Original subtitles

Eight.

Nine.

- Ten. - Halston, Versailles is crumbling.

I don't care. Eleven.

It's where Napoleon was crowned fucking emperor.

It's Marie Antoinette's house.

Oh, well, I love her.

But still, Eleanor,

not my problem. I can't do a fundraiser.

The only person I should be raising funds for is me.

Oh, excuse me, ma'am. That's a beautiful dress.

Thank you. It's a Halston.

Oh.

You're terrible.

I'm broke. In the last five minutes,

we've passed 13 model 704s for the Ultrasuede,

and I can barely keep the lights on.

We're out of all sizes. I can't keep up with demand.

I must be a real artist 'cause I'm a terrible businessman.

Well, David Mahoney can fix all that. It's a good thing you're meeting with him.

My wife's been raving about you since your boutique opened.

She thinks you're a genius.

And I suppose you're going to tell me the same thing.

I think that's a dangerous word.

I think once you call yourself a genius, you stop growing.

I ask myself every day, what am I not anticipating?

Which is why I wanted to start a conversation with you.

Halston, I've done it all.

I invented publicity in the fashion industry, okay?

I gave this world the Met Ball, the Coty Awards,

of which you were a recipient.

You're an icon, Eleanor.

If you didn't exist, the world would have to invent you.

Evidently you don't know,

or you wouldn't be acting like such a prick.

I put American fashion on the map,

but we are still... still looked down on in the fashion world.

It's unacceptable, it's wrong, and Versailles is gonna change that.

A benefit?

A fashion show in the Palace of Versailles.

The hottest French designers versus the hottest Americans.

What, like a competition?

Not like a competition, actually a competition.

To finally show them what American fashion really is.

It'll be the fashion event of the century, and it'll be my legacy. My swan song.

Oscar's agreed.

Bill Blass is considering.

Fucking Bill Blass.

- Anne Klein is on board. - Fucking Anne Klein.

Oh, stop it. You wish you were Anne Klein.

Well, to be blunt, David,

I'm not interested in selling Halston Limited.

Relax. This isn't a pitch.

Really, I'm just in the exploratory phase here

because fashion,

it's not something that I know how to make money from.

But I will.

Norton Simon Industries, we're a packaged goods company.

That I understand. We're big in food.

But fashion is different.

Fashion changes.

Every single day.

And it requires an artist.

Let me get this straight.

Givenchy says yes, but Halston's saying no?

No. I mean, yes, I'm saying no.

If you could have any other designer's business, whose would it be?

Balenciaga.

Really?

Wrong answer?

His problem is that he's one dress to one woman.

In order to make real money in fashion,

one design,

thousands of women.

David, you're only as good as the people you dress.

People come to my boutique

'cause I dress the likes of Jackie Onassis, Betty Bacall.

How can a designer dress thousands of women

and not lose cachet?

You're doing it right now with Ultrasuede.

Halston, you may be designing for the stars,

but you're one step away from actually being the star.

Okay, how about this?

You don't do Versailles,

I make sure not a single word is ever written about Halston again. Ever.

And I mean anywhere.

Newsweek, the Times,

you won't make the weekly circular in Evansville.

- Eleanor... - Don't "Eleanor" me. I'm dead serious.

I ask you for a favor, and you fucking decline?

How about I stop by the boutique, see how you operate sometime this week?

Well, I'll consider it.

Good, you'll consider it. And then you'll tell me you're doing it.

Which is it, do you think? Am I a businessman or an artist?

Do you have to choose?

Yes, I probably do.

Why not both?

Ah. There he is.

David Mahoney, this is Halston.

How about that?

No, Joe. Look, give it to me. Less of a sleeve,

more of a flutter.

- That's just like this one. - I don't like that one.

Then you don't like this one either.

Halston, we're out of money.

What specifically do we not have that we need money for?

Our light bulb went out downstairs.

Take it out of petty cash.

Grazie, genius.

I've already looked in petty cash. It's empty.

Which is why I'm saying that we're out of money.

