Maple Grove Manor was usually a pretty quiet place, though lately with two small children and a very active dog, it had become a little more lively than usual. Not that anyone was complaining. Even Old Man Granger seemed happier these days, and though he grumbled every now and then about one thing or another, everyone knew his bark was worse than his bite. Now that baby Benjamin was nearing a year old, everyone in the house was sleeping longer and better and there were fewer short tempers to deal with. As far as today was concerned, Jon was on break between plays at the Shanachie and looking over some mail and a few scripts Liv had sent his way with a big sticky note on one of them for him to pay special attention to.
Cosmo had appointed himself Emily's guardian this evening, following the tottering toddler around as she explored the main rooms of their suite, pulling herself hand over hand along furniture while her feet stumbled and righted themselves. Confident in the dog's ability to prevent a disaster from occurring, Vicki had one foot on Ben's rocker, gently keeping up the rhythm that was lulling the little boy into his morning nap as she scribbled notes on the designs for upcoming productions at the theater.
"This is really good," Jon mused aloud, as he flipped a page of the booklet in front of him and took a sip from his mug. "No wonder Liv wanted me to read it," he said, obviously to Vicki since neither Cosmo, Emily, or Ben could care less.
She looked up from her work, brushing a wayward hank of red hair out of her face with a smile. "What's that, stud muffin?" she asked curiously, slipping the glasses that she had finally been talked into getting for work off her nose. She hated the things, but she had to admit, the headaches weren't coming anywhere near as often now she was wearing them on a regular basis.
"Well, it's probably a conflict of interest, but it's the script for Rhy'Din Nights. I don't know how Liv got her hands on it, but I guess Michael's looking for a studio to produce it and someone to star in it. I'm just not sure I want to get involved with another film project," he said, wondering why Mataya hadn't mentioned it, unless Michael was peddling it on his own without his sister-in-law's knowledge.
"Knowing Liv, she pinched it out of someone else's mailbox," Vicki pointed out in amusement. "She's been trying to push it on you since word got out that Michael finished his adaption." She grinned at her husband, rubbing the back of her neck as she leaned back, her foot never stilling from the gentle rock that kept their son from bursting everyone's eardrums with his complaints about life in general and teething in particular. "Pros and cons?"
"Liv wouldn't do that, would she?" Jon asked, lifting his brows. He couldn't quite imagine Liv doing anything that bold, but maybe he was wrong. "Of producing or starring?" he asked, taking another sip of his coffee.
"Whichever one attracts you most," she said, twisting to face him, her chin propped on one hand. "The immediate attraction of producing is that you don't have to do any of the PR if you don't want to, I know that. But I think in order to produce it, you would have to set up a company, rather than simply put money in."
"We sort of already have a company," he pointed out, though he and Mataya had only produced one movie together, and that movie had been mostly finished. All it had really needed was some editing and distribution. That was a far cry from producing a film from start to finish. "This PR would be different from Fifty Shades...," he pointed out. And probably different from Swan Song, too, as they were all entirely different movies. "First of all, it takes place on Rhy'Din, so I'm assuming it would be filmed here, which means no trips to Earth. That's a plus."
"It would be released on Earth, though," she pointed out, "and that still means a PR tour. But as both a producer and as an actor, you have the pull to be able to get a couple of names on the cast that would naturally open doors."
"If Mataya's in, I'm in, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it alone," Jon remarked. He didn't really feel he knew enough about producing to do it all on his own, but if Mataya wanted in, they might be able to do it together. He let the script fall closed, one hand resting on the cover, as he arched a curious brow at his wife. He could almost see the wheels turning in her pretty little head. "What names?"
"Well, I haven't read the script, but I have read the book," she said musingly. "Shame Elena's not acting anymore, but she's got a twin on Earth. Kaley ....something or other. Seems about right for the female lead. And H.B.C. would be perfect for the muse."
"Cuoco?" Jon asked, the only Kaley he'd ever heard of in the industry. "You think she looks like Elena?" He thought about that a moment. "I guess there is a resemblance, but how the hell am I supposed to get her and H.B.C. on board for a film made in and about Rhy'Din?" he asked, puzzled. "Besides, I'm not sure I can afford them." He sighed. "Probably better to pass and let a big studio have it," he said, though the lead was tempting and it had been over a year since he'd done Swan Song.
"You know as well as I do that if the script is that good, people will fall over themselves to sign up to it, regardless of whether or not they get paid their usual fee," his wife pointed out cheerfully. "And I highly doubt that anything Michael writes can be classed as anything other than good. But you will need at least one big name, if only to secure the additional funding."
"What if that big name was me?" he asked, unsure how his wife might feel about him taking another film role when they had two small children to care for and were both juggling careers at the theater. It might not be so bad, though, if filming was taking place on Rhy'Din. Even if it wasn't, he'd managed before. It wasn't the filming so much as the PR he hated.
"That is entirely your decision, love," she told him with a wry smile. "As I said, even if it is filmed on Rhy'Din, it'll be released on Earth, because the book was published on Earth. That means another PR tour, and only you can say whether or not you're happy to do that. I'm not going to make the decision for you, no matter how much you wheedle me." She grinned at him, ruthless in leaving that one up to him.
"You're not helping, Vicki," Jon countered, half teasing, half serious. It wasn't just about getting his wife's opinion or advice regarding his career, but what she thought was best for their marriage, too. "Don't make me ask Mataya because we both know what she'll say."
