Take One (8 page)

Now they could take the next step toward their goals all because he’d been nice to a local. Keith bounded up the steps of
the restaurant, and after only a few minutes, JR handed him a plastic plate with a great-smelling piece of salmon and a heap
of fresh steamed broccoli. Keith shook the man’s hand. “I might have to get you in two scenes for this.”

“No problem.” The man tipped his baseball cap. “Glad to be of ser vice.”

Keith pulled up on the set and hurried the hot plate to Rita’s trailer door. He knocked and waited a full minute before she
opened it. She was still in her pale blue wrap, and she scowled at him, ready for a fight until she saw the plate in his hand.
“Here,” Keith gave it to her. “Salmon and broccoli. The same thing will be here for you every morning from now on.”

Rita studied the plate and her expression softened. “Thank you.” She smelled the plate and a quiet, nervous-sounding laugh
came from her. “I don’t mean to be any trouble, Keith. You know that. I didn’t think you’d find salmon this morning, and,
well … I wouldn’t really have walked. It’s just … someone dropped the ball—not you and Chase—but someone, and …” another laugh,
“I can’t work without salmon.” She smiled again. “You understand, right?”

“Of course.” Keith took a step back and checked his watch. “When can we expect you on set?”

“How about twenty minutes?” Again she looked sheepish. “Sorry if I made a scene. I can be a little … overdramatic at times.”

“We want you happy, Rita.” He tried to see her as a vulnerable human being, not as a spoiled actress wasting precious money
and making unreasonable demands. His smile felt genuine as he took a few steps away from her trailer. “We’ll do whatever we
can. See you in twenty.”

On the short walk back to the set, Keith thought about the change in his star actress. What if he’d fought with her and chastised
her for her demands? This would’ve been the beginning of an adversarial relationship, and everyone on the set would’ve suffered
as a result. Instead, she’d actually apologized.
This is a mission field, too, isn’t it God? But is it always going to be this difficult?

My son, consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance …

The answer was a quiet whisper, one that danced in the breeze and soothed his soul. He would’ve preferred some kind of assurance
that the filming could only get easier from here, but he had a better promise instead. One that was tried and true, straight
from the Bible.

He stepped up onto the curb and walked up to the house, but again nothing was being shot. He’d been gone forty minutes, so
he could only hope they’d finished at least one of the two scenes with Jake Olson. The electricians hovered over a section
of wires off to the right side of the house, and Chase appeared to be deep in conversation with the director of photography
and the assistant director.

Keith stopped a grip along the way. “What’s going on?”

“Cameras aren’t getting power.” He motioned to the group working on the side of the house. “Took awhile, but they finally
figured out where the problem was. Looks like a cat chewed through a handful of wires.”

For a long moment, Keith stared at the guy as if maybe the man might laugh out loud and admit he was only kidding. Certainly
this sort of trouble wasn’t a normal part of shooting on location. At least it hadn’t been for the smaller projects Keith
had worked on. He thanked the guy and went to Chase, who confirmed the trouble and the fact that the damage had been done
by a cat.

“We patched the wires and the cameras are working again. But the cord to the main light is damaged in several areas.” Chase
raked his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “The university doesn’t have one that big, so I have one coming from
Indianapolis. It’ll be here in an hour.”

Keith allowed the news to fully register. Then once more he took the clipboard from Chase and scrutinized the scene list.
“Ask the DP if we can use two smaller lights and get a few outdoor scenes shot. There are three here that we can work on.
One of them doesn’t include Rita. Let’s start there.”

By the time they broke for dinner at five, they had captured just five of the eight scenes slated for day one. Keith wanted
to lock himself in the trailer and cry out to God, because this pace would never do. They would have to add another three
weeks to their film schedule if they crawled along at this rate. Chase seemed discouraged too, but they wouldn’t have time
to talk until they were back at the hotel. He longed for Wednesday, when Lisa would be here and he’d have her arms to look
forward to at the end of a day like this.

He was climbing into his car, leaving for the day, when he practically heard an audible reminder of the verse from earlier.
Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds …
He stopped and braced himself against his car.
Pure joy …
had day one on the set been so bad that he could forget what God was clearly trying to tell him? Ministry of any kind came
at a price, and trials were part of the cost. He filled his lungs with fresh air and did one more walk around the base camp,
thanking whatever cast and crew were still around and assuring them that tomorrow would be better for everyone.