We're so fucking fucked.

Joe, would you... Look, Elsa, I'm trying to design.

I can't do that thinking about fucking light bulbs.

Fuck! It's not like bothering you about a light bulb is my fucking job.

I'm telling you a bulb went out, and we don't have money to replace it.

Go and buy one.

- With my money? - Give her money.

Oh, Jesus H. Christ!

Wow.

Happy to pay for it myself.

- We need money, Halston. - I know.

I know you know.

I'm just saying it out loud. We need money.

- Norton Simon talked to me... - I am not selling Halston.

Maybe they're not buying Halston. Maybe they want to invest in Halston.

This Mahoney guy is smart. Maybe he's someone to do business with.

Business!

- Where are you going? - I'm gonna get some air.

I know you.

I don't think so.

You're Halston.

I saw you in Newsweek.

What's a guy in Newsweek doing down here?

I like places like this.

No one's asking me for anything.

You could ask me for something.

Do you charge?

Yes. Is that not what you're looking for?

No, no, no, no, no. That's exactly what I'm looking for.

Let me ask you. Do you think leather chaps might ever make an impact for ladies?

Fuck off.

You wanna try something?

Yeah.

What is that?

Don't worry what it is. Just crack it open and sniff on it.

- You like that? - Oh yeah.

- Oh yeah. - How's that feel?

Good. Oh...

Oh, Mr. Halston. You are just so incredible.

I just can't believe your clothing. I've told everyone to come here.

Well, thank you very much. You're very kind. Thank you for coming.

Well, they got the fever.

Do you have another "it" item in the works?

Well, always the caftan, and a mini I'm calling the Skimp.

Oh, good.

Anything else?

No.

Does that worry you?

Do I look worried?

Well, I think you're really good at not looking worried.

The more affordable items are on the ground floor.

Well, Bobbi says she's in heaven when she goes straight to the sales rack.

Tell her that Jackie O does the same thing.

Oh, look. It's Halston.

This is Pat Ast, the greatest saleswoman in the world.

My secret is I'm so fucking fat if I look good in Halston's clothes,

anyone will.

Halston, so we are flat out of sizes two through ten

in model 704 again, and...

Hi there. Ed Austin, boutique manager.

David Mahoney.

And Genevieve from Bergdorf's called.

Once Ben Shaw finally gets more off his machines,

they want them first, which means we won't have any for weeks.

We have fulfillment issues. Thank you, Ed.

Ben Shaw does your reproductions?

- Yes. Do you know him? - Oh. Sure, yeah. Ben does all the biggies.

You know, produces for de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein. Busy guy.

David, I thought you said you didn't know anything about fashion.

Uh...

And this is the salon.

Where you do your version of couture.

Made-to-order.

I close everything down at lunchtime so we can entertain all the famous ladies.

So this is the magic that covers up all the gears.

What I tell people about Norton Simon is that all our businesses,

they're like a gas inside a hot air balloon.

They keep the organization flying.

I give a shareholder a quarterly report,

and there's nothing on it that sparks their imagination.

Norton Simon needs some magic over its machinery, Halston.

Both de la Renta and Bill Blass

came to me a few years ago looking for an investment,

and stupidly I said no.

And look where they are now.

You've got the demand,

but you don't have the capital to provide the supply.

Well, that's right.

Every day I'm robbing Peter to pay Paul.

I have to tell you that I don't think there's any business I've seen

that has more potential than yours.

And what's your proposal? Ballpark?

Seven million in stock,

plus a to-be-determined cash payment and a percentage of the licensing.

Oh, remind me to talk licensing.

This is in addition to a ten-year contract for your design services,

starting at some large number and proceeding to some huge number,

which we'll work out.

I will make you so intrinsic to American culture

that nobody will remember a time when there wasn't Halston.

Take some time, and...

think about it.

Halston.

Your 11 o'clock is here for her fitting.

Oh, of course.

Um, Sassy, please escort Mr. Mahoney up to my office.

