Some Terrible Nights
Universal Studios, a name that Bruce had sworn that he would never do business again aside from the occasional purchase of a movie ticket or renting of a VHS. Yet here he was, walking on Universal grounds less than a year after the release of American Graffiti and somehow not being thrown off the property for trespassing.
'Honestly what the hell was Debbie thinking working with these crooks?' Bruce couldn't help but wonder, though on the outside he kept a positive attitude as Carrie escorted Bruce through the studio halls, jumping and happy as could be to show off her great debut.
Bruce respected the hell out of Debbie as a smart and strong woman, and while not being able to help Carrie bring Some Nights to life was disappointing, after some time he understood it was a necessity to get Carrie into the Hollywood system and not be cursed with his reputation. Still, out of all the studios she had to pick, Universal? Not even Fox or United Artists, but the house of bare effort, the pinnacle of the Hollywood Factory System?
Bruce had pleaded with Debbie before locking down production to switch studios, to shoot for anyone else aside from Warner Brothers, sharing all the horrors stories of Universal trying to abort American Graffiti before, during and after production, how it was their clusterfuck of a leadership that had pushed you to found Lucasfilms with George, but the Queen remained resilient and stubborn, saying that this was the best path forward and she had faith in her allies to protect Carrie and see the film through.
If there was some positive sign of the production, it's the fact that no one he ran into on the way to the theater seemed to bear a grudge against Bruce, in fact just a few minutes after the couple arrived, they were met with a swarm of leading executives who wanted to shake hands and greeted Bruce with smiles and platitudes, wishing him good luck at Lucasfilms and claiming that he deserved an Emmy.
Bruce put on his best smile and acted in complete politeness and cordiality, but on the inside he was seething.
'Which one of you bastards would have been fine with Graffiti's death? Which one of you keeps harassing Mike? Whose keeping Steve chained to his factory post? Which one of you fuckers dared to call Carrie ugly?!'
After Graffiti, Bruce swore he would never touch Universal with a ten foot pole and only interact with them by driving the stakes needed to plunge them into bankruptcy. However, what was happening tonight was far more important than himself. Not only was it the culmination of Carrie's dream and passion, but it was his best friend's debut, and that meant more than any feud. Thus, for the sake of them, Bruce kept the hatchet sheathed and did his best to put the past behind for one night, all for Carrie and John.
Fortunately the task was made rather easy by Carrie's infectious joy and excitement which kept the O'Brian wrath deeply buried, for simply basking in her radiant glow was enough to make this a rather happy night for Bruce. The atmosphere took him back to the night of the American Graffiti premiere, when him and Carrie shared their relationship with the public, and he shared with her his blockbuster debut. Now the roles were reversed, and Bruce couldn't be more than happier for Carrie.
After some time talking to the many actors and production members in attendance, all of whom spoke highly of Carrie and complimented on what an amazing actress and singer she was, Bruce were finally able to make his way to the front row of the auditorium, placed in a center seat of honor with Carrie on his right and John on his left. The trio spent some time talking about recent events, Bruce sharing stories of Star Wars and Carrie and John giving inside looks into Some Nights' production and drama with plenty of war stories and highlights. At last the lights dimmed, and Bruce settled himself to watch a masterpiece, one arm wrapped around Carrie as she snuggled into him.
Only it was not a masterpiece that the audience were greeted with, but an abomination that was a strong contender for one of the worst films Bruce ever watched.
Before working on American Graffiti, Bruce had no idea what the hell editors did besides taking footage in and out. Many hours spent with George and Marcia in the editing room helped him to gain a newfound appreciation and respect for the craft and those who worked hard on it. Watching Some Nights made Bruce want to prostrate before Marcia and praise her as a living Saint for having made American Graffiti as great as it was instead of the disaster it could have been in the wrong hands. For if the dynamic Lucas duo had not overseen American Graffiti, then it might have very well turned into visual garbage as the film Bruce was watching.
