Chapter 168: 168
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
"I know right. It's rather insulting for Helena for you all to not have confidence in her work." Tayaw says.
Helena, hearing Tayaw's comment, almost feels insulted again, misinterpreting Tayaw's compliment for sarcasm.
"I don't need you feeling sorry?.." Helena says, annoyed.
"Psh. I'm not feeling sorry, you don't need it. Your book is a refreshing read. Yours and Grimmauld's books are the only interesting reads this year." Tayaw shrugs.
"Did you really read it?" Helena asks, her annoyance waned.
"Yeah. Exploring human nature. Why people do what they do when they are forced in a situation where they are the closest to their primal instincts. I especially liked the part where that one guy who hallucinated after being stung by that poisonous plant. Your book explores human psychology and experience too." Tayaw says.
"T-thanks..." Helena is overwhelmed with flattery in contrast to her expectation.
"Hm. We need more books like yours. Not those romance crap. They're disease to society. It's great that you guys are adapting her novel to film." Tayaw says casually but with disdain.
Claire and Helena in contrast to Tayaw's casual remark, are taken aback by Tayaw's surprisingly harsh assessment for the genre. Gary and Xiao Song, despite knowing about Tayaw's lack of love for romance stories, are still surprised by the disdain.
"Hm? Why d'you hate romance books? Not only books, I've seen your interview, and it looks like you don't like romance movies either." Claire quickly asks, subtly defending her love for the genre.
"I just don't like how unrealistic they are. They make ladies have unreasonable expectations, and they get depressed when their expectations aren't met. They make men act unrealistically to meet the ladies' expectations. When they no longer can keep up with the charade, they feel inadequate and depressed that they can't make their women happy." Tayaw shrugs.
"Uhuh… really?" Claire asks while side-eyeing Gary and Xiao Song. To her surprise, the two men nod.
"Claire. Remind me again why your mom and I divorced?" Gary asks suddenly.
"She said that you don't love each other anymore." Claire says.
Claire has no problem exposing the topic of her parents' divorce to Tayaw and others as it was a huge deal in show business at the time and she got used to other people talking about it.
"Mm. I took care of you your mom very well as much as I could when we were married. But I guess being there isn't just enough. In fact, I didn't want a divorce." Gary says.
"This is the first time you're telling me this.… If you didn't want it, why?" Claire asks.
"There is a bit of truth in what she said, though. 'We don't love each other anymore'. She didn't love me anymore but where she's wrong though is that I still love her. She just didn't feel it." Gary says.
"But, why didn't you fight for it?" Claire asks.
"It wasn't worth it. I'd rather not be with a woman who doesn't love me as much as I love her. I was satisfied with her just being there while she wasn't satisfied by what I've shown.
"Your mother, she said I should do this, she said I should do that, and the more I did them, the more she expected. I got exhausted and I didn't want to live the rest of my life with her like that.
"I admit, I became selfish, so I told her that if she really loves me, she wouldn't have to make me go through hoops to prove what I feel." Gary says with a bit of a wince in his eyes.
"Ooff." Claire hears Xiao Song interject. She looked at him and she saw him close his eyes and nods in sympathy.
"We got divorced when you were 11? 12? How many divorces has your mom had since then? I realize now that it's more her fault than mine." Gary continues.
Claire becomes somber at the story.
"Anyway, it's in the past now. The reason why I spilled it out here is because I was triggered by Isaac's opinion. Wanna hear what your mom told me that I still remember?" Gary asks rhetorically.
"'Gary, why can't you just show me what you show in your movies?' I knew the difference between fantasy and reality. My fault lies in forcing her to realize that I'm just not my film characters. That not any man in real life can be as romantic as what's in fantasy." Gary concludes.
"It's so ingrained in your culture that I can't believe it." Tayaw gets back in the conversation.
