there's a good story there."

I continued after chuckling, "After the whole shebang about the main lead falling in love with each other, we need a believable conflict there. A scriptwriter and a famous actor, maybe we can show how she was attacked by the media and his fans about her image, insulted, made fun of, harassed by the paparazzi. They were only dating for 2 months at the time, so it's only a budding love, not true love. It wasn't true love can get past all challenges kinda thing. Their relationship will be strained."

"They might break up from that." Judd muttered in understanding.

"Yeah, this is when the relationship gets a little shaky. Which leads to the conflict with the younger brother next. The younger brother– I'm sorry, it's really hard for me to continue using that term. I'll just call him YB from now on. So, YB saw they were in love, but they wanted to break up, which made him fuming, as it's almost time for them to know if the curse is real or not."

I wrote the word subplot on the board, highlighting everything that I had written, "Which leads to a confrontation. I mean, physical altercation. Both of them have a pretty nasty fight together."

"I'm invested, but I still don't understand why." Pepper asked with some confusion.

"That's the emotional stakes factor I'm getting into. Turns out, YB has been desperately in love with a girl. I mean, down to his knees desperate. He used his brother to test out the curse because he's too afraid to do it himself and potentially lose the woman."

Paige was excited and said, "We can add more stakes on why he needs to break the curse now! The girl is engaged and is going to get married."

I nodded in satisfaction and said, "When he tells his brother that, then that's when the whole plot ties up together. Of course, the male lead will feel manipulated by his YB. Which leads to the fight– But, still, the ML understood why he did that. He understood his brother's fear, which led him to scream in frustration as the unfairness of the burden it placed onto him. There will be a huge emotional fallout between them, which is going to be played out in the climax of the movie."

"Sounds like a brother's movie now." Paige chimed. "I love it though." She added.

"You know we're veering away from the rom-com tropes." Judd muttered. 

Pepper asked worriedly, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Actually, it's a great thing if executed well." Judd replied. Then he added, "Firstly, the exploration of deeper themes like self-gratification, damaged family dynamics, and challenging gender norms within a romantic comedy setting is quite…fresh."

Judd took out a can of red bull and sipped it before continuing,"Blending of lighter genre elements with more serious dramatic substance is often what helps "crossover" films from the rom-com category to earn recognition at prestigious awards. I mean, it will be very well received by the critics, just by the nuance alone."

He continued, "Secondly, when you fix up the male and female lead, and they were from two different worlds– She's struggling and he's extremely successful, yet, it showed that she kept her values instead of just being a damsel in the movie. It builds up an interesting dynamic in the overall movie– Especially the parallel between the brother's love story and the main lead's love story."

"Pepper, what do you think?" I asked. The whole thing about me cooperating in creating the movie was just for Pepper's sake. If he didn't like it, then I wouldn't proceed with it.

"Hmmmm…." Pepper mulled it over for a while before he said, "It's really great. I'm really looking forward to getting an award."

"Well I don't really care about the awards." I replied with a teasing smirk. "It's the first movie the company is going to produce. We have no prior reputation. It'll be a miracle if this even gets well received at the box office."

Although it made me seem like an asshole, curbing down their enthusiasm like that, considering the fact that the movie was going to be released in 2010, where it was a great year for original screenplay and great movies, I'd like to keep myself realistic. 

We'd have to compete with The King's Speech, Inception, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, The Fighter, True Grit, Alice in Wonderland, Black Swan, and a lot more critically acclaimed movies. So yeah, I didn't have such a big hope for the movie. 

"Let's talk about the female lead. Her motivation, and why she accepted the offer from the YB." I continued with the discussion, leading the entire meeting, except for the final act where the curse was resolved. For that, I left it to the others.

…

[General POV]

Sitting in front of a camera, the director Judd prepares himself to answer some questions the interviewer– Maggie, would ask about the movie production. They sat in front of a movie set, with staff members walking around in order to prepare the movie set for the upcoming movie.

Maggie smiled politely and explained to the Director what she was doing. "This is actually a documentary-slash-behind the scenes record of the company producing the movie. It's our first movie ever, so it feels special to everyone in the company."

"Ah, I get it." Director Judd replied in understanding. Maggie joked, "Of course, this is non-official, so you can reject it if you want."

"No-No. I am curious. Also, ask the camera-man to change and film me from my right side. It'll look better that way as the lighting is headed this way." He explained as he made the camera-man switch position. Confused, the cameraman still followed the order. 

"I think, what people will be most curious about, is what's it like working with Edward Newgate?" Maggie asked. 

"What's it like working with Edward?" Director Judd asked the question Maggie asked him again before he searched for the answer, tapping his hands excitedly. "Oh geez. Um, I like that he scrutinized every single tiny thing. And this is not sarcasm! I really do like that. It made me feel as if I…have a like minded-friend."

A short video clip that Renaldo had secretly filmed played during the interview. It showed Edward standing in front of the whiteboard, and the Director yelling stop at the staff members who wanted to move the whiteboard away after the meeting ended. No one was allowed to move the whiteboards or erase anything on it. It'll be kept that way, until the movie ends.

The camera cuts back to the director as he continues answering the question, "When I was hired to do the movie, I already knew that he would play a huge part in it. If I can speak honestly, I really thought he's a narcissistic nepo baby at the beginning, thinking that he's better than everyone else."

He rambled on nervously,"If I didn't have the budget to create my next movie and had to take this job, I wouldn't even consider the movie– To be clear, I'm just sharing my first thoughts. I don't have any problems with him now that I know what he's actually like."

Maggie chuckled and joked, "Don't worry, if you need it, we can put a mosaic to cover your face, make it an anonymous documentary."