David, I'll be right up if you don't mind.

...ever tell...

Eleanor, what a surprise. Sorry to keep you waiting, David.

Well, my world runs on conspiring behind closed doors,

and Eleanor Lambert's the biggest conspirator there is.

- I'll be in touch, Halston. - Thank you, David.

Givenchy,

Pierre Cardin, Yves Saint Laurent,

Ungaro, Dior

are all confirmed for the French contingent.

Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Oscar,

Stephen Burrows, and you for the Americans.

Take off your sunglasses, please.

No, Eleanor. I've thought a lot about it.

That's fine. I don't care. You're doing it.

Dear heart...

I know you can't afford it, or some bullshit.

That problem is solved.

Norton Simon is paying for the whole thing.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth and take a shit in it, Halston.

I am not having Mahoney pay for me, Eleanor.

Not just you. He's paying for the whole thing.

No strings attached, he said. And I believe him.

Actually, it wouldn't be so bad if there were strings attached.

- You should be in business with him. - Jesus Christ.

Look, it's going to be expensive.

You're gonna have to fly all your people over, put them up,

all the designers will pool the models,

but you'll have to move your entire operation to Versailles for two weeks.

And, yes, it would bankrupt you. Well, now you have no excuse.

You're gonna come to Versailles,

and you're gonna blow those snobby French motherfuckers off the stage.

They don't respect you, and they don't respect me.

Well, that's gonna change.

Dollface, look at me.

It's the right thing to do.

For your art, for your business. And you know it.

You don't even have to thank me.

Although, really, you absolutely should thank me.

How many designs?

Two dozen.

Fuck me, Eleanor.

Two dozen? When does all this happen?

I'll let you know. But in the meantime, chop-chop.

Oh, hello.

My name's Halston.

I know who you are.

My friend at the escort service, who you call every night,

he says, go to this guy. Halston.

In my mind, I say I've heard of him.

And what's your name?

Victor Hugo.

Oh, like the writer?

Exactly like the writer, yes.

I'm a writer too.

Books, poems, drawings.

Dreams.

Only difference with Mr. Les Miserables

is that nobody ever called him Victor Huge-o.

I'll make your fucking dreams come true, baby.

Wanna have a good time?

It's not really my scene.

Oh, she's fancy. Is that right? Huh?

I'm sorry, papi. I didn't bring any crème de menthe.

Oh. No, I was actually making a chicken.

Fuck your chicken.

Ah!

Did I lie to you?

No.

No, you didn't.

Can I call you again?

You can do anything you want, boss.

I said three weeks.

You're pitting me against the House of Dior,

and I have three weeks to prepare?

Three fucking weeks? Tell her she's out of her mind.

Sweetheart, I'm not worried, so you shouldn't be worried.

Oh, that's how it works. Well, thanks, darling.

What are you doing?

Getting back to work. We're fucked.

Let me see the backs.

These dresses are shit. Take them off, ladies.

I don't know what you're doing with all this weird structure anyway.

Suddenly what you do isn't good enough?

So, what are we supposed to do with these?

Burn them.

Sorry, I misspoke.

Burn them.

He never should have fired Schumacher.

♪ I gotcha. Uh-huh, huh ♪

♪ You thought I didn't see ya, didn't ya ♪

♪ Uh-huh, huh ♪

♪ You tried to sneak by me now Didn't ya? ♪

♪ Uh-huh, huh ♪

♪ Now give me what you promised to me Give it to me. Come on... ♪

- I was right about that dress. - Oh, yeah.

Now I'm in trouble 'cause everyone thinks my legs really look like that.

- Well, they do. - Oh...

Look, they're on TV. I'm watching them right now.

Liza, my love.

I have a favor to ask you.

You might be completely uninterested. I know you're busy as hell.

Oh, sweetheart, just ask.

You know I have this thing happening. The fashion show.

Yeah, that little one in Paris.

Hmm.

Do you ever feel like everything you have could disappear in an instant?

Oh, honey,

every day.

Look, this show might be the most important thing I've ever done.

