:29:01
- He's on a new diet.
- Who is she? Oh, I need a drink.
:29:04
Olive. [ Chuckles ]
Yes. I'm sorry about Olive.
:29:06
I do apologize.
We needed her to raise the money.
:29:09
It must be difficult
getting a work like this on.
:29:11
It's a sad reality
of the marketplace, I'll tell ya.
:29:14
- We've never really
had a chance to talk.
- No.
:29:16
- Hi, folks. What can I get you?
- Two martinis, please, very dry.
:29:20
- How'd you know what I drank?
- Oh, you want one too?
:29:23
- Three.
- Three martinis.
:29:25
Uh, I can't judge my own writing,
but I must say...
:29:29
that just from today's reading,
I can tell how brilliant
you're going to be in this role.
:29:33
- It's a wonderful play.
- Thank you.
:29:35
No, no, I mean it. It's so rare
that anything is really about something.
:29:39
You know-- Well, there's Max Anderson
and Gene O'Neill.
:29:42
- That's about it.
- You just named my two living gods.
:29:45
I was a little reluctant at first
to play the part.
:29:48
The character is so--
She's so, um... uh, colorless.
:29:52
Colorless, yes.
Well, that's the idea--
:29:54
- Then I realized what
you were going for.
- You did?
:29:56
How profound, how complex,
her inner life really is.
:29:58
I tried to give her
some contradictions.
:30:01
I was worried.
:30:03
I'm used to playing
more overtly heroic women.
:30:07
Less tentative.
More alluring.
:30:10
Certainly not
frigid.
:30:12
No, yes, yes. Well, Sylvia Poston
is a mass of neuroses.
:30:18
In spite of the fact that I
could really find nothing at all
in the play to brighten her up...
:30:22
- no real passion, no seductiveness...
- Nothing?
:30:25
I still think that
she's worth playing.
:30:27
We could work it over, and
a touch here or there could be
changed to make sure you're...
:30:32
- No, no, no, no.
I wouldn't dream of you...
- comfortable.
:30:35
changing a word
of your work for me.
:30:37
God, who am l, some
vain Broadway legend?
:30:43
You... you're
a budding Chekhov.
:30:50
I'm not saying I'll distort the play.
I'm just saying I'll reread it
with that in mind.
:30:55
I mean, after all, Miss Sinclair--
Helen. May I call you Helen?
:30:58
- Yes.
- Helen...