Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:20:03 +0100
From: thylacine visuals <thylacinevisuals@hotmail.com>
Subject: En Algun Lugar (Somewhere), Chapter 1/1

DISCLAIMER & AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following story is a complete work of
fiction. any resemblance to actual people, places or bussinesses is purely
coincidental and should be viewed as such. This story is written and
published for entertainment purposes only. copyrights exclusively owned by
me.

This story is the culmination of 15 years of trying, refining and starting
again. Certain parts of this story might seem familiar to avid readers of
the site. I did resurect certain themes and characters from previous
stories published on this site years ago. No stealing or copying going
on...if anything seems familiar to an older story on this site, it's
because i wrote that one too!

Hope you enjoy this story!
Kevin Thylacine


En Algun Lugar. Chapter 1/1:


Paul let out an annoyed sigh as he counted the seconds passing by, one
after the other. His fingers tapping a beat of frustration on the worn out
binder he was holding. Even though he knew its content blindly he flipped
through the pages and pictures inside in an attempt to escape the boredom
so inherent to the audition process. As his eyes casually scanned the
fragments and clippings of his professional life, carefully arranged in his
portfolio, he felt like a merchant. A salesman about to make a pitch,
offering his life's story at discount bargain. Strange eyes would offer it
a courteous look but nothing more. They knew who he was. His name had
become one of his biggest assets in this stage of his career. Chances were
they had already made up their minds about him. Yet the door stayed closed
and the waiting continued. Always the waiting. Another second, another
heartbeat, another breath.

The pictures he was now shuffling like a familiar deck of cards told his
story. At least parts of it. The early stage performances with a company up
North that gave him his first break into the acting business, now more than
a few years ago. "My boy, you are the spirit incarnate of Thybalt!" the
director had flamboyantly congratulated him after opening night.  "Boy,
this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done me; therefore draw."
He murmured as he continued to trace back through the steps of his
vocation. "I still know the lines by hard" he thought.  The strange, but
critically acclaimed, art house films; the Sundance film festival; his
various stints in Hollywood scoring a few supporting roles in various
mainstream blockbusters; what a weird winding road it had been. All those
unrelated, yet interlocking, moments that had brought him to wherever he
was in life. All in the past now. He smirked at the idea of having a past
at age 24, only 24. It seemed to him like the notion of having a past
somehow ran contrary to the promise of having a future. "Structure boys!
Always structure! Introduction...conflict...climax and resolution. That's
how we create drama!" Another shimmer of memory. Mr. Syphean, the drama
teacher who treated life like a math problem. Paul had never liked him back
then but now wondered whatever became of him.

Still the door was closed and remained closed. Why did he even bother to be
punctual? These things always ran over schedule. He counted it a blessing
he was at a point in his career where he would be invited to selected
auditions rather than spending half a day waiting in a room full of every
second grade drama student and their mother. Unrealistic expectations on
parade. Dreams ready to be crushed or resolve only to be hardened,
depending on the character of those characters. The binder in his hands a
silent testament to his hardened resolve. Those years in the grinding mill
had turned sand into rock.

At long last the door opened. A scruffy young man with a disappointed
composure walked out of the room, a binder casually held with one
hand. Paul recognized his face but didn't remember when or where. The youth
headed straight to the large glass front door of the building and out into
the street. Shattered dreams or hardened resolve? Paul wondered. The young
man was followed by a slightly older looking man. Perfect haircut, designer
glasses, stylish blazer over blue jeans...no tie though. Definitely the one
responsible for the boy's demeanor. Paul was an observer. "You can't read
people, but the cover might give you some clues to the content of the book"
someone told him once. "Your eyes can serve you well, if you know how to
use them."

He stood up as the man approached him extending his hand. "Thank you for
coming, Paul" the man said as they shook hands."I'm Peter; we spoke on the
phone several times."  "Nice to meet you in person" Paul replied. They had
spoken on the phone a few times discussing the project and Paul's possible
involvement in it. The mental picture he had constructed during those
conversations in no way resembled the man standing before him. He had
imagined somebody much older, someone more stern looking. Peter had a flair
of casual nonchalance in his mannerisms that made him instantly likeable to
Paul. "Looks like the kind of guy I'd want to make a movie with" he though.

