Short Story, Part I -The Great Escape

I battled a tidal wave urge to ram the steak knife in my ear so I couldn’t hear the tripe spewing from the man across the table. My well-manicured fingernails gouged my palm so I wouldn’t be arrested for sticking a fork in his contact enhanced blue eye. And I suppressed an impulse to dump my salad on his head, croutons decorating salon highlights and balsamic vinaigrette dribbling down his perfect nose.

My purse slung across my shoulder and he still didn’t have a clue. Poised to make a controlled dash away from self-absorbed, boring, self-absorbed, what the heck had I been thinking saying yes? Todd Davis.

Both wood plaques at the Three Pigs Café looked the same. Poised to make my escape, I listened to him drone on and on and on. The plan: to hide in the ladies room until Todd left then take a taxi. I'd send someone to tell him I was in stomach distress, go without me. I wish I had someone to turn to for rescue or help but I was on my own.

I spied a cute girl coifed in a bleached buzz cut, clad in Abercrombie & Fitch jeans and a hoodie with a brown faux fur collar, heading to the restrooms. She turned to her left. Excusing myself (an ingrained habit), I pushed out of the chair. Walking in fast but controlled pace, okay I sprinted, after the girl through the door.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear? Three toilet stalls, six occupants and ... urinals. Ah hell.

Andrea Geist

I Love The Terminator, But Not the Tagline.

Save the Cat (a fantastic book on screenwriting by Blake Snyder) asks the question - "What is the screenplay/movie about? Can you describe it to a studio executive in one line?" (I'll post about this book next week). I started thinking about which movies sang to me. What sparkled? Which movies can I watch again and again, which books do I read over and over?

I love The Terminator by James Cameron. When the movie was released in 1984 I had no plans to watch, nope – not for me. But the somewhat-significant-other rented the video, he wanted to watch it. So we did and I loved it! If the somewhat-significant-other hadn't been interested in gunfire, I may never have seen the movie.

Why? I searched movie databases. I discovered I wasn't the target audience. The producers and distributors promoted an action movie with the tagline(s), “In the Year of Darkness, 2029, the rulers of this planet devised the ultimate plan. They would reshape the Future by changing the Past. The plan required something that felt no pity. No pain. No fear. Something unstoppable. They created 'THE TERMINATOR'” The movie trailer introduces the movie with the phrase, “In the future a weapon….it feels no pain, no remorse.”

So, was it an action movie? Yes. Time Travel – definitely, and I love the paradox of time travel. Did it carry a warning about war and nuclear holocaust? Yes. Was the description of the movie accurate? Pretty much even though I could have tightened it to read - "Machines rule the planet. They have one goal, exterminate the human race. They have the technology. Can mankind survive?"

But I still think this movie was about something else, something enduring - love. The Terminator is a love story, first and foremost. The release was a success, surprising everyone. If the tagline for the movie had been different, would it have garnered as large an audience? A smaller one? Would it have languished on a dusty shelf in a video store? And did the men watching this movie realize they were in thrall of a romance?

All of the above brings me to the following questions:

1) What is the movie, story about? What one line plot description would you have used?

2) What if The Terminator had been marketed differently? How would you describe the movie? Should we look at the way we package the romance genre and would that increase the reader base to include more men? Our books are often filled with action, time travel and mystery.

3) What made this movie sparkle? Did the movie sparkle for you?

For me the sparkle was the timeless, undying love of Kyle for Sarah. The scene that sticks in my mind is when Kyle tells Sarah, “I came through time for you, Sarah. I love you. I always have.” The film's love scene wasn't graphic (the violence was, the sex wasn't) but this scene was powerful. A brillant flash of sparkle came in the close-up of the clenching of their hands.

Please, tell me what you think? I'm eager for discussion and I can't wait to read your one line plot descriptions.