A Roman orgy.
227. Two-shot.
How did you...?
Pluto, honey, when you’ve been in this business...
228. Close on MADGE.
...as long as I have, you’ll learn to recognize a pattern. They always want a Roman orgy sooner or later. They start drooling at the mention of grapes. For a while we could at least talk the liberals out of it, but ever since they settled that strike in California...
229. Reaction shot of PLUTO. He’s amazed.
230. Wider shot of MADGE.
...it’s business as usual. You can’t have an orgy without grapes, you know. You can have all the orgies in the world without iceberg lettuce.
231. Two-shot.
I tried to talk her out of it. I really did.
You know what it costs to put an orgy together. You got any idea of the red tape involved? You have to damned near choreograph the whole number.
Well, you know how much paperwork this means for me.
Yeah.
She insists on it.
Yeah.
Says she’s got three wishes and this is her last wish and she’s wishing for an orgy and if we don’t like it we can go fuck ourselves.
Oh, yeah? Well, then that’s what she gets, bless her. Go do what you have to do, Pluto.
Yeah. (Snaps fingers, etc.)
232. Exterior on Fifth Avenue and Fifty-seventh Street. PLUTO and SOPHIE are walking down the street. There is music in the background which is similar to the opening music.
So an orgy it is. Things are almost all arranged.
It’s the only answer. It’s got to be the only answer.
Well, I’ll say this, what you’re getting is unique.
What!!!!!
UNIQUE. I said it will be unique.
Oh, I thought you said I was getting a eunuch.
233. Close on PLUTO as he hears this line. He winces from the pun.
234. Two-shot of PLUTO and SOPHIE. They have come to the curb and are waiting for the light to change. The guy next to PLUTO is impatient. He keeps waiting for the light to change. He keeps tapping his foot.
235. Close on PLUTO noticing the guy and then looking down to see the tapping foot.
You’ll make it this time, don’t worry.
236. Close on tapping foot.
237. Same as 226. PLUTO snaps his fingers.
You’ve got the whole firm behind you.
238. Close on SOPHIE looking over at PLUTO.
That’s a comforting thought.
239. Close on tapping foot, only now it’s tapping in dogshit.
240. Close on guy’s face as he looks disgustedly down at his foot.
241. Shot of the man doing the New York Stomp — i.e., scraping the shit off his foot, from behind and between SOPHIE and PLUTO.
You devil, you.
242. Close-up PLUTO, proud.
One likes to keep in practice.
243. Long shot from across the street to show PLUTO and SOPHIE stepping off the curb and walking toward the camera. He has taken SOPHIE’S hand and they are talking as they walk. We do not hear them because the traffic sounds and voice fade as we bring up the music.
244. We begin a short montage sequence as, at this point, the music comes on full. We follow with exteriors of PLUTO and SOPHIE walking back to the apartment building where SOPHIE lives.
245. Long shot down the hall of the apartment building. An up shot. PLUTO and SOPHIE are walking away from the camera toward her apartment door at the end of the hall. As SOPHIE passes by IRVING’S door, (PLUTO has already passed) we zoom in to get tight on IRVING’S arm coming out of his doorway and grabbing SOPHIE’S arm.
246. Two-shot as IRVING becomes visible.
What the... Oh my God, Irving, don’t you get tired of watching through your keyhole?
(He has a handful of money.) Look, Sophie, look what I have for you. You and me and my French post cards. All with English subtitles... (Sees PLUTO.) Sophie, who’s that? There’s not someone else, is there?
(Pushing him back in his apartment.) No, no, Irving...
247. IRVING POV SOPHIE.
(OC)... he’s just to warm me up for you. But, now I...
(The door is closing.) Yeah, yeah, yeah, and after that just you and me.
...on your davenport, Irving...
248. Close on SOPHIE.
...going all the way. DISSOLVE:
249. Interior of SOPHIE’S apartment. She and PLUTO are sitting on the couch. PLUTO has his bowl of ice cream and SOPHIE has a drink. As the scene opens, PLUTO gets up and, with his ice cream, walks from the couch to the shelves of erotica on the other side of the apartment
You know, Sophie, I’ve been thinking...
That’s a novelty.
Your fantasy life...
What about it?
Too much of it.
Oh, come on.
(Gestures.) All these books...
250. PLUTO in medium shot POV SOPHIE.
All these paintings, these statuettes.
251. Series of jump cuts of PLUTO in various erotic and ridiculous poses.
252. Same as 250.
You know, real sex could never match what’s in your head.
253. Two-shot favoring SOPHIE.
Look, Pluto, I know you’re thinking of me, but this one will do it. I just know it. Really.
I hope so.
254. The Roman Orgy. We open with MADGE at a table in a room other than the one used for the orgy scene itself. There is an enormous bowl of grapes in front of her and she’s glowering at it. A slave in a toga comes and takes the bowl away, and she glowers at where it was, then turns to look at the rest of the table. The camera shows us that it is the world’s longest table, filled with bowls of grapes. More slaves appear and take bowl after bowl away. MADGE continues to look singularly unhappy.
255. The orgy room itself. Close on SOPHIE’S face as someone feeds her a grape. Then the camera moves back to show her reclining on a chaise lounge with a nude slave girl kneeling beside her, feeding her more grapes, while a huge slave fans her. PLUTO is standing beside the couch wearing his usual straight clothes.
256. A montage of shots, close-ups of everyone in the world eating grapes. There will, throughout the orgy sequence, be an absolute minimum of wide or establishing shots to prevent the viewer from getting a good sense of geographic orientation. By staying in close on the various bits and pieces we create the illusion that this is being filmed in something the size of the coliseum. It is best if the viewer not tip to the fact that it is actually being filmed in something the size of a telephone booth. After the grape sequence, we begin to pick up shots of sexual activity. This sexual element develops gradually to convey the sense of an orgiastic atmosphere building spontaneously. The sex will be incredibly perverse, a Cook’s Tour of Krafft-Ebing. Everything will be intercut with everything else, along with plenty of reaction shots from SOPHIE as she walks around and almost but not quite joins in on the fun and games. In a sense, the scene is not specifically a turn-on. We will by now have reached the point in the film where the viewer is no longer receptive to erotic stimulation, so that it is more important for the sex scenes to be visually interesting than erotic per se. At the same time, this is the scene that will generate tremendous word-of-mouth publicity. “There’s this incredible orgy scene and you wouldn’t believe what they show, a girl nailed to a cross, a guy lying in a bathtub while girls piss on him, a girl being eaten out by an Old English sheepdog, a couple screwing and a guy standing next to them and masturbating on them, etc.” This will be the scene that pulls them into the theatres, but it will be anti-erotic in that it’s turning SOPHIE off and we communicate as much to the viewer. Thus, it’s erotic more in anticipation and in retrospect than in actuality. SOPHIE’S attitude as it evolves is not that this is a lousy orgy, but that’s everything she ever hoped for and fantasized about, and that it still doesn’t do anything for her. She’s not even moved to participate.