Ted drove them north on Rodeo Drive until they crossed Sunset Boulevard, and then the directions got complicated. Dennis was supposed to be navigating again, but as usual he was staring out the windows.

"I have the feeling its fancy because guys like Vince live here," Ted replied. "Maybe he lives in a mansion next to Jed Clampett."

"Hartford Way then Oxford Way until you get to Crescent...Oh My God. Look at the size of that house."

"I bet they have their own airport...there's Oxford," Ted said, making the turn.

"Oh I know I've seen that house in a television show somewhere," Dennis said. "They do location work at some of these places."

"Now why would a perfectly ordinary wealthy family want to allow a television crew to use their home and trample the bushes?" Ted asked. "Never mind, I know your mother would."

"Turn there," Dennis said. "That's Elden...and that must be Vince's house on the left, the one with the security guard at the gate."

"No need, gentlemen...I have your names on my list," The guard said. "Right up the driveway, parking is on the left. Enjoy your afternoon."

Ted pulled forward and through the gates. "He was nice. I wonder how many people Vince invited."

There were only four cars parked in the courtyard in front of the house. Perhaps they were early, or maybe...but then he didn't know how many gay friends Vince had here. The gatherings in Tahoe had been their only casual contact with Vince, and this was the first social event on the man's home turf. Of course John was living here now and had been for almost a month.

John Moore was the artist and production designer for the shows in Dennis' last year at Cabot Performing Arts. They had become friends, and it was Dennis' introduction to Vince that had brought the two men together in Lake Tahoe at the Christmas gathering. He was rather proud of that achievement.

The stone and brick house looked small when considering the size of the others in the neighborhood. But there was a broad lawn, well kept gardens and a flagstone walkway that lead up to the front door. A small white sign by the front steps had the word 'party' on it and an arrow pointing to the side of the house.

A smooth gravel walkway led them around the side of the house to the back yard where Ted's earlier assessment of the home was proved in error. Vince had a tennis court and a pool in the yard on the level below the porch and the broad redwood deck. Half the deck was covered in a trellis and beneath an awning sat a handful of people.

"Ted...Dennis," John called out, rising from a deck chair. "I'm glad you came early."

They exchanged hugs and were no sooner done when Vince walked out a door from the enclosed porch and they went through it all over again.

He guided them over to the circle of chairs and made the introductions. "Dennis...Ted, this is Bob and his partner Terry, they're in real estate. Tommy over there sells cars, if you ever want a Lamborghini or a Viper he's the man. And Sabrina tells jokes for a living. Dennis and Ted are working for Jim Curry this summer."

They shook hands with everyone and sat down. "Anything to drink?" Vince asked. "We have some good wine and some beer that Bob brought, but I also have soda."

"I've been painting for two weeks. Vince supports a charity group that funds housing for homeless families, so I've been painting houses inside and out." John smiled. "I'm also on the waiting list for three studios. I'll probably get into one of them this fall."

"I'm fine, Vince keeps me busy. So how about you, anything secret you can tell us?"

"Nothing too secret, sorry," Dennis said. "Curry has me involved in a film that's in the editing stage. Ted is working on something that's just in scripting."

"Oh...he's going ahead with that?" Vince asked. "Hey, how about I show you the house, John can keep everyone entertained...can't you, sweetie?"

Dennis had seen the look they shared. It seems Vince wanted a private chat. They set down their wine glasses and followed Vince in through the doors to the porch. The large room was filled with plants, most of them orchids which added a lovely smell to the atmosphere.

"I've had this passion for flowers since I was a kid," Vince said by way of explanation.

They went through another door into the kitchen where a young Asian man was preparing the food for their meal. He nodded as they walked through the room, down a hallway and ended up in Vince's den.

"Sit...we need to talk," Vince said. Ted and Dennis took seats on the couch while Vince took the chair by the fireplace.

"Everything is fine, but I didn't think Jim would ever make that film. Susan wrote Partial Paymentabout six years ago...she wanted me to star in it," Vince said. "I could have pulled it off back then...at least I was young enough. But I read the script and tried to talk Jim out of producing it."