Dior, Givenchy, that's real star power.

And I feel like I could use a little more wattage on my side, frankly.

- I... I was wondering if you'd be willing... - Halston.

Are you asking me to perform in your show?

Well, why didn't you ask me earlier? I could have been working on something.

- Yes! Of course I'll do it. - You'll do it?

- Yes. - Oh, Liza...

I'll get Kay to choreograph something. Oh!

- Ooh, we're going to Paris! - Yeah.

♪ I gotcha ♪

So, here I am. I'm the lead, right? I'm Sally fucking Bowles, okay?

And I say to Bob, Bob Fosse,

these costumes, you know, I can't move in them.

So, on the sly, I call Halston.

He comes in. He redesigns my wardrobe.

Finally, like, I can... I can move, right? I can... I can play the character.

Anyway, Halston didn't get a credit. He didn't even care.

- Excuse me. - He saved the whole movie.

Wow, that's... that's amazing.

My wife's having the time of her life.

Oh, look at that.

Oh, well, I should think she should. You're paying for the ride, after all.

It's my pleasure.

A token of Norton Simon's goodwill.

Yeah.

And Bobbi loves Paris,

but she's really excited to see you in action.

I asked you to remind me about licensing, remember?

Oh yes. Remind me about licensing, David.

Well,

Ford, when he got into the car business,

the future of the automobile could have belonged to anybody.

But he invented the assembly line.

And 20 years later,

nobody said, "Get into the automobile."

They said, "Get in the Ford."

Licensing is your assembly line.

Have you thought about my offer?

Every day.

When you want to talk business, I got the paperwork right over there.

Don't be an easy lay, David. I'm considering it.

I've gotta get through this next week, but...

Fair enough, yeah, but you're not gonna get rid of me. I'm like the clap.

Cheers to that.

♪ A small Jean Genie Snuck off to the city... ♪

Halston! Halston!

Halston.

- Halston! - Liza!

- Let's do some pictures, people. - Halston, look over here.

Halston, s'il vous plaît. Look here.

- Halston. - Halston, look here.

- Mr. Blass! - Mr. Blass!

♪ Jean Genie lives on his back ♪

♪ Jean Genie, he screams and he bawls... ♪

Mademoiselle Klein...

♪ Jean Genie, let yourself go, whoa ♪

Well, this is historic. Right, everyone?

Why don't we get a photo of all the designers?

Oscar, step forward.

All right, well, I'm blinded. Totally blinded. Thank you, everybody.

Here's what I worry about. I think this thing tomorrow is going to be big.

And Oscar, Bill, Anne, and Stephen,

they're all a lot more established than you.

And they all have a lot more capital

to go home and exploit any opening that this event might make available.

So, I'd like to call Ben Shaw tomorrow night from the theater

and tell him Norton Simon wants to get 10,000 model 704s into production

and get them ready to ship out to every major department store in the country.

We wait two months, you wait a month, that advantage is gone.

Now is the time.

Let's do it.

I'm sorry, David, but the show... I just gotta get through tomorrow.

I'll take this with me, and I'll sleep on it,

and I promise I'll have an answer.

Of course. Take your time.

- Good evening, David. - All right. Get a good night's sleep.

Quelle shithole. Who knew?

Everyone, Joe. That's why we're doing a fundraiser.

- To tidy it up. - Silly question. Okay.

Well, I've played worse. So come on, ladies. Let's get to work.

Maybe not a total wreck.

Monsieur Halston. Suivez-moi, s’il vous plait.

Hello. I'm Halston. Nice to meet you.

Stephen.

Hey, Stephen.

Halston!

Hey, Joe. Elsa.

Where the hell are we going?

What is that smell?

This is our workroom?

Oui, c'est ça.

Che schifezza!

Can we use this space too?

Guess not.

Halston, clear something up for us.

Liza's opening the whole American show, right?

No, she's opening my portion of the show.

As I'm going last, she'll close for everyone.

Except that Halston...

You're going fourth.

