The first day of shooting for the short film starring Sarah had arrived.
The sun was just beginning to rise over Los Angeles when Owen got out of bed. He had a quiet breakfast, in silence, mentally reviewing the details of the shoot ahead.
This time, it would be the first project where he wouldn't act. His role would be purely as a producer, and, of course, he'd be present on set. Also, to serve as a kind of mentor for Sarah in case she got nervous or anything.
After a while, he gathered the things they'd need for the day, all the new equipment he'd bought (Matt would bring the rest), and left his apartment, heading down to the parking garage. The BMW 3 Series was waiting for him, gleaming and spotless. A reminder that he'd managed to buy an even better car in just a few months. Not bad.
He loaded the gear into the trunk, started the engine, and drove toward his parents' house.
When he arrived, he parked in front of the driveway and got out of the car. The moment he rang the bell, the door opened immediately.
Sarah appeared, her expression neutral, though her eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Let's go, I'm ready," she said bluntly, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she started walking toward the car.
Owen raised an eyebrow, turning his head to watch her. His sister walked with a determined stride, as if she were already a seasoned professional, though he knew deep down she must have been bursting with excitement.
At the door, Elizabeth appeared right after, wearing a warm, proud expression. "She's very excited," she said, clasping her hands together as if she were about to applaud.
Owen nodded. "It shows. Did she at least have breakfast?" he asked.
Elizabeth chuckled lightly. "Yes, she did. I had to make her, but she ate something."
"Good," he replied, satisfied, taking a step back to say goodbye. "See you later, Mom."
Elizabeth raised her hand in an almost theatrical gesture of blessing, as if sending them good luck.
By the time Owen opened the driver's door, Sarah was already sitting in the passenger seat, seatbelt on, curiously looking around the interior.
"Didn't take you long to get another car," she said with a teasing, knowing tone.
Sarah knew her brother had loved his previous car. He'd always been a car enthusiast, though that was the old Owen. So she figured it must've been hard for him to sell it just to survive those months and fund his movie.
Owen glanced sideways at her while adjusting the mirrors. "Yeah, I needed mobility. I couldn't keep using Uber all the time. Besides, this one's different. I bought this car myself, not with Mom and Dad's money."
Sarah smile, running her hand across the pristine dashboard. "And it's brand-new… more luxurious and expensive. You're burning through those checks fast, huh?"
"When you earn your own money, you can afford a few luxuries," Owen replied calmly, refusing to rise to her teasing, as he turned the key and the engine purred softly.
"If you keep this up, you'll be able to afford those luxuries yourself. And without Mom and Dad's help. You'll stop being the spoiled little Ashford girl," he added in a serious tone, though with a barely contained grin.
Sarah frowned at the phrase: spoiled little Ashford girl.
"Shut up."
"I'm serious. You've already got your first check for fifteen hundred dollars. Only about forty grand to go and it's yours," Owen continued, clearly trying to annoy her, and succeeding.
"Uh-huh, just a little," Sarah shot back, crossing her arms with a defiant look. "And what about you? What's next after this car? A Ferrari? A Lamborghini?"
She knew her brother's taste in cars. He'd already bought one worth over forty thousand dollars after earning his first checks as an actor and from selling a screenplay, a fairly large share of what he'd made.
And she knew Owen had a very good deal on the profits from Paranormal Activity. If the movie did well, he could become a millionaire within a few months.
"No," Owen replied calmly, smirking. "Something more practical. I want a Rolls-Royce."
Sarah stared at him in surprise. "A Rolls-Royce? Those are insanely expensive, right?"
Owen nodded. "The most basic model starts at around three hundred thousand. But the one I want is a bit over half a million," he explained casually, as if he were talking about a household appliance.
'More than half a million dollars…' Sarah thought, looking at her brother, unsure whether he was joking or dead serious.
In the end, she huffed. "Show-off," she muttered, dropping the subject.
Owen smiled faintly at her reaction. His words had only been meant to tease her, after all.
He knew that the original Owen had been a car fanatic, someone who dreamed of luxury engines and endless collections. He, on the other hand, wasn't like that. Sure, he liked cars, he wouldn't deny it, but not to the point of obsession.
Spending half a million dollars on a car? That was almost the same as investing in a full elite-grade film production setup. He wouldn't do it. Not unless he reached a point where he had so much money he didn't know what to do with it.
Maybe he'd consider it as a gift for his father, Edward. After all, Edward was the one who'd passed down that love for cars to the old Owen. And even though Edward was a financial CEO earning somewhere between $600,000 and $800,000 a year, a car worth over $500,000 was still a big expense.
So if Owen ever became truly wealthy, he might give it to him as a gesture, a birthday gift, or simply a way of acknowledging all the trouble the former Owen had put the family through.
Of course, for that, he'd first have to build a real fortune.
That kind of purchase would have to wait for a more distant future, when he'd already produced several films.
Meanwhile, Sarah seemed to have dropped the topic altogether. She pulled the script from her bag and opened it on her lap. She began reading silently, practicing gestures, tones, and pauses. Even though she already knew the lines by heart, rereading them calmed her.