"I do...it's a dismal piece of work. I suppose Susan thought she had seen enough scripts to be able to write one, but even with the right cast it can't go anywhere. At the time I begged off because I was working on another film. I'm sorry to see he went ahead with the project."

"Jim has most of it finished, and he doesn't like the first edit," Dennis said. "Now the team is supposed to bring new thoughts to the table so he can re-shoot some things. I'm afraid he wants some answers from me, and I already have a bad impression without seeing a single inch of film."

"I'm sorry to see you involved," Vince said. "No matter what Jim thinks this is not going to solve his relationship with Susan, that's over and done."

"I think he can't get out of it now, they've already spent a good deal on it," Ted said.

"Then he'll cut it up, release it and it will fail. I'm sure he can get it distributed because of who he is, but this will only make it harder for him to shop the next film around."

Vince smiled. "Everyone serves up a turkey now and then, but it won't kill Jim's future. He needs to be more careful. He should have cut Susan out of the project and had a pro give the script a treatment."

"As I recall the story had too many loose ends. It was written to be a romance or was it a mystery? The audience was supposed to have sympathy for the blind girl, excitement for the romance between the two clerks, and laugh at the animals. That's too much...the script was all over the place."

"It should have been an animal film," Ted said. "They should have been the main focus, playing it all off against the humans."

"I don't think Susan wanted a kiddie film, she was always such a romantic," Vince said.

Vince nodded. "Probably. Jim has always been pragmatic and aggressive about his work. Guys like that always bring that attitude home with them. Susan viewed herself as a princess, she wanted to be pampered and loved...and then they had kids. Jim was never there, he was all over the map building up Curry Productions into what it is today. She never forgave him for that."

"But he took the script, he was trying...oh, I see what happened," Ted said. "Jim tried to bring her into his world and she wouldn't cross that line."

"Exactly, she was a soccer mom by then. But you have a good idea, providing Dennis can get Jim to see it," Vince said. "This needs to make the transition into a family movie. The animals need to become the stars."

"I'll bet Tom and Melanie cost Jim some big bucks, that's gonna hurt," Dennis said.

"Better than a complete wash out. Actors get paid to do what they're told. They're young, they'll rebound. Just working for Jim will boost their careers, and I'm sure their agents will see it that way too. Besides I have a vested interest in Jim's success, I'm in that next film Ted is working on."

"Come Next Tuesday? Oh sweet...let me guess, you're one of the detectives," Ted said.

"Mike Stone...and he's basically doing it as a walk on. Jim is making my part a bit larger to cover the holes. Mike hasn't done a film in quite a while and he's looking forward to it."

"I'm surprised that he wanted to do it," Vince said. "He's not even getting up front billing, just his name in the end credits. The audience will be surprised to see him since he hasn't been on screen for a decade. This is a real favor for Jim. So how is our script coming along?"

"Good," Vince said. "I want to find out who I'm working with...unless you already know."

"I guess we'll know soon enough. So, let's go back outside and see if the rest of the folks have arrived."

They had, now there were ten people sitting on the deck and John was playing host. Dennis and Ted resumed their seats and were introduced to Brad, Michael, Evan and...Todd. The latter being a face Dennis already knew, it was only a matter if Todd would remember him.

The last time he had seen Todd Burke the man was the co-star of Gina Roland's Comedy Tour which had thrilled audiences at the Spring Grove Theatre. But it had been a few years, although Dennis remembered it quite clearly.

Todd gave him a quizzical look and Dennis smiled. "Hello, Todd...I doubt if you remember me."

The others had stopped to listen and Dennis saw that Ted remembered the man too.

Todd's puzzled look turned to recognition and he laughed. "Oh...my sweet young sound man...Spring Grove, wasn't it?"

Ted slid a hand over to grasp Dennis' hand and got an affectionate look in return.

Todd sighed. "It seems you've come a long way since then. Vince, when did you meet these wonderful young men?"

Todd raised his bottle of beer. "Here's to young lovers. May the Goddess grant you an eternity of love and peace."

The afternoon waned, and yet the conversation on Vince's deck continued. It was easy to see why Vince had convened this crew, no one was pretentious. Tommy talked about selling high end cars to stars and starlets who couldn't drive them. There was a good deal of laughter about the results.

