I'm the best cameraman in the country. I know it. Everybody knows it. So it did not come as a complete surprise when North American Pharmaceuticals offered me a ridiculous amount of money to film a new infomercial.
North American Pharmaceuticals had a new product on the market. A breakthrough product. It was going to be a blockbuster. It was a brand new type of sexual lubricant called Slippyslidey. A wonder lubricant. They were spending a large amount of money to promote it, and they had decided to go after the gay dollar. I guess they figured that not a lot of Christian dollars were going to be spent on a new sexual lubricant.
It seemed that somehow in this day and age of religion and anti-porn; in this age of family values determined to eradicate extra-marital and especially same-sex sexuality, Quantumvision, the vast cable network company, had also decided to go after the gay dollar and establish a hard-core gay pay porn channel, 'Effenesse.'
North American Pharmaceuticals had decided that Effenesse would be the perfect outlet on which to place an informercial for their new wonderproduct, Slippyslidey. They had hired me to film the informercial. And today was the day.
I didn't have to leave for the studio for another fifteen minutes, and I was sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a second cup of coffee.
"Daddy, will you play ball with me?" asked Reggie, my six-year old.
"I want to play too. I want to play too," screamed Jackie, my four year old.
"No. Your father has to go to work. And you have to go to school Reggie," said Veronica, my wife, as she shoveled another spoonful of strained peas into baby Alice's mouth.
"Aaahhh," screamed Alice in delight, as she pounded her tiny fists on the high chair. Some of the peas flew out onto Veronica's face. Veronica wiped her face with a paper napkin, and delivered another spoonful into Alice's tiny mouth.
"I don't care. I think it's disgusting," said Veronica.
"The peas?" I asked naively.
"The infomercial," she said.
I knew I should never have told her. "It's money, Veronica. It's good money."
"But it's perverted and immoral."
"But it's money, Veronica," I explained very slowly. "And I don't want to hear any more about it."
She sighed and got one more spoonful into Alice's mouth.
"What's a imfomercial, Daddy?" asked Jackie.
"It's a long commercial, like you see on television, Jackie," I answered, swallowing the last of my coffee. It was time to leave. I kissed the kids. I kissed Veronica. I took a napkin and wiped some strained peas off my mouth, and I went out the front door. I got into my car, and I drove down to the studio.
I parked in the parking lot, and proceeded to soundstage 12. Perry Pierson, the director/announcer was already there.
"Hi, Perry," I greeted him.
"Leo," he nodded, and we shook hands.
"As you can see, the set's already up," he gestured.
I looked. There was a large table full of tubes of Slippyslidey, and also an older brand, and to the right of it was a large vinyl mat on the floor. Yes. The set was up.
"The boys are in the dressing rooms," said Pierson. Just tell me when you get set up."
"Fine," I said. I set my lights all around the set and picked up my camera. I was not going to use a tripod for this. It would be hand-held camera, so I could get in all the tight places. Film all the crazy angles. I was determined that this was going to be as artistic a project as possible, even given the subject matter.
I pointed my camera at the table. I moved over to the mat and walked all around it, pointing my camera down. I got down on my knees, and looked through the sight. I seemed to be ready to go.
"Okay," I said. "Let's begin.
"Okay. First you focus on me," said Pierson. He took a position beside the table. In one hand he held a microphone, and his other hand rested on the table. I began to shoot.
"Gentlemen. Gentlemen," said Pierson into the microphone. I'm here to introduce you to the new wonderproduct. Slippyslidey, the aloe based lubricant, invented by North American Pharmaceuticals, especially for your pleasure.
He continued.
PIERSON After many years of experimentation and exhaustive animal testing in our laboratories, North American Pharmaceuticals is pleased to unveil its exciting new product, Slippyslidey. We are going to show you just how wonderful this product is. How superior it is to what was already on the market, which I will simply call 'The Rival Brand.'
Here, Pierson simply held up a blank white tube. The brand name had been covered. There was no point in embarrassing its manufacturer, Lethe Laboratories.