"I'm not married, but from what I've seen in my country, successful marriage and relationsh.i.p.s are not a fairy tale. It's about two people, deciding to live life together, through suffering and in health, finding happiness together. But if one side, whether it's the man or the woman, cannot provide happiness to their partners after doing the best they can do, then there's a problem with that. I'm not saying that Romance entertainment is the only problem that causes 50% divorce rates here in America, but it contributes substantially to the culture that causes it." Tayaw says.
"… I have to agree with Isaac. Regarding marriage lives of Americans, at least. Us British are maybe as … Pragmatic as Teungebians. Still, we love a good romance film." Helena says.
"So do Teungebians but we love action and sports movies more. We do have unrealistic movies about martial arts and combat sports, but at least it doesn't do nearly as much damage as romantic films in culture. Thank goodness for that." Tayaw chuckles.
"I guess that's why gay couples are happier…" Xiao Song comments, which made Gary almost spit his coffee.
"Hah! Good one!" Gary is amused.
"True. There are not that many gay movies, are there? And the few that are out there, the gay community hate them for being caricatures or being unrealistic. Good for them." Tayaw chuckles.
"Good for the gay people. Us lesbians couples are miserable." Helena jokes. This gives another round of laughter at the table.
Despite the jokes of her companions that closed the subject, Claire is not laughing. Her father's words, Tayaw's exaggerated but probable take, and Xiao Song's silent agreement, gets her thinking deeply about the genre.
"Oh. By the way, are you considering casting anyone now?" Tayaw asks the two directors.
"Oh. I'm a sure cast. I've studied the acting in your film and I think I can do it." Claire says confidently.
Tayaw nods. Claire after all is not only a good actress, in the traditional acting sense, she is also the daughter of one of Hollywood's best directors.
"Don't be so sure, dear. You're the number one on the list for now because I haven't seen others' take on your character yet." Gary chuckles.
Claire's confident smile quickly crumbles at the comment.
"Wow…" Tayaw meanwhile, cannot believe that Gary will not easily cast even his own daughter.
"Come on dad. I get why you didn't cast me in any of your films before, but you've seen what I can do. You saw me practice!" Claire says, indignant.
"Alright. Alright. I was just joking." Gary says.
"Don't take him seriously. He just wants you to work for free." Xiao Song suddenly says.
"What?! IS that true?" Claire cannot believe it.
"Now. Why would you say that?" Gary is dumbfounded at Xiao Song's lie.
"Heh. Payback for that game of pool." Xiao Song smugly smiles. Claire and Gary both sigh in relief.
"About the casting. How'd you do it for September Ninth? You're the first one who made use of the acting style. How'd you even find the actors?" Gary asks.
Xiao Song also has the same curiosity.
"I thought you saw my interview on TV? I explained it there." Tayaw replies.
"Well. Comedic actors. Yeah. But I thought you were just messing around." Xiao Song asks.
"I wasn't. They're sketch comedy actors, to be exact." Tayaw says.
"Huh… Why them?" Gary asks.
"Because they are experienced performers and their acting requirements are not strict, as long as they can make the crowd laugh and immersed at the sketch." Tayaw starts.
"At first, I actually wanted to hire regular people but they have no experience memorizing scripts and other actor stuff, so I had no time to train them." Tayaw says.
"Regular people huh.. Why?" Xiao Song asks.
"Because they have no habits that I do not prefer. But after consideration, I decided that sketch comedy actors are a better bet." Tayaw says.
"What habits?" Claire asks, becoming self-conscious.
"You know actors, they have that actor 'flair'. That actor 'stance'. I don't like it." Tayaw says.
Claire listening to Tayaw's explanation is a bit offended especially because Tayaw seems unreasonable and is not clarifying more.
"What flair? What stance?" She asks.
"You know. The way they deliver their lines all dramatic and sh*t. The way they stand all with their back straight looking like they have sticks up their asses. Or, they stand in that stance, like they're gonna fight." Tayaw says.
"PUhahahaha!" Gary bursts out in laughter.