Each of them told stories about Hollywood from their perspective and that did a lot to encourage Ted and Dennis to speak up. Their story about the gunshots outside the restaurant was met with groans. Many of them had similar experiences.

"Hollywood Boulevard is no place to be after dark, not anymore," Vince finally said. "The city has changed so much in the past ten years. Is it any wonder that so many companies have bailed out?"

"Maybe so, but most of the films are out on location these days. They only come to town for the lab work...look at the way Curry operates. He hasn't done a full studio workup in years, it's mostly on location," Vince said.

Dinner was served, all prepared by Hai Le, the Chinese-Vietnamese chef. A long table had been set on the porch amidst the flowers and Dennis smiled. If this was Vince's idea of a backyard cookout it would be interesting to see what he did with a formal dinner.

But even as Dennis enjoyed the company of Vince's friends, and was glad to see John felt secure in the relationship, he was very worried about what Vince had told them. Partial Payment was not going to be a successful film because it was already in trouble. He hoped the studio could weather that storm because it had so many other things going on.

All the way back to the condo Dennis was lost in thought. He didn't like being associated with a failure, but he couldn't control which film he was assigned to work on. Ted was the lucky one. So far, from what he had read, the script for Come Next Tuesday seemed like a winner.

They returned to the condo and Dennis decided to sit down in the living room and go through his script for ideas once again. That left Ted alone with his thoughts, and they turned to his film assignment. What made this so sweet was that he admired Jim Curry as an actor, and he would get to see the man develop the part right from the beginning. He picked up the script and sat at the kitchen table to begin reading once again.

Jim would play two sides of the character Arthur Doyle. The mild mannered science teacher would slowly find himself enraged at the internet and the electronic world that surrounded his students. His frustration would become evident as he discovered students texting in class, chatting on their phones in the halls and cribbing test answers through their access to the internet.

Doyle had spent hours at the library trying to understand how the world of electronics worked, but his only source of information was in books. And then while perusing the stacks of old books on the upper shelf of a quiet room in the library he came across a book hidden behind the others.

In order to remove this large volume he had to pull down many others and in doing so lost his balance on the small step ladder. He tumbled to the floor and this heavy volume slid off the shelf and landed on his head, knocking Doyle unconscious. When he awoke he found the book open across his chest and began to read.

This was a book that outlined the author's amazing discovery in the world of electronics. He surmised a human could interface with that special plane of existence in the world of electronic streams. The blow to Doyle's head had done something strange. He was not the same person. He quietly hid the book beneath his clothing and walked out of the library a changed man.

The sequence follows into Doyle's life in the weeks following that discovery. The script called for the camera in one scene to approach Doyle from behind and focus on the mirror above his table where only the top of his head is visible. And then Doyle looks up at his reflection and we see the change in his appearance. Mild mannered Arthur Doyle has become Arty D, the mad computer genius.

By day we have the mild mannered science teacher, by night the ever increasingly maniacal Arty D. In this alter ego he plunges into the internet, absorbing information at an astonishing speed until his mind is filled with the knowledge he needs to take over every facet of the World Wide Web.

Elias T. Moffett High School sits in the town of Stevens Creek, a small part of the vast Silicon Valley that surrounds San Jose, California. It is here that Doyle has been teaching natural science for the past ten years. A single man with vast academic credentials, he is called Dr. Doyle by the students and faculty, most of who see him as the odd fellow in their midst.

The computer club at the school call themselves The Chips in reference to the small micro processing units found inside a computer. There are only five students in the group since Moffitt is not a very large school, but five is quite enough, at least from the viewpoint of the school administration.

These five are no ordinary students, as the Chips Club is comprised of the sons, and a daughter, of the most brilliant minds in Silicon Valley. Four boys and one girl, a perfect arrangement for a bunch of geeks with minds far superior to their fellow students...

The dialogue he read was fairly average in Ted's estimation. By now he knew that much of the success in a film was based upon the chemistry of the casting. The five teenagers chosen for the film would make a big difference to the outcome. At least the Doyle character would be a standout, Jim assured that.

