Chapter 13: A Star Is Born

Mark took Willow by the hand, "Come on and let's go exploring. This is a fantastic place." They wandered around outside and stood watching as one of the trout, then another leaped into the air to snap a bug. Suddenly a goldfish came up to do the same. It was almost full dark and the lights over the pool attracted every flying insect in the area.

Willow looked around at their magical surroundings. "I never saw anything like this place before. I never believed they really existed except as tourist attractions at Disneyland or something."

Mark looked off into the distance. "I never thought about it. I was lied to from the day I was born by the very people who should have been the most honest with me, my parents," he confided in a sad voice.

"I never knew people like Amanda existed until just recently. I guess we both have a lot to learn. But this is as good a place as any to learn it." He have Willow a sad look and shook his head as if in resignation. They began a slow walk back to the house side by side.

In the den Amanda, Sam, Mike and Hans sat down to work out a first draft of the story line. Karl looked on quietly. Hans started to tell them his version of what happened between Amanda, Mark and the police. "We cast her father as a stumbling drunk and her mother as a flirtatious barmaid. We make the cops the good guys and Amanda, you are the pure hearted lady minister who gives charity sex to the men in her parish whose wives won't give it up any more." He seemed dazzled by the brilliance of his own brilliance.

"Okay," Amanda agreed. "We do it just that way in the second picture, the one you choose. "Mine is going to be more of a documentary. We will conduct interviews with street hookers and homeless people and listen to their tales of beatings and indifference and neglect. We shoot the inside of a homeless shelter and catch the conversations between the people who drift from one shelter to another."

"No, no, no," Hans argued. That is your picture I am describing. I have a vision." The little man stood up to his full five feet four inches and looked nobly at the others.

"Hans, we agreed in principle to a three picture deal. Mine is first, yours is second and we discuss the third. You are not going to change that agreement. Either stick to the agreement or take your people and go home. What does it take to get through to you a deal is a deal and not a springboard to another, a changed deal?

In his most aggrieved and put upon voice Hans answered with exaggerated patience, "Amanda. Amanda, Amanda, everything is open to renegotiation, everything. You know that and I know that so why quibble over nonessentials?"

The sound of a phone ringing came faintly from the living room. The ringing stopped. Moments later Mark came into the Den. "I hate to interrupt, Amanda, but there is a man named Stanley Greenbaum on the line. He says it is important he talk to you immediately. He has an offer you don't dare refuse."

"I'll eat my left shoe if that's Stanley calling you. He only deals with the principals, never the talent. It just isn't done."

"Hang up the phone in there, Babe. I'll take it on the speaker phone in here." Amanda reached over and flipped a switch under the edge of the table they were all sitting around.

"Yes, Stanley, what can I do for you?" Amanda asked.

A no-nonsense voice came out clearly, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear plainly. "Have you signed with anybody yet? I have an idea you might be interested in, a four picture deal. Your concept of a docudrama would be first. A musical comedy will follow next. Then we do a war movie depicting all sides of the problems in the Middle East.

"What's the fourth one, Stanley?" Amanda sounded interested.

"Another space opera, what else?" The great man chuckled, "I want your friend Mark to costar in all of them. We need a Little Miss Innocence to play off the two central characters. So far I haven't come up with anyone. I need someone with an air of hurt innocence. All I have found so far are dim bulbs and script whores."

"In all honesty I have to tell you Hans is here with us right now trying to come to an agreement." Amanda looked over at the apoplectic Hans who seemed to be either on the verge of vomiting or ready for a nervous break down.

"Have you agreed to anything? More importantly, have you signed anything?" Stanley Greenbaum's voice sounded worried.

"No, we haven't__" Amanda got no further.

"Good. Send your agent around to my office tomorrow and we'll hammer out the details." There was silence.

"I got here first, you kosher creep!" Hans screamed. "This is my deal. You butt out. I mean it." He sounded near tears.

