Free Johnny Hangtime by Dan Gutman Page A

strictly forbids fight—”
    â€œI quit, Roland,” I interrupted. “I don’t want to work in movies anymore. I’ve had it.”
    Roland’s face turned pale. He leaned against his car heavily, like he had just been in a fight.
    â€œIt’s no big deal,” I told him, “You can get somebody else to do stunts for Ricky Corvette. Plenty of kids can do what I do.”
    â€œNo,” Roland insisted. “Somebody as good as you comes along only once every generation. First came your dad, then you. No other kid can do what I have in mind.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, have in mind?”
    â€œThat’s what I came to talk to you about,” Roland explained. “Remember I told you about my dream of making a film with just stunts from start to finish?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œWell, it’s going to come true.”
    Roland told me that the last few Ricky Corvette/Augusta Wind films had been huge hits for Spectra Films, the small company that gave Ricky his start. Now, Paramount—a major motion picture company—had decided to do a big-budget movie starring Ricky and Augusta. They wanted Roland to write and direct it, and he hadcomplete creative freedom. Paramount was giving him $200 million to play with. That’s much more than Roland usually gets.
    â€œTwo hundred million, Johnny!” he exclaimed. “Do you know how much stuff we can blow up with two hundred million dollars?”
    â€œI can imagine,” I replied.
    â€œI wrote this script,” he said, reaching into his car. “Ricky plays this secret agent, sort of a teenage James Bond. You get to ski off a mountain, Johnny! There will be some underwater work. Car crashes. Lots of high falls. A chase scene on Jet Skis.”
    It sounded like it would be a blast to shoot.
    â€œA horse scene, a fire scene, some fistfights,” Roland continued. “The story makes no sense at all, Johnny, but it’s great! I’m going to shoot it on location, so you’ll get to travel all over the world. This will be the ultimate action movie, Johnny! Wall-to-wall stunts! This is the film I’ve dreamed about all my life!”
    The intensity in his eyes told me he meant every word he was saying. I knew that if I turned him down, Roland would be crushed.
    â€œWhat’s it called?” I asked.
    â€œ Two Birds, One Stone . See, this madman has to kill Ricky and Augusta together so he can take over the world. And here’s the best part. Guess how many lines of dialogue Ricky will have?”
    â€œI give up.”
    â€œSeven!” Roland exclaimed gleefully.
    â€œThat’s all ?”
    â€œThat’s all! Paramount knows Ricky can’t act for beans. They said it’s fine with them if I just use him for the close-ups. The rest of the movie is just you. This is your movie, Johnny! I’m telling you, it will be endorphin city! I was hoping to start shooting during your winter vacation. Are you with me?”
    Roland looked at me with those big puppy-dog eyes of his. Helooked like he was about to cry. One more movie couldn’t hurt, I guessed.
    â€œOkay, I’ll do it,” I said, and Roland wrapped his big arms around me in a bone-crunching bear hug.
    â€œThere’s one thing you should know, Johnny.” Roland suddenly sounded serious.
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œThere’s a Niagara Falls scene.”
    That froze me. I hadn’t thought about Niagara Falls in a long time. I hadn’t been back to the Falls since my dad died. It had been three years.
    There was no cemetery I could visit. No tombstone I could stand in front of and imagine my father lying beneath. Going back to Niagara Falls would be the closest thing to visiting my father’s grave. It would be a way to honor his memory.
    â€œIt’s an awesome scene, Johnny,” Roland said, “but I’ll cut it if you want me to.”
    â€œDon’t cut it,