A Short Career in Films

"Come in!" Dr Jones called. The door opened and Stacey came in. She gave me a breezy and cheerful "Hello! How's it going?" and looked me up and down, much as Dr Jones had done. I thought this was a little presumptuous but also curious that it was almost like the question in that test we did - and as Tim had predicted - so I stood there and brazened it out.

"We'd like a couple of photographs for our record," she said, and I noticed she was holding a compact camera. "Please can you stand in front of that blank wall." I saw where she was indicating and walked over to it. "That's it... face me... ready..." Click. "Now can you turn sideways please... That's it..." Click. "And now the other way..." Click. "And now face away from me..." Click. Why would she want a photo of my back?

I was a bit bemused, and a bit anxious. I found my voice. "Can you explain what this is about? I've only had one proper medical before, but it was nothing like this!"

She smiled. "Trust me, it is relevant to what you are being recruited for. If you are unsuccessful we will return all this information, including the negatives, to you. When we have made our final selection all will be revealed. For now, when the medical is finished, feel free to go, we'll be in touch within the next week." With that, she nodded to Dr Jones and went out.

"Well, I'm all done here, so as Stacey said, you can get dressed and go." So I did.

That left me with plenty of time to go and buy a copy of Time Out and discover that there was a new band called What Next? who sounded worth a look, playing at a pub in Mile End; so that evening I phoned Sam and made a date to meet outside Mile End tube station at 7pm.

Friday evening came around, and I was waiting eagerly at the station for Sam, when she came out a few minutes before seven. She was just wearing jeans and a plain red T-shirt, but she looked great.

I greeted her with a big smile and a "Hi there!", and she gave a grin back and came and kissed me on the cheek. That was unexpected and nice, and I think I blushed. We exchanged the usual how are you, how was your week and so on, and decided to walk along the road and pick a curry house - there's plenty to choose from in Mile End. We got a table and our order sorted, and then I asked her the question I'd been pondering all week:

"So, did they tell you why you didn't get selected?"

"No, they didn't say the reason, just that they didn't think I was the sort of candidate they were looking for. How was the medical?"

"Like no medical I've ever heard of. I had to get stripped naked, and then Stacey breezed in as if it was perfectly OK. It was just like that pushy bloke we met predicted! So I just brazened it out and pretended it was normal. What do you think you'd have done?"

"I'd like to think I'd have done the same, but I don't know... I mean, I'm ok with nudity, I'm not a prude... Could I have enjoyed flaunting myself a bit? I don't know! Anyway, congratulations on making the shortlist! I'm more curious than ever as to what this is all about. Do you think it's above board?"

"I dunno, it's very mysterious. They are acting as if it's a bit dodgy, I hope it doesn't turn out to be just porn or anything too cheap and tacky. They said they'd be in touch within a week. I guess I might get a letter Monday or Tuesday then."

The food arrived, and after an excellent curry we carried on chatting and found that we had plenty in common regarding likes, dislikes and attitudes. I began to hope that there might be more dates to come.

We went on to the pub and the band we went to see weren't bad - not likely to sell a million albums, but great in the atmosphere of a live pub performance. Sam enjoyed it too. Afterwards we walked back to the tube station, Sam taking my hand, which felt really nice.

We arrived at the station. Sam's journey home would be a tube then a train, mine a tube and a bus, but we'd be heading in opposite directions.

"Well, I've really enjoyed this evening," I said enthusiastically.

"Me too," she smiled. Before I could say anything more, she took a step forward and kissed me. It was a long, heartfelt kiss, and it was glorious. I responded equally enthusiastically. One kiss turned into a second, then a third. Eventually Sam broke off, and said a little breathlessly,

"I think I ought to go, it will take a bit of time to get home."

"When can we meet again? You are so much fun to spend time with..." That earned me another kiss.

"I promised to visit my mother tomorrow," she said, "and I'm staying over until Monday morning. I'm free all day Tuesday... Got anything in mind?"

