The formalities are in order.
- Thanks, Cedric. - You're welcome.
Cut, cut!
That was all wrong.
Too much smoke, we can't see the boat.
Rémi, I can't see a thing.
I keep telling you to hook the body from the left.
How would that work? He comes from the right side.
The body was in position, but drifted in the current.
Ok, we'll start over.
If you give me 5 minutes, I'll block it with a wire.
Make sure we can see the hook.
And don't hook the body on the right side.
We have to see the severed neck. Hook on the left.
This'll work now.
I'm sorry, but...
It has to be scary. I wasn't scared.
If we're not scared, it's pointless.
- I hear you. - Pointless!
This episode is called "the severed head."
We need to see that.
We have to switch the park scene and the train scene.
The weather report is dreadful.
Mira's here.
She's the star, I need to see her.
Be right there.
René.
Can we talk?
- I need to talk to you. - Sure.
Now?
Sure, you bet.
- I hate to be annoying. - You're not annoying.
I can be annoying.
True, you can be annoying.
I'm unhappy with my character.
What's his motivation? I need more.
What makes Philippe Guérande tick,
as a man and a journalist?
Edmond, I've told you a million times.
Do your thing.
The vampires will kill his fiancée Marfa.
We must establish their love to understand his vengeance.
Right, he loves her madly.
No scene shows that.
As in the original.
They poison her, she's gone!
That's what Feuillade did.
We need to show their passion.
I won't betray Feuillade.
Screw Feuillade! Feuillade was a hack.
Never. How dare you say such a thing.
Want a bottle of water?
Yes. Cold.
I need another scene with Marfa.
What do you mean, like a sex scene?
Exactly. A sex scene.
Listen, Edmond...
Here.
You do realize...
Severine is playing Marfa?
I'm well aware of that.
Didn't you and Severine have an affair?
Maybe.
Maybe you had an affair?
I can't discuss it.
Excuse me, what are you implying?
Is there a restraining order?
I can't answer that question.
René, we need to talk.
Right now.
Come on in.
- Want something to eat? - No, thanks.
- Are you sure? - Nothing for me.
We have a problem.
You told the insurance doctor you're on antidepressants?
He asked if I was on any meds so...
You told him?
I explained to him that I've been taking
some fairly powerful mood stabilizers.
Which is true.
It may be true, but it makes you a liability.
Was I supposed to lie?
Of course you were supposed to lie.
Everyone lies
about their addictions. Otherwise, there'd be no films.
Do you know that Leonard Cohen song?
Where he says,
"I'm living on pills...
For which I thank God?"
What's your point?
I'm just saying I thank God for my pills.
Sorry, but neither God nor Leonard Cohen will pay
these crazy insurance premiums.
The financiers want to shut us down.
In a big way.
No, we're outside the Plaza Athénée
on Avenue Montaigne.
I gave you the Crillon's address?
No, I don't think so.
Listen, I don't think I was the one who got it wrong.
Really? Ok, maybe I did. I doubt it though.
It might be. Listen, just turn left,
we're waiting outside the hotel.
- After you. - Thanks.
- Two of you? - Yes, two.
Thanks.
Sorry, running late. Don't wait to order
This is it, sir.
- Need a receipt? - No.
So the role is a famous lawyer?
I'll call you after my meeting.
Bye.
So this is a meeting?
- What'd you think it was? - Dinner.
Right, dinner.
You must have something important to say,
seeing how you insisted.
Thanks for choosing this place.
It's hard to get a table.
True, it wasn't easy.
Wow.
It's not cheap.
No, it's not cheap.
Good evening. Have you decided?
Yes, I'll have the shitake...
And a glass of white wine.
- May I suggest... - Condrieu will be fine.
I'll have the oyster tempura.
And I'll stick to beer.
So, I want to have a serious conversation about the show.
I've been thinking about it.
Quite intensely.
How I can I help?
I came to the conclusion
we need a scene to establish
the relationship between our characters.
Great, we'll discuss it with René.
I already tried, without success.
I figure you have more leverage.
What kind of scene do you have in mind?
A scene that clearly establishes their passion.
I wasn't aware of any passion between them.
The vampires poison her.
Philippe is devastated,
so he decides to avenge her death.
The audience should feel the passion on a physical level.
Physical... as in a sex scene.
Here you go!
It doesn't have to be a sex scene.
It could be something else.
Like what?
Uh...
Ok, like a sex scene.
Edmond, you do know our relationship is history.
Yes, I know that.
I won't go back on what I said.
I figured you'd have some reservations.
I had an idea.
We bring in an intimacy coordinator.
What's an intimacy coordinator?
Film sets have intimacy coordinators now.
To supervise the sex scenes,
rehearse them, choreograph them.
What's the point?
Well, in our case,
it could help us play the scene in a nuanced way
despite our past conflicts
and your perfectly legitimate concerns.