“You guys are really different,” one of the grips told him when Keith was almost finished making his final rounds. “We’re
not on the same team, you and us.” He removed his baseball cap and scratched his head. “But you and Chase, you’re different.
It’s like you really care, you know? Ain’t never seen anything like it.”

“Thanks.” Keith grinned at the guy. “And you’re wrong. No matter what the union reps say, as long as we’re making this film,
we
are
on the same team. All of us.”

As Keith drove back to the hotel, he felt a new, deeper joy filling his heart, giving him strength for whatever the next day
held. His father used to tell him that when hard times came, they had all the more reason to be excited about the future.
“The bigger the mountain, the greater the view on the other side,” he would say. Keith smiled to himself. The mission field
in this new venture of filmmaking wasn’t only the audience who would see the movie. It was every cast and crew member who
had reported for duty this morning. And if every day was going to bring the sort of mountains that cropped up today, he could
only be certain of one thing.

The view on the other side must be breathtaking.

Six

C
HASE LIKED THE ANALOGY ABOUT THE
mountains and the vistas, but he had a copy of their bank statement in front of him when he and Keith met up in the hotel
room. “We can’t do it,” he slid the piece of paper across the small table. “We have enough in the budget for a few days overage,
but at this rate?” He released a defeated chuckle. A few delays midway through the shoot was one thing, but this early? “We’ll
run out of money before the third act.”

“I’m still making phone calls, contacting people about investing.” Keith kept his tone upbeat.

“What about the investors who’ve already committed? Have you talked to them?” Chase still hoped more money might come from
the familiar sources. If they’d already put up five hundred thousand or a million, they might be willing to put up more.

“You know the answer.” Keith sounded like he was trying to be patient.

“Sorry. You’re doing everything you can.” The two of them had been best friends for nearly ten years, and when it came to
producing movies, Keith was by the far the more experienced. Chase leaned back in his chair, and with his free hand he tried
to rub out the tension in his neck.

“I sent them all letters three weeks ago, suggesting they might want to invest more, increase their returns down the road.”
He tossed his hands. “Not one bite.”

“What’s our accountant say?”

“I called him after lunch. He thinks we’re in trouble. Everyone expected at least one of the investors to come up with a few
hundred thousand more, but people are nervous. The market’s shaky and investors are playing it safe.”

Chase tried not to look nervous. “Okay … then what are the options?” This was ministry, they’d agreed on that. But if they
ran out of money, they’d not only fail in their mission, but they’d be in trouble with their investors. Chase took the paper
from Keith again and stared at it for a long moment.

Keith’s tone bordered on dire. “There’s only one option. We find another investor. Someone who can pad us with another three
hundred at least. Ten days of on-location filming. Otherwise we’re irresponsible to move forward.”

“I agree.” Chase leaned forward on his elbows. “Our accountant’s looking for someone, right? I thought he had a lead last
week.”

“He had four leads. I’m following up on them, but no one’s returning my calls.” Keith massaged his temples with his thumb
and fingers. “I’ve got a dozen copies of our portfolio, detailed information on the movie and its distribution channels, the
breakdown on how investors will be repaid first and how they’ll benefit from the sale of DVDs. The package is enticing, but
in this mar-ket no one’s sure of anything. I need to get the packets into the hands of the people who can help.”

“Exactly.” Chase felt the beginning of a headache. “We only have enough in the account if we stick to the schedule.”

For what felt like a solid minute, neither of them said a word. Then Keith sat up straighter and sucked in a full breath.
“Well, then … until I can get a hold of one of these potential investors, we’ll have to stick to the schedule.”

“Come on.” Chase could feel his defeated attitude dragging both of them down, but he couldn’t help himself. They couldn’t
make a movie without some kind of cushion in the bank. “That’s crazy, and you know it.”

Keith leveled his gaze across the table. “There we were in Indonesia, trapped on the wrong side of a rising river.” His voice
was low and intense, every word hitting its mark. “Three women and twelve tribal children surrounded us, screaming for help.
Rain flooding down from the skies.” He didn’t blink. “Can you see us, Chase? Remember how it was?”

Chase felt goose bumps rise along his arms, felt again the nausea that had swept over him at the certain death they all faced
in that single moment. He swallowed hard. “We … we cried out to God.” He closed his eyes and he could hear the rushing water,
feel the spray against his face. “At the top of our lungs we cried out.”