The BMW glided smoothly along the road. They had a twenty-minute drive ahead, to the park Owen had chosen for the shoot.
After a few minutes, Sarah asked without lifting her eyes from the script, "Are you picking Matt up, or is he going on his own?"
"He's coming on his own, with Eric and Tyler," Owen answered, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Those are the guys who worked with you on Paranormal Activity, right?" she asked, flipping through the pages absentmindedly.
"Yeah," Owen nodded. "Sound and lighting. They also helped me on the other two shorts."
There was a brief pause. Owen turned his head slightly, just enough to glance at her. "And what about Gaten? Was there chemistry?"
The day before, Owen had set up a video call between Sarah and Gaten so they could meet and rehearse. He hadn't been present for the call, he preferred to give them space, and until now, he hadn't asked how it went.
Sarah closed the script, as if she'd been expecting that question. "Yeah, there was chemistry. He's nice."
"Mm, I see," said Owen.
"He's got something different…" Sarah went on. "He's friendly, but not in a fake way, you can tell he's genuine. And when we rehearsed, he made me laugh without even trying. He's funny."
"Oh, he's funny, is he?" Owen repeated, arching a brow, a faint smirk forming on his lips.
Sarah gave him a suspicious look, already knowing exactly where he was going with this line of teasing.
"Are you going to find love on your first set? You know, like Sophie and me? Should I go ahead and tell Mom and Dad?" Owen asked in a calm but slightly amused tone.
"Shut up," Sarah shot back, rolling her eyes and giving him a light smack on the shoulder. "It's just two days of filming, like something could actually happen. Besides, he's nineteen. I'm just glad you and Matt didn't hire someone arrogant or full of himself. That would've been unbearable."
Owen smiled faintly, letting the teasing drop. "That's what auditions are for. Though sometimes they fail. Some actors hide their worst sides until after they're hired. But in Gaten's case… he's the real deal. Lucky for us."
The rest of the drive went quietly, with Sarah going over her script again while Owen focused on the road.
Twenty minutes later, the BMW turned into a tree-lined park where they had chosen to film the short. It was a bright, clear morning with not a single cloud in the sky. The sun bathed the grass in a golden light that seemed perfect for shooting.
Owen parked in the agreed spot, turned off the engine, and opened the trunk. Inside, neatly organized, was part of the gear he'd bought weeks earlier: monitors, stands, the sound recorder, and the lenses.
Sarah quickly came over and grabbed one of the lighter cases, ready to help.
"Careful, that one's got the lenses," Owen warned.
"Relax, I'm not a brute," she replied, holding it firmly.
They walked together for a few meters until they reached the exact filming spot, a simple park bench placed under the soft shade of a tree. The others were already there.
Matt waved enthusiastically as soon as he saw them, his usual infectious energy on full display. Beside him were Tyler and Eric, both wearing easy smiles, ready to start.
Gaten had already arrived too. He'd blended in effortlessly with Matt and the others, considering he was about the same age, just a year younger.
"Right on time!" Matt called out as Owen and Sarah approached.
"Hey," Owen greeted everyone. "Have you been here long?" he asked, setting the equipment down on a blanket they'd spread on the grass.
Sarah did the same, carefully placing the case she'd carried.
"Ten minutes," Tyler replied, adjusting the headphones hanging around his neck. "We used the time to chat a bit and start setting up."
Sarah greeted Matt, Tyler, and Eric with a polite smile and nod. Then she turned to Gaten. "Hi."
"Hi, Sarah," Gaten replied with a smile.
While the two actors were meeting in person for the first time, Eric and Tyler curiously approached the equipment Owen had set on the ground.
"These are the new ones?" Tyler asked, whistling under his breath.
"The ones you spent over twenty grand on?" Eric added with a half-smile.
Matt was already crouched down, unzipping bags and inspecting each piece like a kid on Christmas morning. He'd already seen them before and even helped Owen by recommending some of the gear, but now, they were finally going to use it.
"Yeah, those are the ten-thousand-dollar lenses," Owen said, crossing his arms.
Even Gaten turned his head to look closely. He wasn't an expert, but even he could tell this wasn't cheap amateur gear.
"So you all know," Owen added in a neutral tone, though there was a spark in his eyes, "if anyone tries to grab something and run, you'd better all chase them."
The others laughed.
"You're really taking off, huh?" Tyler remarked, raising an eyebrow. "The Hunger Games, your A24 movie about to come out… now you're buying all this expensive gear and that car," he pointed toward the spotless BMW parked nearby.
Owen tilted his head slightly, smiling in that way that neither confirmed nor denied anything.
"There's still a lot of equipment missing, actually. What I bought is pretty minimal. I still need to spend around a hundred and twenty thousand dollars, maybe half a million, to have top-of-the-line gear," he said casually.
Eric's eyes widened. "Half a million on equipment? What are you trying to shoot, The Avengers?"
"You wouldn't understand, my friend. Owen already thinks like a millionaire filmmaker," Tyler said, patting Eric's shoulder and shaking his head.
Matt, who wasn't listening and was fully in his element, started giving instructions while checking the lenses.
