Marcus entered the house carrying boxes of filmmaking equipment, which immediately caught his dad's attention in the living room.
"That's quite a haul you got there. Is that everything you need for the movie?" Nathan asked, eyeing the tripod and camera in his son's hands.
"Yeah, pretty much. With this equipment, I can start filming once I find my cast." Marcus nodded, clearly pleased with his purchases.
Nathan noticed his son had worked hard for this—after all, Marcus had left around noon and was only returning now, hours later. "You're really serious about this." He said with a solemn tone. "Alright, since it's come to this, I'll help you with casting."
Marcus's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Nathan nodded. "Of course. But whether you like the actors or not is completely up to you." He added, "I'll just use my connections to get the word out. You decide if they fit what you're looking for."
This was a pleasant surprise. Marcus couldn't help but say, "This is really great. Thanks, man."
Nathan's brow furrowed. "Don't call me 'man.'"
"Sorry." Marcus immediately apologized.
Nathan cleared his throat. "Anyway, do you already have an idea of what actors you want? Descriptions? That way we can narrow it down and contact actors who might fit."
"Oh, that?" Marcus immediately opened the system panels and viewed the Paranormal Activity information. He saw the cast pictures, their appearances, and even their acting descriptions and critic ratings.
He went silent for a few seconds, but Nathan misunderstood, thinking he had no plan.
"You clearly don't have any plans at all." Nathan scoffed. "You probably don't even have a story or characters figured out yet?"
Marcus snapped out of viewing the panels. "Of course I do! I even have the script ready!"
Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He challenged, "Then show me."
Marcus immediately requested the system for a script of Paranormal Activity—but there was no response. This meant he'd probably need to write the script himself.
"You don't have one, right?" Nathan chuckled, seeing his son's quiet expression.
"It's all in my head, so..." Marcus felt embarrassed, and his young face showed a slight blush. "I'll head to my room... I'll come back and tell you what kind of actors I'm looking for..."
Nathan smiled teasingly. "Don't rush it. It's your first humble script, after all."
Marcus quickly retreated to his room. Once inside, he sat at his desk and pulled up the Paranormal Activity script in his system panel.
He saw that every script element—scenes, background, acting descriptions—was included. There were two versions: the original outline and the full scripted dialogue version.
A note from the Questclopedia explained: [The full script contains all dialogue as it was improvised by actors during filming. The original version had no complete dialogue—actors improvised as the movie progressed.]
This was important information. He could either have his actors improvise using the original outline, or use the final version and copy everything exactly.
"Screw it. Writing out the full dialogue version would take forever. I'll just use the original." He chose the original because it was simpler—just scene concepts, situational prompts, and guidelines for what should happen in each scene. "And this would be more authentic anyway."
He grabbed a pen from his pen cup and got to work.
Since it was the outline version, it only took fifteen minutes. He left his room and found Nathan in the kitchen preparing dinner.
He waited. After ten minutes, the food was ready, and he helped Nathan set the table.
They sat down to eat, and Marcus brought it up casually. "Dad, I've got the script ready, and I know what kind of actors I'm looking for."
Nathan was a bit surprised—that was faster than expected. "Let me see it."
Marcus handed him the pages. Nathan began reading.
As he read, his expression became increasingly unreadable.
Marcus waited patiently, but the silence was getting on his nerves. "So?"
Nathan looked at him, then at the paper, then back at him. This time, a long look. "There isn't even dialogue here. Are you sure this is a script?"
"Yeah, of course." Marcus nodded confidently. "You see, it's supposed to be like that for authenticity."
That response earned a doubtful look from Nathan. "Authenticity, huh?" He snorted. "It's clear you rushed writing this. You just threw everything together from whatever popped into your head. It's kind of messy."
Marcus stayed silent. It was true—it was messy. It was the 'original' outline version, after all. Not as refined as the 'full script dialogue' version.
"And I see you're making your first feature film a horror movie?" Nathan observed, scanning the pages. "It revolves around a couple experiencing paranormal activity in a house. And it's obvious here that it's focused entirely on the house—nothing much to show beyond that?"
Marcus didn't look up as he cut into his scrambled eggs and beef. "The house alone can explore plenty of scary things. It's definitely enough for my film."
"Really? Or is it because you're trying to save money?" Nathan asked sarcastically, as if he'd seen right through his son's choice to film in a single location to avoid logistics costs.
Marcus admitted it. "Yeah, so what? It's the most practical choice for me."
"Hehe, I actually admire that." Nathan said with a smile. He ate some egg with beef and bacon, chewing while he spoke. "And I have to admit, there are some interesting concepts here."
"See?" Marcus smiled.
"But... I don't think it's all that great..." Nathan lightly tossed the paper onto the table. "Still, I won't stop you from doing this stupid thing. I'm still supporting you."
He watched his son's face carefully. "So, what kind of actors are you looking for exactly?"
Marcus took a sip of water and quickly told him the casting requirements.
The more Nathan heard, the more faces came to mind. "I don't know if you're lucky, kid, but for that couple, I have some ideas." His eyes flashed with recognition. "So... what are the names of your lead characters?"
Marcus paused. "Paranormal Activity" had character names, but only in the full script version. In the original outline, there were none—just nameless characters.
But he could choose the names from the full script dialogue version.
"I'll just name the characters after the actors who play them." Marcus decided to make his version of Paranormal Activity unique to this world, not a complete copy from his previous one.