And... even for you.
To help you approach your character.
Detach from your rage, I mean, your residual anger...
Don't get me wrong. I understand your anger.
But for the show,
the audience needs to know that Philippe and Marfa...
Who's Marfa?
She's your character.
First time I've heard the name.
- Marfa Koutiloff. - What?
- Koutiloff. - What kind of name is Marfa?
I googled it. It's popular in Argentina.
Isn't she Russian?
There must be Russian Marfas.
Thank you.
I read a great article in the New York Times.
About Marfa?
About intimacy coordinators.
They prefer to be called intimacy directors.
Don't expect me to rehearse a sex scene with you,
without or without a intimacy director.
I thought it would be a positive approach for us.
Forget it!
You're not touching me, supervised or not.
- I got the message. - Good.
The shitake is delicious.
- Want a taste? - No, thanks.
Isn't that Palais Garnier?
No, he shot here, at the Opéra Comique. See?
Feuillade shot here.
Here, the grand vampire watches Marfa dance
until she collapses from the poison ring.
Ready to rehearse the flying?
- Two seconds. - Sit where the grand vampire will sit,
and I'll test the shot.
Action, rehearsal! You good?
Yeah.
Breathe, breathe...
Your right arm... to the back.
Then your left arm.
Both arms to the back.
Now dive. Look down, then open.
Now hide your face.
Good, both arms.
Ground yourself, then rise up!
There. Got it?
That was pretty good, at the start.
Then it got muddy. Take a look.
She leans over her, backs up...
Leans forward and spreads her arms.
Then she turns.
Keep your face hidden as you move...
Good.
As you uncover your face, lean down to her.
Then arms up and you're flying again.
Got that, Marc?
Then you attack. Left arm...
Use your hand, like this.
Then back this way.
And back this way.
Then take her arm and up she goes.
Marc, raise her all the way up here.
Again?
When you come down, both feet land here.
And you remain suspended.
Cut, cut, cut!
We've cut.
No, Severine, I need a stronger reaction.
I thought I was overacting.
The poison ring is the crux of the scene.
It's called "The Ring That Kills."
But why does he poison her?
Honestly, Severine...
It's in the script.
If you'd had the patience to read
beyond your scenes, you'd know.
Listen...
He wants to punish Philippe
for revealing to the press the vampires' crimes.
I got that. So why take it out on Marfa?
She's Philippe's fiancée. They hit him where it hurts.
Excuse me, René, can we go again?
Yes, we must!
- Back to firsts, please. - Five minutes.
We need five minutes for light.
The relationship with Philippe doesn't mean that much to Marfa.
Philippe's in love with her.
It's a fling.
Not really.
He interviews her for his newspaper
in the previous scene.
You don't interview your own fiancée.
So she's more into the grand vampire?
I'd say so. She takes his ring.
Which spells her doom.
Making her a tragic figure.
Sure, but it's a tragedy for Philippe as well.
Maybe, I don't know.
Philippe is a dweeb. Who the hell cares about him?
- René, we're ready. - Okay.
Severine, will you get back into position, please?
And this time, more reaction, please.
This is "the king that kills."
Got it. The ring that kills.
Transport and expense: 15,000...
- Hi, René. - You wanted to talk.
Yes.
Give me 5 minutes.
- We have to finish by tonight. - Be right back.
I hear you wrapped on time.
In actual fact, the Opéra threw us out.
I spoke with the insurers.
I bet they backed back fast.
Not exactly, no.
Go on in.
- Why not? - Past issues.
What past issues are you referring to, exactly?
I'm sure you remember "Agony in the Garden"?
Have a seat.
I'm very proud of that film.
Not your box-office best.
Don't be so sure.
I'm confident posterity will redeem it.
Alas, we won't be there to see it.
That's true.
You just scored a point. We're 1-0!
You tried to run over the lead actor.
Missed him by a hair.
- You mean with my car? - Yes.
Well, listen...
I had some good reasons for that.
I'd like to hear them from you, with some hindsight.
So, aside from the fact that he's a detestable actor,
it's no one's business. It's between him and me.
Then you vanished.
I felt a pressing need to go on a retreat.
I found a little Buddhist monastery.
Very cool place!
In a remote alpine valley.
That's where we located you.
Right, I had to reconnect with myself.
I needed to get some air, see the horizon.
We halted production for two weeks.
Very regrettable, yes.
It wasn't the first incident.
You're right.
I don't really want to talk about it.
You peed on another production's period furniture.
Stop.
Curtain! Gregory, shut your trap.
You said you hated their show.
Yes, I thought it was crap. I still think it's crap.
But now I feel rather indifferent,
mainly thanks to the medication.
I'm able to rise above the prevailing mediocrity
and adjust to anything.
Bottom line,
they won't insure you again.
That's awfully harsh of them.
They were polite about it.
But they made it pretty clear.
They will not bend.