Meet William

He read the stories of Dickens, Faulkner and Kafka.  He was inspired by the words of Kerouac and Ginsberg.  He loved the works of Shakespeare and Miller.  He wanted to write poetry like Rambaud, Keates and Frost.  He wanted to be like them.  They inspired him.


William is driven by his passion to write, he has never loved anything more.   This is the essence of his character.  Though, like Matthew, William has his complexities.  Literature he gets, life and relationships is another thing.  He wants to write his book but leaving the stability of his job is difficult for him.  Even when he is encouraged by his friends to do so, William hesitates, until at last he takes the plunge.  He's intelligent and funny, some would say a real "catch".  Yet when it comes to relationships he struggles.  He knows that love is out there, he's been close to having it once or twice.  Women like him and find him endearing but every relationship ends the same way; a relationship that culminates with him ending it. When asked for a reason, he gives the same answer "maybe she just wasn't the one".  In part that is true, maybe these woman haven't been the one but the other part would be, that he doesn't approach these relationships with the same passion that he does towards his craft.  Maybe it would take someone very special to for him to do that.  No one knows, not even William.


While his romantic relationships never seem to work out, the relationships with his family and friends are great.  William can be counted on.  He shows sensitivity and sincerity.  He's never sure about life or what he wants out of it (with the exception of being a successful writer, but that's obvious).  When William decided to finally focus on his first book, his intention was to write something that not only the reader would enjoy; it would also be a way for him to try understand these aspects of life that he has trouble with.  The research and interviews that he will have with Matthew aren't solely for his book.  They are a road he must take to try and discover himself.  He isn't sure what he'll find but he will find something.

Here it is, the final character.  William.  What I wanted you (the eventual audience) to get out of this, is the understanding that William is on a journey.  This journey includes, finishing his first book (a goal that he has set for himself) and also to somehow try to understand life, love, and relationships.  I hope that I have in someway done for you.  Thanks for reading.

Gerson J. Peña

Writer/Director

With Her

Meet Sophia...

Her personality is intoxicating.  Her carefree spirit is magnetic.  Her dancing is graceful.  These three elements are what make Sophia who she is.  Even as a child it was evident that she had a spark, she was determined always to be the best in everything she did.  When her parents divorced and her mother left, it didn't jade her.  It made her stronger.  She embraced the fact that it brought her closer to her father, it didn't bother her that it alienated her from her mother.  Sophia always thought that she and her mother were very different anyway.  Her mother was selfish and materialistic.  She was more like her father, who was an ambitious man that always enjoyed life.  He taught her about art, music, politics, and sports.  When he spoke to her it was never patronizing and that made Sophia happy and it would also help her as she grew up.  She sometimes resented the fact that her girlfriends had mothers and she didn't but Sophia would find solace in dancing.  This was her world and hers alone, she was free.  When it came to matters of the heart, she was opened but always made sure that she never gave too much.  While you might think that this resulted from the divorce of her parents, Sophia would say that you only get one chance at true love and it was better to keep searching than settling. 

Many would try to win her heart but none would succeed.  Her friends would sometimes joke and say that she would never find anybody, but Sophia with her care free spirit, would laugh it off.  She enjoyed dating with a touch of promiscuity, there was nothing wrong with that, life is short.  She also felt that maybe her friends were just a little bit jealous that she was brave enough to be able to have this view.  It also didn't help that she always got a lot of attention, she would walk into a room and heads would turn.  When she had conversations, she was funny and witty.  She was well read and was proud of the fact that she was a total bookworm.  From a very young age she was read to by her father and when she picked up a book and started reading it would take her back to those special moments.  Those moments she cherished.  In the seniors years of her high school education, Sophia's mother attempted to have a relationship with her but Sophia turned her away.  While she didn't hate her mother, the time for any relationship had long passed.  She couldn't forgive her for leaving, it was also the only time that Sophia  had had a moment in which she had demonstrated her dark side.  Her mother cried that day but it didn't bother her, she felt nothing.  After that she didn't speak to her mother again, she would receive a birthday card every year from her but always without fail, she would return it.  Once she was walking along a street and she happened to look into a store through the window and spotted her mother.  Sophia paused for a moment and thought about going inside.  While she stared at her, a younger man approached her mother and they kissed.  Sophia watched for a second longer and then turned and continued walking.  Her mother never knew she was there.  

Like Matthew, I wanted to give you a chance to get to know a little bit about Sophia.  I took a different approach with her.  I thought about what I would write and how I would write it. I felt that this manner, which is as if you were listening to someone narrate her life, would be best.  I think that writing about Sophia in this way gives you (the eventual audience) a good perspective on who she is and where she comes from.   I hope that you enjoyed it and that you look forward to seeing this character brought to life.  Thanks for reading.
 
Gerson J. Peña
Writer/Director
With Her

Meet Matthew...

Matthew is a man, yes I'm stating the obvious I know.  He isn't someone who is overly complex but he has complexities nonetheless.  His character is one that I hope, when the picture is released and with the help of this little blog, you can all walk out and feel like you understand him.  On the surface you can say, the reason a person would turn to the world of escorting is simply because of the money.  In part, you're right, Matthew is driven by his need to live a certain lifestyle, one where you eat at the best places, you wear the best clothes and you have nice things.  When we delve deeper into who Matthew is, what we find is a person who is selfish but full of desire and lust, not love.  Love doesn't exist in Matthew's world, it can't.  Partly because of the nature of the business in which he is in and partly because in his life, love is something that has never been truly real, he sees love as something that is transient.  Yet, he is a man (back to the obvious) and therefore the desire and lust, as I mentioned, gets fulfilled through the nature of his business.  Someone might look at a person like Matthew and say how can you care for someone like that, you can't.  That person would have to be solely about that and while Matthew may seem like one of those people, he really isn't.  

There is another side to him.  He needs these women just as much they need him.  They provide exactly the same thing that he provides for them and it goes beyond the sexual.  As I stated in a previous blog, I believe that at some point we all desire to be loved or to simply have some companionship.  These women seek that through Matthew, albeit an act on his part.  When they're time together is up these women are satisfied, if only temporarily.  Matthew is satisfied as well but it is the other side (the one that I mentioned previously) that is satisfied.  That is, human nature.  This where I think we can all relate in some way.  We as humans don't always like to be alone, so much so that sometimes people settle for anybody as long as they are together.  We need someone to be there to listen to us, to console us, to comfort us, to care about us, even for a brief period of time.  Matthew is no different, while he might be someone who would probably not admit to that.  Our human nature, something that we all share, would say that no matter how you feel about love or relationships or life, deep down we are all the same.  

There you have it a little about Matthew.  I hope that with this little insight into who he is, it will better your eventual viewing experience of With Her.  Through out the week I will be doing the same with William and Sophia.  Until then.

Gerson Peña
Writer/Director
With Her