Set your story on a film or TV set, starting with someone calling “Cut!”

Posted in Dialogue on Jul 14, 2023

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✍️ 46 stories

“Red Rum” by Oskar Reiss

Submitted to Contest #207

‘Cut!’ Leonard shouted, snapping the movie slate shut, dizzy with the relief that comes after the end of a shoot. ‘Thanks so much, Francis, you’re good to go.’ ‘No, thank you, Lenny,’ Francis Keaton replied, shaking Leonard’s hand. ‘I hope we meet again.’ ‘Me too. Good luck with your Nespresso adverts. Where’s Liliana?’ Leonard called out to Travis, who shrugged his shoulders. ‘Travis, you reek of whiskey.’ ‘It’s called method acting. I had to do it all the time for Streetcar.’ ‘Ah! There you are!’ Liliana Hoyt, who ...

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“The Bottom Line” by Sue Hunter

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #207

CW: The story includes elements of child harm and child death. A brief sentence alludes to predatory acts on a child but was kept as brief as possible. The first word that came out of your one-year-old mouth was ‘cut’, though it probably sounded more like ‘cuh’ to the production staff around you. Daddy liked to yell it to his small studio, and you echoed him as a black and white board was slammed together in front of a camera. Your daddy leaped from his chair when he noticed y...

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“A Little Side Action” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #207

“CUT!” “Who said that? Who yelled cut? I’m the director on this set and I am the only one who gets to shout, CUT!” “Boss, that would be the Intimacy Coordinator.” “Where is she? Where is this Intimacy Coordinator? Show yourself, you scene invader! Someone bring this person to me, that thinks they can direct my movie.” “She’s not here, boss.” “What do you mean, she’s not here? How can she not be here? How did she call, CUT!” “She’s working from home.” “Working from home? Why isn’t she on the set?” “It’s a closed set, only essential personnel ...

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“The Unseen Hand” by Kevin Logue

Submitted to Contest #207

“Cut!” The lights above the entrances stay lit, bleeding their artificial red warning into the synthetic gloom beyond the stage. Still live, just as planned. Looking up from the presenter's desk, I shuffle papers filled with our masters' practiced lies into a neat pile, just as I have done for thirty two years. Tonight will be my last. My trembling hands drift over the laminated circular tabletop as I gather my nerves. So much of my life spent here reading the nightly “news”, so many "truths" told, so many lives ruined.“I said...

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“Hollywood Hack” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #207

Hollywood HackThe cameras were rolling, the actors were ready, the director was sweating, and the producer was a nervous wreck. The studio’s planned summer blockbuster, “Brash Bags the Bad Boys…Again”, was behind schedule, over budget, and the company was fending off a looming writers’ strike.EXT. L.A. CITY STREET - NIGHTEmergency vehicle lights are flashing. The beautiful Honey Muffin, in full police garb, leans over a man lying on the sidewalk. Brash Bradford approaches.HONEY MUFFINBrash! I’m sorry. He’s gone. The drug dealers killed ...

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“"Why won't you listen to me"” by Muthukumarasamy Vinodh

Submitted to Contest #207

"Cut", the director bellowed, yanking off his cap and swiping a hand over his sweat-drenched hair. He gently rubbed his eyes to numb the effects of insomnia and stress he had faced for the past few years. The director had devotedly spent his time crafting each scene with passion and love. But all his efforts had been compromised due to the movie's protagonist, Wilson.Wilson was incredibly difficult to work with. His poor acting and decision-making skills had reduced the director's long movie to a mere short film. Furious beyond measure, the ...

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“The Champion: Season Five. The First Elimination. ” by Alex Solomon

Submitted to Contest #207

The Champion: Season Five. The First Elimination. "Cut!" We have just finished filming our four contestants arriving at the beach, for The Champion: Season Five. It's a picturesque day in the Marshall Islands. The sky is baby-blue, and the Pacific Ocean is so clear that we can film fish that are 100 feet deep. The camera crew has already snagged some amazing B-roll footage, including, a family of hammer-head sharks, a school of cotton candy colored fish, and an emerald sea snake. As one of the four writers, I'm not perm...

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“The Director ” by Ben LeBlanc

Submitted to Contest #207

“Cut!”I stared down at the script in front of me. Another episode finished. The actor and actress, each dressed in flesh colored bodysuits, got out of the bed where they were pretending to have sex. stagehands with towels rushed forward to relieve them. Another episode done in the style of the HBO prestige drama. The likable antihero who is too virile for his own good. Big-budget spectacle, with violence turned up to the max. And, of course, the multilayered plot which served to justify the vice. “Hey, Don, you wanna take anot...

