Mighty Oaks Ch. 03

Recap: Jenn, a happily married wife quickly becomes infatuated when a new man Jason is employed at the firm where she works and although she manages to resist him in the workplace environment, when he becomes the owner of the house across the road, her capitulation becomes almost inevitable. Frustrated by her fascination with the other man, against his better judgement, her husband reluctantly condones the infidelity.

Jason is an ex porn star and wants to make porn films for the internet, initially starring himself and Jenn. Although she is eager, fearing that she will be recognised, her husband withholds his permission but a very convincing demonstration of makeup skill causes him to change his mind.

When Jason has assembled his team, he formally makes Jenn and her husband partners in his enterprise. Things go wrong at the party to launch the first film when Jenn has sex with Renaldo, one of the hired porn performers, a spectacular but arrogant and unpleasant individual. On learning of this, her husband decides to pull the plug on the whole thing but after an exciting afternoon spent in sexual dalliance with two nubile nymphets, he is again persuaded to change his mind. He now even agrees that his wife can be filmed having sex with men other than Jason as long as Renaldo remains excluded.

After working as a cameraman on several films, I began to notice that nearly all were just variations on a theme, with lots of repetition, and I no longer awaited my copy of the films starring Jenn and Jason with quite the same eagerness as I had at the beginning. In view of that I was not too surprised when Jason called me one afternoon saying that he wanted to come across to ask me a big favour. I greeted him with some curiosity but once we sat in facing chairs, instead of immediately making his request he started to confide that the business was not doing as well as he hoped. "We're not picking up enough new subscribers and too many of those we have are cancelling," he said.

I made some consolatory remarks but took the opportunity to mention my reservations noted above.

Jason nodded, "You've hit the nail right on the head. We are just doing the same old stuff when the market is looking for material that is new, fresh and different. What we need is something powerful, something that that will get talked about and tempt more surfers to check us out. Essentially what is required is an erotic masterpiece."

I smiled at his new enthusiasm but had to say, "I agree completely but where are you going to find one of those?"

"I've already found it," Jason announced triumphantly, "Or at least I've got a story line that has the potential to be made into a masterpiece. It's actually based on a story that I first read about six years ago and have recently got hold of a copy. It's called 'Sunday Stroll', I can't remember the name of the author but it has all the required elements for making into a classic. I could almost believe that it really happened."

I murmured, "Go on," to encourage him to continue but I honestly don't think I could have stopped him.

"This happily married couple decide to take a walk one Sunday. Hiking is one of their hobbies, so they stick a pin in a map to decide which walk to do and this random method picks one they've never done before. It's only a relatively short walk and as it is a nice hot summer day, the wife decides to wear a dress instead of her usual hiking gear."

"So you're planning to shoot it completely on location?" I interrupted to ask.

"Yes and I've already found the perfect place. Actually there are two about five miles apart but no-one will ever guess. Anyway, the couple are on the walk and heading up a long slope. The whole area is completely deserted except for a very large man standing at the top of the hill ahead. Wearing a T-shirt, cut down jeans and a baseball cap, he's doing some sort of exercises and there's a bicycle lying near him on the grass. The couple don't like the look of him so rather than walk past they make a detour into the woods to avoid passing near him."

I nodded appreciatively, "Nice introduction of atmosphere and tension."

"A few minutes later, making their way through the trees, they find the guy with the bike blocking the path ahead and telling them bluntly that he intends to fuck the wife. The husband snatches up a bit of branch to use as a weapon but is easily intimidated into throwing it back down. The rest of the film shows the wife being raped while the husband is forced to sit helplessly watching nearby. There's actually a lot more to it than that but that's the bones of the story."

"I assume that Renaldo will be the rapist, who have you got in mind to play the wife?"

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about," Jason said, suddenly looking very uncomfortable.

"You guessed right about Renaldo. He was the natural choice, I don't look the rapist type and I'm not too keen on casting either of the black guys in that kind of role. The problem is that I very much want Jenn as the wife, she's so much more suitable than Donna."

