Fosse/Verdon

You're a little early.

It isn't time yet.

Can I see it?

That's nice. Then the hand.

- As I'm stepping back? - Yeah.

That wasn't it.

Well, take it up with the choreographer.

It was his idea, not mine.

Did we fire him?

Oh, give the man another shot.

He's still learning.

Break the leg.

Or this?

Yeah, that's nice. Show me the reverse.

Eh.

Yours is better. Let's do it again.

Dancers to set.

Standby.

Bring it over here for blocking.

Why are you standing like that?

I thought this was my position.

Yeah, well, why is the character you're playing

putting all of her weight on the banister like that?

The choreography.

How long have you been dancing in those heels tonight?

Five hours maybe?

- Six, at least. - Six.

Hey, mister, can I talk to you for a minute?

Got a cigarette for me, mister? Huh?

All you want to do is sit down.

I mean, it is all you can think about.

You close your eyes.

You see love seats, armchairs, church pews, subway benches.

But you got a problem. The manager's watching.

You--you can't sit down in the middle of your shift.

Got that little boy at home, doesn't she?

Yeah.

Depending on that paycheck.

Maybe if you can shift your weight off your heels

onto the banister,

just maybe you can make it through one more dance.

Uh, who's here?

- (chuckles) - Hey, Shirley. How are ya?

Good, I feel lucky I can still walk

after yesterday's rehearsal.

She's a taskmaster, this one.

Well, I learned from the best.

Need her in one piece there, Gwen.

Hey, I need to talk to you for a second.

- Yeah? - Wanna get a cup of coffee...

Girls.

When you're walking backwards and you roll the shoulder,

it's not a seduction, it's a con job.

Now he doesn't know that, so...

Can you freeze right there, ladies?

It's got to be tighter. I need it tighter.

I wanna see the sweat.

I wanna see the spot where they missed their foundation.

They're too crowded together.

If you come in tight, you're going to ruin the composition.

Cut one of the dancers.

- Huh? - More room.

Yeah. Which one?

New girl on the end.

Okay.

Sweetheart!

We're re-blocking.

Psss! - Okay, stop.

Hold it right there.

I need you to get through to him, Gwen.

The studio is adamant.

Charity under no circumstances can use the expression,

"Up yours."

It--it--it--it--it's obscene.

Quiet, please.

Can I tell you what I do when I'm nervous?

I take three deep breaths, in and out.

In and out. In...

- (inhales, exhales) - And out.

Better, isn't it?

We're gonna have to lose another dancer.

We have to lose another dancer.

Yeah.

We have to re-block.

- We're re-blocking. - In and out.

Everybody, we're re-blocking.

Carrie, sorry, we're gonna have to--

we're gonna have to lose you, okay? I'm so sorry.

We're going to find another spot for you, all right?

- (bell rings) Mark.

Quiet, please. Picture's up, everybody.

Stand by.

Scene 7, take 1. Roll camera.

- Mark. - (click)

Rolling! Rolling!

Playback.

How's about it, palsy?

Yeah.

- Cut. Cutting.

Okay, let's move on.

Check the gate. - That's good, girls.

- Nice. It's clear. Moving on.

Oh, listen, I wanted to tell you.

Nicole and I stopped by the Ziegfeld on our way home.

Hmm. There were people

lined up all the way down to 7th Avenue to buy tickets.

Maybe they were there to see The Love Bug.

(giggles) Stop.

The Ziegfeld only has one screen and you know it.

Well, but do they know that?

Well, I didn't ask that.

Is that new?

Yeah, I made it. Do you like it?

Can you zip me?

Going in the wrong direction.

Am I?

Our guests will be here in five minutes.

It's always good to...

- keep your audience waiting. - (door slams)

Hey. Okay, now, it's your bedtime.

Trade? Thank you.

Neil understands what I'm saying.

Listen to me, you're gonna be absolutely insufferable

now that you're a hotshot Hollywood director, right?

Next thing you know, he's gonna show up

at the Carnegie Deli wearing a beret.

I made one film. One film.

Oh, it's worse than I thought.

He's already calling his movie a film.

My God, somebody put him out of his misery already.

- Listen to him. - This is from Paddy Chayefsky,

the most pretentious son of a bitch on the planet Earth.

I never said I wasn't.

I got my hands over my head.

I say, "Officer, this is all a big misunderstanding.

I'm--I'm Bob Fosse." He says, "Who?"

Do you know how many times he's told this story?

It happened 15 years ago.

The guy is convinced he's caught some pervert

trying to break into Gwen Verdon's rehearsal room

for God knows what kind of sordid purpose.

Which, to be fair, is not entirely untrue.

- (all laughing) Touché.

I finally come out and then I say,

"Officer, give me a break! I'm Gwen Verdon's husband!

- I'm her husband!" - And the poor kid,

he turns bright red and says,

"Well, gee, why in the world didn't you say so

in the first place, Mr. Verdon?"

I'm busy directing Steve's new musical.

Am I the only one who liked the last one

that he did with Dick?

- Yeah, I think so. - Oh.

What's this one about?