A Star Is Born Page #5

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Glad to have you with us.

Well, it's a thrill to be here.

Show Miss... how to get out of here.

Good luck to you, dear.

Take care of yourself.

- Mr. Libby.

- What?

- What do I do next?

- Well, the gate's right down there.

- What did you say your name was again?

- Esther Blodgett.

- What?

- Esther Blodgett.

We'll have to do something about that

right away. Don't worry about it.

We'll have a new name for you

by the end of the week.

Paul, will you swing your arc

over here, please?

That's good. Hold it.

Can you make it?

All ready, sir.

- Get the girl.

- Yes, sir.

Oh, Esther.

Pull that one down a couple of turns.

Esther. Waiting for you on the set.

Okay, boys, let's go. Everybody works.

Right up there.

Stand by, everybody.

All right, sir.

You know what I want, Esther?

Put your arm out the window like this

and you wave goodbye.

It's farewell, so give it

everything you've got.

Okay, get over there.

Let's take a try at it.

Here we go! Hit your lights.

Hit your wind.

Hit your snow.

Hit your steam.

Roll them.

Speed.

Action.

We're getting her face.

Cut.

- We saw her face.

- We saw your face.

- We saw her face.

- We saw your face.

I'm sorry.

Watch it, Esther.

Let's try it again.

Watch it next time.

Now, be careful this time.

Just use the arm and the hand.

I don't want to see your face.

Let's try it again.

Hit everything.

Come on.

- Speed.

- Action!

Esther Blodgett, please.

Go to L.

What?

Go to L.

Go to window marked L.

You're listed under L.

Thank you.

Esther Blodgett, please.

- You new here?

- Yes.

Just a moment. Okay.

Your name is Vicki Lester.

- What?

- Your name is Vicki Lester.

Vicki Lester. V-i-c-k-i L-e-s-t-e-r. Get it?

Move on, please.

Yes. Thank you.

Vicki Lester?

Vicki Lester?

Vicki Lester.

Why couldn't you come over to my office

to see me, Norman?

What's so hush-hush that you have

to drag me down here?

Every time I lie down on this sofa,

I get stabbed in the back.

What do you want?

That's what I want to talk to you about.

Come here.

Sit down in that chair.

The whole place gives me the creeps.

- What's the matter with you?

- Hasn't been decorated in centuries.

Isn't that the most uncomfortable chair?

Don't I deserve a dressing room

that's cheerful, modern and safe?

You got me down here for this?

When I give an interview here

I'm ashamed.

I have the whole studio sitting on me,

and you get me down here for this?

Aren't you ashamed? Don't you realize

I have a production shut down...

...right in the middle of shooting?

That's what you got me away from.

I'm being stabbed by a singer in New York.

You had to stop shooting

'cause you didn't get her here.

What will you do?

I don't know. I don't know what I'll do

except go crazy.

That woman, she swore

her contract was up with the show.

Our lawyers are talking about it

to New York this afternoon.

Why do they play that stuff so loud?

You better leave it open,

we'll be suffocated.

What is it, anyway?

It's just somebody running some tests.

I can hardly hear myself think.

I suppose there's nobody around here?

What?

You'd think there'd be someone here

you could take a chance on...

...rather than close down an entire picture.

Who, for instance? Name someone.

I don't know, Oliver.

You actors.

You think all there is to running a studio

is pressing buttons.

It's not quite that easy, believe me.

Say, who is that singing, anyway?

It must be one of the contract girls.

Not bad.

No.

Not bad.

Not bad at all.

A light begins to break. Very dumb of me.

All right, I get it.

A little late, that's all.

Is she still around?

Indeed. Indeed.

Very good. That's fine, Esther.

Just right down here...

I shouldn't go that far.

Now, let's all do it again.

I've been through this a hundred times,

Esther.

My own previews

as well as other people's.

The thing to remember about a preview...

...is first and foremost

pay absolutely no attention...

...to the sights and sounds going on

around you.

If the picture before the preview is

a stinker, then your picture...

...gets off to a good start. Anyway,

they always go out for fresh popcorn...

...so that the first few reels always sound

like the Marines landing on lwo Jima.

And the thing to do...

Yes?

Would you stop the car, please?

Are you all right?

Fine. I wish I was dead.

Come on.

We're in luck, Esther.

- Why? Did the theater burn down?

- No.

But that picture of mine is so bad that

anything they see after it will seem great.

You're starting lucky.

"Swanee, how I love ya, how I love ya

"My dear old Swanee

"The folks up North will see me no more

"When I get to that Swanee shore"

Thank you, thank you very much.

I can't express any other way.

For with this awful trembling in my heart...

...I just can't find another thing to say.

I'm happy that you like the show.

I'm grateful you liked me.

And I'm sure to you the tribute seemed

quite right.

"But if you knew of all the years

"Of hopes and dreams and tears

"You'd know it didn't happen overnight"

Overnight.

"I was born in a trunk

"In the Princess Theater

"In Pocatello, Idaho

"It was during a matinee on Friday

"And they used a makeup towel

for my didy

"When I first saw the light

"It was pink and amber

"Coming from the footlights on the stage

"When my dad carried me out there

to say hello

"They tell me that I stopped the show

"So I grew up in a crazy world

"Of dressing rooms and hotel rooms

and waiting rooms

"And rooms behind the scenes

"And I can't forget the endless rows

"Of sleepless nights and 'eatless' nights

"And nights without a nickel in my jeans

"But it's all in the game

"And the way you play it

"And you've gotta play the game you know

"When you're born in a trunk

"In the Princess Theater

"In Pocatello, Idaho

"At first I just stood and watched

from the wings

"That's all my mom and dad would allow

"But as I got older, I got a little bolder

"And snuck out for their second bow

"They kept me in the act

because they needed me to milk applause

"Until one night they did a crazy thing

"They left me out there all alone

and Mama said, 'You're on your own'

"And Poppa shouted, 'This is it, kid, sing'

"I'll get by

"As long as I have you

"Though there be rain

"And darkness, too

"I'll not complain

"I'll see it through"

"I learned very quickly

the tricks of the trade

"I practiced after everyone was gone

"And with the tricks I learned traditions

"And the hardest one of all

"Is no matter what

"The show must go on

"As time went by I looked for jobs

"And was kicked from pillar to post

"I haunted all the agents' offices

"And I almost ended up a ghost"

"I'm a sentimental sap, that's all

"What's the use of trying not to fall

"I have no will

You made your kill

"Cause you took advantage of me"

No!

"I'm just like an apple on a bough

"And you're gonna shake me down

somehow

"So what's the use?

You've cooked my goose

"'Cause you took advantage of me"

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