I started to speak but Jason held up his hand to stop me saying, "I know, we agreed that I wouldn't cast your wife with anyone other than me but I'm hoping you will be able to see this as a special case. Jenn has already had sex with Renaldo at the launch party so it won't exactly be breaking new ground."

"I'm still not happy about that," I admitted.

"I know but this is different. They will be doing the physical act but in front of the cameras it won't be the same as them having sex together somewhere in private."

"I'm not sure, but I will consider it," I told him. It was as far as I was prepared to go.

It was obvious that Jason had hoped for more and he sat in silence for two long tension filled minutes before blurting out, "That wasn't even the favour that I wanted to talk about."

I felt rather bad about my indecision so, hoping to ease the moment, I smiled and encouraged, "Come on, spit out, nothing can be that bad."

"I want you to play the part of the husband."

The idea was so ludicrous that I laughed out loud, "Why me, I can't even act?"

"That's the beauty of it, don't you see, you wouldn't need to act, nobody would, all of the emotions displayed on screen will be genuine," Jason enthused, leaning forward with an almost fanatical light blazing in his eyes.

"I don't understand," I muttered, unable to believe that he could be serious.

"I know that you don't like Renaldo so watching him with Jenn you will experience exactly the same emotions as the husband in the story and not only will he make a very believable rapist but he really fancies Jenn. He's always pestering me to cast them together."

"What about Jenn?"

"She's the key. Jenn doesn't care for Renaldo either because she says he's too rough but she will do it for me and that gives her the perfect mindset of a woman who doesn't want sex but is prepared to submit and get it over with."

"Have you asked her already?"

"Not exactly asked but I did mention it in theory. She agreed that it could be made into a fantastic film."

The more that I thought about the idea the more it appealed but that too was only in theory; it was the real life implications that were harder to contemplate. Jason was watching me intently and it felt as if he could see into my mind because his facial expressions seemed to vary in tune with which way the argument swayed in my head. In the end he had to ask, "What do you say?"

"My inclination is to refuse but I'm willing to let Jenn have a try at persuading me," I said, trying to be fair."

We shook hands again when Jason left, leaving me to wait for my lovely wife to return from her proper employment. I knew that if she and I put up a united front, Jason would have no alternative but to scrap this film idea but that was bound to leave the whole film making enterprise in the doldrums.

When my wife got home from work, I waited until we had eaten before saying casually, "Jason came across to see me this afternoon." Jenn raised her eyebrows to indicate interest but said nothing. "Don't you want to know what he wanted?" I asked.

"I assume that it has to do with this rape film that he wants to make."

"So you've been talking to him about it already?" I asked feeling rather annoyed.

"He's enthused about the story and said that Renaldo and me would make the ideal pairing but he didn't think there was any possibility that you would agree," Jenn snapped back, the edge of irritation in her voice mirroring my own. "He hasn't even asked if I was willing to play the wife."

"Then how did you guess what he wanted?"

"Love, we both know that Jason isn't a man to give up easily so I'm not surprised that he wanted to check you out before scrapping the whole idea."

"If Jason asks, would you be willing to have sex with Renaldo again?" Even I spoke I regretted including the word 'again' in the question.

My wife did me honour of devoting some thought to my question before delivering her considered reply, "I don't like Renaldo, in fact I loathe the man but on one level I would be willing to play the part, if only for Jason and the sake of the whole enterprise but on another level I'm not going to do anything that will make you unhappy, I've done too much of that already."

"You really think that the whole thing will fold if the film isn't made?"

Jenn nodded. "We are really in a bit of a mess and even if the film is completed it might not save us. Even now it's only hits on Debbie and Chloe that are keeping us alive. Those two girls have picked up quite a following."

"And you don't want to go back to normal life."

"Sweetheart, I'm very ambivalent about that. I do enjoy the excitement of filming but there are times I hanker for how you and I were before Jason."

"Do you want to make the film?" I asked bluntly.

