Lions Love (... and Lies) (1969)

Shirley Clarke: Shirley

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Quotes 

• Shirley Clarke : Are we in Hollywood now?

  Carlos : Yeah, I guess this is Hollywood already. It doesn't look like a city, it looks like - exactly like that. You're coming to a city, but the city is never there.

• Carlos : He's an artist from out here. He's very interesting. He does blowups of what you could call pornographic scenes. Scenes of lovemaking, but you really don't realize what it is until you really have looked at them for quite some time.

  Shirley Clarke : What's his point?

  Carlos : I guess to make the viewer feel like a voyeur.

  Shirley Clarke : That's funny. That's what I've been trying to do in my movies for years. I think that's what movies are.

• Jim : What kind of movies are you making?

  Shirley Clarke : You know how movie people are - superstitious. But, I'm supposed to be making a film using movie stars as if they were real people.

  Jerry : You should see me when I'm real.

  Viva : You know, she's supposed to be the best. People are fantastic with her!

  Shirley Clarke : it's very simple. I just use real people.

  Jerry : You making lots of money?

  Shirley Clarke : Honey, it'll be something new if I do. None of my films ever made a nickel before. It may change my life. I'm not sure I like that. Anyhow, I'm going to be meeting a lot of movie stars.

  Jim : [in drag]  Do you want a Harlow?

  Viva : Instant Harlow.

  Shirley Clarke : I can't use people that are supposed to be dead.

• Viva : The only real thing in here is this coat. How much did it cost? Is it leopard?

  Shirley Clarke : No, Jaguar.

  Viva : [referring to the wallpaper]  Oh, like all the jaguars creeping out from behind the bushes here.

  Carlos : It's a real Hollywood jungle.

  Shirley Clarke : I match!

  Viva : Yeah, and Otto Preminger behind every bush. Too bad he doesn't have a bush of his own.

  Shirley Clarke : Right.

  Carlos : I can't top that.

• Carlos : Viva's life is nothing but a movie.

  Shirley Clarke : Oh, I think that's happening with us all. you know, I'm getting so I don't know the difference whether I'm in a movie or making a movie. Or, you know, which comes first - the movie or reality?

• Viva : Where are you going?

  Shirley Clarke : Producers.

  Viva : "Producers"? Why go to a producer when you have us?

  Jim : Stupid-star. Superstar... .

  Viva : Stupid, shoopid shmar.

  Jerry : Super sucks.

  Viva : We're - we're what's happening, baby.

  Jim : Out there!

  Viva : We have everything.

• Shirley Clarke : So maybe I should have two cameras and two assistants, one soundman with an assistant. No, wait I could have two soundmen, one for each camera. Then, two electricians. No, you only need one. One good lighting person's enough. One person to push things around. One person for the set. That makes, let's see, eight. Oh, I know, I'm supposed to have a crew of 22 people. My God, that's too many. They never understand that you can do things cheaper. I have To have a flexible crew. There has to be as few people - three or four at the most, I mean, maybe seven is possible. But, if there's more, you know, it just doesn't make it possible to work. And I want the cameras to be able to move all the time. If we shoot - let's see - it's an hour-and-a-half film - probably for something like this, it's got to be at least a 10-1 ratio. Color 35. 70,000 feet of negative. If they start fo ask me, how much I think it will cost, I've got to find a way to sort of feel what it is they want to spend. And, then, I just can tell them that's what it's going to be. I mean, if they give me $200,000, I'll do it for 200. Three hundred, 300. Four, five, six, whatever. I don't care. So, what I have to do is just, kind of, keep quiet. And if they talk about money, I'll just smile or nod, "yes", whatever they say, "fine." And, then, I'll see if we can't get so that I can get the people that I want. I mean, if I don't have the right cameraman, there's no point in trying to shoot at all. I can tell that they're afraid of me; because, we're not talking about the same thing.

• Carlos : If you listen to the people who were here then, they were plain folks doing their thing. But, to the rest of the world, it was really Sodom and Gomorrah - where stars fuck on an epic scale.

  Viva : Don't they do it anymore?

  Shirley Clarke : Of course, they do. What else is Hollywood but Babylon and sunshine?

  Carlos : And also acres of lemon groves - which had to be pulled out to build the studios.