The Ice Rink

Sarah!

The actor (carried away)

Dolores.

The director greets the actress, welcoming her.

Introductions are made, the actress is introduced to the lead actor hanging horizontally on his wooden plank, head downwards.

The actress (bending under the actor's face)

What a pleasure to meet you! The fact that you, a real big American star, play this role with me in this movie is incredible. It’s great, great! Not only because of your image and your talent, of course, but also because of your great sense of humor. I am so... so ( she mimes the fact that she is submerged by a wave of indescribable, uncontrolled excitement) so... you know...

The actor (smiling placidly)

Thankyou very much. Nice to meet you.

The actress looks around her, notices that they are in the middle of shooting, insists that they should not interrupt their work because of her.

The director explains to her that they are just filming the scene where she enters the ice rink for the first time, the exact moment when the actor sees her for the first time.

He turns and points at the jug on the ladder.

The actress turns and looks pensively at the jug on the ladder.

Full of good will, she proposes to put herself in place of the jug to give her focus to the actor and help him act.

The director is enthralled, does not know how to thank her.

She says it is only natural, that he can ask anything of her, anything.

She looks thoughtfully at the lights in the air and says absently, "Say, you don't put gels on the five-K Cremers".

The assistant

Alright, alright, to work. Everyone in place, please.

The jug and ladder are moved out of the way and the actress takes her position.

The cinematographer adjusts the direction of the actor's look.

The cinematographer

Sylvester, can you look this way, please. Yes, it's too low now, it's what I was afraid of. We'll have to lift Sarah up a bit. Can someone bring Sarah a cube?

A cube is brought for the actress, she is carefully helped onto it.

The cinematographer

Fine, it's good like that. Is it OK. for you, Sylvester?

The actor

It was better before.

The director (in a low voice, to the cinematographer)

What did he say?

The cinematographer (in a low voice, perfidious)

He said it was better with just one jug.

The assistant calls for silence, they are ready to shoot.

The slate is clapped.

The director

Action.

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 actress gets off her cube.

The actress

No, no, cut, cut. It's my fault, I'm sorry. I'm not quite into it.

She gets back onto her cube, puts her hands on both sides of her nose and stays still a long moment to concentrate.

The actress (taking the plunge)

I'm ready, we can start.

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.

The actor (lifting his head)

Dolores.

The actor remains immobile, frozen in his final position, his eyes lost in the distance.

The director

Cut. Perfect, it's perfect.

The assistant (shouting)

Lunch-break!

The electricians finish turning off the lights, gradually leave the set and head for the canteen. The script girl pulls a baby's bottle out of her bag.

The director goes over to the actress, they slowly leave the rink.

The main actor, whom everyone has forgotten, looks sullen, head downwards on his board.

27. INT. ICE RINK - NIGHT

A screen and a projector have been set up on the ice rink.

The silhouettes of the members of the crew can be made out, silently watching the rushes in the darkness.

In the front row, immediately under the screen, the actress is seated in between the director and the actor.

Glances in the dark.

The actor and the director are excited by her presence.

The actress drops (accidently?) an earing.

The actor and the director bend down to pick it up, stop, exchange an angry look, unsure, like fighting cocks.

The actress looks at them innocently.

The director picks up the earing.

He puts it back on the actress’s ear lobe, clasping it gently onto her ear.

The rushes flash by on the screen.

The producer, very elegantly dressed, sits to one side with the manager of the ice rink, an important guest to whom she is giving all her attention.

The projector purrs away in the darkness, different takes of the close-up of the actor replace one another on the screen, Dolores, Dolores, Dolores...

The manager of the ice rink

It looks good, your film.

The producer smiles placidly.

She takes the rental agreement for the ice rink out of her bag.

The producer (in a low voice, holding out the contract)

Do you think we could add one more little clause to the rental agreement? You see, we'd like to be able to have access to an extra room to set up an editing table. The film has to be ready for the Venice festival, and we'd like to start editing straightaway.

The manager of the ice rink (lyrical)

Ah, Venice, Venice!

The sound engineer turns round and goes shhh.

Unperturbed, the manager of the ice rink leans towards the producer's ear and starts evoking Venice in a low voice which trembles with emotion, talks about the town, its museums, its canals, relates in a whisper how one day in the winter of 1954, he himself skated in the dawn mist on the ice of the great canal with his mistress of the time, Olga Menderova, an unforgettable memory.

Enchanted, the producer acts impressed.

She then holds out the agreement discretely, for his signature.

Still trembling, the manager of the ice rink pulls a pen out of his pocket, takes the top off and prepares to sign.

He stops, raises an eyebrow.

The manager of the ice rink

So we're agreed, there are no sex scenes in your film?

The producer

Really, Pierre, in an ice rink...

3

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

In the early morning, a very long, very yellow moving truck parks with difficulty on the parking lot.

The movers are met by the assistant, walkie-talkie in hand.

An editing table, a synchronizer and winds are delivered.

The assistant and the director watch things from a distance.

29. INT. ICE RINK - DAY

In the rink the exhausted movers get their breath back next to the ice. The assistant tells them they must cross the rink and climb the stands on the other side to get to block F, where a makeshift editing room has been improvised.

The movers refuse to cross the ice with the editing table.

The members of the film crew arrive little by little in the ice rink, the make-up artist, the script girl, the gaffer, the key grip, all of whom go and kiss the director on the cheek upon their arrival.

The director, sitting in the stands, rereads his script.

The sound engineer arrives in the rink, shakes a few hands. He goes and kisses the director on the cheek.

The director raises his head from his script, watches him move away.

He seems annoyed.

The director (aside to the assistant)

Do you think you could ask them not to kiss me when they arrive in the morning?

The members of the crew gather around the editing table, take a look at it, offer solutions.

The Lithuanian players arrive in turn, join the conversation.

The interpreter (to the assistant)

What’s going on, Miss Veronique?

The assistant explains.

The interpreter translates into Lithuanian.

The Lithuanians respond, make suggestions.

The interpreter (to the assistant)

MissVeronique, Vitautas and Casimir think that our rink (she points to it) is like a frozen river that a retreating army (she points to the crew) would have to cross with heavy artillery (she points to the editing table).

The assistant (drily)

Good, well, you can tell them to keep their metaphors to themselves.

The assistant does not stop looking at her watch, asks if they could speed things up.

The producer intervenes, starts to negotiate with the movers.

Other Lithuanian players arrive, some of them go up and kiss the director on the cheek.

The director can not take it any more, finally loses his calm.

The director (to the assistant)

Would you do something, do something, tell them not to kiss me any more...

The assistant snatches up the sound system microphone.

The assistant (into the sound system microphone, which echoes slightly)