One More Time(18)

“But I do care about getting great work out of you two,” Polly continues, “And about channeling your emotions to the big screen. I took this job because I remember the chemistry that Janner seemed to have. It ignited an entire country. I was dying to see if that could be transferred to these characters. Your agents both assured me that your issues were far enough in the past that they wouldn’t be a problem, and I’ve had no reason to doubt that that’s true.”

She eyes us, letting us know that we better live up to her expectations. Then she smiles. “I see great energy right now. So, let’s take a beat, bottle this up and save it for the fight scene we’re filming this afternoon!”

Angela looks defeated. Tanner looks frustrated.

I wonder if anyone can see what I instantly feel come crawling across my face: fear.

I totally forgot that we were shooting the fight scene today, and now I’m legitimately worried that it’s going to end with me socking Tanner right in the face.





Tanner





Fight scenes are usually my favorite kind of scene to shoot. They’re the chance to really let loose with your character. You get to yell and scream. It’s a total release of energy and stress. It’s like a good workout or better yet, a boxing match.

And the best part is, it’s all just pretend.

Usually.

This time feels different. I’m standing across from Jenna wondering if she’s actually going to punch me in the face. For the record, that’s not in the script.

We’re filming a scene where Jenna’s character confronts my character about a receipt she found for a dinner he had at their first-date restaurant – The Landmark. There’s already tension between these two and this becomes the powder keg that sets it all off.

The logistics are simple. My character Bobby’s dinner receipt says two people dined, but a week before this fight he claimed that he went alone. He said it was the only place still open after his long day of work. Of course he knows that The Landmark is their spot, he says. Then Jenna’s character Grace finds out that he lied. He took a female co-worker to The Landmark. He swears he has a completely reasonable explanation, but she doesn’t give a shit.

It’s all feeling a little too familiar…

“You lied!” Jenna screams as we rehearse. “That’s a betrayal!”

“I lied because I knew you’d freak out at the truth!” I yell back. “Because you don’t trust me!”

“That’s right, Bobby. I don’t trust you because you don’t deserve my trust.”

“That’s ridiculous! Now you’re just making things up! You’re using me to make excuses for all your insecurity. Why? Because your parents got divorced? Because your ex cheated? I’m not them, Grace!”

“Don’t you dare bring my parents into this. This is about you. I see the way you look at other women. And I’ve heard rumors about what you say when I’m not around.”

“You’re going to blow up our relationship because of looks and rumors?”

“No. You are.”

“Cut!” Polly calls out.

Her voice knocks me out of the scene. Holy shit that was powerful. I can’t remember feeling that connected to a character, or that deep into the moment. Then again, I’ve never worked on something so close to my real life, with my former real life co-star. Polly’s instincts that our chemistry would transform these characters were spot on.

“Shit! We need to relight,” Polly says. “There’s a shadow on Jenna’s face. God damnit! That was going so well. Guys please do not lose this fire. Let’s take two minutes.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Jenna says, as she flips away from me. “I think I’m going to be pretty fiery anytime I think about what you said at lunch.”

“You mean the truth?” I ask.

That makes her flip back.

“I think it was pretty clear that we were over in your mind when you did what you did,” she says, fury blazing in her eyes. Then she stomps off. I see her tell the script coordinator that she needs to run lines. Which is a lie. We just ran them several times with no problems. She just wants to avoid me.

Once again, I feel like I’m living in a memory. Though this time we’re actually having the fight. Ten years ago she left before listening to my side of the story.

I head over to the beverage station, grab an ice cold water and chug it. I’d like to punch something to get all my anger out, but right now I need to play it cool. And I need the crew to hurry up.

Ten excruciating minutes pass before Polly finally calls us back.

“Alright” she says. “Let’s get to starting marks Tanner and Jenna. We’re going to run it from the top. Still feeling feisty?”

“Oh yeah,” we both say at the exact same time. I see a boom operator smirk.

Fuck.

Does everyone on this set know exactly what’s going on here?

I realize I need to tone it down. Movie sets are like sieves for gossip. Anyone from a boom operator to the actual director can leak stuff to the press, which is exactly what Angela and her PR people want. If Jenna and I are at each other’s throats now, I can’t imagine how much worse it will be if news gets out that we’re fighting about our break up during scripted fight scenes.