Ted thumbed through the script looking for the detective characters, the parts Vince and Mike would play. He stopped long enough to look back into the living room at Dennis studying his script. Ted thought it was unfortunate that he could look forward to a fun film while Dennis was suffering under the weight of what might become a failure.

It didn't matter that the failure might be Jim Curry's. Dennis would feel a part of that even though he had just begun to work for the studio. Perhaps they could change the focus of the film and turn it into something about the animals. But there was nothing Ted could do, this was something Dennis and the team would have to solve.

The two detectives in Come Next Tuesdaywere part of the Computer Crimes Squad with the State Bureau of Investigation. The elder one who would be played by Mike Stone was an old fashioned cop that was used to solving cases on paper. The younger sidekick, Vince's role, was a computer savvy college graduate which seemed to put the two partners at odds during their scenes.

The plot device that brought all these characters together was simple: someone had hacked into the computers for the entire school system. The son of Techfirst's owner and founder, the largest computer security company in the valley, is one of the Chips. He becomes privy to the sabotage which no one seems to understand or solve, and there is the challenge for the Chips Club.

The storyline approaches the dilemma from two angles. The students notice Doyle's odd changes and erratic behavior, and at the same time the hacker starts to leave subtle clues to his identity. It doesn't happen right away but eventually the kids begin to associate the two facts.

As the kids begin to work on the problem they steal passwords to access Techfirst's data base and unintentionally leave their electronic footprints, this is what brings the Crime Squad to their door, at least the door of one of them.

Nicholas Purdy, known to his geek friends as Nicky, is the first to meet the police. Since his father is the founder of Techfirst the police are surprised to find the boy involved in such criminal activity...

The boy was described as sixteen, which in Ted's mind meant he could be played by an actor under the age of twenty-one. Hollywood did things like that when they considered the role too difficult for a mere teenager. Who were they kidding? It didn't seem to matter that the audience wasn't fooled.

Ted wondered who Jim and Mickey Talon had in mind for the role. It certainly wouldn't be one of those Disney wiz kids flaunting their talent on screen. So much of the young talent these days seemed mindless, full of hype and bluster. From what he had read so far the actor would have to be someone real, especially if they were to hold their own against Jim Curry.

This copy of the script was filled with margin notes, as if Marie and Steve had conflicting ideas at certain points in the story. The dialogue came across as appropriate to the characters, and now it would be interesting to see how the final product looked.

Dennis was still making notes when Ted turned on his laptop. He remembered reading that there were over two billion people accessing the web, about thirty percent of the world's population. Was it any wonder that someone like Doyle would feel intimidated?

Any film has to start with a valid premise, even one with as much fantasy as Come Next Tuesday. Would it even be possible for one person to take it all down? Perhaps the story pushed the limits of reality, but it did seem possible that the whole web could be disrupted.

Ted ran a search on computer viruses and read about the various attacks on systems around the world. No one virus or worm had been able to disable the internet completely, not yet. But it didn't take much imagination to understand that there were those who would like to try which gave Marie's story credibility.

The opening scene in the script was about Arthur Doyle's reaction to the electronic age, and the way it seemed to disrupt the careful planning of educators. Everywhere Doyle looked there were kids on phones, even while driving. The film began with a perfectly wonderful tirade, a conversation Doyle had with himself while driving to work.

The quirks of the character sitting alone in his car babbling about the folly of those people around him would be interrupted by a loud honk from the car behind him. Doyle had been so lost in his own thoughts that he failed to see a stoplight turn from red to green.

Ted understood this was Marie's way of showing the reader that distraction occurs on many levels and Doyle was not immune to being in the wrong. In fact the first ten minutes of the film were slated to be all about Doyle and his frustration with life, his own and the world around him.

His grumpy Scrooge like demeanor would follow him through the school and into the classroom where suddenly the character would change into the consummate educator. This metamorphosis would allow Jim to display his ability as an actor, and clue the audience into what was coming.

It was here in this classroom that the audience would first meet Nicky. Marie had painted the character as a popular boy, attractive in a normal sort of way, and far from the image of a geek. But within the same scene the audience would meet Amanda, an attractive girl but the very image of a teenage geek.

