I just let them get to know each other. That is when all of that magic connection comes out between them. I can give you an example. That scene on the bridge where she tells him she is pregnant. That was two pages of dialogue in the script. Before we shot it, I took Michelle to the side, and I said, “Just forget the lines. Throw the script away. All you have to do here is don’t tell him your secret.” Then I went over to Ryan and I said, “Do whatever it is you need to do to get her to tell you.” Then I set them loose on the Manhattan bridge. For thirty minutes, for thirty-five minutes, for forty minutes…Michelle is just strong. She is such a strong person, she wouldn’t give it up to Ryan. My producers were freaking out because we were wasting so much film. Ryan starts getting desperate, because he can’t figure out how to get her to tell him. So he climbs up on the fence of the Manhattan bridge. There is no safety net. There is no stunt double. We don’t have insurance for that kind of thing. Thankfully Michelle tells him the secret, and she gets him down off the fence. I could see at the other end of the bridge, my producer was running. It’s a long bridge…Thankfully, we were able to get the whole scene done before he came and shut us down. But that was the spirit of the movie. How do we find these real moments? Moments where you can find the truth.
If you are taking UCB classes in LA, then you know the Harold team auditions are coming up. The town is abuzz with excitement, hope, and nervous diarrhea.
I have been a part of the Harold auditioning process here in LA as well as NY for the last 60 years.