Again Jenn chose her words carefully, "If the whole thing implodes, although both of us would lose the time and effort that we've put into it, we could walk away without it really hurting us financially but Jason has the whole of the bankroll he's spent years building up invested in the company. He couldn't even sell his house for what he paid without returning it to the condition it was in when he bought it. Even if I quit right after making the film, I want to give him the best chance of rescuing the situation."

Having spoken she sat looking at me anxiously waiting my response but instead of giving the expected decision, I said, "That isn't actually what Jason wanted to talk to me about. He came to ask if I would like to take a part in the film and make us into a two porn star family."

My words took Jenn totally by surprise, evidenced by the fact that she sat for a moment or two with her mouth literally hanging open but then her eyes flashed and she swore, "The fucking devious smart arse bastard, he wants you to play the role of the husband, doesn't he?"

I nodded and was about to say more but before I could speak she said, "That's ridiculous. I admit that it's a brilliant idea but it is totally out of the question. I hope to hell you didn't agree, please say that you didn't."

I was a bit offended by the hint of what seemed like derision in her voice. In my past I had tried a bit of amateur dramatics and thought my acting ability was possibly on a par with hers. I had only abandoned that hobby because I thought that a three night production run was little reward for the many weeks of rehearsal involved. I had no intention of being in the film but still had to ask, "What's so ridiculous about it, I can act you know?"

Jenn was contrite. "Ridiculous was perhaps the wrong word. I've no doubt that you can act but I don't think you're up to it, I don't think you're hard enough."

I wasn't mollified by her gentler tone, "In exactly what way do you mean?"

"Because you love me too much," she said simply, "I think it would hurt you too much to see me being fucked by Renaldo."

For some reason I saw this as a slur on my masculinity. The opposite of hard is soft and I didn't like the thought of her seeing me that way. "If you can stand that retard sticking his cock inside you then I reckon that I have enough self control to watch it happening," I told her proudly.

My wife looked perplexed. "Are you telling me that you want to take part in the film?"

The truth was that there was nothing I wanted to do less but now I had a point to prove. There was also the factor of Jason's financial involvement that Jenn had pointed out earlier and for some strange reason I did feel a kind of loyalty to the guy. "I'm either way," I told her honestly, "But if you are going to be in the film, I might as well be right there with you."

Jenn gave me a long searching look, "Are you absolutely sure that's what you want to do?

Every instinct that I had, cried for me to back out but instead I said firmly, "I'm sure."

My wife gave me a still uncertain smile, "Do you want to give the great man the news or shall I?"

I answered by standing and walking across to the telephone. When Jason answered I told him, "Both my wife and I would be privileged to take parts in you new production."

Outdoor location filming brought a lot of new problems such as the intrusion of spectators but the overwhelming consideration was the weather and this not just the absence of rain or high winds. If the first half of a scene had been shot one day in bright sun it could not be continued the next if it was dull and over cast. During the four months that had passed since we started, Jenn had accumulated new holiday entitlement, so she took a week off to devote nine successive days to getting the film in the can.

The first day of filming there was some unpleasantness before we even started. The whole crew was assembled by the van which had been hired to take us and the equipment to the first location but as soon as Jason turned up he pointed at the large flamboyant ring on Renaldo's right hand and told him, "You can get rid of that for a start."

"Like fuck I will," Renaldo snarled back.

"There's no point in going to the trouble changing your appearance between films if you are going to wear that as a trade mark," Jason pointed out reasonably.

"The ring never leaves my finger," Renaldo insisted stubbornly.

"That's a lie for a start. I've spoken to about this before," Jason told him firmly, "Either lose the ring or I'll take your part."

Reluctantly Renaldo slipped the ring in his pocket but not before voicing a personal expletive, loud enough for everyone to hear.

I should point out that Jenn and I had been filmed sticking a pin in a map the previous afternoon so the day started with us parking and leaving our car near the start of the walk. There followed the sequence of us walking up the hill and shots of Renaldo posturing on the summit and we concluded the action at that location with Jenn and I making our detour into the woodland. All of that would account for less than five minutes screen time but for various reasons it took all of the morning to film and we stopped for lunch before heading on to for the main location.