"Well, I've got a small job that will take a few hours on Monday, I'm photographing a warehouse in Stevenage for a company brochure. I'd love to meet on Tuesday, but if the weather is bad on Monday I'll need to do the shoot then, but I should be done by the end of the afternoon whatever happens... I'll think of something for us to do, unless you have something to suggest?"

"Let's both do some thinking, and give me a call on Monday when you've done your shoot." And we exchanged addresses and parted with another toe-tingling kiss.

I was a bit like a lost puppy over the weekend. Jim eventually lost patience on Sunday morning.

"For goodness sake, are you so smitten you can't function without her? Come on, let's head down to the park and have a kick-about." So we took our football to the park and as usual, we found a few other young men at a loose end and an impromptu game of footie broke out. It helped me stop mooning like a teenager. Sam had got to me big time.

As it happened, on Monday morning it was wet but the forecast was for sun breaking out about noon, so I planned to head to Stevenage after breakfast instead of first thing. Just as well, as the postman brought a letter from JG Videos, asking me to go to the same place on Wednesday morning at 10am.

The shoot in Stevenage went well, I was lucky to get there just as the rain cleared, and got some nice shots of the site glistening wet and shiny in the sun, with a lovely rainbow framing the main building. I had to work fast, before the rainbow faded, but I got a couple of shots with different colour filters to see what the effect might be. Then I hung around for an hour for the pavements to dry and got some conventional shots. I hoped they'd like it, it would really help if they gave me a reference. I came back to London and got my reels in to my regular professional development lab and as usual crossed my fingers that nothing had gone wrong with the shots.

On my way back on the train, I found an exhibition listed in Time Out magazine all about photographs of architecture - right up my street but I wasn't sure about Sam. So when I got back I called her.

She'd wondered about a play on in the West End, if we could get tickets, and I mooted my exhibition.

"It might not be fun for you though. But we could go in the afternoon, have dinner somewhere, and to the theatre in the evening?"

"Hey, I like architecture and photographs, I'm sure it will be interesting. And I'll have a professional as my guide! We have a plan, I think!"

So we fixed up where and when to meet, and I couldn't wait for Tuesday to arrive.

It all worked like a dream. The exhibition was really interesting, it had sounded a bit niche but it was a really good presentation of how the photography of architecture had developed from the early days up to the present, and Sam pronounced herself fascinated. We found a French bistro near Covent Garden for an early evening meal, and chatted more about her interests, what she wanted to do in nursing, and some about her family. And the play was really good, a dark thriller.

Afterwards we had to separate for our journeys home with no more than a couple more passionate kisses that left me breathless and wanting so much more. She was such fun, we seemed to have seamlessly meshing attitudes, senses of humour, interests... and I really liked the way she looked, I found myself wondering far too often what she looked like naked. Before she went off to her train, she told me that her flatmate was visiting family and would be away the following night.

"I could cook you something for dinner!" she said.

"I'd really like that..."

"And afterwards, we could, um, watch telly..." said with a sly grin.

"I'd like that even more..."

Another kiss and she had to rush for her train.

I wondered about this all the way home. Did she mean that I could stay over? Was it an invitation to take her to bed? Was it too early in our relationship? I wouldn't want to misread the signs. I hoped that she'd give clear signals as to what she considered acceptable. She was worth waiting for rather than rushing into something that might blow up.

Next morning I was ready early to head off to the JG Videos office. I'd had a restless night, my head was filled with possible scenarios for educational videos on "aspects of human behaviour". I suspected it would be like a more advanced version of the film "The Body" which I'd seen in the early seventies, and showed probably the first mainstream full frontal nude images of both male and female actors in the name of a documentary on human physiology and biology. I remember that the cinema was a bit rowdy up to that point, but as the camera slowly tracked the naked female form in close-up from tip to toe it became hushed as all the males in the cinema leaned forward in their seats and held their breath. There wasn't general access to nude pictures of women back then, other than the girlie magazines like Playboy and Mayfair, but they didn't yet show explicit views of female genitalia.