Ted knew Jim was no fool when it came to casting. He would have to choose popular actors to play these parts to bring in the young audiences. No matter who was chosen there would still be the wrangling over contracts, billing, residuals...even the lowliest child star in Hollywood had a manager who would fight tooth and nail for their clients and their own piece of that pie.

Ted began to look at the Internet Movie Database site to see who was out there. A whole bunch of films were scheduled to be released in the coming six months. Jim had planned a release of Partial Payment by spring, which still might happen if they could fix it. Come Next Tuesdaywould be in production for months once it got started. The release on that might be a year away.

At least eighty percent of the films Ted could see didn't involve young stars, or if they did it was just very young kids. He began to peruse the list of films in production and who was in them. Tom Parker, who had a current role in the Partial Paymentmovie, was slated to begin filming something called The Quest for Earth 2 in three months time. Jim must feel the pressure of that development.

The list was intimidating and so Ted gave up. The team was rolling along, casting would soon begin and he would have his answers. But would he be here to see any of the filming take place? The fall semester was due to begin in seventy-eight days, but his birthday was only a month and a half away.

It would be an excuse to go home, he really should, but the more he thought about it the less Ted wanted to leave for any amount of time. He logged on to his father's email account and sent a suggestion: "Dad, how about you come to LA for my birthday? I want to show you off to all my new friends. Love, Ted."

"I just emailed Dad to come here for my birthday," Ted said, walking out to the couch. "How's it going?"

"I guess it depends upon how much film they have of the dog and the ferret. But I finally see a way around the gloomy storyline...if Jim buys it."

"Did you know Tom Parker is committed to another production in about three months?"

Dennis grinned. "No, but that won't hurt. If anything the young lovers are going to become background to the new love story."

"Love...you mean the dog and the ferret? Come on now, who's going to buy that?" Ted asked.

"I mean the love between the animals and the blind girl, kids will eat that up. Let me pitch it tomorrow and we'll see what happens."

Monday mornings were difficult hours in any business, except maybe at Curry Productions. Jim was bubbling with energy and his attitude was contagious as they sat down for the first meeting of the day. No matter that his afternoon would be spent trying to make corrections to Partial Payment, Jim had the new film on his mind.

It had been a week since Marie and Steve returned to work on the script, today they would see if Jim accepted what they had done. But that isn't where Jim began.

"I made a coup yesterday, we have our first young actor for the film," Jim said. "And you probably thought I was goofing off all weekend...well I was, at Hank Dobbs' house."

The name was legend in Hollywood, right up beside Jim Curry. Whereas Jim had been a child star in films, Hank had come to films through his work in stand up comedy. Some of the funniest films of the past decade had starred one or the other of these men. But rather than foster a sense of competition, which would have been normal in Hollywood, they had become friends.

Both of them had gone from the bottom to the top rather quickly. Jim had begun in drama while Hank had waited until his career as a comedy actor allowed him to switch to the kind of roles he liked to play.

"Hank introduced me to someone I think will be perfect for the role of Nicky," Jim said. "His name is Steven Biddle...any reactions?"

Ted knew the name. Top Doghad been an Oscar winner the year before and of the three awards it garnished Biddle had taken one for best supporting actor. Still, there were a few puzzled looks around the table.

"I'm sorry, I must be out of touch," Mark Coglin said. "Biddle doesn't ring a bell."

"Besides an Oscar, he was slated to do a science fiction film with Hank last year but it tanked. I guess most of our audience will remember him from Top Dog," Jim said.

"The blond kid...now I remember him. My ten year old daughter loved him in that television series," Mark laughed.

"My girls loved him too. Hank is touting him around town for another role and I think he'd be perfect for us," Jim said. "And since Mr. Biddle will be in on Thursday for a screen test...we better have something for him to read."

And that was the cue to buckle down and go through the script which they did for the next two and a half hours. From her desk outside the fishbowl Veronica could tell they were busy and deferred anyone who wanted Jim's attention until after lunch. Barry arrived an hour late and gave Jim the nod over something. No one even asked where he had been.