The makeup people had done a good job of providing me with a goatee beard and gingery spiky hair with a badly receding hairline. I wore a bow tie and a pair of old fashioned spectacles. In contrast Jenn was more recognisable than in any of her previous films with the only real change being her hair colouring and style. After quite a lot of discussion it was decided that she looked different enough to give plausible deniability.

The first scene had us following a path through the trees before dropping into single file to push through the gap between two large bushes. Renaldo will be waiting to confront us on the other side and we had to move out the way as a shot was taken of him standing there, as if seen through my eyes. In the sequence that followed, I had more lines to remember than at any other point in the film apart from the closing sequences..

Renaldo is standing on the path with his bicycle in front completely blocking our way. I ask, "What do you want?" He nods towards Jenn and says, "She knows what I want."

At this point I have to look at my wife's face. I think that Jenn may really be a very good actress because the only word I can find to describe her expression is 'enigmatic' but even that doesn't do it justice.

My next line is to tell him, "If you don't move aside you'll be in real trouble," to which he grins nastily and says, "From where I'm standing it's you who's in trouble mate." I have to admit that Renaldo is a master at doing nasty.

"What exactly do you want," I ask and receive the reply, "I want to fuck your wife, or to put it another way, I am going to fuck your wife."

I say, "Do you expect me to just stand by and watch you do it?" and this cues him into quite a long speech that I don't remember. At the end he turns to indicate where he wants the sex to take place and this gives me an opportunity to bend and pick up a short branch which was lying in place by my feet. My moment of defiance doesn't last long because a combination of his threats and pleas from my wife makes me let the clumsy weapon fall back to the ground. This was the only part of the film where I needed conscious acting ability and I think I did rather well but only because I could vividly imagine the feelings of the real husband at that moment.

The story called for the rape to take place on a sunny bank but considerations about the progression of shadows dictated that it couldn't be filmed in direct sunlight. I was to be sat at the base of a tree about fifteen feet away from where the action was to take place but even before we started there was a logistical problem concerning the placement of the cameras. Camera one was covering the rape activity while camera two needed to be close to my position so that it could give the impression that some of the sex action was being viewed through my eyes. Camera three was focussed on me and that was the problem. It was intended to give two types of shot, a close-up of my face to catch reaction to what I was seeing and a longer shot of me doing things such as lighting and smoking a cigarette. The difficulty was that on these longer views, camera two would be in shot.

The problem was solved by cutting a hole in my rucksack and hiding the camera in there. I needed to hang it from a disguised hook hammered into the trunk of the tree so that, when I was seated, the camera was perfectly situated looking over my right shoulder. It's an indication of the pedantic nature of film making that I had to go through the motions of hanging the bag on the hook six times before it was deemed that I'd done it correctly. Fortuitously I had been carrying the rucksack from the start, purely to enhance the hiker image, otherwise we would have had to go back and re-shoot all the earlier scenes.

When the filming restarted, Renaldo follows me to the tree, leaving Jenn to walk to the designated grassy bank and while I hang up the rucksack he looks back towards the bank, checking that there a safe distance between. Satisfied, he walks back to possessively take hold of Jenn's elbow but she shakes it off and comes over to me. Squeezing my hand she says, "Don't get too upset darling, I'm not going to be hurt so no matter no matter how you feel, please don't try to interfere." Now this was all part of the script but, looking into her eyes, I could tell that she was saying the same thing to me.

Seeing the triumphant leer on Renaldo's face as she walked back to him, had it not been for my wife's plea, I might easily have pulled the plug on the whole thing right there. My ill feelings were exacerbated by the fact that, during my exchange with Jenn, he had removed his shorts and was standing legs apart with his gigantic organ on display. It was rigidly standing at the forty-five angle mentioned in the original story and that was genuine because there had been no fluffing involved, even though Debbie and Chloe were there for that specific purpose.