"Disney Double-Cross"
Chapter Two
Mr. Litwak opened the door for the Disney technicians, and the boss asked "Is the arcade empty?" Litwak assured him that it was indeed, and the boss motioned for his technicians to begin moving equipment inside. "Do you need any help?" Litwak asked. The boss told him that they were with the "second unit" and asked if he'd read the script or seen any of the storyboards for the film. Litwak looked puzzled, as he had no idea as to how movies were actually filmed. The boss paged through his copy of the filming schedule, and then told Litwak that he would be needed for filming in a few days and that he'd be given plenty of consultation by the film's director as to what would be needed by way of arcade extras for his scenes. Litwak thanked him and went home for the night, handing the keys to the arcade to the Disney folks.
One of the Disney technicians found the main power source for the gaming consoles, smiled, and plugged a cord into it. The cord led to the trailer, where other technicians in virtual reality chambers prepared to test a theory. They all gave their monitors a thumbs-up, then found themselves traveling through a tunnel towards a light.
The surge protector stopped them, and asked them their names. When he didn't recognize their names, they told him that they were from Disney scouting locations for a movie. When one of them suggested that "Surge" could have a speaking part, he allowed them into Game Central Station.
Respectfully, they asked him where they were and where they could find certain characters. He pointed to Tapper's, explaining that many of the arcade's residents gathered there once the arcade closed. He also explained the concept and rules of Game Central Station to the visitors.
Turbo, Ted, and Teddy happened to be there that night, along with Ralph, Felix, Tamora, and Gene. They were planning the 30th anniversary celebration of "Fix-It Felix Jr." and caught the attention of the Disney avatars. "Mind if we join you?" they politely asked. Felix said "Sure,", then looking at them and not recognizing them asked "We didn't know that Mr. Litwak had plugged in a new game. What game are you all from?"
"We're not actually from a 'game', we're from the Walt Disney Company and we're here to film a feature movie."
Turbo's eyes lit up, and he asked "Disney? Like the 'Cars' Disney?"
"Yes, Turbo, but we're not from Pixar. Pixar did the 'Cars' movies." Turbo looked disappointed, and said "Shucks. I always wanted to meet Lightning McQueen...wait a minute...how do you know who I am?"
"We are from the human world. Your arcade was chosen because there are some games here that aren't around anymore. You, for instance, along with Felix, are the only operational consoles for your respective games that we've found in a cross-country search. You folks have been around for a very long time."
Ralph looked at Gene and said "See that? Maybe you ought to treat me better."
Gene smiled and replied "Ralphie, you big lug, you know we love you." Then he turned to Felix and asked if perhaps something couldn't be done to soften the mud puddle Ralph landed in.
Turbo looked puzzled and asked "How is it that humans can enter our world?"
"The digital world has come a long way in the past 30 years, Turbo. You should know that just by looking at Sgt. Calhoun here."
"Please, call me Tamora when we're out of my game. I only work there."
"Ok, Tamora. We have a van parked outside with equipment that allows us to be here."
Felix spoke next, asking what happens if they "die" while inside. "We return to the truck completely safe." was the answer.
Gene looked at Ralph, then turned to the Disney techs and asked them why they were there. "We want to film a movie and we'd like to feature as many of you as we can." One of the avatars was a screenwriter, and she smiled and said "I have a storyboard presentation for all of you." Tapper slid over and asked "Everyone?" "Yes, even you, Tapper." Can you ask everyone to sit over there and I'll begin my presentation?" Tapper turned towards the other patrons and the screen writer said "Set up the house, Tapper. It's on me." He grinned, and everyone got to their places and had root beer.
She said "My name is Dixie, and I'm a screenwriter for Disney Animation. You are about to become part of a history making experiment, that is if you agree to it. No one will be forced to do anything they don't feel comfortable with."
Dixie went on to explain the outline of the story...Ralph was left out of the 30th anniversary celebration of his game and after a spat with Gene set out to earn a medal. He would encounter a shell-shocked soldier from "Hero's Duty" in Tapper's and enter the game to collect the medal.
Tamora held up her hand and said "You do know how the game works, about the Cy-Bugs, right?" Dixie smiled and said "We will employ the code writers for your game, so that maximum safety can be followed. We don't want to lose any of you."
"It's only a movie."
She continued, building a backstory about Felix and Tamora and how they met and fell in love, building a backstory about Turbo that cast him as the movie's villain, a role he wasn't comfortable with. "In my game, I'm just a kart racer, trying to outrace my twin brothers here for the Cup. If I'm a bad guy, kids won't want to play us and we'll be unplugged."
Ralph said "You may find this hard to believe, Dixie, but here we all look out for one another."
She smiled at Ralph, and said "I understand, Ralph. That's why we're here. We don't want anyone to do anything they're not comfortable with."
Then she turned to Turbo, and said "If you're not happy, perhaps another arcade character might want to play the villain?"
Turbo looked at Ted and Teddy, and asked them if they were OK with him stepping into the "bad guy" role. They both nodded their agreement, and Turbo said "OK, I'm in."
She said "I'm sure that you have never seen how a movie is filmed. The main thing is that the scenes are not necessarily filmed in the sequence they'll be shown when the film is completed. We understand that none of you are 'actors', although in a sense you DO 'act' inside your game worlds. You'll be directed and coached, so there's nothing to worry about."
Gene said "Movie people usually are paid well." Looking around the room, he said "I think I speak for everyone here when I ask you what compensation we'll receive?"
Dixie said "coins. We'll pay you all with coins, and your pay will be based upon your role and total screen time. Sound fair, Gene?"
Gene felt a little sheepish as he looked around the bar to see everyone nodding in agreement. "I guess we have a deal then." he said, and everyone shook hands.
Dixie handed everyone their scripts along with a copy of the story outline and storyboards, and said "We're going to go home now, we'll be back after the arcade closes tonight and we'll go over any questions any of you might have."
They turned to leave, and Dixie smiled at Tapper and said "Thanks, Tapper. I loved playing you when I was little, never thought I'd ever meet you in person."
Tapper looked flustered, and he smiled and said "The pleasure is mine."
(end of chapter)