They finished the script reading and Jim pushed back his chair. "Now that is so much better, I can live with this version."

Jim smiled. "It won't be me, that loony character you developed could lead me anywhere. Besides I'm waiting for the ensemble to be cast, that will fill in the blanks." He turned to look at Ted. "You've been mighty quiet."

"Just absorbing the moment. I like the script; I love the characters, and for the first time I get to see it all come together in a film. Not sure what I could add to the discussion," Ted said.

"I want you to talk to Biddle when he gets here, you know, peer to peer. He'll have had a chance to look at the script by then and...damn, we should include him in this publicity for the event you guys are planning."

"Okay, you guys set up the thing about the thing while I go work on that other thing," Jim said. He got up and left the room fairly quickly.

It was lunchtime so Barry and Ted went looking for Dennis, but he was already down in the editing rooms looking at film before the afternoon session. Ted knew better then to disturb that focus. He would bring the boy back something.

Barry was introspective as they walked up the street to the Nice and Easy, what passed for a sandwich shop here in West Hollywood.

"Yeah, I have Jim to thank for that. He had me hand deliver what I think is a script to Hank Dobbs this morning, very hush-hush."

They got to the N & E just as the crowd from the studio across the street began to accumulate. Ted ordered for himself and then added a ham, turkey and egg salad sandwich all the way for Dennis. The boy had no imagination when it came to food. He'd been eating this same combo since they first met.

"Ah, just memories. I've known Dennis for three years now and he always eats the same thing."

"Jim is going to do a movie with Hank," Barry blurted out. "I had to tell someone, just don't get me fired by repeating that."

"Jim is bumping several projects and he wants to start on it by next summer. The script was sealed so I have no idea what it's going to be about."

"Can he do that?" Ted asked. "Yeah, I suppose he can if there aren't any contracts. But I thought he had his schedule buttoned up for the next ten years."

"Most of those don't have casting contracts, just backers and tentative studio time roughed in. Along comes a high profile thing like this and no one is going to object. Once the two of them get it nailed down then people will be throwing money at them for a piece of it." Barry smiled. "Wish I was rich enough to afford a share...What?"

Barry reached across the table and patted his hand. "Don't let it bother you, there's still time."

"School is what you make of it. You could go to school here, you'll be eighteen soon."

Barry smiled. "He means all that to you, I understand. I haven't found the right man yet even if Hollywood is full of attractive creatures."

Dennis was sitting at the desk when Ted got back, and he fell on the sandwich like a hungry dog. The surface of the desk was covered in piles of paper, the Partial Paymentscript torn apart and rearranged. Dennis chewed furiously and nodded at the piles.

"I think it will work," Dennis said. "I've renumbered the pages so of course the dialogue is all messed up but the visual sequences work out. I'm afraid Jim is still going to have to shoot more footage of the animals."

"The director is gonna hate me for some of these suggestions, but I think the writer will be relieved and so will the cinematographer. I don't give a damn any more, either Jim likes it or he doesn't."

"There ya go, I think he will." Ted got up and closed the office door. "Can we talk?"

"Secrets. Jim and Hank Dobbs are going to do a film together next year and I want in on it. That means I can't go home for school, I have to stay here. I can talk Dad into it, but it's you I'm worried about."

Dennis was quiet for a moment, and then a slow smile spread across his face. "That happened a lot faster than I thought, less than two weeks."

"I knew all along that this job was going to get under your skin. I'm the theater junkie, remember? I know what it's like. All the excitement, the pressure...it's addictive, you can't let go. To be honest I don't want to go home either, I want to see this project through to the end."

"If Jim doesn't end up hating me for tearing his film apart, yes I am. But you will finish school, that's a given."

Dennis stood up and began putting the script in order. He shoved it all back in the folder and stopped. "I might be at this all afternoon, or knowing Jim even later. Go home once you're done, don't wait here for me."

"I might," Ted replied. "But I still have a lot to do for that polling project."

He gave Ted a kiss and was out the door to his meeting. They would see very little of one another for the rest of the week, but that was a good thing.

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Exit Hollywood

By Chris James

Chapter Three