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“Plaga Iuventae: A Debt to Pay, Part 2” by Steffen Lettau

Submitted to Contest #207

Another day of cameras, lightings, and sounds. Another crowd gathered, watching and waiting to see what happens next. No, this is not a major news development. This was just a filming for some new live-action series that would garner attention for a short time; and now, any minute, the director would yell... "Cut!" I had to wait a few more minutes, as the personnel started migrating from this set to the outside world, going for refreshments or a good cigarette. My person of interest, however, was with the director. He was to relay a mess...

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“I was a John Q Extra” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #207

“Cut” the first Assistant Director called. “Break for lunch.” The third Assistant Director announced. “We’re in that warehouse. Doors are way down the west end.” We were led by some seventh Assistant Director, Extra’s Wrangler, to the far end of a warehouse where catering had still not unloaded. “We’re locked out.” Another extra said yanking on the steel doors. “I saw tech guys somewhere at the other end inside, when we came over. We could knock on the window...

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“What Is Art?” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #207

“Cut!” Bren Halfleck looks stunned. Then he looks around him at the crew. Green screening is an art in itself. It’s acting in its rawest form. Precision make believe. There is nothing there, but he has to make sure the audience sees what should be there. Then the tech wizards colour everything else in and there really is a dragon, or an alien, or a talking boat or whatever it is that is trending this year in the weird and wonderful world that they call Follywood. “Is that it?” he asks as the crew start wrapping things up. “Ye...

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“The Command Performance” by Marc Rothstein

Submitted to Contest #207

The Command Performance "Cut!" The gargoyle director swung his megaphone in my face when he yelled. He stood two heads taller than me when he wasn't on all fours. His fanged smile was both warm and menacing. With a wincing smile, I took a defensive step back and bumped into a set of golden elevator doors. As they slowly opened, I realized how I got here. Bladder cancer had ended twenty-seven seasons and 5000 episodes of my TV show. After tearful goodbyes to my family and friends, I took my last breath. My hospital room flashed blindingly wh...

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“Best Friends - O Yeah” by Calvin Kirby

Submitted to Contest #207

Best Friends – O Yeah!By Cal Kirby(This is based on a true story, with some liberties taken to make the author seem more involved with the famous people)As I finished wiping the chicken salad off Goldie Hawn’s face and saying my lines, “Are you alright, is everything alright?” Norman Jewison, the director, yelled, “Cut!!!”I was really excited, as this was the first time I actually had lines in the many movies I had been in.It was in 1982 and it all started with me getting a phone call from my agent from Central Casting, saying “Cal can you b...

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“The Butt Double” by Stephanie Troyak

Submitted to Contest #207

He takes me from behind, grabbing my ass and rhythmically pounding into me in slick, steady strokes. His fingers dig into my flesh. My hair is loose and damp, as sweat drips down my nipples, shining along my porcelain flesh. He grabs my hair and I let out a soft moan as my neck lolls back. “Get up” he commands. He pulls me up on my knees, and wraps his muscular arm around my torso, proceeding to gently nibble on my ear. His breath on my neck sends a quivering sensation down my spine. His hands slip down my stomach, and my body tingles as his...

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“Hissing Caverns” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #207

Cut!... let's take a ten-minute break…"Mom, you looked relaxed, confident, and beautifully in your element in front of the camera, but how do you feel?"I'm good. I did a breathing treatment, although I was worried before we started. I'm glad I wore my scarf around my head, shoulders, neck, and long johns underneath this outfit. All the lights on me are an excellent heat source… ha, ha, ha…(Mom thinking) …We will face our fears for our children…, right? Inhaler in hand, nervous system on blast, and eyes wide open, I entered the cozy cavernous...

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Set your story on a film or TV set, starting with someone calling “Cut!”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 46 stories

“Red Rum” by Oskar Reiss

“The Bottom Line” by Sue Hunter

“A Little Side Action” by Chris Campbell

“The Unseen Hand” by Kevin Logue

“Hollywood Hack” by Murray Burns

“"Why won't you listen to me"” by Muthukumarasamy Vinodh

“The Champion: Season Five. The First Elimination. ” by Alex Solomon

“The Director ” by Ben LeBlanc

“Plaga Iuventae: A Debt to Pay, Part 2” by Steffen Lettau

“I was a John Q Extra” by David B Fraser

“What Is Art?” by Jed Cope

“The Command Performance” by Marc Rothstein

“Best Friends - O Yeah” by Calvin Kirby

“The Butt Double” by Stephanie Troyak

“Hissing Caverns” by Kimberly Walker

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a person who constantly has to put on a persona (e.g. at work, in their relationships, etc.) who can finally drop the facade.

A journalist has been granted permission to visit the premises of a lab carrying out top-secret work. They could never have anticipated what they’d find…

Write a story about a magician who never reveals their secrets — until now.

Set your story in the kitchen of a bustling restaurant.

Contest #207

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

234

Contest entries

96

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: