….
"I wish I could, but I don't want to."
The classic Phoebe construction, seeming contradiction that made perfect sense within her worldview. The delivery was simultaneously sincere and absurd.
Samantha laughed despite herself. "Okay, I see it now."
Throughout the reading, Regal never officially took a part. But he inhabited every character at some point - sometimes multiple times. Male characters, female characters, it didn't matter. He found each one's voice, their physical presence, their emotional core.
And he did it so naturally, so effortlessly, that it became easy to forget he wasn't actually in the scene.
He would demonstrate Ross's intellectual insecurity, then slip into Rachel's emotional vulnerability, then shift to Joey's uncomplicated sweetness, each transformation complete and distinct.
Marta and David were taking notes, but they kept getting distracted watching Regal work. Their faces showed clear surprise, they had come to pitch to a famous director, not witness a masterclass in character work.
David leaned toward Marta at one point and whispered something. She nodded, equally stunned.
They had written these characters, living with them for months. Knew them intimately.
And somehow this director who had just seen the script was finding layers in the performances that even they hadn't fully articulated.
Gwendolyn caught Seren's eye across the room. An unspoken understanding passed between them, this was what Keanu had been talking about.
This natural, almost unsettling talent that Regal had apparently been hiding behind his director's chair.
Even Keanu, who had seen Regal demonstrate before, looked impressed by the range on display.
One thing to show an actor how to play a scene. Another thing entirely to become six completely different characters over the course of two hours.
The most remarkable part was how organic it all felt.
Regal wasn't showing off or calling attention to what he was doing.
He was just… trying to help.
Making the reading work better by giving everyone clearer reference points.
But the cumulative effect was impossible to ignore.
By the time they finished the pilot reading, two hours later, with empty takeout containers and marked-up scripts scattered everywhere, the room had a strange energy.
Everyone had gotten invested in the story.
The characters felt real now, lived-in. And a significant part of that was because Regal had, without taking a single official role, somehow brought all of them to life.
As the 'discussion' continued, feedback flowing naturally, everyone contributing observations that ranged from brilliant to terrible, Samantha leaned toward Gwendolyn.
"Is he always like that?" she whispered.
Gwendolyn shook her head slightly. "I didn't even know he could do that. Keanu mentioned it once, but seeing it is… different."
"It really is." Seren finished quietly, having moved closer to their conversation. She was still processing what she'd witnessed from her twin brother. "I have known him my entire life and I had no idea he could just... become someone else like that."
On the other side of the room, Simon muttered to Darren: "So he directs, writes, and apparently can act better than most working actors. Is there anything this guy can't do?"
"Rest, apparently." Darren replied dryly.
David watched this unfold with growing amazement.
This was exactly what happened when he and Marta told their writer friends about Friends over drinks, the natural enthusiasm, collaborative building on ideas, and sense that everyone present was discovering the story together.
During this organic back-and-forth, something unexpected happened.
They found problems.
Not because anyone was criticizing, but because the casual conversation naturally surfaced things that didn't quite work.
"Wait." Darren said during a description of a season-one arc. "If Monica's supposed to be a chef at a high-end restaurant, how does she afford that apartment? Manhattan rent is insane."
Marta and David froze.
They had never addressed that.
"Rent-controlled?" David tried.
Seren said flatly. "No one is going to buy that, not for an apartment that size in the Village."
"What if..." Regal said slowly. "It's her grandmother's apartment? She inherited it, so the rent is locked at whatever rate it was decades ago. That's actually realistic for New York."
Marta was already writing that down. "Yes… That completely works."
The inputs came from everywhere, some brilliant, mediocre, and absolutely terrible.
Simon suggested a running gag about Joey being afraid of fish that everyone immediately vetoed.
Gwendolyn proposed that Phoebe should have a twin sister who appears occasionally, to which Marta and David looked at each other and nodded, they had already planned that.
Keanu thought Chandler should have a catchphrase, something distinctive. "Could it BE any more obvious?"
"That's... actually not bad." David admitted. "The weird emphasis. It's very Chandler."
Samantha asked why none of the friends had jobs that required them to work late or have irregular schedules. "If someone's always at the coffee shop, when are they working?"
"Creative license." Marta said, but she was frowning. "Though you're right. We should probably establish that their schedules are flexible. Joey's an actor so his auditions are during the day. Phoebe's a massage therapist who sets her own hours. Chandler has a boring office job nobody understands..."
The conversation continued like this for over an hour. Not structured, or formal, just people talking about characters they were starting to care about despite having never seen them on screen.
At one point, Regal barely said anything.
He just watched, observing how Marta and David responded to different types of feedback, how they defended certain choices while being open to others, how their creative partnership worked.
Finally, as the Chinese food containers emptied and the energy started to wind down, Regal spoke up.
"Okay, here's my biggest question: why should I care about these six people? Not from a pitch perspective - from a human perspective. What makes them worth spending time with every week?"
The room went quiet.
Marta and David looked at each other, and something passed between them, the recognition that this was the real question, the one that mattered more than hooks or concepts or marketability.
Marta answered, her voice quieter now, more personal.