When I arrived I was met by both Stuart and Stacey, and shown into the office where I had my first interview. Stacey took the lead.

"So, Jonathan, I've got some good news for you. We'd like to offer you a part in our video." I started to respond positively, but she held up her hand.

"There's a lot of information you should know before you decide whether to accept. The most important thing is the nature of the material. As you know, censorship prohibits sexual activity on screen in films or videos, that's why there's a thriving under the counter porn industry and some dodgy shops in Soho. Now, we understand that these laws are under review by the government, and are expected to be considerably relaxed. We have therefore decided to invest in the production of some sex education material. Our series of three videos will be entitled "Better Loving - a guide to good sex". We'll be giving advice on how men and women can best please each other in bed. And in order to do that, we need couples who are prepared to have sex in front of the camera - nothing hidden, fully explicit. Do you think you can do that?"

Wow. I thought it might involve nude appearances, but I hadn't bargained for that. I got a frisson at the thought.

"Gosh, that's not what I was expecting. I think I'd be up for that, but I'll need a bit of time to get used to the idea. And the worry about whether I can perform in front of the camera." And the crew as well, I thought.

"I know, we've thought of that. We will offer you the role on condition of a successful screen test where you can find out just that. Now Stuart will go through the terms, and then walk you through the contract. I can give you a couple of days to consider if you need to - and you probably should, I don't think I'd want to go into this without thinking carefully! - but I'll need a decision by Friday. We'll aim to do the screen tests next week, and if that's all ok then we'll start shooting on Monday week."

"OK..." My head was reeling. I was being asked to have sex in front of everybody, and then potentially have that watched by thousands... Millions? This was not just an acting role! Then something occurred to me.

"My partner..."

Stacey smiled. "We will pick your main partner. There will be a section on foursomes so you may get to experience a second partner."

"Who... I mean, do I get a say?"

"We will decide based on how we think you will come over on screen as a pair. I won't say who right now, since we may need to change if the girl we have in mind is unwilling to do this, which is quite possible. That's why we have a short list of twelve for six places."

"Oh..." I wasn't coming over as particularly articulate, but the situation had my head reeling. I'd been so tied up with what it would mean for me that I only now suddenly thought of Sam. She hadn't been selected. This could scupper my fledgling relationship with her. But I didn't need to decide straight away. I took a deep breath. "OK. What else do I need to know?"

Stuart cleared his throat and leaned forward.

"Let me explain how this all works. You will commit to your availability, subject to any unavoidable absences such as illness, for the next ten weeks. We normally do Monday to Friday but there may need to be weekend working if we deem it necessary. The hours shouldn't be onerous, but we'll tell you when you will need to be on set.

"Now the good bit: for this we will pay you £3,750. That will be £250 on signing the contract, and then if you pass the screen test, £700 every two weeks until completion. If you don't pass the screen test, we terminate the contract there and then."

Wow... that's not bad. For example, my photo assignment just earned me £120 for what will probably be about three days work all told. And the Government had just published the latest average national wage, which was around £150 a week. Getting the best part of four grand would solve my financial worries for quite a while. I'd have enough for a short term lease on a studio and some equipment as well: an enlarger and perhaps another second hand Hasselblad. And I really needed to be on the telephone.

Stuart went on: "Now let me talk you through the contract." He opened the desk drawer and took out several pages of A4.

"OK, this is basically the standard contract for an acting role in a film, with one or two special additions. I assume you aren't familiar with acting contracts? No problem, I'll walk you through it. So, these are the names of the parties to the contract - that's you and JG Videos Ltd. Here it describes the services we require of you - essentially acting as directed - plus details of payments and the broad definition of the timescales and hours, more or less at our discretion. These are some legal bits about jurisdiction, what happens on breach of contract, how the contract might get terminated early by either party, and so on. This section is about copyright, and basically means that we own the copyright in the images of you and can use them in whatever way we decide. So be sure you are happy for these images to be in the public domain, because you won't be able to retract later. These sections cover your appearance and that we require you to maintain continuity of things like hairstyle and staying clean shaven. That's all normal for actors.