Few words could describe what Some Nights was without the use of an expletive. Every now and then Bruce could see glimpses of brilliance and wondrous art in the scenes, but it was all masqueraded by the most atrocious editing that could be humanly possible. Lighting was either as bright as the sun or so dark you could barely see the characters. The timing of the songs and sound effects was incredibly shody and off, often making the musical acts look like the characters were lip synching instead of performing live. The weirdest and most bizarre camera angles possible were used, leaving Bruce and many others feeling nauseous and disorientated. Every seeming worst take possible was used, as Bruce knew that John and Carrie would never allow that to be the standard of their acting. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and the end result was a form of oratory torture worthy of being banned in the Geneva Convention.
About half an hour in, Bruce was completely fed up with the film and wanted to walk out in disgust, not wanting to waste a single second of his life on such complete and utter garbage. He sat up and briefly rose a few inches above the seat, but when he looked to his right, Bruce's fury evaporated like a pool of water in the center of a nuclear explosion and he felt a deep tug at his heart at the sight of Carrie in utter heartbreak and sorrow.
Having dated Carrie for more than a year, Bruce was more than familiar of her manic depression and bore witness to a number of depressive episodes where one moment Carrie would be fine and the next she would break down and cry in a quiet ocean of sadness. Whenever it happened, Bruce always did his best to be present in comforting strength and continual support, guiding her back through recovery with clear communication and constant companionship, letting her know she was not alone and would always make it through. As tough as those times had been, the pain had always come from the inside thanks to a mind that Carrie had been burdened with. Never before had Bruce seen her be so emotionally distraught over what amounted to a direct and personal assault in everything but physically, the closest that came to such emotions being any discussion revolving her father.
Carrie was doing her best to fight back against the pain, but to anyone who was watching, it was like observing the Hoover Dam about to burst, tears welling up in Carrie's eyes with her body uneasy and heavy breathing.
"If I ever hurt her Debbie, I think I would destroy myself."
Back then when Bruce had said those words to Debbie, it had been half of an empty statement, as while he meant them he never believed he could possibly inflict such damage to Carrie. Now seeing what would happen if Carrie was indeed hurt by another person, Bruce knew what he said to be completely true. If Bruce ever hurt Carrie in any level comparable to this, he didn't know if he could go on living in such a world with the sin that he had done.
Bruce wished more than anything that he could play the role of the knight and rescue Carrie from this nightmare with an immediate departure, but the logical side of his mind informed that if they left right now it would be feeding the studio's prejudices by painting Carrie as a diva when she was the victim. Thus, forced to continue to endure the abomination on screen, Bruce did the only thing you could and gently held Carrie's hand firmly.
"It's going to be okay." Bruce whispered.
Carrie looked to him and let out a soft sigh, strengthening her grip fiercely with the young couple in solemn unity as they bore witness to a film worthy of creating the Golden Raspberry Awards. For the entire rest of the film, neither let go of the other's hand.
When the lights turned on Bruce turned around and saw that a third of the audience now consisted of empty seats, by no coincidence were the quitters primarily white collared executives.
"Those fuckers, they ruined the movie!" Seethed John. "After all the hard work we did, they just throw it in the garbage bin without giving a single shit! What kind of goddamned-" John raged, anger and volume building up to a likely O'Brian style blowup were it not for a glance towards his two friends and witnessing the deep pain that Carrie was in, the sight of which brought him down for the most part.
"Bruce, this isn't what the film is supposed to be. Carrie was magnificent and her script shouldn't make this kind of mess." John explained.
"I know John, I know. Good news is that so long as there wasn't any film thrown out, it should be re-edited back to its proper form. We can fix this, just not right now." Bruce explained, John nodding along.
"Bruce, I want to go home." Carrie meekly said as she stared blankly at the white screen, her voice having lost all energy it held a few hours ago.
Bruce kissed her hand softly, "Sure thing Carebear. Anywhere you want to stop by on the way?"
Carrie shook her head, "Bruce, I want mom to take me home." She clarified.
It was a statement that confused Bruce as he was the one who drove her to the studio while Debbie was most likely at their house. "Are you sure, Debbie might not be there and I can just-"
Carrie exerted heavy pressure on his right hand, her eyes pleading deeply with sorrow. "Please?"
That night Bruce was increasingly finding new ways to experience heartache and he hated every sensation of it. "Sure, anything you want. John-"
John stood up and gave Bruce a pat on the shoulder, "Don't worry about me, I'll corral everyone out and keep them away from you two. Just be here for Carrie. If you need me, I'll be at home cleansing this shitstain with a few bottles."