"Yeah! After studying your film, I think I know what you're talking about! Hahaha!" Xiao Song also loses it.
"What are you guys talking about?" Helena asks, not following the conversation. This settles down Gary and Xiao Song.
"It's like this." Tayaw begins, taking the attention of his new acquaintances.
"Claire, you said you practiced and read on it, right?" Tayaw asks.
"Yeah?"
"Act out your favorite line in the book. In the style of 'September Ninth', if you will, please?" Tayaw orders.
"Okay." Claire stands up from her chair, not minding the other people in the coffee shop. Being an actress, she already flushed out her shame long ago as long as it involves acting.
"/I'm Sorry! This mess has been all my own fault. I was bringing to Ronny to somewhere that I shouldn't have. I brought him to that cave thinking: he must be feeling the same? I've bared all! Tenderness, affection, personal intercourse. I admit, it was entitlement on my part to expect what I wanted... It's not your fault, Ronny./"
Claire delivers the line perfectly, had she been on a stage play. The clear articulation, the confident body language, they are very attractive to listen to and look at. Tayaw however shakes his head. While Tayaw is pleasantly surprised at the surprisingly grounded interpretation of the character from a traditional actress, it still wasn't enough for Tayaw.
The part that Claire acted out is from a courtroom setting.
Claire's character falsely accused another character of s.e.x.u.a.l misconduct. Because of her character's weak mental state from the trauma of the Australian wild, she was convinced by her friends to sue Ronny, the male character, for his fortune. Ronny, being also traumatized adding to his indignation, is looking very vulnerable during the legal proceeding. His pitiful appearance in the court pulled out every single shred of guilt out of Claire's character, leading her to confess.
The reason why Tayaw is not impressed is because he did not see enough guilt in Claire's display that her character should be feeling. She also did not address the male character properly. Claire also addressed more the audience, and did not spare some attention on an imaginary Ronny.
Claire, after delivering her lines smoothly, smiles that she nailed it. She looks at Tayaw for feedback.
"Was it…" Claire then notices Tayaw's unimpressed expression. "Not good, huh?" Claire says in confusion, her confidence quickly evaporating.
Tayaw shakes his head.
"It was good. For the conventional film. But if you want to act in the film you guys want, you have to take a different approach." Tayaw says.
"How do I do that?" Claire asks.
"A more… grounded emotional investment to your character." Tayaw tries to articulate.
"Huh?" Claire's mind spins.
"I don't have time to try and explain to you right now…" Tayaw says, to the disappointment of Claire, Gary and Xiao Song.
"But, I can show you a bit of what I would have wanted. I wouldn't be showing you this, but now that I'm investing, let me help a bit with the acting." Tayaw says, which gets the actress and the two directors excited again.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"I know right. It's rather insulting for Helena for you all to not have confidence in her work." Tayaw says.
Helena, hearing Tayaw's comment, almost feels insulted again, misinterpreting Tayaw's compliment for sarcasm.
"I don't need you feeling sorry?.." Helena says, annoyed.
"Psh. I'm not feeling sorry, you don't need it. Your book is a refreshing read. Yours and Grimmauld's books are the only interesting reads this year." Tayaw shrugs.
"Did you really read it?" Helena asks, her annoyance waned.
"Yeah. Exploring human nature. Why people do what they do when they are forced in a situation where they are the closest to their primal instincts. I especially liked the part where that one guy who hallucinated after being stung by that poisonous plant. Your book explores human psychology and experience too." Tayaw says.
"T-thanks..." Helena is overwhelmed with flattery in contrast to her expectation.
"Hm. We need more books like yours. Not those romance crap. They're disease to society. It's great that you guys are adapting her novel to film." Tayaw says casually but with disdain.
Claire and Helena in contrast to Tayaw's casual remark, are taken aback by Tayaw's surprisingly harsh assessment for the genre. Gary and Xiao Song, despite knowing about Tayaw's lack of love for romance stories, are still surprised by the disdain.