"Sorry for the delay but you know how these things go...schedules and
planning go pretty much out the window after the first few people come and
go." Peter apologized "No problem" Paul responded before commenting on the
obvious disappointed boy who had just left.  "Great guy, but not what I was
looking for for this picture." Peter explained.  "What are you looking
for?"  "You're not the man for wasting time" Peter smiled, "I like
that. What did you think of the script?"  "Very powerful, I must say. It's
going to be quite challenging for everyone involved to bring that to life
visually" "A challenge you would be up to?" Peter asked with a sly grin on
his face, obviously finding some pleasure in the verbal chess game that was
developing between them.  "Since I'm here, I'm sure you've seen my
work. You've seen what I can do...Yes I'm up to it." Paul answered. He had
been through the process enough to know false modesty was seldom rewarded,
nor boastfulness for that matter. People, he had found, generally preferred
direct answers to direct questions when important decisions needed to be
made. He was not in the habit of regularly complementing himself but these
situations were not advanced by being shy about one's own
accomplishments. "Selling life at a bargain" he thought.

"So, are we going to get this show on the road?" Paul asked, referring to
his actual audition.  "If you don't mind I would like to wait a bit
longer. Since we're already so far behind schedule I would like to wait for
the next actor to arrive. Shouldn't be too long now. Since he's auditioning
for the opposite lead in the movie I think it might be interesting to
audition you guys together." Peter reasoned.  "Cool, I have no problem with
that" "Since you liked the script, might I take it you have no reservations
about playing the character you're auditioning for?" Peter asked him, his
tone a bit more serious than before.  "None whatsoever, how so?"  "Well we
had a few candidates who were somewhat uncomfortable with certain scenes
and dialogues."  "I've played Alan Strang... after that I don't think any
role is going to make me uncomfortable." Paul laughed jokingly.  "That's
right, I'd forgotten you did that. I bet your levels of tolerance rose
after that. Man, that play was brutalized in the comment sections."  "Yeah,
it was great" Paul smiled as he remembered the good times.  "How so?" Peter
asked a bit confused.  "All those people who hated it never realized that
was the entire point." he clarified, "They were supposed to hate it. The
more they criticized it, the more we loved it. They may not have
understood, but we touched a nerve. We got an emotional reaction from
them... mission accomplished. The fact that it played for 9 months proves
we produced something worthwhile."  "I see... but just for the record, for
this movie, we want people to like it. Not to hate it." Peter smiled.
"Right, no confusion there." Paul responded, "So tell me, how did this
whole thing come about?"

"Well, you probably know we are a rather small production company. We
struck lucky a few years ago with a few of my independent movies gaining
somewhat of a cult following on the internet. We expanded our business by
distributing foreign movies to the US market till we got to a point where
we were financially and logistically able to make our own pictures from
scratch. This will be our second major picture after 'en un grand pais..."
"I loved that one" Paul interrupted.  "Thank you..." peter smiled as he
continued "This movie is a story I have been mulling over for about ten
years. I've been trying to write out the script many times but it never
crystallized the way I wanted it. I had all the pieces but the puzzle
didn't fit right so I let it rest for a while. When I started writing it
again two years ago it suddenly did come together as I thought it
should. From there on we were off to the races. I knew I had to make this
movie...tell this story."  "So it's very much a personal project for you."
Paul summarized.  "All my projects are."  "So I noticed you're still using
' pequeño Salvador' as a working title...you haven't made up your mind
about the actual title of the movie yet?"  "No not really, there are
several ideas I like but I feel that there's a better one out
there... somewhere. I'll find it before the picture comes out. Don't
worry."

A cool breath of wind interrupted their conversation. A handsome young man
came in through the front door. His ink black hair looked a bit ruffled by
the wind outside, but with a quick motion of his hand so casual and at the
same time quite disarming, he moved it back in place. The little hair gel
reflected the outside sunlight. His face had a certain soft sharpness to
it, giving his cheek bones just the perfect nuance of accentuation. He was
somewhat taller than Paul making him look a little more slender. The black
leather jacket he was wearing complemented his dark hair yet contrasted
perfectly with the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath, tight enough to
give a hint of his muscular physique. Paul observed the newcomer with a
blend of surprise and intrigue. His good looks were not lost on him. The
dark haired youth looked as if he hadn't spent two seconds putting his
outfit together yet looked perfect at the same time. His demeanor betrayed
the same kind of directed frivolity.  Paul knew the face and he knew the
actor it belonged to.