Vicki laughed, shaking her head. "Well, we both know that she'd give me indefinite leave if I asked, so if you go to Earth, the family is going with you, no question there," she reminded him in amusement. "It's still your decision, love."
Cosmo had appointed himself Emily's guardian this evening, following the tottering toddler around as she explored the main rooms of their suite, pulling herself hand over hand along furniture while her feet stumbled and righted themselves. Confident in the dog's ability to prevent a disaster from occurring, Vicki had one foot on Ben's rocker, gently keeping up the rhythm that was lulling the little boy into his morning nap as she scribbled notes on the designs for upcoming productions at the theater.
"This is really good," Jon mused aloud, as he flipped a page of the booklet in front of him and took a sip from his mug. "No wonder Liv wanted me to read it," he said, obviously to Vicki since neither Cosmo, Emily, or Ben could care less.
She looked up from her work, brushing a wayward hank of red hair out of her face with a smile. "What's that, stud muffin?" she asked curiously, slipping the glasses that she had finally been talked into getting for work off her nose. She hated the things, but she had to admit, the headaches weren't coming anywhere near as often now she was wearing them on a regular basis.
"Well, it's probably a conflict of interest, but it's the script for Rhy'Din Nights. I don't know how Liv got her hands on it, but I guess Michael's looking for a studio to produce it and someone to star in it. I'm just not sure I want to get involved with another film project," he said, wondering why Mataya hadn't mentioned it, unless Michael was peddling it on his own without his sister-in-law's knowledge.
"Knowing Liv, she pinched it out of someone else's mailbox," Vicki pointed out in amusement. "She's been trying to push it on you since word got out that Michael finished his adaption." She grinned at her husband, rubbing the back of her neck as she leaned back, her foot never stilling from the gentle rock that kept their son from bursting everyone's eardrums with his complaints about life in general and teething in particular. "Pros and cons?"
"Liv wouldn't do that, would she?" Jon asked, lifting his brows. He couldn't quite imagine Liv doing anything that bold, but maybe he was wrong. "Of producing or starring?" he asked, taking another sip of his coffee.
"Whichever one attracts you most," she said, twisting to face him, her chin propped on one hand. "The immediate attraction of producing is that you don't have to do any of the PR if you don't want to, I know that. But I think in order to produce it, you would have to set up a company, rather than simply put money in."
"We sort of already have a company," he pointed out, though he and Mataya had only produced one movie together, and that movie had been mostly finished. All it had really needed was some editing and distribution. That was a far cry from producing a film from start to finish. "This PR would be different from Fifty Shades...," he pointed out. And probably different from Swan Song, too, as they were all entirely different movies. "First of all, it takes place on Rhy'Din, so I'm assuming it would be filmed here, which means no trips to Earth. That's a plus."
"It would be released on Earth, though," she pointed out, "and that still means a PR tour. But as both a producer and as an actor, you have the pull to be able to get a couple of names on the cast that would naturally open doors."
"If Mataya's in, I'm in, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it alone," Jon remarked. He didn't really feel he knew enough about producing to do it all on his own, but if Mataya wanted in, they might be able to do it together. He let the script fall closed, one hand resting on the cover, as he arched a curious brow at his wife. He could almost see the wheels turning in her pretty little head. "What names?"
"Well, I haven't read the script, but I have read the book," she said musingly. "Shame Elena's not acting anymore, but she's got a twin on Earth. Kaley ....something or other. Seems about right for the female lead. And H.B.C. would be perfect for the muse."
"Cuoco?" Jon asked, the only Kaley he'd ever heard of in the industry. "You think she looks like Elena?" He thought about that a moment. "I guess there is a resemblance, but how the hell am I supposed to get her and H.B.C. on board for a film made in and about Rhy'Din?" he asked, puzzled. "Besides, I'm not sure I can afford them." He sighed. "Probably better to pass and let a big studio have it," he said, though the lead was tempting and it had been over a year since he'd done Swan Song.
"You know as well as I do that if the script is that good, people will fall over themselves to sign up to it, regardless of whether or not they get paid their usual fee," his wife pointed out cheerfully. "And I highly doubt that anything Michael writes can be classed as anything other than good. But you will need at least one big name, if only to secure the additional funding."
"What if that big name was me?" he asked, unsure how his wife might feel about him taking another film role when they had two small children to care for and were both juggling careers at the theater. It might not be so bad, though, if filming was taking place on Rhy'Din. Even if it wasn't, he'd managed before. It wasn't the filming so much as the PR he hated.
"That is entirely your decision, love," she told him with a wry smile. "As I said, even if it is filmed on Rhy'Din, it'll be released on Earth, because the book was published on Earth. That means another PR tour, and only you can say whether or not you're happy to do that. I'm not going to make the decision for you, no matter how much you wheedle me." She grinned at him, ruthless in leaving that one up to him.
"You're not helping, Vicki," Jon countered, half teasing, half serious. It wasn't just about getting his wife's opinion or advice regarding his career, but what she thought was best for their marriage, too. "Don't make me ask Mataya because we both know what she'll say."
Vicki laughed, shaking her head. "Well, we both know that she'd give me indefinite leave if I asked, so if you go to Earth, the family is going with you, no question there," she reminded him in amusement. "It's still your decision, love."