"Ten percent of the gross for me. For Mark, an allowance of fifty thousand a week and twenty-five for Willow."

"Who is Willow?" Stanley wanted to know.

"She is the innocence you wanted. I have a hunch you are going to want her to star in her next one as the lead. She shows up that sharp onscreen and without makeup." Amanda sounded too certain of her judgment to use the film as an excuse to bring in a new playmate.

"Karl is here. He can run the screen test over to you right now, if you wish. Believe me, the camera loves her and she can act, I hope. You decide."

"I'm at home right now; tell him to come right over. He knows the way." There was a click as they were disconnected.

"Go," Amanda ordered Karl. "You discovered her so you present her to Stanley."" Karl nodded, grabbed the precious disk and left.

Hans suddenly realized he had maneuvered himself out of the race. "But, but you promised to do the second picture. Are you going back on your word?"

"No, Hans, I will not go back on my word. Unlike you I say what I mean. I agreed and will honor that agreement ... First I do the one with Greenbaum, and then we do yours. You might as well go home. This is now about 'Your Town, ' or whatever we call it."

"Mean Streets," Mark's voice came from the door.

Amanda looked around. Everyone nodded. "Okay, 'Mean Streets' it is.

The phone rang again. "The caterer with your food is here," the voice of the man guarding the front gate said. "I'm hungry."

"Tell them to fix you a plate and let them in." Amanda turned to the others and said unnecessarily, "The food is here."

Billy answered the door. He let the caterer and her assistants in. It took five minutes to set up a buffet. Heavy plastic plates were stacked out for everyone. "Damn, this is going to be great duty," Billy said reverently as he eyed the roast beef, lobster tails and roast pork set out. Rich odors of well prepared food filled the room.

One of the food people donned a chef's hat and stood ready to slice the meat as ordered. Everyone filled their plates and sat at the dining table. "Okay, let's enjoy the food and talk business after we eat." To emphasize her point, Amanda took a big bite of rare beef. She chewed slowly and swallowed. "Damn, but this is good. I could eat rare beef with every meal" she sliced off another bite.

Mark was sitting at her right. He asked, "Well if you like red meat so much, why don't you have it with every meal?" She looked up at him quizzically.

"Cholesterol, fat, healthy diet." He smiled, "Normally I stick to a very rigorous routine of rice, fish, clams, oysters, lobster and lots of veggies. I eat fresh oysters and clams only in season. I also eat plenty of oriental style dishes and salads. I work hard to stay in shape every day of my life. The reason is simple. My fans do not pay to see a porky hero. Look what happened to Segal and Arnold. You would be surprise how much of my fan mail is from teens who say they follow my way of life because of how I project myself. When I went into the super hero business, I took on an obligation to the people who pay to see my films."

Mike looked at her quizzically. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"You bet I do. When I retire I shall eat rare beef three meals a day and drink fine whiskey and fart loudly. And I shall get drunk in public just like Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson and all the rest of the real actors. But not as things are now."

Billy said, "I'll be your personal bodyguard for nothing if you keep feeding the hired help like this." He smiled and helped himself to another piece of done to perfection meat, pork this time.

"What's wrong, Willow?" Mark asked. "You have been sitting there looking at your plate. Isn't there anything on it you like?"

"I ... I'm afraid I'll do something wrong and look stupid." She was almost in tears.

"Turn this way," Mike said. He had the chair on the far side of her. He took a bit of the lobster tail with a fork, dipped it in the highly seasoned melted butter and told her, "Open up."

When she opened her mouth he placed the food inside. "Chew," he ordered.

Dirk grinned, "That's a first. I never ever heard Mike tell a girl to open up and then place food in her mouth before he ordered her to chew."

Just as the laughter died down the phone sounded again. "Hey, I got some guy named Greenbaum who wants in. Do I let him in or shoot him?" There was a pause. "I'm still hungry.