Bruce nodded in thanks, "Just don't drink too much, it's not the end of the movie. Can't make any promises for tomorrow but let's meetup on Saturday."
"Thanks. Don't you worry a thing Carrie, Bruce is going to give them hell and we're going to make things right. Anything you need from here on out I'll be here and ready to help." John offered, with Carrie absently giving thanks.
Bruce then escorted Carrie out of the theater, keeping one arm around her in a protective embrace as Carrie used a payphone to talk to her mom. From there the two trekked towards Bruce's car to wait.
While they both leaned back against the trunk of Bruce's Falcon, he attempted to cheer Carrie up through telling of his many Hollywood horror stories with comedic presentation to show that production could be worse and it wasn't the end, but sadly for Bruce, everytime he spoke it only seemed to put Carrie on edge who politely requested that he stay silent, with Bruce respectfully complying, doing his best to provide some kind of support by embracing her firmly while Carrie sniffled into his shirt and jacket.
The couple's shared grief would come to a close with the arrival of Debbie Reynolds, who initially exited to approach the two with strong questions, only to pause completely at the sight of her daughter in heavy distress. Bruce nodded to Debbie and let go of the embrace, producing a sour face for Carrie until he politely nudged her chin to show her her mother had arrived.
"I'm sorry for making you come tonight." Carrie apologized, her voice shaky and eyes moist.
"Don't be Care, I'll always come whenever you want. Spending time with you is never a bad thing." Bruce said firmly. If nothing else, he was glad to be in attendance to make sure Carrie didn't go through the screening alone.
A ghost of a smile appeared, but there was not enough for it to become real. "I'll come over first thing in the morning and if you need anything, and I mean anything, just call and I'll be over as soon as I can. I love you." Bruce said.
"Love you too. Goodnight Bruce." Carrie said, tiptoeing upward to leave a chaste kiss, and then dashing to her car before Bruce could respond.
Bruce turned to enter his car, but paused as in the corner of his eye he caught Carrie bawling her eyes out into her mother's arms. He wanted to run over to comfort her, but a steady hand and shake of the head from Debbie kept him at bay. Accepting that he was unable to take action, Bruce settled for simply watching the mother and daughter leave the parking lot. When they left, Bruce took out his frustrations with a punch to a guest parking sign and then drove off, his fury causing the pole to tilt and then later the next morning, fall over and crash into the windshield of an executive's car.
Bruce spent the rest of the night at his apartment, pacing anxiously around his landline, hoping for some sort of call, but for better or worse nothing came through. To pass the time, he crafted a scheme to save the film by enlisting the aid of Marcia Lucas to save the editing, her being the only person that Bruce trusted to be left with the movie. What kept him from calling the Lucas' residence late at night and setting it into motion was several factors.
Firstly, Universal probably hated George as much if not more than Bruce and the feelings would probably go to Marcia by extension. If the executives lazily greenlight a crime against cinema, then they would probably be too prideful or uncaring to accept Marcia's aid, not to mention if the editing did save the film, then Marcia might be nominated for an Oscar and the last thing Universal would want was to give an Oscar to one of Lucasfilms' tiebreaking co-owner. It also didn't take into account the opinions of George and Marcia themselves. Neither would be in much of a mood to save Universal's film of the year, even if Marcia got paid extremely well and was heavily pushed for an Oscar. To help Universal a year after they almost killed George's career would be too much to ask and it could sabotage Carrie's standing as Leia after she had just earned the role. Realizing that he was out of options for the short term, Bruce settled for waiting by the phone, and when no calls came he forced himself to sleep so he could leave at the break of dawn.
When he woke up in the morning around six thirty Bruce wished he could say that he had a terrible night's sleep full of restlessness for Carrie, but in a successful failure his mind didn't produce any nightmares and he slept rather soundly. While technically good for his mental health, Bruce felt guilty, as if he was leaving Carrie to suffer alone, even though deep down he knew she would probably also want him to be good.
Resolving to at least be there for now, Bruce quickly got dressed and ran to his car, dancing with the speed limit to Beverly Hills while most of Los Angeles was sleeping in. Arriving in record time, Bruce marched up to the entrance and banged strongly on the door a few times, not wanting to wake the whole house up with by ringing the doorbell.
