The Ice Rink

Roll camera.

The assistant

Wait a minute, wait a minute...

The assistant has seen the producer and the accountant who have just entered the rink.

Wearing skates, they move slowly, carefully across the ice towards the set.

The crew watches them, waiting.

The producer gets within shouting distance of the set.

The producer

Keep going, keep going, don’t stop for me.

She turns back, going the other way.

She almost loses her balance at every step, the crew watches her go.

The director

Roll camera.

The sound engineer (raising a finger)

Airplane.

The director

What airplane?

The sound engineer takes off his headphones and confidently pricks up his ears, just ahead of the imperceptible rumble of an airplane which gets steadily closer and ends up passing directly over the ice rink in a deafening racket which sets all the walls shaking.

23 A. INT. AIRPLANE - DAY

Comfortably seated inside the airplane, the main actress reads the script of Dolores...

24. INT. ICERINK. - DAY.

On the set, silence is called for, everyone is ready to shoot.

The director

Roll camera!

The soundman

Rolling.

The cinematographer

Mark it.

The assistant claps the slate in front of th actor’s face, crouches, looks down.

The director

Action!

The board slides and the actor's face smacks the ice.

The props man gets up and squirts a spray of ice in his face.

But nothing comes out of the powder horn, just a pathetic ffft.

The cinematographer

Not enough ice.

The director

Alright, let's do it again right away, stay in place, please. Fix the ice, and we'll do it again. (To the actor) Just a second, Sylvester.

The props man fiddles with the powder horn, opens it, refills it, works the opening, enlarges it with tools, a pair of pliers, a screwdriver.

He shakes his head, disgusted, not knowing what is wrong with the horn.

He is ready.

Silence is called for, the slate is clapped.

The director

Action.

The board slides and the actor's face smacks the ice.

The props man gets up and squirts a spray of ice in his face, a monumental spray of ice, which splashes his face, pours down his neck, soaks his hair.

The cinematographer looks out from behind the camera.

The cinematographer (impassive)

Too much ice.

The make-up artist rushes up to take care of the actor, dries his face. She energetically rubs his hair in a towel, delicately dabs his face.

For his neck and the top of his hockey shirt, which are also drenched (the actor is wearing a hockey shirt with trousers and light moccasins), she uses a hair dryer, lifts the collar of the shirt to get the dryer under the material and dry his back.

Everyone is ready and gets into place.

The assistant goes to clap the slate.

The assistant

Dolores, forty two, eighth.

She claps the slate loudly.

The baby's musical soother, left on the coffee table, goes off in the rink.

Lullaby music.

Carried by its own momentum, the board slides down and the actor's face smacks the ice. The props man gets up and squirts a spray of ice in his face.

The director (worn out)

Cut.

The actor

Couldn't we...(Everyone is quiet and turns to listen to him, they come close, surround him: it's more or less the first time he has spoken) Would it be possible to remove that thing from the set?

The assistant

But of course, Sylvester, of course.

The actor

To concentrate.

The director (discreetly, to the cinematographer)

What did he say?

The cinematographer (impassive)

He asked if we could shoot the scene without music.

25. EXT. PARKING LOT OF THE ICE RINK - DAY

Very slowly, a white limousine enters the parking lot. An assistant tries to open the door, but can’t. He kicks the car and slams his fist on the hood at the same time ( he seems to have the technique down pat), opens the door with respect for the lead actress.

The lead actress, wearing an old pair of jeans and dark glasses, a bit grungy, gets out and enters the rink.

26. INT. ICERINK - DAY.

In the rink the crew is ready to shoot.

Silence is called for, the slate is clapped.

The assistant

Dolores, forty two, twenty sixth.

The director

Action.

The board slides down and the actor's face smacks the ice.

The props man gets up and squirts a small spray of ice in his face.

The double doors of the rink open.

The director (enchanted)