January 17, 2010While Hollywood gathers for the Golden Globes , I’m writing a short film based upon a true story. I call it, for now, Donuts on the Dashboard.
The final scene: Orleans, MA. Saturday January 16, 2010
9:00 a.m. Cape Cod. Powder blue sky. A cold salt breeze prompts me to hunch my shoulders as I stride toward the car.
The AMHL Photographer (a.k.a. my wife) then strolls back from the beach to join me. She pulls open the driver’s door of charcoal gray Ford Escape and then, as she sits down, places on the dashboard two of the largest, most textured donuts I’ve ever seen. She catches her breath…
Backstory: Earlier in the week, the Photographer suggested that we drive to the Cape to mix business (taking pictures of donuts) and pleasure (eating them). We hadn’t been to the Cape since October, so we agreed upon the first scene..
Scene I: Hole in One Restaurant, Orleans
We sat at a corner table next to the north-facing window. Each enjoying a cup of Bavarian Strudel coffee, we daydreamed about donuts and waited for the breakfast we had ordered.
The waitress set my meal before me.
“Those are the fluffiest egg whites I’ve ever seen,” the Photographer said but didn’t take a picture of them.
I had ordered a healthy meal (sans le fromage and with turkey bacon) because I knew I wouldn’t able to resist the, well, pièce de résistance, the après petit déjeuner. Les donuts. (Movie marketers love it when you flick in a little French because it stimulates an international buzz).
Scene II: Drive to the Set
The donuts were not for eating. Not yet. They would first be photo fodder. A dozen of Cape Cod’s best, boxed and beside me, might have been wondering which was the prettiest, the most photogenic. Or which two treats would be selected as the special guest star donuts that might be nominated for Golden Globes next year?
Scene III, Act I: The Beach
The Photographer lifted open the white box to reveal the awesome assortment of actors (playing themselves): the crunchy, yet distinguished Coconut; the handsome Plain; the kooky but delightful Toasted Coconut; the divine Sour Cream twins; the wistful Lemon-filled; the old school Chocolate Frosted; three glamorous Glazed; the secular and succulent Chocolate Glazed; and the new kid in town, Honey Wheat.
“The Plain, the Plain,” I said, because its rugged golden brown features would offer the most promising complement to the backdrop: the ice-crusted harbor surrendering to the sandy beach.
Stay tuned for Part II
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