"Now for the more unusual aspects. You agree that you will not have sex with any party other than your fellow actors for the duration of the contract. We in turn will ensure you are medically monitored in case of any infections of a sexual nature which you might already be incubating and are not yet showing - if that happens, it's one reason why we can terminate your contract, by the way. You agree to follow good bodily hygiene and to take reasonable steps to keep your breath fresh, in kindness to your partner. Any questions so far?"

It was quite a lot to take in.

"Um, I presume I'm only required to have sex with women, I'm not gay... er..."

"That's ok, we are covering heterosexual acts only. Anything else?"

"What about, er, more fringe practices, you might say? Are we expected to perform anything... kinky?"

He laughed. "Depends what you consider kinky! We might cover role play, perhaps BDSM and anal sex in the third video in the series, we haven't fully scripted it out as we want to see how the first one goes, but we won't insist on you doing anything you are uncomfortable with. We are focusing on mainstream sex and the mass audience, and anyway if you aren't comfortable doing something, it will show on screen - might even mean you can't get it up, as it were - and that doesn't help us. Don't forget you won't be the only one in the cast, and I'm sure we'll find the right couple for each activity."

I felt bemused and found it hard to think of all the questions I knew I'd have. Stuart helped me out.

"I suggest you take this contract away with you and have a think about it. Consult a lawyer, talk it over with a friend or discuss it with the family, whatever you think you need to do. But remember I need a yes or no by Friday. If you have any further questions - I'm sure some will occur to you as you think about it - then telephone the office here, the number's on the letters we've sent you. Anything further you need to know right now?"

"Probably, but it's a lot to take in. Thanks, I'll think it over and I will definitely let you know by Friday."

"Great!" They both stood up and Stuart held out his hand. "I'm sure you'll be fine on camera, and I reckon you might find this a lot of fun once you get over the weirdness of it!"

I gave him a wry smile and shook his hand.

On leaving I just went for a long walk, not in any particular direction, but just to think about all this. What might it mean for my career as a photographer to be known as that bloke who'd shown his hard-on on screen for anyone to see, and then fucked one or possibly more women on camera? I didn't think it would actually affect matters that much, indeed I suspected a little notoriety might help get my name known. Contracts would still depend on my ability and portfolio. So no real problems there. I don't have any parents, they died in a car crash when I was eighteen, but I had an elder brother, Dan. I guess I'd better tell him, I thought, although he's pretty relaxed and would be unlikely to raise any objections, probably tell me to enjoy myself and take the money. It reminded me that I hadn't met up with him for a while, and I made a note to arrange something before Friday to run it past him.

More to the point, what about Sam... I'd be having sex with another girl - perhaps even more than one - and even if she was OK with that, which I doubted, I'd be contractually obliged not to have sex with her. That was a real shame, I was already falling for her. I'd only met her three times, had just two dates, but it felt right with her. Realistically though, there was not guarantee we'd develop into soulmates with a life together, and I couldn't afford to throw away this opportunity on an unknown chance of that. Sadly it looked like the end of the road for our fledgling relationship. Still, that hurt.

I stopped more or less at random at a pub that looked OK to grab a sandwich and a pint. I thought I deserved a beer after the unexpected turn this morning. Then I sat and read the contract from cover to cover.

A lot of it was in legalese, using terms that undoubtedly had specific legal meanings but which I didn't understand. I got the general drift of these and thought I'd look up in a dictionary when I got home. The rest of it seemed straightforward, if you could call anything relating to what was effectively going to be the first porn to be mainstream 'straightforward'. I found my thoughts kept coming back to Sam and whether she would have been part of this if she'd had the chance. I'd need to tell her and break it off. That wouldn't be fun. Eventually I nerved myself up to find the payphone in the pub and call her.

She answered quite quickly.

"Hi, it's me," I said. "I've got some news; they offered me a role, and I have till Friday to think about it. I need to talk to you about it, and I don't think I can do it over the phone. Is there any chance I can meet you later today?"