The Ice Rink

23. INT. ICE RINK - DAY

The main actor, dressed as a goalie, makes his entrance onto the ice.

The director welcomes him, invites him to sit on a chair with his name, installed at the base of the parallel.

The cinematographer sits at the camera, on top of the parallel.

The players are in position in the center of the rink, leaning forward, sticks in their hands.

The assistant explains to the short referee, now clean-shaven, that he should just pretend to drop the puck when he is given the signal.

The director (shouting into the megaphone)
 

Go!

The short referee, determined, theatrical, pretends to drop the puck between two players.

The players look at him, surprised.

Nothing happens.

The assistant, crouching in a corner of the rink, motions to the players to start playing.

The players do not understand, look quizzically at her, signal that the referee did not drop the puck.

The assistant insists, makes large gestures, finally motions to the referee to pretend to drop the puck again.

The referee, determined, theatrical, pretends to drop the puck again.

Nothing happens.

All of the members of the film crew, the script girl, the make up artist, motion to the players to start playing.

The players, stubborn, obstinate, signal that the referee did not drop the puck.

The director (into his megaphone)

Go get the interpreter.

The interpreter runs into the rink escorted by an assistant. She hurriedly puts on skates, advances with difficulty over the ice towards the parallel, falls at the feet of the director and the actor. The actor, very gallant, helps her up. The director explains to her that the players must pretend to play without a puck for the rehearsal.

The interpreter goes over to the players, translates the words of the director to them at the center of the rink. The players surround the interpreter, a long discussion follows on the ice in Lithuanian. Certain players seem not to agree with the interpreter, they ask her questions, ask her for explanations, certain objections are raised.

Finally the interpreter signals to the director that everything is alright, that they can start.

The director

Go.

Even before the interpreter has the time to leave the ice, the referee pretends to drop the puck between the players, and the players hurl themselves like wildcats over the ice, vent all their energy, race after the imaginary puck, pretend to shoot at the empty net with all their might, crash into the boards of the ice rink with terrifying shocks.

The main actor, watching the rehearsal from his seat, thoughtfully strokes his brow, he seems preoccupied.

The director (shouting into the megaphone)

Thank you, gentlemen, thank you.

The assistant leaps onto the ice, calms the players, cools them down, guides them to their glass cage.

The cinematographer comes down from the parallel, preoccupied, thoughtful. He goes over to the director, says something to him privately.

The director

Yes, you're right, it could be very dangerous.

Veronique!

Already the assistant, at the end of a stunning controlled skid, stands before the director.

The director

We're going to have to get some protection for the crew.

The assistant

Protection?

The director

Yes, helmets, I don't know, shields.

The assistant

I'll see what I can do...

The members of the film crew start putting on diverse pads, helmets, shin guards. The sound engineer takes a helmet with a wire face guard, the cinematographer finds a pointy bobsled helmet, an elegant riding hat is brought to the director...

Assistants come down the steps in the stands carrying riot police helmets, a dozen Plexiglas riot shields, which they start distributing on the ice.

The distribution over, in the general silence and total immobility, the members of the crew, helmeted and armed with diverse pads, wait behind shields for the shooting to begin.

The assistant (shouting into her megaphone)

Everybody in place, please!

The main actor gets up out of his chair and, slowly, his head lowered, crosses the whole rink to go stand in the empty net. He is accompanied by the make-up artist.

Then, as the make-up girl makes her way at full speed to go hide behind a shield, the main actor puts on his goalie's helmet, on which are painted the open jaws of a wild beast.

The director gets up onto the parallel.

The director

Roll camera.

The assistant (shouting into the megaphone)

Roll camera!

The sound engineer (raising a finger)

Airplane.

An airplane passes.

Everyone on the ice rink looks up in the air and stays that way, immobile on the ice, heads raised.

The plane flies by.

They all lower their heads again and wait.

The director

Roll camera!

The assistant

Roll camera!

The sound engineer (shouting)

Rolling!

The cinematographer

Mark it.

The slate in her hand, the assistant skates head down at full speed to the center of the rink and does a controlled skid.

The assistant

Dolores, twenty-two, first!

She claps the slate and heads back at full speed, crouches behind a shield, hurriedly indicates her watch to the director.

The director prepares to shout something, checks himself, looks at the time.

The director (shouting into the megaphone)

Day over.

2

24. INT. ICERINK - DAY.

In the rink, a close-up insert of the actor's head is being filmed.

The main actor, Sylvester Barrymore, is suspended horizontally in the air, his head slightly inclined and his body tied to a movable board held up by a complicated system of ropes and pulleys.

Each time the director says "action", the board falls like a guillotine and the actor's cheek hits the ice of a false ice rink that has been reconstructed at waist height on a table surrounded by lights and screens.

Squatting next to the table, the props man gets up at the moment when the actor hits the ice and squirts a spray of ice in his face with a small plastic powder horn.

The actor, after hitting the ice and getting sprayed in the face, lifts his head and is supposed to see the actress far off, whose name he murmurs: Dolores.

At the end of the fourth take the angle of impact is still not quite right.

The cinematographer

No, it's not working, we should try to lift him up a bit. We have to give the impression he's falling, not that he's sliding. Lift him a bit, please.

(The grips turn the crank to hoist the body of the actor in the air, and incline his head even further toward the ground)

A little more, there. Alright, let's rehearse it like that.

(He looks through the camera) Go ahead.

The board falls and the actor’s cheek hits the ice.

The cinematographer

No, no, it's not working. His look is wrong. It's too low now that we've raised him. Give him something to look at. Vero, give him something to look at.

The assistant picks up the jug that the props man uses to fill his powder horn, puts it on the grip’s ladder, puts the ladder on the ice, following the indications of the cinematographer who has gone back behind the camera.

The cinematographer

More to the left, Vero, more to the left (the assistant moves the ladder). There, a bit higher, just a touch higher. Can you take a look, Sylvester. Your look please. Thank you. Yes, just a touch higher, Vero (the assistant puts a pile of Dolores scripts under the ladder). There, good, we can try like that.

The make-up artist, her make-up bag in her hand, rapidly repowders the actor's face.

They are ready to shoot.

Everyone gets into place, silence is called for.

The director

Roll camera.

A baby starts to cry softly.

The soundman (lifting a finger)

Baby.

The director

What's with the baby?

The assistant shrugs, indicates that it’s not her’s, in any case.

The script girl, sheepishly, takes the crib from under the coffee table, picks up the baby, kisses its forehead, protects it. Embarrassed, she explains to the director that the day care center where she usually leaves the baby in the morning had to close this morning.

The female crew members slowly come up to the baby, surround it and look at it, find it very cute, a grip goes so far as to observe that it looks like the director.

They play with its cheeks and its little feet.

The baby starts crying, the props man kindly squirts a little spray of ice onto its face.

The director's assistant, exasperated, looks at the time.

The script girl takes her baby away, moving across the ice with grace, carrying the crib.

The assistant (shouting)

Everyone in their places, please! Think a bit about Sylvester tied to his board. (To the actor) It's OK. Sylvester? Do you want something to drink?

The actor

It's OK.

The director