“The Trophy” by Mort Laitner

When I produced “The Stairs”, I fantasied about being at a film festival’s red carpet award gala (Academy Awards) in my tux, giving my acceptance speech to a house packed with celebrities and receiving a trophy as photographers clicked my picture.

I wrote about my fantasy in a vignette where I mentioned my angst after attending  eight galas and not winning a single trophy. 

I left those galas feeling the pain of rejection.

I watched the trophy winners raised their arm, waving their prize in the air to a room filled with applause.

My eyes wept invisible tears.

Well the gods of fame and pride heard my prayers. They were not the Greek gods of hubris offended by my success. But they made me wait a year until my last festival—the Miami Beach Film Festival.

I saw celebs seated in the Marco Polo Hotel ballroom:

Patrick Decile, an actor from last years Oscar winning movie “Moon Light”;

Marty Wisher, a beautiful Barbara Eden clone and star of “Three Wishes”;

Kamen Drandarov, actor and producer of “Tesla”  which recently aired on PBS;

Stewart Solomon, Gloria Estefan’s acting coach.

David Schroeder, writer and producer of “This Modern Man Is Beat” which had been accepted in 102 film festivals and won 36 awards;

All of us drank wine, ate steak and waited for the awards.

As the trophies dwindled from the awards table, my mouth soured as if I had bitten into a crabapple—that sour pithy taste of failure.

Then I heard the words from the mouth of Jill Melody, the festival’s  executive director. Words I had waited one year for.

“Winner of the Miami Beach Film Festival award for best historical drama, short film goes to “The Stairs” Mort Laitner, writer.”

As the photographers clicked and the applause blanketed my body, I smiled and held my trophy high in the air.

My fantasy had become a reality.

My dream had come true.

 

 

Remember you can buy all of our books, A Hebraic Obsession, The Greatest Gift and The

Hanukkah Bunny on Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The movie “The Stairs” is available

for$15.00 through this website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few updates for the interested:

1. “The Stairs” to be screened at the Miami Beach Film Festival at 3:50 on Sunday January

14, 2018 at the Marco Polo Hotel on Miami Beach. See link for more:

info.https://www.miamibeachfilmfest.com/film-screening-speaker-schedule 

Hope to see your there. Wish us luck on getting an award.

2. South Florida Writers Association’s, The Authors Voice published “Arts and Sciences”  a

vignette about my college days. You can read story on my website.

Thanks editor-in-chief Teresa Bendana.

3. Our website: Mortlaitner.com now has 220,072 hits on our web counter.

4. Our publisher, Lightening Source, sold 16 copies of “The Hanukkah Bunny” this holiday season.

5. We are co-leading a novel breakout group with Steve Liebowitz on February 17, 2018 at 

the 8th Annual Mango Writers Conference Winston Park Club House 8100 SW 132 Avenue

Miami FL.

Remember you can buy all of our books, A Hebraic Obsession, The Greatest Gift and The

Hanukkah Bunny on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

 

 

 

 

“The Night Stand” by Mort Laitner

Narrator: We find our loving spies naked, under satin sheets in their West Wing bedroom.

Boris: Hey Google, play the theme from the movie, “Doctor Zhivago”.

Google: That song is only available for Google subscribers. Try “Lara’s Theme” by composer, Maurice Jarre, on the “Somewhere My Love” station.

Boris: Hey Google, play “Lara’s Theme”.

Google:

“Somewhere my love there will be songs to sing
Although the snow covers the hope of Spring
Somewhere a hill blossoms in green and gold
And there are dreams, all that your heart can hold
Someday we’ll meet again, my love
Someday whenever the Spring breaks through”

Natasha: Boris you are such a red, Russian romantic! I remember vhen ve vent to see the movie in Paris. I also remember the Pasternak’s book being banned in the Soviet Union for decades. I recall how you resembled a short Omar Sharif.

That movie vas a classic tale of love, betrayal and revolution.

Boris: My Zhivagoian Princess, you looked so beautiful in your black fox fur hat the night ve vere on the Champs-Élysées. I still have that  perfect photo of you standing under the Arc de Triomphe That film rates as an essential romance— just like “Casablanca” and “Gone with the Wind.” Speaking about the night, do you remember the night you spent vit the President.

Natasha: Of course my sveet-hearted Cossack with your large lance. That is a night I vill never forget.

Boris: By any chance did you get to see the contents of his night stand?

Natasha: Vhat type of spy do you think I am! Of course I did!

Boris: Vell vhat vas in their?

Natasha: The usual stuff: some K-Y, the expensive stuff—“Intense” the Pleasure Gel that Stimulates & Intensifies, a wand massager—the one with the velvet storage bag and lifetime guarantee and those little blue pills. You know the guy is in his seventies.

Boris: Anything else?

Natasha: A little red book entitled, “How to Become A Dictator”.

Boris: Did you have time to photograph its contents.

Natasha: No dahlink, the President’s entrance surprised me. But I read the table of contents.

Boris: I’m holding my breath. Vhat vere the headings?

Natasha:

One—Surround yourself with Generals—one day this strategy will payoff;

Two—Target weak minorities at every opportunity—fear and hatred are cousins;

Three—Target the Press–All negative stories are fake news;

Four—Create a media channel that will only espouse your propaganda;

Five—Lie so often that people don’t know when your telling the truth;

Six—Align yourself with corrupt and small-minded politicians. They can be easily be manipulated  or bought off. They will think that they will be pardoned if they get caught;

Seven–Only appoint judges who will swear a personal alliance to you;

Eight—Make the justice department jump on your command;

Nine—Attack the FBI and the CIA as corrupt. You can always privatize these agencies;

Ten—Say complimentary remarks about right-wing fascists, They will go to the streets for you;

Eleven—The corporations can be bought off  with tax cuts. They will pay you big dividends when reelection funds are needed.

Twelve—Take baby steps. Neither Rome nor Berlin were  built in a day.

Thirteen—Once in a while throw a bone to the left. They are as dumb as a golden retrievers.

Boris: Who is the author of this little red book.

Natasha: Our Fearless Leader of course! He autographed the book, “To my buddy Donald. Hope this road map works as well for you in the States as it worked for me in Russia.”

Narrator: As Boris pushed his head out from under the satin sheets, we hear him sing;

“Somewhere my love there will be songs to sing”. 

Boris contemplates love, betrayal and revolution as his hand blindly reaches into the night stand.

Author: Dear readers, what do you think my message is?