“And from nowhere a barge sailed up and rescued us.”

“Later, no one knew where the thing had come from or who had sent it.”

Keith exhaled and folded his arms across his chest. “Are you kidding me, Chase, buddy? You’re worried about a little funding
for a Hollywood movie?” He lifted his chin, his confidence and faith so strong it dispelled the darkness from the room. “God
brought us here. He will see us through to the end. Until then, we can plan and act and take all the prudent steps. But we
can’t give way to fear and worry.” He smiled. “We have to believe, same as we did in that storm.”

“Man.” Chase clenched his teeth, flexing the muscles in his jaw. “I beg God to give me a faith like yours.”

“He will. Days like this can only make us stronger.” Keith stood and headed for the door. “Enough doom and gloom. Come with
me. There’s fresh coffee in the lobby.”

Chase wasn’t sure about the coffee. It was after eight and call was at seven again tomorrow. He still needed to talk to Kelly
about things back home, how she and the girls were doing. But right now he needed time with Keith more than anything. Every
hour with his friend made the mountain they were facing seem less formidable.

They sat at a table in the lobby not far from a roaring fireplace. The atmosphere was more open, less oppressive than it had
been back in the hotel room. Chase made himself a cup of hot cider and sat opposite his friend. “Doesn’t anything scare you?”
He’d seen Keith show fear before. The time in Indonesia when Andi went missing, and another season when it looked like Lisa
might be sick. But most of the time the guy was rock solid. Chase breathed in the steam from his sweet-smelling drink. “Don’t
you ever wonder why we’re doing this?”

“No.” He grinned over the top of his coffee cup. “I know why we’re doing this. But sure … I get scared sometimes. Scared for
our culture, our country. Scared that Andi and your girls will have to grow up in a world where the lines between right and
wrong have vanished for good.” He was quiet for a minute, thoughtful. “When I think about all this, about the purpose in making
movies with a message, I guess it comes down to conveying one thing.”

“One?”

“Pretty much.” He took a slow sip of his coffee. “We need to tell the world the truth.”

“Not everyone’s lost the truth. Andi has her head on straight. The kids she went to high school with, they seemed pretty strong.”

“For now.” Keith narrowed his eyes. “Sometimes I’m not so sure about Andi. Once in a while she’ll say something and I’ll know
she didn’t get that from Lisa and me, and certainly not from anything she learned in the Bible.” He gave a slow, sure nod.
“The culture’s a powerful thing. And the culture pays attention to movies.” He stared for a while into the dancing fire. “Everywhere
you look, nearly every movie out there has a lie at its core. I want so much more for Andi, for the kids of her generation.”

“And we can help with that?”

“We could.” Keith’s smile was easy. “A couple of willing guys looking to change the world … God’s used less than that in the
past. A stuttering recluse to change the mind of the Pharoah of Egypt … a scrawny kid with a stone and a slingshot to bring
down the Philistine army.” His eyes shone brighter than before. “A group of fishermen to bring the message of hope to an entire
world.”

“They didn’t even have a movie screen.”

“Exactly.”

Chase raised his eyebrows and waited. Keith’s assessment of the culture was bleak, but it was right on. “Truth. The foundations
that used to hold up our culture. If we can resurrect those, then the next generation might find the direction it’s missing.”
Chase gave a low whistle. “Pretty big mission.”

“Pretty big God.” Again Keith smiled. A couple of electricians from the set walked by and nodded in their direction. When
they’d passed, Keith’s expression became more intense. “Here’s the deal. I don’t want to make even one movie unless the message
at the core helps our culture find its way to daylight again. Back to truth.”

Chase thought about the film they were making,
The Last Letter
. Jake Olson’s character was like a lot of college guys, given over to a wrong relationship with his girlfriend and drifting
along in a shallow stream of activity without purpose or passion. He had no connection to family, no faith, and no reason
to believe in his future. But after his father dies, he receives a letter advising him that he’s the last of the men in his
family’s line, the last one who can restore a sense of character and godly principles for future generations. Chase had always
seen the movie as good and wholesome.

But until now, he hadn’t seen it as restoring truth. He took a long drink from his cider and studied his friend. “That’s why
you’re so passionate about this one.”

“Exactly.” Keith finished his coffee and stood. “I’m turning in. I need to call Lisa and give her the update. She’s been praying
all day.”