Fortunately after more than a minute of waiting, Bruce would not need to camp out on the Reynolds front lawn as a yawning and sleepy eyed Todd answered the door. "Bruce?"
"Hey Todd, sorry if I woke you up."
Todd shook his head, "Nah I was already up and about to take a shower for school." Bruce blinked a bit absently at the answer and then reminded himself that Todd was a Sophomore and it was a Friday morning. Having graduated at 14 and Carrie having dropped out in Sophomore year, school life had started to become as alien for Bruce as one of George's Wookies.
"What are you doing here anyways, it's not a Saturday?" Todd asked with a hint of suspicion.
"I know but I was with Carrie at the Some Nights screening yesterday. It was a shitshow to say the least and Carrie was pretty devastated. I wanted to be here last night but she...she just wanted to be left alone for a night."
Realization dawned on Todd and he became more awake, "Mom came in my room last night and told me to give her some space and that the movie wasn't great, but it had to be pretty shit if she didn't want to be with you."
Bruce let out a strong sigh, "That's the understatement of the century. Even if she doesn't want to talk or do anything, I felt it would be better to be here than go to work while she suffered alone."
Todd nodded absently and a tense and awkward pregnant pause held between the two. At first Bruce was confused as usually Todd was pretty warm and friendly, but he remembered the events of the week prior with his parents arrival and a comment from Carrie how she had berated him for being a snitch. While the O'Brians and Reynolds had hanged out together before Joseph and Sarah left to see Gavin, Bruce never really had a talk with Todd on his actions.
As if knowing what Bruce was thinking, Todd said, "Hey Bruce, I'm really sorry about giving the key to your folks. It's just that...I really like and respect Joseph and Sarah and I didn't want...I didn't think-"
Bruce held his right hand up, "It's okay Todd. Even though I really wished things happened under better circumstances" and boy did the vengeful Irish half of Bruce's brain spend its free time concocting intrusive thoughts of elaborately devious payback pranks, "things worked out for the best and it was probably the proper wakeup call I needed." Bruce said, taking Todd aback greatly.
"I had a long talk with mom, and she showed me I wasn't really treating your sister the right way, and even if we both wanted it and talked about what we were doing, we should have been smarter and it wasn't the right time. I can't promise I won't make mistakes, but I'll do my best to be better and be the man that Carrie deserves."
Todd stood in silence, processing Bruce's words. Bruce feared that maybe he had gone a bit far or his relationship with Todd was already severely damaged, though a slow smile would ease his concerns. "Thanks Bruce, I appreciate that."
Todd invited Bruce in and seconds later Debbie would enter with a cup of coffee, looking very exhausted and haggard, but never weak in spirit, "Todd, whose at the do-Bruce! It's good to see you, I was just about to call and see if you could stop by in the afternoon." Debbie said, greeting him with a one armed hug.
"I decided to take the day off. Carrie comes first." Bruce stated, earning a nod of approval from Debbie.
"How bad was it? I've had some bad screenings before but Carrie was acting as if someone had died." Debbie asked.
"Well the film is definitely as rotten as a corpse if nothing is done. Just imagine the worst movie you've ever seen." Bruce described to Todd and Debbie. The mother and son waited for him to elaborate.
"And?" Todd asked.
"That's it, that's how bad it was." Bruce then went into lengthy description of just what kind of absolute hell Some Nights had turned out to be thanks to the writing. By the time he was done, Todd stood with a shellshocked expression, while Debbie's demeanor had morphed into a righteous and cold fury that made her cautionary threat to Bruce seem like light teasing.
"Todd, why don't you get ready for school. Please postpone any plans you have after class, I'd prefer for us to have a family night to help take Carrie's mind off of things."
"Yes ma'am-mom!" Todd fearfully replied, quickly shuffling to his room to escape the arctic aura that Debbie was exuding despite neither of the teens being her target.
This left Bruce alone with the Ice Queen in the making, feeling a similar level of pressure to one of his mom's talks. "Bruce, I hope you don't mind if I ask for you to spend the night? I don't think Carrie caught a wink of sleep last night and I know she'd be more at peace with yourself down the hall."
