The Price of Fame

Chapter 3

During the next few days Freddy and Russ looked over their finances. The shoot that weekend—even sharing it with several other young actors—was expensive. Freddy would have to pay for studio time, camera crew, director, and make-up artists. The electrolysis they put aside for now as Sid hadn’t fully decided on it.

Russ said that since he’d been wanting to get in better shape he’d pop for the trainer and they could go together. “It’d be cheaper that way.”

Freddy could always fall back on bank loans from the place where he worked if his money ran out.

In the evenings Russ helped Freddy learn his lines for the scenes he would be shooting that weekend. Freddy had never worked in front of a real camera crew before. His DVD was made by amateurs who had attended his performances back home. The prospect both frightened and excited him.

It was kind of tricky learning four different scenes; Freddy found himself getting the lines of each confused. This proved to be a source of comic relief at several points for the men.

One scene, a comedy, involved two brothers who were plotting a bank robbery and couldn’t agree on how it should be pulled off. A second was a soldier leaving his family to go to war. The third was a love scene in which Russ said he was more than willing to play the part of Freddy’s lover. The fourth was the hardest for Freddy. It was about two people in love but having to go their separate ways.

They investigated personal trainers and came up with one named Guy Marshall. It meant they had to leave the gym where they had been working out regularly and take a membership in one that was much more expensive. Guy, however, turned out to be a real find. He was short, but muscular like a gymnast. His beautifully developed and toned body made for a convincing reference for his ability to produce. By the weekend both Russ and Freddy were sore in places they didn’t know they had, despite the fact both worked out on a regular basis.

When Saturday came, Russ kissed Freddy goodbye, wished him good luck, and said he could hardly wait to hear all about it. Freddy held his boyfriend tight, thanked him for all he’d done that week, and headed out full of hope to start his career as a motion picture actor.