"Alright, we're starting with the first scene. Sarah, Gaten, get comfortable on the bench and start rehearsing the opening page. We'll go linear first, then branch out. Tyler, hook up the monitors. Eric, I want the lights ready in ten minutes."
Both technicians nodded and got to work, used to Matt's energetic rhythm.
Then Matt looked up at Owen, who stood nearby without anything in particular to do. For the first time in a while, he wasn't in front of the camera as the lead actor. The project was entirely his, but right now, the set didn't need him directly.
"Owen, mind grabbing some coffee?" Matt asked with a grin.
"Large, black, no sugar," Tyler called out, raising his hand.
"Same for me, but with sugar, please," Eric added.
"And I'll have a latte, thanks," Sarah chimed in with a teasing smirk, clearly enjoying seeing her brother play the assistant role.
Owen arched an eyebrow but nodded calmly. "Alright."
He turned toward Gaten. "You want anything?"
Gaten hesitated for a moment. It felt strange that the same guy who was funding everything, who had written the script, brought the expensive gear, and directed every move behind the camera, was volunteering to do the coffee run.
"Yes, a cappuccino would be great, thanks," he finally said, reaching for his wallet to hand over some cash.
Owen stopped him with a raised hand. "No need, I'll cover it."
"Really?" Gaten asked, blinking in surprise.
"Yeah. It's just coffee. Besides, it's in the contract," Owen replied casually. Of course, he could've pretended otherwise and no one would've said a word, but he always paid the expenses for the people he hired.
'Guess I really am thinking like a producer now,' he reflected, an odd expression crossing his face as the realization hit.
He hadn't thought that in this second life, he'd end up discovering a new profession, besides acting.
"Thanks," Gaten murmured, nodding.
"I'll be right back," Owen said, heading toward the car.
As he walked away, Tyler followed him with his gaze, then looked at Gaten. "I'll tell you something: Owen's a good boss. This is our fourth project with him, and he always delivers."
Eric nodded as he adjusted the tripod. "Yeah. Pays on time, treats the crew well, and he's not one of those perfectionist lunatics or anything."
Gaten listened quietly, surprised by how natural their tone was. He'd worked on several short films as a supporting actor, and he knew it wasn't always like this. On many sets, things were tense, directors yelled, payments were bad, and your fellow actors had egos bigger than houses.
But here, it was different. Everything flowed with respect and enthusiasm, and the pay was excellent. The script too, of course.
Sarah watched her brother's back silently as he walked out of sight.
There was something strange about him, something she'd noticed ever since he started teaching her acting lessons. The Owen before the incident had been immature, sarcastic, someone who always seemed half-invested in life. Yes, he'd loved film and acting, and he had never been a bad person, but she had never seen him this professional: calm, reliable, kind, carrying a serenity that simply hadn't existed in him before.
'He's really matured… like he's a completely different person,' Sarah thought, torn between confusion and admiration.
Though, to her, it made sense. He had hit rock bottom, kicked out of the house, expelled from college, addicted to drugs, and yet he'd managed to rise again, like someone new who had left his worst self behind. Strange, yes, but not impossible.
Besides, there were still parts of him that were the same. His overwhelming love for acting and cinema, the way he treated her like his little sister, with jokes, teasing remarks, and that familiar sarcasm he hadn't completely lost.
He was still her brother, only now, for the first time, he actually felt like an older brother. It reminded her of their eldest brother, James.
'No, James is way more serious and boring,' Sarah thought, shaking her head. Owen still had that funny, sarcastic humor.
She stopped overthinking it and focused on what mattered: the first scene. She sat next to Gaten on the bench and began rehearsing with him, going over lines and trying out different tones until full concentration took over.
Owen returned shortly after with the coffee trays. The day's work began in earnest: Sarah and Gaten in front of the camera, Matt directing with his usual contagious enthusiasm, Tyler managing every sound detail, and Eric adjusting the lights and reflectors.
It was Sarah's first day acting in a real project, and everything went better than she'd expected. Her weeks of practice had paid off.
Owen knew she had natural presence, confidence, and though there were still rough edges, her performance impressed everyone.
He stayed attentive but never overbearing, stepping in only when needed, giving her precise notes like a teacher, the rhythm of a line, the intent behind a pause, the way to look at her partner.
Gaten shone too. He had innate charisma and effortless comic timing that lifted every scene, and his chemistry with Sarah was strong.
The following day was the second and final day of shooting. Same place, same hour, five more hours of filming with a break in between. As planned, they wrapped everything that day.
The short film was completed in two clean shooting days, with no delays or major issues.
Sarah had passed the test. Not perfectly, there were always details to improve, but solid enough to prove she could do it. Owen could see that Gaten had genuine talent, someone who would inevitably deserve a bigger opportunity sooner or later. Maybe he'd get it thanks to the popularity of this short film, or maybe Owen himself would give it to him in one of his upcoming projects.
Owen paid everyone as stipulated in their contracts.
Finally, the next day, Sophie was returning to Los Angeles after finishing her own shoot, and Owen would be there to pick her up at the airport.
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