But Nathan misunderstood again. "Hahaha, I get it. You don't even have character names planned yet?"
"That's not it." Marcus denied.
"Yeah, yeah. It's obvious." Nathan looked at him, finding the whole situation ridiculous.
Marcus just sighed. There was no point explaining. Once everything was set and he'd filmed a movie that made millions of dollars, he could make real money and probably move out when he turned eighteen.
It wasn't that he hated the guy, but he wanted some privacy. He worried that if he ever got a girlfriend, this guy would tease him endlessly and ask awkward questions about bedroom positions and other things that shouldn't be discussed between parents and children.
---
The next day at NoHo High School, Marcus mentioned his movie idea to Arya and Ryan while they sat on the stairs between classes. The three of them looked like one of those iconic high school trios.
"Wow, really? You're gonna make a movie?" Arya seemed even more excited than he was.
"Dude, that's so cool!" Ryan interjected eagerly. "Can I join? I can be your assistant!"
"Yeah, can I join too?" Arya quickly added.
Marcus smiled at their reactions and said thoughtfully, "I'm actually short on crew, so I could use you guys." He quickly added, "But I can't pay much—I've got a limited budget, and most of it needs to go to the cast."
Arya and Ryan's eyes lit up. "That's totally fine by me! Just feed me, that's enough!" Arya said quickly.
"Yeah, meals and maybe some soda, and I'm in." Ryan chuckled.
"Really? Then you're hired!" Marcus smiled, pleased. Even if they couldn't offer professional crew experience, they'd be enough for this small project.
"So what's the movie about?" Arya asked. "Where are we filming?"
She was a film enthusiast who dreamed of working in the industry someday. It was obvious from her involvement in the Media Arts Club.
Marcus explained everything—that it was a horror movie shot entirely in a house, the concept, the setup.
"Can I be the lead? And Arya the female lead?" Ryan asked hopefully.
Marcus glanced at Ryan. He somewhat resembled the male lead from Paranormal Activity, but he lacked the acting experience.
Besides, Arya clearly didn't agree. "No way! I'm not acting with a weirdo like you." It might have sounded mean, but her tone was playful.
"Ouch. That hurts." Ryan said, pretending to be wounded—though there was a hint of real disappointment underneath.
Arya looked a bit guilty.
Marcus noticed and smoothly changed the conversation. They talked a while longer until the bell rang, then headed to class.
They spent the rest of the day together, and when classes ended, Arya and Ryan followed Marcus home. Once there, he showed them the equipment he'd bought.
Marcus already had a layout plan based on reference images from the Paranormal Activity set in his system, so he could arrange things accordingly. With his friends' help, they started rearranging the house.
Even if it wasn't an exact copy, as long as it captured the right atmosphere, it would work.
When Nathan returned home, he was surprised to find the house rearranged—the sofa, the TV, everything shifted around. He was annoyed at first, but became understanding once he learned it was for the movie.
This went on for several days. Six days after Marcus had started planning, Nathan had great news.
He'd arranged most of the cast, especially the couple for the lead roles.
Marcus would meet them at the Crown Entertainment Films studio.
Later that day, Marcus went to the studio with Nathan. He immediately recognized two of the actors his father had found.
Mike and Lea.
"Hey, hotshot. I heard you've got a movie idea?" Lea asked curiously. "Color me intrigued. Mind if I join?"
"Not at all." Marcus smiled.
"Since you're Nathan's son, I'm willing to be in your movie." Mike said with a grin. "Just don't make it so bad it ruins my reputation."
"Haha, your reputation's safe with me." Marcus chuckled.
Michael Cole and Lea Saunders—he recognized them. Mike would be perfect for the male lead, and Lea for the former demon victim in the story. As for the others, he didn't know them yet.
However, a surprise came when he met the woman cast for the female lead. She was in her early twenties with medium-length, slightly wavy hair worn loose today. She had more makeup than usual, giving her a polished look, and wore comfortable casual clothes—jeans and a fitted top—rather than the professional attire she wore at school.
It was his teacher from NoHo High School.
"Ms. Katherine?" Marcus said, genuinely surprised.
Katherine looked equally surprised, not expecting to see her student here. "Marcus?"
Nathan noticed their recognition. "Looks like you two know each other."
"Yeah, she's my teacher at school." Marcus said directly.
"He's my student." Katherine confirmed.
Nathan looked a bit surprised. "Didn't know you'd turned to teaching besides acting, Katherine."
"It's actually my main job." Katherine said with a smile.
Marcus watched Katherine talk with Nathan. From the looks of it, acting wasn't new to her at all. 'Who would've known. The famous hot teacher is an actress. Very fitting.' He chuckled inwardly.
"So you're the kid who wants to make his first movie?" Katherine asked curiously. While she seemed surprised that a student was planning a film, it clearly piqued her interest.
"Yeah. My first movie." Marcus said confidently. "But this is a movie I'm sure will earn more than my dad makes."
Everyone laughed at that. Even Nathan laughed, not offended, clearly underestimating his son.
"Haha, kid, you're funny." Nathan shook his head, pointing toward the direction where comedy clubs were located on Lankershim. "You should probably join one of those comedy clubs. It'd suit you!"
More laughter followed. Marcus didn't laugh. He just stayed quiet, his eyes radiating genuine confidence. Katherine seemed to notice that, and it made her all the more interested in what made her student so certain.