"Hm? Why d'you hate romance books? Not only books, I've seen your interview, and it looks like you don't like romance movies either." Claire quickly asks, subtly defending her love for the genre.
"I just don't like how unrealistic they are. They make ladies have unreasonable expectations, and they get depressed when their expectations aren't met. They make men act unrealistically to meet the ladies' expectations. When they no longer can keep up with the charade, they feel inadequate and depressed that they can't make their women happy." Tayaw shrugs.
"Uhuh… really?" Claire asks while side-eyeing Gary and Xiao Song. To her surprise, the two men nod.
"Claire. Remind me again why your mom and I divorced?" Gary asks suddenly.
"She said that you don't love each other anymore." Claire says.
Claire has no problem exposing the topic of her parents' divorce to Tayaw and others as it was a huge deal in show business at the time and she got used to other people talking about it.
"Mm. I took care of you your mom very well as much as I could when we were married. But I guess being there isn't just enough. In fact, I didn't want a divorce." Gary says.
"This is the first time you're telling me this.… If you didn't want it, why?" Claire asks.
"There is a bit of truth in what she said, though. 'We don't love each other anymore'. She didn't love me anymore but where she's wrong though is that I still love her. She just didn't feel it." Gary says.
"But, why didn't you fight for it?" Claire asks.
"It wasn't worth it. I'd rather not be with a woman who doesn't love me as much as I love her. I was satisfied with her just being there while she wasn't satisfied by what I've shown.
"Your mother, she said I should do this, she said I should do that, and the more I did them, the more she expected. I got exhausted and I didn't want to live the rest of my life with her like that.
"I admit, I became selfish, so I told her that if she really loves me, she wouldn't have to make me go through hoops to prove what I feel." Gary says with a bit of a wince in his eyes.
"Ooff." Claire hears Xiao Song interject. She looked at him and she saw him close his eyes and nods in sympathy.
"We got divorced when you were 11? 12? How many divorces has your mom had since then? I realize now that it's more her fault than mine." Gary continues.
Claire becomes somber at the story.
"Anyway, it's in the past now. The reason why I spilled it out here is because I was triggered by Isaac's opinion. Wanna hear what your mom told me that I still remember?" Gary asks rhetorically.
"'Gary, why can't you just show me what you show in your movies?' I knew the difference between fantasy and reality. My fault lies in forcing her to realize that I'm just not my film characters. That not any man in real life can be as romantic as what's in fantasy." Gary concludes.
"It's so ingrained in your culture that I can't believe it." Tayaw gets back in the conversation.
"I'm not married, but from what I've seen in my country, successful marriage and relationsh.i.p.s are not a fairy tale. It's about two people, deciding to live life together, through suffering and in health, finding happiness together. But if one side, whether it's the man or the woman, cannot provide happiness to their partners after doing the best they can do, then there's a problem with that. I'm not saying that Romance entertainment is the only problem that causes 50% divorce rates here in America, but it contributes substantially to the culture that causes it." Tayaw says.
"… I have to agree with Isaac. Regarding marriage lives of Americans, at least. Us British are maybe as … Pragmatic as Teungebians. Still, we love a good romance film." Helena says.
"So do Teungebians but we love action and sports movies more. We do have unrealistic movies about martial arts and combat sports, but at least it doesn't do nearly as much damage as romantic films in culture. Thank goodness for that." Tayaw chuckles.
"I guess that's why gay couples are happier…" Xiao Song comments, which made Gary almost spit his coffee.
"Hah! Good one!" Gary is amused.
"True. There are not that many gay movies, are there? And the few that are out there, the gay community hate them for being caricatures or being unrealistic. Good for them." Tayaw chuckles.
"Good for the gay people. Us lesbians couples are miserable." Helena jokes. This gives another round of laughter at the table.
Despite the jokes of her companions that closed the subject, Claire is not laughing. Her father's words, Tayaw's exaggerated but probable take, and Xiao Song's silent agreement, gets her thinking deeply about the genre.
