The Lion

Ch_002_000: The Lion

Lassie Junior sat on a folding chair with her name printed on the back with a star. Weatherwax was carefully combing her hair and watching its dog colleagues talk to the doggle actors. Lassie Junior sat with her eyes closed as she worked up her woolly Stanislavski emotional memory. She could hear but never understand the babbling of dogs as they worked out whatever. Weatherwax would give her direction personally.

“O.K. C’est la scène où Jeff se pointe pis y voit le lion. Y s’attendait à un lapin, fait que quand y voit le lion, lui pis Lassie se sauvent au plus sacrant,” barked a dog to other dogs on the set.

Brother Day asked, “What is the next scene, Weatherwax?”

The dog replied, “The scene is simple. The puppy will see the wild human and you both will run away in fear.”

The man sighed, “Well, not much of a scene, but the running should allow for my hair to flow. Who will I be working with? Just the puppy? Who is playing the wild man?”

Weatherwax pointed towards a human actor that was walking up to Lassie Junior with his hand out. “It is such a pleasure to meet you in the flesh, Lassie Junior. I am a huge fan of your movies and this television series has been brilliant. Your hair?! You must tell me your secrets!”

Brother Day grimaced a bit at Leo’s introduction and said, “Well, it’s nice to meet you as well. I’m not sure I caught your name?”

The actor said, “OH! So embarrassing! I totally forgot to introduce myself. I am Leo and play a wild man with a heavy mane. That’s why I’m so excited about meeting you. We have the same goals: the advancement of hair based entertainment. You and I could work as a team! Lassie and Wild Man! Think about the opportunities two humans leading a television series!”

Lassie Junior dryly answered, “I think it would be hard to see a family farm with a wild man on it, Leo; however, talk to Weatherwax. It handles my business needs as well as my grooming.”

Leo looked earnestly at Weatherwax and started to speak, when the dog interrupted him, “This isn’t the place to talk business. Focus on the scene. Should you both rehearse a bit while the crew sets up?”

The actor said, “Of course! Of course! I know how busy you must all be. I’ll take my position over here and we can work on this next bit.”

Leo walked over to a clearing and lay down. Weatherwax asked Lassie to take her place and she and the dog hid behind a bush.

“I will play the puppy role and I have the first line of the scene. In this scene, Jeff, the puppy, will be hunting and finds a wild man instead of just a normal prey human. I’ll start now,” said the dog.

Weatherwax said, “C’est-tu un lapin, là-bas, Lassie?”

Both the dog and Lassie Junior rose up from the bush and the dog exclaimed, “Ah non! C’est un lion! Envoye, on se sauve!”

Leo said his line, “YAHOOOOOOO!” from deep within his chest. Weatherwax then said, “At this point, we would run, Brother Day.”

The human then ran a bit in a circle and asked, “How is my hair flowing? I’m thinking this is the correct speed? I want good bounce, and a solid wave without losing volume. I must not look too sweaty, limp or thin?”

Leo offered, “Amazing, Lassie. I mean, I do my best, but my hair is still growing.” The wild man shook his head a couple times to gain a bit of volume.

Brother Day said, “Thank you, Leo. I wish you well on your hair growth, but let’s work on the big conflict scene. I know we haven’t moved to that set yet; however, this is where I think we can grow Lassie’s arc for this season.”

Leo cocked his head. “What is an arc?”

Weatherwax answered, “Never mind, Leo. Let’s try the scene. I will play Jeff the puppy again. Now, in this scene the wild man has broken into Jeff’s home to eat from their kitchen supplies. Lassie Junior will defend her home and her puppy from the incursion.”

Leo picked up his copy of the script and started the scene off.

“So, I’m up here eating the food and my line is ‘YAHOOOOOOOOOO!’”

Weatherwax directed Lassie, “Now, Brother Day, you should stand between Leo and the puppy like so. Now, please say your lines.”

“YAHOO! YAHOO! YAHOO! YAHOO!” yelled Brother Day. She then offered, “What should my hair be doing right now, Weatherwax? On end? A double toss? Just to the left with a shoulder flip?”

“May I offer an opinion? I just love the double left right toss with a hard stare whenever you do it, Lassie. Maybe that?” said Leo carefully.

Brother Day nodded and asked, “OK. We can try that. Can we take it from the top then?”

Leo started up again, “OK. I’m eating the food and ‘YAHOOOOOOOO!’”

“YAHOO! YAHOO! YAHOO! YAHOO!” yelled Brother Day again but this time she flipped her hair to the right and then quickly to the left. As her hair was settling around her face in heavy slow waves, she stared hard at Leo.

Leo started to clap and said, “That was amazing, Lassie. Sorry to stop in the middle of the scene, but that toss was legendary. I must learn from you, please?”

Weatherwax said finally, “No, Leo. There simply are no wild men on your average farm. Sure, when the circus is in town, a wild batch of humans might appear. You’ll need to consider something else. Can you lay an egg? Dogs love eggs and that’s always very popular?”

The actor noted, “I’ve trained on egg laying, but I’m not very experienced. I’ve only had some very embarrassing accidents so far.”

Brother Day was concentrating and then said, “I’m not seeing how this helps Lassie grow to her full potential? Weatherwax, what is my motivation to accost the wild man? Beyond dominating the poor man with my superior hair and natural charisma, this is just another day for Lassie and her assistance to Jeff. What is Jeff learning?”

Weatherwax explained, “Lassie’s love for Jeff transcends her concern for her personal safety. Jeff learns what love means from Lassie here. Love is sacrifice. It extends that idea from the pilot, Brother.”

“OK. I have my motivation set. Leo? Let’s run the scene again,” said Lassie Junior.

The wild man offered, “Sure. So, I’m in the kitchen and eating the food. ‘YAHOOOOO!’”

“YAHOO! YAHOO! YAHOO! YAHOO!” yelled Brother Day again but this time she flipped her hair to the left twice. As her hair settled, Weatherwax said, “Perfect. Let me get the director. We’re ready to shoot!”