"Not at all. I actually have a bag in the car, just in case she wasn't feeling better by night." Bruce obediently answered. It wouldn't be the first time he had a sleepover at the Reynolds house, with Bruce having spent last Christmas week with the family, but it was the first time Debbie extended an invitation without Carrie's urging.
Debbie smiled warmly as she sipped her coffee, but it didn't ease much of the pressure Bruce was feeling from her, "Good man. I'm going to have to see the movie myself and from there make some calls and meet a few trusted friends, but there will be hell to pay and Carrie will only see the film she made with her vision being released. Bruce, can I count on your help when the time comes?"
"Just give me a call and I'll do whatever I can." Bruce answered without hesitation.
"Good." At his agreement the strangling aura evaporated and Debbie slumped with a disappointed sigh, "I swore I would never see her and Todd suffer again and all I did was lead Carrie to a house of idiots who didn't give a damn."
While a part of Bruce wanted to say he told her so, he knew that Debbie didn't deserve such a statement. "Debbie, it's not your fault that the editors didn't do the most bare minimum that they were expected. They only have themselves to blame for treating it like a Warhol piece instead of following their contracts. Honestly, I'm just starting to wonder if there's some sort of unwritten rule in Hollywood that you can't make anything without creating a disaster. Every single thing I've been associated with some shit pops up."
"What happened to MASH, I thought you said the third season went smoothly?" Debbie asked.
"Oh it was, but Wayne and McLean left the show. Everything was cordial and they just didn't like the show's direction, but we've got two big holes we're going to have to fill." Bruce said with a shake of his head, "You've done more than enough for Carrie and she always tells me how grateful she is that you had enough faith to push hard for the movie. You're a good mom Debbie." Bruce said sincerely.
Debbie gave a warm smile that made many of her trademark performances look hollow in comparison. " Oh Bruce, I can't tell you how many times I get jealous of Sarah for being your mother."
'I could become your son by Christmas if you're willing.' Bruce thought, but he knew it wasn't the right time to bring it up.
"Could you please be a dear and bring Carrie downstairs for some breakfast? If she's not in the mood you can keep her company, but I at least want her down for lunch."
"Sure."
Bruce then climbed the stairs to Carrie's room, approaching and giving a couple of soft knocks.
"What?" Carrie asked in an exhausted and resigned tone.
"Carrie, it's Bruce."
A pregnant pause held with Bruce briefly fearing he'd be turned away, but thankfully it seemed the worst had passed, "Come in." Carrie said, though without the usual energy she held whenever he visited.
Steeling himself for the worst, Bruce slowly pushed the door open, though instead of Carrie he found himself being greeted by a black and white spotted blur that ambushed him with pounces on his leg and a score of kisses to his hands.
"Hey there Nat, whose my favorite dog? You are, yes you are!" Bruce cheerfully greeted, receiving excited whines in return which turned into happy panting as Bruce scratched her ears.
Bruce had known Natalie the Dalmatian for nearly the past two years after Carrie had brought her to the park on one of their first casual dates. Having never owned any pets before aside from the flock of Irish Geese which gave Bruce his nickname, he used to be firmly neutral in the war of cats and dogs until bonding with Natalie made him a firm dog person with Natalie showing equal affection, always happy to see Bruce as one of her favorite people. It was rather fortunate as Carrie had later admitted to introducing Natalie as a test, one Bruce passed with flying colors.
If Natalie was present and keeping Carrie company then it looked to be a hopeful sign to Bruce, one that was affirmed with a quick observation of the bedroom as aside from some pillows, both regular and Carrie's specials, were flung around the room, knocking some books and troll dolls around, there wasn't any signs of damage or something drastic.
Bruce turned to Carrie's bed and felt an immense weight taken off of his shoulders when he saw Carrie, still dressed in yesterday's clothing and her eyes bloodshot red with rosy cheeks as she laid flat on her stomach with a Radar pillow for company, but sporting an earnest smile at the sight of her boyfriend and dog interacting. It was a smile lacking in the misery of last night, a welcome sight that told Bruce that everything was going to be okay.
"Morning sleeping beauty." Bruce greeted, moving to sit next to her on the bed while Natalie hopped on and laid panting in between them.
"Morning. Though I don't know if I can be called that, barely got an hour or two of sleep last night." Carrie responded.
"Well that's a shame, I was hoping to wake my princess with true love's kiss." Bruce teased.