"Oh. By the way, are you considering casting anyone now?" Tayaw asks the two directors.
"Oh. I'm a sure cast. I've studied the acting in your film and I think I can do it." Claire says confidently.
Tayaw nods. Claire after all is not only a good actress, in the traditional acting sense, she is also the daughter of one of Hollywood's best directors.
"Don't be so sure, dear. You're the number one on the list for now because I haven't seen others' take on your character yet." Gary chuckles.
Claire's confident smile quickly crumbles at the comment.
"Wow…" Tayaw meanwhile, cannot believe that Gary will not easily cast even his own daughter.
"Come on dad. I get why you didn't cast me in any of your films before, but you've seen what I can do. You saw me practice!" Claire says, indignant.
"Alright. Alright. I was just joking." Gary says.
"Don't take him seriously. He just wants you to work for free." Xiao Song suddenly says.
"What?! IS that true?" Claire cannot believe it.
"Now. Why would you say that?" Gary is dumbfounded at Xiao Song's lie.
"Heh. Payback for that game of pool." Xiao Song smugly smiles. Claire and Gary both sigh in relief.
"About the casting. How'd you do it for September Ninth? You're the first one who made use of the acting style. How'd you even find the actors?" Gary asks.
Xiao Song also has the same curiosity.
"I thought you saw my interview on TV? I explained it there." Tayaw replies.
"Well. Comedic actors. Yeah. But I thought you were just messing around." Xiao Song asks.
"I wasn't. They're sketch comedy actors, to be exact." Tayaw says.
"Huh… Why them?" Gary asks.
"Because they are experienced performers and their acting requirements are not strict, as long as they can make the crowd laugh and immersed at the sketch." Tayaw starts.
"At first, I actually wanted to hire regular people but they have no experience memorizing scripts and other actor stuff, so I had no time to train them." Tayaw says.
"Regular people huh.. Why?" Xiao Song asks.
"Because they have no habits that I do not prefer. But after consideration, I decided that sketch comedy actors are a better bet." Tayaw says.
"What habits?" Claire asks, becoming self-conscious.
"You know actors, they have that actor 'flair'. That actor 'stance'. I don't like it." Tayaw says.
Claire listening to Tayaw's explanation is a bit offended especially because Tayaw seems unreasonable and is not clarifying more.
"What flair? What stance?" She asks.
"You know. The way they deliver their lines all dramatic and sh*t. The way they stand all with their back straight looking like they have sticks up their asses. Or, they stand in that stance, like they're gonna fight." Tayaw says.
"PUhahahaha!" Gary bursts out in laughter.
"Yeah! After studying your film, I think I know what you're talking about! Hahaha!" Xiao Song also loses it.
"What are you guys talking about?" Helena asks, not following the conversation. This settles down Gary and Xiao Song.
"It's like this." Tayaw begins, taking the attention of his new acquaintances.
"Claire, you said you practiced and read on it, right?" Tayaw asks.
"Yeah?"
"Act out your favorite line in the book. In the style of 'September Ninth', if you will, please?" Tayaw orders.
"Okay." Claire stands up from her chair, not minding the other people in the coffee shop. Being an actress, she already flushed out her shame long ago as long as it involves acting.
"/I'm Sorry! This mess has been all my own fault. I was bringing to Ronny to somewhere that I shouldn't have. I brought him to that cave thinking: he must be feeling the same? I've bared all! Tenderness, affection, personal intercourse. I admit, it was entitlement on my part to expect what I wanted... It's not your fault, Ronny./"
Claire delivers the line perfectly, had she been on a stage play. The clear articulation, the confident body language, they are very attractive to listen to and look at. Tayaw however shakes his head. While Tayaw is pleasantly surprised at the surprisingly grounded interpretation of the character from a traditional actress, it still wasn't enough for Tayaw.
