"The Perfect" was a film project written and led by a high school senior last year. I didn't know him very well, but he came to me, asking for my experience in film making, editing, and writing. I was flattered, of course; now I seemed to have a reputation in school for such things. He gave me a copy of the script he wrote, saying that it wasn't very good, because he wrote it in two months. When I took it home that night and read it, it showed- character development was absent, dialogue was awkward, and the themes and subtext that he vividly described to me was absent in his script. It was a classic case of being unable to separate what the author thought he wrote compared to what he actually wrote. With that in my head, I decided to surprise him. I began to secretly edit the first quarter of his original, polishing up dialogue, making characters believable, showing plot motivations and development. I wrote it, trying to keep his original intent in my work. I found it incredibly satisfying, and was loving the result. When I finished the first act, the story you are about to read, I brought it to him, proud of my work. He seemed to like the idea. The next day he returned to me, almost angry. He hated it. He said his characters were not the way he wanted them. It was all about the characters, particularly Gary. He told me he wanted his original. As a writer, I completely understand, but I was confused, to be honest. I kept plot lines, and even major dialogue and elements of his story I didn't agree with. It was exactly how I thought he would like it, but as soon as I edited the characters slightly, he blew up. And that's when I realized; I didn't just edit an original story he came up with and wanted to film for fun. This "Perfect" was a reflection of his own desires and wishes, a story riveting with subtext regarding his own life. This was to be his greatest endeavor, and he wanted it to be perfect. He wrote a story about being perfect, because in his mind he too wanted to be perfect. He moved me from editor to videography planning. I was fine with it, and wanted to give him his space. I felt guilty for making him feel like I was trying to turn his script into a contorted version of his dream. I had to respect his dream, so I did. I abandoned my own adaptation of his script and made storyboards like I was told.
This theme of struggling with the idea of perfection did not last long, though. I was wary with the idea of him casting his friends to be the actors, knowing their lack of work ethic. I knew they loved to be part of movies though, and I knew I had no say in the casting after my bold editing stunt, so I kept my mouth shut. Once it came time to film, his friends, who he had written in the script because he felt deeply for them, decided they didn't really want to put forth the work required to make the movie to his standards. They left, leaving him and I alone at the set on an ironically perfect day to film. Equally ironic was the fact that his friends who he had cared for so much didn't care enough for him to finish one last film.
That was the day Project Perfect died.
That was almost a year ago. He's off in college, now I'm a senior. Today I read through the story and felt terrible that his dream just died for no good reason. I thought it was still a good story. I don't have the original, which I have heard from others that in a moment of rage he deleted and destroyed anything pertaining to the film. For all I know, my edited version may be the only piece to his shattered dream. So here I present my adaptation of The Perfect, as tribute to a nameless friend who's dream had no reason to die.
The only motivation to finish this would be if you, my dear readers, want me to finish it. With enough support from you, I would be happy to complete it using the plot line my friend had envisioned; I still remember the story. I hope you enjoy his dream, in the small form I can present it in. Thank you for your support and comments, I appreciate them more than you know.