Carrara from stories my grandfather and his friends have shared.”
“My guess is that they only talked about a sentimental longing for an old way of life that is gone. That is not the only reality. You will need to present the bigger picture.”
“Producing a good film is knowing what to reveal and how.”
Marc took a sip of his wine then said, “You’ll need to walk a fine line with this documentary. While Santoro Designs is allowing the filming, I don’t want it to cross over to just being about The Santoro Quarry. While in Italy, you will have access to many other quarries.”
Isabel nodded. “I understand your concerns, but the human side of the story is what makes it compelling and draws the audience in. The slabs of marble are beautiful but not enough. There has to be more.”
“You can show the process of extracting marble and how the pieces are turned into art. There is a struggle there.”
Isabel placed her water back on the table. “That is an important element. But I need to show more than the struggle that the artists deal with. Many quarries have failed and there is conflict over the rate of production.”
“The machinery in today’s quarry makes it much less dangerous and much more straightforward. I think you will stray off topic if you begin to address the reasons behind over production.”
“Alberto talks about…”
“Don’t let an old man’s musings or fantasy overshadow this film. It won’t serve you well.”
Isabel took a sip of water to ease her dry throat. “I don’t understand.”
“Alberto is a dreamer. His imagination runs away with him. If he was more practical, his quarry would still be in operation.”
“I don’t think that is fair.”
“It’s completely fair. He was a terrible businessman.”
Isabel stood up. “Not everyone is as ruthless as you are.”
Marc met her gaze. “To stay in business and turn a profit, you need to be ruthless.”
“I don’t think being ruthless serves anyone well. Can’t your success be attributed to a skill or trait of yours that is not ruthless?” Isabel watched in fascination as Marc stood up and turned his back on her.
Isabel Neri asked too many questions. She had not grown up with his father who taught him firsthand that to survive you needed to be ruthless. She might think that she wanted to know the truth about his childhood, but he would never reveal that part of himself to her or anyone. The media would have his soul if they knew the truth. His father had despised him. He had hated his artistic nature and had attempted to beat it out of him. He banished the unwelcome memories and abruptly turned back to her.
Isabel said, “I think you are much more complex than you give yourself credit for. I don’t think the type of success you have achieved can be simply attributed to being ruthless in business.”
He relaxed the clenched muscles in his hands and said, “I agree. Obviously, there are many factors. But I do know that success in the marble business comes down to the quality of the product or design. In that case ruthlessly pursuing perfection has allowed Santoro Designs to come out on top. Without the adherence to achieving the absolute best, the company wouldn’t have thrived.”
Isabel stood facing him and said, “I don’t think perfection is possible. I think it is an ideal that people strive for but in the end, they are often disappointed.”
He thought about her comments and said, “We are having two separate conversations. I may strive for a particular standard in my own work, but I’m not trying to tell you in some hidden way that I think you need to be perfect or that your film needs to attain perfection.”
Isabel moved closer to him. “I think you probably hold everyone around you to a perfect ideal.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Why do you think that?”
He watched as she slipped on her shoes and looked at him expectantly. “You haven’t answered my question——what makes
“My guess is that they only talked about a sentimental longing for an old way of life that is gone. That is not the only reality. You will need to present the bigger picture.”
“Producing a good film is knowing what to reveal and how.”
Marc took a sip of his wine then said, “You’ll need to walk a fine line with this documentary. While Santoro Designs is allowing the filming, I don’t want it to cross over to just being about The Santoro Quarry. While in Italy, you will have access to many other quarries.”
Isabel nodded. “I understand your concerns, but the human side of the story is what makes it compelling and draws the audience in. The slabs of marble are beautiful but not enough. There has to be more.”
“You can show the process of extracting marble and how the pieces are turned into art. There is a struggle there.”
Isabel placed her water back on the table. “That is an important element. But I need to show more than the struggle that the artists deal with. Many quarries have failed and there is conflict over the rate of production.”
“The machinery in today’s quarry makes it much less dangerous and much more straightforward. I think you will stray off topic if you begin to address the reasons behind over production.”
“Alberto talks about…”
“Don’t let an old man’s musings or fantasy overshadow this film. It won’t serve you well.”
Isabel took a sip of water to ease her dry throat. “I don’t understand.”
“Alberto is a dreamer. His imagination runs away with him. If he was more practical, his quarry would still be in operation.”
“I don’t think that is fair.”
“It’s completely fair. He was a terrible businessman.”
Isabel stood up. “Not everyone is as ruthless as you are.”
Marc met her gaze. “To stay in business and turn a profit, you need to be ruthless.”
“I don’t think being ruthless serves anyone well. Can’t your success be attributed to a skill or trait of yours that is not ruthless?” Isabel watched in fascination as Marc stood up and turned his back on her.
Isabel Neri asked too many questions. She had not grown up with his father who taught him firsthand that to survive you needed to be ruthless. She might think that she wanted to know the truth about his childhood, but he would never reveal that part of himself to her or anyone. The media would have his soul if they knew the truth. His father had despised him. He had hated his artistic nature and had attempted to beat it out of him. He banished the unwelcome memories and abruptly turned back to her.
Isabel said, “I think you are much more complex than you give yourself credit for. I don’t think the type of success you have achieved can be simply attributed to being ruthless in business.”
He relaxed the clenched muscles in his hands and said, “I agree. Obviously, there are many factors. But I do know that success in the marble business comes down to the quality of the product or design. In that case ruthlessly pursuing perfection has allowed Santoro Designs to come out on top. Without the adherence to achieving the absolute best, the company wouldn’t have thrived.”
Isabel stood facing him and said, “I don’t think perfection is possible. I think it is an ideal that people strive for but in the end, they are often disappointed.”
He thought about her comments and said, “We are having two separate conversations. I may strive for a particular standard in my own work, but I’m not trying to tell you in some hidden way that I think you need to be perfect or that your film needs to attain perfection.”
Isabel moved closer to him. “I think you probably hold everyone around you to a perfect ideal.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Why do you think that?”
He watched as she slipped on her shoes and looked at him expectantly. “You haven’t answered my question——what makes
Similar Books
