"George, for the love of god!" Mark exclaimed before taking in a breath, realising it was mostly his own fault for not having been able to put down the song he wanted to create properly. He had used the help of one of the students to turn the tune he hummed into readable music sheets... well not to him, but the other students understood it once that was done.
Unfortunately, it was clearly off in certain places, and since he did not understand music sheets, and the students were not some experts who could turn a hum into perfect music sheets, there were many parts that sounded wrong, but he could only spot it once the students began playing their instruments.
"Right... sorry about that. The last note you keep hitting sounds off, try going higher a bit. Just George, repeat the last few beats please."
"Heh... my bad," George the trumpet player, and easily the protagonist of the song, smiled apologetically while scratching the back of his black hair.
"No, it's mine. The music sheet you have a slightly different from what I wanted, and that is my own fault for trying to reduce costs and not hire a professional to it. Well, the song would not be made if I did that, and you 6 fools would not be hired for this, and nor would you gain such an experience. We just have to power through it!" Mark regained his emotionless situation as his rather infuriating mother vanished into a shower of illusory musical notes. His momentary fit of anger was replaced by a cold calculation on how to best motivate the students, which involved breaking a small joke to lighten the mood and admit his own fault.
It worked and work began once again on the song. It took a while, but after two weeks, of meeting 5 days a week after their college for 4 hours, Mark ended up spending a decent amount of money, including renting a recording studio for an hour and finally getting the tape with the audio file on it.
...
"So, this is what you wanted me to listen to?" Eddie asked as he looked at the tape in Mark's hands.
"Yup. It's the main theme song for the movie I'm going to be making; Gonna Fly Now," Mark said while putting the tape in the player of the recording studio, where he had called Eddie to make him listen to it before the hour of recording period got over. Thankfully, a professional to handle the equipment of the studio came along with the studio itself so Mark had finished recording the well-practiced song in under half an hour with the help of the students.
"And how much did you spend on it?" Eddie asked while putting on the headphones.
"Enough..." Mark shrugged, causing Eddie to turn to him with a confused expression, only to be stopped by the trumpet sound playing on the headphones.
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3 minutes later, Eddie took off the headphones and turned to Mark.
"Damn! I feel like doing something!" Eddie exclaimed rather loudly as he pumped his hands like he was preparing for some boxing.
"Good. then I need you to begin gaining muscle. It will take some time, to get into the proper shape, so start now. Nolan has already started filming. His best guess is 1.5 months of shooting, and post-production will take another half month or so. You got 2 months to slowly put on muscle. Don't use... you know... to do this. do it properly, I wanna see you grow old enough to shit your own pants."
"Haha! Buddy, you underestimate my lineage. I'mma be dancing at your funeral!" Eddie laughed as he gripped Mark's extended hand tightly.
...
"On the other hand, Christopher Nolan was having his own troubles with making his movie. Unlike the budget issues Mark was facing, Nolan had an entirely different problem.
"So tell me sonny, the DLSE is giving you trouble? What? It's because of Thomas acting in the movie without the proper permissions. Well why didn't you apply for the permission properly then? Hmm, what should I have expected form someone so new to the industry. Hold on, I'll handle the matter. But right now i want you to go to a lawyer, and explain everything to them. Tell them all forms and permissions you have applied fro so far, and what all you will need going forward in the production. Yes, and sonny? Make sure Thomas is well. He has school in the mornings, but you need to ensure all his homework is completed before the end of the day. Good."
Howard Hughes cut the call and leaned back in his leather chair while sighing, 'Thomas' first movie, and it is already hitting problems.'
The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement handled a lot of things, but they also ensured that the rights of child actors were secure and never breached by 'greedy' producers and directors, or by mistake. this involved taking various forms from all parties involved, and ensuring important aspects like school schedules and others like limitations on filming in a day were strictly adhered to.
Howard then told his assistant to call the Head of the DLSE in California, and to patch him through once he picked up.
'I will need to personally resolve this. But there is nothing in this world that cannot be solved with money,' Howard lamented before hearing the ringing of the phone and picking it up.
"Jacob! How are you! It's been a long time since I heard your raspy old voice!~"
The conversation moved smoothly, and with enough benefits, the matter was easily resolved as though it has never happened in the first place.
...
Meanwhile, Nolan sighed in relief and wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead with a napkin after receiving the good news from Thomas' father. With this, filming was only delayed by a single day, and nothing was stopping them from continuing to film.
"Alright boys! We have a movie to make and deadlines to meet. Let's get back into it!" Nolan announced and everyone on set immediately got busy with preparing for his 'Action' call which would begin filming.