More intrigue from the set today.
Judy finally returned - she missed 99 days of shooting! I didn't ask her what was wrong. There are too many rumors going around, and to be honest, I was just anxious to complete filming.
So the day after Judy returned, she and I filmed a song and dance number, called VooDoo. I'll admit - it was quite risque - but really well choreographed and quite detailed. I think it raised a few eyebrows on the set...
Somehow word gets back to Louis B. Mayer, and he comes down today to have a look at some of the reels. He screened the VooDoo number...and I've never seen him that upset. You all know he has quite a temper, so believe me when I say he was enraged. Apparently the number was too torrid and scandalous....
and he demanded that the negative be burned on the spot!
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- Current Mood
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mischievous
Things on the set of The Pirate are growing more...fun by the day.
I spent the last couple of weeks trying to get the Nicholas Brothers included in the film. They're tap dancing brothers, you might remember them from Stormy Weather. It was a struggle, because the studio heads were concerned because the brothers are black. But I kept telling them, this is 1948! Things are changing! I can't stand this backward thinking. A talented performer should be taken just as that - not as a talented black performer.
Anyway, they finally agreed to put them in the film. Yesterday, we're going through one of the routines and it seemed to me like Harold was half-assing it. (Which if you know me at all...) So naturally I said something. Harold just gives me this look, and goes through the entire routine - flawlessly. An open mouth, insert foot moment for me. Sometimes I get a little too hasty, but I just like for things, especially dance routines, to be perfect.
Cole Porter agreed to write the songs for the film, but only if a character name was changed, so that was another little situation.
Also, Judy is sick and has missed the passed 14 shooting days. We're shooting around that of course, and it gives time to perfect all of the other dance numbers...but it makes me nervous. We have 135 days alloted for filming and missing 14 is quite a lot....I hope she's okay...
cheerful