You're a movie star from the silent era - you just don’t know it

Los Angeles 1926

“CUT!”

“I need a little more feeling, honey.” The director is instructing the actor. “Show us you mean it.”

“Scream like a pig. A big fat pig! Yes. Yes!”

“Get out the fucking way!”

A giant movie set in the middle of nowhere. The time of the silent film and they squeezed 20 productions in the same spot to save time and money.

Jack Conrad is the big star. Hungover from last night’s bender but ready to hit the bottle again waiting for his big scene where he’ll kiss the lady.

“Let’s do this.” He falls out of his tent. Drunk as a I-don’t-know-what.

He picks his shit together and walks over to the cameras.

Breathes.

Mouth watering.

The sun is setting, he walks up to the lady.

And kisses her.

1928

New movie set.

Total silence.

Everything has changed, because now, the stars don’t just have to move on screen. No, now they also need to talk.

Remember the lines.

And there’s not just a cameraman. No, now there’s also a voice man. A microphone that pics up everything.

“Camera ready! Sound ready!”

“Cut…” The voice guy jumps in. “You need to talk louder, honey.”

The microphone didn’t catch her voice.

“And for the last time,” he talks louder. “Stand under the microphone.”

“Fuck your mic,” the actor’s losing it. “Why don’t you move your fucking microphone.”

“SILENCE!”

“Action.”

1930

“Jack Conrad,” the journalist looks at her questions. “What are your thoughts about the future?”

“Well my last movies didn’t work,” a nervous smile. “But I learned a lot from ‘em. I’m still learning this new language.”

“Is it true that you have quit drinking?”

“Yep, it was getting in the way.”

“Do you miss the silents?”

He sucks on his cigarette. “No,” he looks at her. “We shouldn’t stand in the way of progress.”

1932

Same Jack, same journalist.

“Jack,” now she has no questions. “Your time has run out, stop questioning it.”

He looks down, “I’m on a dry spell.”

“No Jack, it’s over,” she is gentle now. “It’s been over for a while.”

“I’m sorry.”

The world around you will change. Movies will go from silent to talking and there’s no stopping it.

What’s your talking film?

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