The part that Claire acted out is from a courtroom setting.
Claire's character falsely accused another character of s.e.x.u.a.l misconduct. Because of her character's weak mental state from the trauma of the Australian wild, she was convinced by her friends to sue Ronny, the male character, for his fortune. Ronny, being also traumatized adding to his indignation, is looking very vulnerable during the legal proceeding. His pitiful appearance in the court pulled out every single shred of guilt out of Claire's character, leading her to confess.
The reason why Tayaw is not impressed is because he did not see enough guilt in Claire's display that her character should be feeling. She also did not address the male character properly. Claire also addressed more the audience, and did not spare some attention on an imaginary Ronny.
Claire, after delivering her lines smoothly, smiles that she nailed it. She looks at Tayaw for feedback.
"Was it…" Claire then notices Tayaw's unimpressed expression. "Not good, huh?" Claire says in confusion, her confidence quickly evaporating.
Tayaw shakes his head.
"It was good. For the conventional film. But if you want to act in the film you guys want, you have to take a different approach." Tayaw says.
"How do I do that?" Claire asks.
"A more… grounded emotional investment to your character." Tayaw tries to articulate.
"Huh?" Claire's mind spins.
"I don't have time to try and explain to you right now…" Tayaw says, to the disappointment of Claire, Gary and Xiao Song.
"But, I can show you a bit of what I would have wanted. I wouldn't be showing you this, but now that I'm investing, let me help a bit with the acting." Tayaw says, which gets the actress and the two directors excited again.
"I know right. It's rather insulting for Helena for you all to not have confidence in her work." Tayaw says. Helena, hearing Tayaw's comment, almost feels insulted again, misinterpreting Tayaw's compliment for sarcasm. "I don't need you feeling sorry?.." Helena says, annoyed. "Psh. I'm not feeling sorry, you don't need it. Your book is a refreshing read. Yours and Grimmauld's books are the only interesting reads this year." Tayaw shrugs. "Did you really read it?" Helena asks, her annoyance waned. "Yeah. Exploring human nature. Why people do what they do when they are forced in a situation where they are the closest to their primal instincts. I especially liked the part where that one guy who hallucinated after being stung by that poisonous plant. Your book explores human psychology and experience too." Tayaw says. "T-thanks..." Helena is overwhelmed with flattery in contrast to her expectation. "Hm. We need more books like yours. Not those romance crap. They're disease to society. It's great that you guys are adapting her novel to film." Tayaw says casually but with disdain. Claire and Helena in contrast to Tayaw's casual remark, are taken aback by Tayaw's surprisingly harsh assessment for the genre. Gary and Xiao Song, despite knowing about Tayaw's lack of love for romance stories, are still surprised by the disdain. "Hm? Why d'you hate romance books? Not only books, I've seen your interview, and it looks like you don't like romance movies either." Claire quickly asks, subtly defending her love for the genre. "I just don't like how unrealistic they are. They make ladies have unreasonable expectations, and they get depressed when their expectations aren't met. They make men act unrealistically to meet the ladies' expectations. When they no longer can keep up with the charade, they feel inadequate and depressed that they can't make their women happy." Tayaw shrugs. "Uhuh really?" Claire asks while side-eyeing Gary and Xiao Song. To her surprise, the two men nod. "Claire. Remind me again why your mom and I divorced?" Gary asks suddenly. "She said that you don't love each other anymore." Claire says. Claire has no problem exposing the topic of her parents' divorce to Tayaw and others as it was a huge deal in show business at the time and she got used to other people talking about it. "Mm. I took care of you your mom very well as much as I could when we were married. But I guess being there isn't just enough. In fact, I didn't want a divorce." Gary says. "This is the first time you're telling me this. If you didn't want it, why?" Claire asks. "There is a bit of truth in what she said, though. 