"Because they're trying. That's it. That's the whole show." She looked around at everyone present. "They're not special. They don't have particularly impressive jobs or talents. They're not saving the world. They're just... trying to figure out how to be adults, and they're doing it together. And isn't that what everyone does in their twenties? You're away from your family, you haven't started your own family yet, and the people you hang out with become your family by choice."
David picked up the thread. "Every week, they will fail at something. A relationship will end. A job will fall through. They will embarrass themselves or hurt each other or make stupid choices. But they will still show up at that coffee shop the next day because that's what friends do. They show up."
The room was completely silent now.
Even Simon, who had been making jokes the entire time, looked thoughtful.
"That's why you should care." Marta finished. "Because it's real. Because everyone's been there. Because sometimes the most important thing in your life isn't your career or your romance - it's the five people who show up at your door with coffee when you're having a terrible day."
Regal smiled.
"Okay." he said. "I will read the pilot tonight. If it's as good as this conversation has been, I will make calls."
Both writers looked stunned.
"Really?" David managed.
"Really. This—" Regal gestured around the room. "—this is what your show should feel like. If you can capture this energy on screen, you have something special."
Marta and David gathered their scripts, now covered in notes from nine different perspectives, and prepared to leave.
"Thank you." Marta said to the room generally, then specifically to Regal. "This was... not what we expected."
"We should be considered as a compliment right?" Keanu asked.
"Definitely." David adjusted his glasses. "We came in thinking we would pitch to a director. Instead we got to see our show come to life."
"Thanks to everyone here." Marta added. "The reading, and the feedback, all of it. This helped more than you know."
After they left, exchanging contact information with Samantha, still looking dazed, the room settled into a comfortable quiet.
"Well." Simon said at last, breaking the silence. "I did not see that coming."
"Nor did I…" Regal said.
"Somehow I don't want to believe that." Simon stood, stretching.
Keanu was pulling on his jacket, preparing to leave. "Let me know if you have decided anything. I am curious now."
After everyone finally dispersed, Darren and Simon heading back to handle Superman's ongoing press commitments, Samantha returning to her actual work, Seren dragging Gwendolyn away for dinner plans - Regal sat alone in his office.
The Friends pilot script sat on his desk.
And he thought about the people who had casually filled his office today, who had turned a formal pitch meeting into something organic and real, who had given feedback because they cared, not because they were trying to impress anyone.
Maybe that was what success actually looked like.
Not the box office numbers or the critical acclaim or the awards.
Just people showing up.
Regal opened the Friends pilot and started reading.
By page ten, he was already planning which studio executive to call first.
The first thing Regal did after they left was address a problem he had just discovered. Or more accurately, a problem he had finally decided it was time to confront.
"Good scripts aren't reaching me." he said, looking at Samantha, Darren, and Simon who had stayed behind to discuss Matrix numbers but were now witnessing Regal shift into problem-solving mode.
"Regal—" Samantha started.
"No, let me finish." He walked to his desk, mind already working through the logistics. "First and foremost, I am not blaming anyone for not letting those two writers into my office until two months in. I understand completely - there's no way anyone can possibly filter through everyone trying to reach me."
He turned to face them. "But that's exactly the problem. We need to build a proper system. Maybe even a dedicated team."
"A team for what?" Simon asked.
"Script evaluation. Project assessment. A pipeline that filters submissions so only things with genuine potential reach my desk." Regal ran a hand through his hair. "Because let's be real here, do you think a script of that quality is the only one trying to reach me? Or any established director, for that matter?"
"Probably not." Darren admitted.
"Definitely not." Regal's voice was firm. "I would bet if there are a hundred scripts submitted, not even one will be worth anything. That's just the reality. Most will be terrible. Some will be mediocre. A tiny fraction will actually have merit."
He paced, thinking out loud now. "So I can't meet every person who reaches out. That's impossible. And honestly? Even if I decided to try, it would be a waste of time - especially mine."
"Then what are you proposing?" Simon was already seeing where this was going.
"A system. A proper submission process with multiple screening stages. First pass looks at formatting, basic storytelling competence, weeds out the obviously unprofessional stuff. The second pass evaluates concept, execution, potential. Only things that clear both stages make it to my desk for final review."
Samantha was already taking mental notes. "That's going to require hiring people. Readers, script analysts, maybe a development coordinator."
"I know, and I know it won't work for everyone - some great projects will slip through the cracks. There's no perfect system." Regal stopped pacing. "But it's better than what we have now, which is essentially nothing. Random chance determines whether I see something worthwhile."
"You're willing to invest in this?" Darren asked. "The overhead isn't insignificant."
"I am willing to go through the hassle to make sure something like tonight doesn't happen again, two writers with genuine talent spending two months trying to get past reception because we had no mechanism for evaluating unsolicited submissions." Regal's expression was serious. "I can't guarantee we will catch everything. But I can at least try."
Simon nodded slowly. "It's a good idea. Studios have development departments for this exact reason. You're essentially building your own."
"A small one. Focused. Just enough to create a real pipeline." Regal looked at Samantha. "Can you start putting together job descriptions? We will need at least three readers initially, maybe a development coordinator to manage the process."
"I will have something by the end of the week." Samantha confirmed.
"Also, you should I thank Roc—"
Regal paused. "Wait… I think it's better to just do it myself."
.
….
[To be continued…]
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