“You sure?” Chase laughed lightly. “Maybe she got distracted.”

Another easy smile lifted Keith’s lips. “We found the salmon, didn’t we? And the new light came in from Indianapolis.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Chase was tired of his cider. He pushed it toward the center of the table and crossed his arms. No point
reminding Keith about the three scenes they didn’t shoot, or how far they’d fall behind tomorrow if they couldn’t keep up
with the schedule. “Thanks for the talk.” Chase sat at the table with his cider, thinking about what Keith had said. They’d
come through much to get where they were, and they’d done it all for one reason—to bring change to the current culture. Keith
was right. God had seen them through dire situations in the past. He would see them through this.

He was about to turn in when Rita Reynolds walked through the front door of the lobby, fixing her hair and pulling her sweater
tight around her middle. She was headed for the elevator when she spotted him and stopped. Her expression became humble and
apologetic, and for a few seconds she only stood there. Then she released her hold on her sweater and let it open to reveal
a white tank top, tight against her middle. Chase crossed one leg over the other and nodded at her, same as he would to any
of the cast or crew who might pass by.

But clearly Rita had something to say. She came closer, pulled out the chair where Keith had been sitting, and lifted one
eyebrow cautiously. “You got a minute?”

“Sure.” Chase had no idea what she wanted to talk about, but here in the public lobby he had no reason to fear her intentions.
After her earlier tirade, she was probably only checking on her breakfast order. “What’s on your mind?”

“You, I guess. You and Keith.” She sat down and rested her forearms easily on the table between them. “I had no right blowing
up this morning.” She made a face that suggested she was embarrassed by her actions. “Yes, I like salmon, but the scene I
made? Really?” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m sorry, Chase. I was out of line.”

Something in Rita’s tone kept Chase on his guard. She was volatile and difficult, just like they’d been warned. If this was
a true apology, it would likely be followed by some other request, something she still wanted and hadn’t gotten. He remained
unmoved except for a polite smile. “Apology accepted.”

“Really?” In the shadows near the fireplace she looked younger than her thirty-seven years, more like a school girl seeking
attention. “I felt bad all day.”

“Let it go.” It hit Chase that he was sitting across the table talking to one of the country’s favorite movie stars. Rita
was blonde and willowy with the ability to play a decade younger or older than her age—depending on the role. She’d won an
Academy Award for supporting actress in her teens, and she’d raised the bar in every movie she’d been in since. Chase still
wasn’t sure what she wanted. “Tomorrow’s a new day for all of us.”

Rita tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her eyes searching his as if she was trying to see past his position as producer.
“So who are you, Chase Ryan? You’re awfully young to be making movies.”

“I’m more the director on this one.” He felt his guard drop a little. Maybe she only wanted to make small talk to repair the
damage from earlier. “Keith and I are a team.” He gave a look that said he couldn’t be sure about anything. “We hope this
is the first of many movies to come. Our dreams are pretty big.”

She hesitated, and her eyes found the ring on his left hand. “You’re married, of course.” A grin eased the embarrassment that
had colored her expression since she sat down. “The best looking ones always are.”

It took Chase a few heartbeats to register what she’d said. Even then he figured she was still only looking to make a connection,
trying to erase the impression she’d made at breakfast. “Making points, huh?” He laughed and leaned his head back, trying
to read her intentions. On the handful of movies he and Keith had worked over the past few years, he’d been hit on here and
there. He couldn’t tell about Rita.

When he didn’t say anything else, she leaned a little closer across the table. “So tell me about Chase … what’s behind those
deep brown eyes?”

“You had it right.” He kept his tone easy, but he had no intention of letting her see past his professional exterior. “I’m
happily married to Kelly. We have two little girls—Molly and Macy, four and two. Other than missing my family? I love God
and my wife and the idea of making movies that pack a message.” He felt his smile cool some. “That’s about it.”

“You know why I took this movie?” She seemed anxious to move on. “I mean, I get a lot of offers.”

“I’m sure.” Chase was curious. They’d put the script out to twenty-some actresses, and all of them turned the part down because
of the budget or because Keith and he were untested. Then one day when they were running out of time, a call came into their
small office from Rita Reynolds’ agent. She wanted a shot at the lead role. At the time, the phone call and the interest from
Rita was one more miracle allowing them to move forward with a movie that would hopefully wind up on the big screen. But they
never really knew why Rita had sought them out. “Tell me why.”