'We don't love each other anymore'. She didn't love me anymore but where she's wrong though is that I still love her. She just didn't feel it." Gary says. "But, why didn't you fight for it?" Claire asks. "It wasn't worth it. I'd rather not be with a woman who doesn't love me as much as I love her. I was satisfied with her just being there while she wasn't satisfied by what I've shown. "Your mother, she said I should do this, she said I should do that, and the more I did them, the more she expected. I got exhausted and I didn't want to live the rest of my life with her like that. "I admit, I became selfish, so I told her that if she really loves me, she wouldn't have to make me go through hoops to prove what I feel." Gary says with a bit of a wince in his eyes. "Ooff." Claire hears Xiao Song interject. She looked at him and she saw him close his eyes and nods in sympathy. "We got divorced when you were 11? 12? How many divorces has your mom had since then? I realize now that it's more her fault than mine." Gary continues. Claire becomes somber at the story. "Anyway, it's in the past now. The reason why I spilled it out here is because I was triggered by Isaac's opinion. Wanna hear what your mom told me that I still remember?" Gary asks rhetorically. "'Gary, why can't you just show me what you show in your movies?' I knew the difference between fantasy and reality. My fault lies in forcing her to realize that I'm just not my film characters. That not any man in real life can be as romantic as what's in fantasy." Gary concludes. "It's so ingrained in your culture that I can't believe it." Tayaw gets back in the conversation. "I'm not married, but from what I've seen in my country, successful marriage and relationsh.i.p.s are not a fairy tale. It's about two people, deciding to live life together, through suffering and in health, finding happiness together. But if one side, whether it's the man or the woman, cannot provide happiness to their partners after doing the best they can do, then there's a problem with that. I'm not saying that Romance entertainment is the only problem that causes 50% divorce rates here in America, but it contributes substantially to the culture that causes it." Tayaw says. " I have to agree with Isaac. Regarding marriage lives of Americans, at least. Us British are maybe as Pragmatic as Teungebians. Still, we love a good romance film." Helena says. "So do Teungebians but we love action and sports movies more. We do have unrealistic movies about martial arts and combat sports, but at least it doesn't do nearly as much damage as romantic films in culture. Thank goodness for that." Tayaw chuckles. "I guess that's why gay couples are happier" Xiao Song comments, which made Gary almost spit his coffee. "Hah! Good one!" Gary is amused. "True. There are not that many gay movies, are there? And the few that are out there, the gay community hate them for being caricatures or being unrealistic. Good for them." Tayaw chuckles. "Good for the gay people. Us lesbians couples are miserable." Helena jokes. This gives another round of laughter at the table. Despite the jokes of her companions that closed the subject, Claire is not laughing. Her father's words, Tayaw's exaggerated but probable take, and Xiao Song's silent agreement, gets her thinking deeply about the genre. "Oh. By the way, are you considering casting anyone now?" Tayaw asks the two directors. "Oh. I'm a sure cast. I've studied the acting in your film and I think I can do it." Claire says confidently. Tayaw nods. Claire after all is not only a good actress, in the traditional acting sense, she is also the daughter of one of Hollywood's best directors. "Don't be so sure, dear. You're the number one on the list for now because I haven't seen others' take on your character yet." Gary chuckles. Claire's confident smile quickly crumbles at the comment. "Wow" Tayaw meanwhile, cannot believe that Gary will not easily cast even his own daughter. "Come on dad. I get why you didn't cast me in any of your films before, but you've seen what I can do. You saw me practice!" Claire says, indignant. "Alright. Alright. I was just joking." Gary says. "Don't take him seriously. He just wants you to work for free." Xiao Song suddenly says. "What?! IS that true?" Claire cannot believe it. "Now. Why would you say that?" Gary is dumbfounded at Xiao Song's lie. "Heh. Payback for that game of pool." Xiao Song smugly smiles. Claire and Gary both sigh in relief. "About the casting. How'd you do it for September Ninth? You're the first one who made use of the acting style. How'd you even find the actors?" Gary asks. Xiao Song