"You still can." Carrie said, then sat up and pulled Bruce in for a deep kiss, the two actors likely to have been content to have their lips locked for eternity were it not for the need for oxygen and the ticklish interruption of Natalie sniffing them.
Bruce released and pet the dalmatian's coat, "How are you doing Carrie? Did Pam keep you company last night?" Bruce asked tenderly, Pam being the nickname for the depressive mood that swallowed Carrie on occasion.
"I guess I'm better now, but it was pretty rough last night and Pam was there for most of it." Carrie explained, then burying herself slightly in her pillow. "I'm sorry I pushed you away Bruce. I know you meant well, but...I just wanted to be left alone for a while."
"It's okay, everyone needs space sometimes. But you know that when we're married, we'll make a vow to be there for better or worse, and I'll always be here for you, right?" Bruce asked.
The statement gave Carrie a warm smile and caused her to reach her hand out, with Bruce reciprocating with a tender grasp. "I know, but I couldn't bear to be with you after you saw how stupid my film turned out to be."
Bruce frowned at the statement, "What do you mean?"
Carrie shook her head, "It's just a silly movie about a rockstar losing his girlfriend. It'll probably just make the budget back and be gone from the public mind in a few months."
"No it won't Carrie." Bruce protested strongly. "You said it yourself, it's a film about a lost soul who was abused by the entertainment industry and during his darkest hour when he's about to surrender, he finds renewed purpose and direction through tragedy. It's supposed to show people it's never too late to change and take back your life."
"But the movie was terrible." Carrie tried to argue.
"Yeah, and it had absolutely nothing to do with your fault, John's, the Director and crew, or anyone; the blame lies solely with the piece of shit editors who wanted to turn your movie into an art experiment. It's like John said, the script was magnificent and it shouldn't have turned out like that. Carrie, everytime I try to write something, I use my copy of Some Nights as reference material because I know that if make something half as good as what you did then it would be a great movie. You have a masterpiece in the making that film classes will study for years and is going to launch your career as one of Hollywood's greatest. All you need to do is filter out the garbage and everyone will see Some Nights for the great film it is, something that only happened because it came from your brilliant mind."
Carrie's face and body language showed a mixture of gratitude and doubt, two opposites that were in conflict with each other, but with each passing second that Bruce gazed at her with complete sincerity, slowly but surely Carrie started to believe.
"Just give it some time Care, you shouldn't have to wait like this, but I know that soon you'll see the movie you wanted."
With a defeated sigh and a warm smile, Carrie placed a peck on Bruce's hand, "Thanks Bruce, I needed to hear that. Still, I hate that Universal is proving as awful as you said. It seems like no matter what movie I pick I'm going to be stuck in a disaster."
At those words, a sly look captured Bruce, "Oh well, most of the studios in town are complete and total garbage, but I know for a fact your next film is going to be a professional and high quality production."
"Oh yeah, you have a crystal ball?" Carrie asked in sarcasm.
"No, but I know Lucasfilms would never abuse their stars in such fashion." Bruce said confidently.
It took about eight seconds for Carrie to comprehend what he said, her face morphing from confusion to heavy excitement. "HOLY SHIT!" Carrie yelled, then pounced on Bruce and caused him to fall flat on the bed. "I GOT THE PART?!" She asked in great shock and joy.
If Bruce needed any firm proof of Carrie's physique, it was the strong grip she was using to pin him down, with Bruce likely needing to put up a serious fight to break free. "Yes Carrie, you are officially Princess Leia. I wanted to tell you after the screening yesterday, I just didn't have the right ti-" Bruce answered, then was swiftly silenced with a deep kiss in gratitude.
"We're gonna make a movie together!" Carrie exclaimed in heavy glee.
Bruce nodded, "It shall be the highlight of my career to star alongside the star of Some Nights.", Bruce said with a goofy lopsided grin, happy that Carrie was now back to her old self.
"Do we have to go downstairs?" Carrie asked with pleading eyes.
"Well not right now, your mom said I could keep you company until lunch."
"Well in that case-" Carrie said, and then pulled Bruce in for a tight hug, "Princess Leia commands you to snuggle with her until noon."
Bruce smiled, looking to his girlfriend in adoration. "As you wish."