The Director chuckled and said, "I might consider that after I answer all of the questions."

Maggie asked, "In the first meeting, you have already finalized the characters for the movie. Can I ask if you have any thoughts about the main lead?"

"There is a recommendation for the female lead and the male lead. I think Newgate wants Emma Stone to become the female lead. He's a fan maybe." Director Judd chuckled for a bit before he sighed heavily. "I think she's perfect for the role too. So I called her the second we finished the meeting."

"Did she reject it?" Maggie asked.

"She had to, not because she doesn't want to, but because she's filming Easy A, a movie…also under my production." Judd scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

"Ah, you're the reason!" Maggie teased jokingly. "So any thoughts about the female lead? Maybe a red headed, aspiring 19 years old actress with a funny humor and great attitude–"

Maggie was clearly referring to herself, but the cameraman suddenly turned to record Edward crashing into the interview. "I was wondering what you were doing. Turns out you are trying to butter up the director to get a role."

Maggie panicked and said, "Wait! This is Pepper's idea!"

"I know. That's the only reason I'm not shutting you down." Edward chuckled before he left the camera shot to go check on the set he needed to make his music video. 

"That scared me." Maggie breathed in relief after Edward was gone. However, as she turned towards the director again, she realized that he was scrutinizing her. "You know what, that's actually not a bad idea."

Maggie blushed for a bit before she dismissed him, "I was only joking."

"And I saw potential…Not as the main female lead of course… That may have to wait a few years later." The director leaned in and said seriously. 

Maggie couldn't hold back her smile and said with a tiny voice, "...Yeay!"

While Edward was preparing to record his music video, he groaned in frustration and muttered, "Where is my dad? Why does it take too long for him to kidnap two small children?"

Renaldo heard Edward's words and froze in his spot. "What?" He muttered to himself as Edward walked past him.

…

(The genre changed here Lol)

On the Dunphy's front yard. Phil's car just pulled into the driveway after Phil picked up Luke from school. Luke rushed to get into the house while Phil laughingly follow him from behind when suddenly, Phil's step halted.

His eyes were glued on the figure of a man standing across the street, waving at him. Phil's eyes shook, but a cry from Luke made him snap back into reality.

"Dad! Come on! I want to play basketball!"

"I'm coming, Luke!" Phil said before he walked into the house, closing the door behind him. He sighed as he rested his back on the door, when suddenly he heard a soft knock.

"Phil, are you there?" Ted asked with a whisper.

Phil was silent for a while, trying to ignore the voice, but the call was magnetic for him. He replied hesitantly, "Ted, you know we cannot see each other anymore." 

"I know that. But Phil, please open the door and talk to me." Ted asked with a slight frustration in his voice.

Phil's face contorted as he held back his tears and replied with a hoarse voice. "I can't. Our relationship is prohibited."

"Will it be so wrong, just for me to meet my best friend, just for a minute?" Ted asked with a dejected expression. Phil bravely held back his tears and remarked angrily. "It is wrong! You know for damn sure, it won't end with us just meeting each other, just one time! I made a promise to my daughter. I'm sorry Ted. I really am."

Ted went silent for a while before he chuckled sadly. He whispered through the door, "Do you remember the time, when you took me to WingStop. We ate chicken and drank beer while watching the football game."

"Ted, don't make this harder than it needs to be!" Phil begged.

"Do you remember the promise we made back then!" Ted knocked on the door hardly as he expressed his feelings. "Remember that promise Phil!?"

"I should've never made that promise! I regret it now! I even regret that day!" Phil shrieked back.

"We promised! That we will get together again! On Thanksgiving! We promised that we will watch the football game together and have that same day again! Be honest with me Phil! Do you REALLY REGRET all of the things we have gone through together?"

"I'm sorry!" Phil's voice is but a whisper, "I can't disappoint my daughter."

"I get that." Ted sighed as he gave up on trying to persuade Phil. Phil choked back his words, trying to say something to Ted as he went silent, when he suddenly heard Ted humming a song.

[Johnny Cash- Hurt]

"I hurt myself today…To see if I still feel…I focus on the pain…The only thing that's real…" Ted slowly moved back from the door. Phil grasped the air in front of him, trying desperately to hold himself back. Then, he sang along with Ted.

"The needle tears a hole…The old familiar sting…Try to kill it all away…But I remember everything…" 

Phil slumped down on the floor by the door while Ted slowly moved away from the front porch. All the while, the entire interaction was witnessed by Haley and Claire who were sitting in the living room, barely noticed by Phil from the moment he entered the house. 

"Do you see what your little argument is affecting everyone Haley?! DO YOU!!" Luke shouted at Haley with anger, while the teenage girl was extremely confused in trying to comprehend what she just saw. 

As Ted went back to his car, Manny, who was sitting in the back seat asked, "So, did you get Luke?"

"Sorry Manny. They didn't even try to hear me out." Ted replied tiredly. Manny nodded in understanding and said, "Should I give it a try? Edward really wants us to be in his music video. And I'm afraid that he will cancel it if he cannot get both of us."

"Sure. I'll wait here." Ted replied.

In less than 5 minutes after Manny was gone, he returned together with Luke. "Drive! QUICK BEFORE THEY NOTICE I'M GONE!" Luke said anxiously as he got into the back seat of the car.

"I'm…not going to do that. That's kidnapping." Ted said wearily. Manny explained, "Oh, don't worry about it. Claire knows. She's the one who let Luke go."

"Okay…" Ted breathed in relief before he asked with a low voice, "What about Phil? Did he say anything?"

"Dad keeps singing the same song over and over again." Luke said with some anger. "It's all Haley's fault!"

"Well…I don't think it's ALL her fault." Ted replied ambiguously.