"So that's who we've been waiting for." Paul turned to Peter "Joshua, over
here" Peter signaled to the new arrival.  A smile flashed across his face
as he saw the two men awaiting him. As he approached them his eyes crossed
Paul's for the first time. The flash of recognition in his eyes did not
escape Paul nor the fact Josh's smile widened just a bit as he recognized
him. Even though they had never met Paul knew who Josh was. He had seen a
substantial part his work and had been generally rather impressed by it. He
estimated their careers where on a similar level, even though Josh
frequented the independent circuit more regularly than he did. He had seen
most of his movies, even owned a few on DVD...usually pictures leaning more
to the film noir side of the spectrum but also a few ventures into the
horror genre that Paul had found quite entertaining. He had heard nothing
but positives about Josh's talent and professionalism. Since they had run
in the same circles for some years he had expected to cross paths with him
sooner or later. Now there was a chance of working with the guy whose name
the trade press always mentioned in the same breath as his when talking
about 'the new generation'. The creative possibilities began to dawn on him
and they intrigued him, to no end.

"Hey Peter, nice to see you again" Josh greeted the director as they shook
hands. "...and I told you before its Josh. Nobody calls me `Joshua'
anymore."  "Sorry Josh...Good to see you again. Glad you could make it."
"Hey Paul" he said as he turned to Paul extending his hand, "so great to
finally meet you. I had a hunch our paths would cross sooner or later." He
continued with a subtle smile on his face.  "Nice to meet you too..." Paul
returned the greeting "and funny you should say that. I was just thinking
the same thing."  "Great minds think alike they say" Josh laugher, flashing
his smile again.  "So what have you been up to, last thing I heard you were
filming up north?" Paul asked.  "Yeah, that's in post now so my work there
is done. Lot of fun nevertheless... those independent things always
are. And now I'm here... and so are you. Where have you been lately? I knew
you did `catcher in the Reye' last summer. I was meaning to come see that
but my schedule never allowed the travel."

Paul felt a bit flattered one of his peers would have actually travelled
god knows what distance to see his work on stage. Respect was a rare
commodity in their line of work so that statement carried more weight than
might be expected at first glance. People like them didn't travel randomly
looking for a play or movie to catch. When they took time out of their busy
lives for something like that professional reasons were always involved. In
the arts you're part artist part talent scout, always keeping an eye on
who's doing what around you.  "Yeah, that ended in the fall." Paul answered
Josh's question "I did photography on a short film during the
winter... should be coming out any time now."  "I didn't know your talents
extended to beyond the on camera work." Josh noticed with a bit of
surprise.  "I wouldn't go that far" Paul tried to temper the praise "I just
like to get a feel for all aspects of the process."

Josh observed Paul while their conversation went on. He had wondered on
more than one occasion what the guy would be like in person. He was happy
Paul turned out to be a rather pleasant down to earth guy, unlike some
other actors he had met over the years. This was obviously a man who shared
the same passion for his craft as he did. Josh could tell by the way
enthusiasm would glimmer in Paul's blue eyes as he spoke. Paul was a bit
shorter than he was, but not much. His sandy blond hair, slightly curled
somehow matched his fading summer tan. "Obviously spends a lot of time
outdoors" he thought. Paul's face was a book unto itself. Definitely not
the boyish type, it showed all the hallmarks of adolescence but already
starting to be framed by the signs of experience and learning. Paul's
handsome appearance was derived from the character in his face and
expression, not just by his natural good looks.

Peter had been watching the conversation for a while with contentment. He
knew he had two professional talents in front of him so these spontaneous
exchanges told him more than the actual audition process could. Filming a
movie was a labor that involved many people who all needed to be able to
work together. If a crew didn't become a team over time the end result
would undoubtedly suffer. The instant chemistry between the two young men
was exactly what he had hoped for when he booked their auditions. The fact
they had run into each other today was by no means a coincidence but the
result of his careful planning,... and a bit of wishful thinking. It had
played out better than he could have hoped. His job as a director did
involve putting the right people in the right place at the right time. From
what he could see there was a chance he might have just done that.

Now he felt the time had come to interrupt the informal conversation and
get down to business. He motioned the two guys to follow him into the
office, closing the door behind them.

-------------------------

that's it for the first instalment. I hope you liked what you've read so
far. I would appreciate any comments or feedback you might wish to share.

@thylacinevisual
facebook.com/thylacine.visuals
thylacinevisuals@hotmail.com