also has the same curiosity. "I thought you saw my interview on TV? I explained it there." Tayaw replies. "Well. Comedic actors. Yeah. But I thought you were just messing around." Xiao Song asks. "I wasn't. They're sketch comedy actors, to be exact." Tayaw says. "Huh Why them?" Gary asks. "Because they are experienced performers and their acting requirements are not strict, as long as they can make the crowd laugh and immersed at the sketch." Tayaw starts. "At first, I actually wanted to hire regular people but they have no experience memorizing scripts and other actor stuff, so I had no time to train them." Tayaw says. "Regular people huh.. Why?" Xiao Song asks. "Because they have no habits that I do not prefer. But after consideration, I decided that sketch comedy actors are a better bet." Tayaw says. "What habits?" Claire asks, becoming self-conscious. "You know actors, they have that actor 'flair'. That actor 'stance'. I don't like it." Tayaw says. Claire listening to Tayaw's explanation is a bit offended especially because Tayaw seems unreasonable and is not clarifying more. "What flair? What stance?" She asks. "You know. The way they deliver their lines all dramatic and sh*t. The way they stand all with their back straight looking like they have sticks up their asses. Or, they stand in that stance, like they're gonna fight." Tayaw says. "PUhahahaha!" Gary bursts out in laughter. "Yeah! After studying your film, I think I know what you're talking about! Hahaha!" Xiao Song also loses it. "What are you guys talking about?" Helena asks, not following the conversation. This settles down Gary and Xiao Song. "It's like this." Tayaw begins, taking the attention of his new acquaintances. "Claire, you said you practiced and read on it, right?" Tayaw asks. "Yeah?" "Act out your favorite line in the book. In the style of 'September Ninth', if you will, please?" Tayaw orders. "Okay." Claire stands up from her chair, not minding the other people in the coffee shop. Being an actress, she already flushed out her shame long ago as long as it involves acting. "/I'm Sorry! This mess has been all my own fault. I was bringing to Ronny to somewhere that I shouldn't have. I brought him to that cave thinking: he must be feeling the same? I've bared all! Tenderness, affection, personal intercourse. I admit, it was entitlement on my part to expect what I wanted... It's not your fault, Ronny./" Claire delivers the line perfectly, had she been on a stage play. The clear articulation, the confident body language, they are very attractive to listen to and look at. Tayaw however shakes his head. While Tayaw is pleasantly surprised at the surprisingly grounded interpretation of the character from a traditional actress, it still wasn't enough for Tayaw. The part that Claire acted out is from a courtroom setting. Claire's character falsely accused another character of s.e.x.u.a.l misconduct. Because of her character's weak mental state from the trauma of the Australian wild, she was convinced by her friends to sue Ronny, the male character, for his fortune. Ronny, being also traumatized adding to his indignation, is looking very vulnerable during the legal proceeding. His pitiful appearance in the court pulled out every single shred of guilt out of Claire's character, leading her to confess. The reason why Tayaw is not impressed is because he did not see enough guilt in Claire's display that her character should be feeling. She also did not address the male character properly. Claire also addressed more the audience, and did not spare some attention on an imaginary Ronny. Claire, after delivering her lines smoothly, smiles that she nailed it. She looks at Tayaw for feedback. "Was it" Claire then notices Tayaw's unimpressed expression. "Not good, huh?" Claire says in confusion, her confidence quickly evaporating. Tayaw shakes his head. "It was good. For the conventional film. But if you want to act in the film you guys want, you have to take a different approach." Tayaw says. "How do I do that?" Claire asks. "A more grounded emotional investment to your character." Tayaw tries to articulate. "Huh?" Claire's mind spins. "I don't have time to try and explain to you right now" Tayaw says, to the disappointment of Claire, Gary and Xiao Song. "But, I can show you a bit of what I would have wanted. I wouldn't be showing you this, but now that I'm investing, let me help a bit with the acting." Tayaw says, which gets the actress and the two directors excited again.