Oscar's last.

Oscar, there's been a mix-up. I'm supposed to be closing the show.

No, darling. I only agreed to do this under the condition

that you would not close the show. So, you're not closing the show.

Look, how about this? You take my spot, fourth, and I go last.

And why would I do that?

Turn.

We'll see what Eleanor has to say about this.

No, no, no, no, no, no. Now, you listen to me.

Number one, you're sharing Liza. She performs at top of show, end of story.

Eleanor...

Shut up. I'm not finished.

You're not going last. Oscar's going last. End of story.

That's the only reason he agreed to do this.

You've gotta be fucking kidding me!

Still not finished, Halston.

- I need five more designs. - You're out of your mind.

I told you 24. You brought 19.

- Five more. - Well, I won't do it.

You brought me here to prove that I'm the greatest artist in fashion,

and now you're sabotaging me.

Sabotaging you?

Liza's my friend. I brought her here.

And you put me in a tiny shitbox of a workroom.

It stinks of rat piss. I can't work like this!

Oh yeah, you sound like a real artist, Halston.

You think that's what Gauguin said?

"I can't paint in this room. It's dirty."

"And Van Gogh is my friend. CĂ©zanne's not allowed to talk to him."

That's a flawed analogy.

Halston, listen to me.

You're obsessing over the wrong things, and you need to focus.

Are you the best artist here? You bet your ass you are.

But nobody knows it.

The French sure don't know it.

Yves Saint Laurent, you know what that son of a bitch says about you?

Well, get out there and prove him wrong.

Show them that you're the biggest star in the world.

I know you can do it.

David? What are you doing here?

Well, I stopped by as a friend, you know, to see how things are going.

Well, it's perfection. Excitement's at a fever pitch.

I got a look at the guest list.

There's some heavy hitters out there.

Gotta go. I'm so busy, David.

Halston, we have a problem with the backdrop.

What?

They gave me the measurements for the stage in meters,

and I designed the backdrops in feet.

Plus, my fucking dress still hasn't arrived.

- That's it! - Halston, wait.

- Halston. - Halston.

Dai, Halston. Get out of the car.

Cazzo!

Let go of me!

No. Fred, I did the dishes in the sink. They're clean.

Please quiet down. You're scaring the children!

They should be scared, and you should be too.

Halston, open.

Get out of the car.

You're being ridiculous!

- Halston, open. - Ladies...

Now you listen, asshole.

You know I adore you,

but I didn't haul these tits all the way across the Atlantic

to this miserable old hellhole just to have you drive off in a huff.

No, Liza, you listen to me.

I didn't come all this way to have this feeling.

I spent my whole life trying to get away from it.

I feel like I'm four years old.

I can't create feeling like this. I can't be me feeling this way.

Oh, sweetheart.

That's what it is to be an artist.

I know what that feels like, believe me.

And that's how I felt on Cabaret.

I'm scared. I'm exposed.

I'm in tears telling Bob I don't like my costumes.

Thank God I had you.

And you've got me.

And now I've got a fucking Oscar.

So you throw your little fit, but you grab your smelling salts,

you haul your cheeks off the fucking fainting couch,

and you march that tight, fabulous ass back in there.

I'll be waiting.

I love you.

David.

Do you have a copy of the contract here?

Why? Is there something wrong?

I need you to promise me something.

If I sign that contract, I must never, ever be left to feel unappreciated.

Underfunded. Unprotected.

Unsafe.

Promise me that, David, and we have a deal.

You have my word.

I need my tux from the hotel.

Joe, figure out a new backdrop. You, come with me.

Let's look through our trunks, see if we can find something we can use.

Halston!

We can make something good in an hour?

No.

But I can make something great.

Careful!

Careful. Attention.

Turn for me.

The last time I was in Paris,

I was eating langoustines with Chanel at the Ritz,

and now I'm painting with a fucking broom.

Did I get you?

It's...

Halston, it's beautiful.

What about my tits? What am I supposed to wear on top?

H, come see!

VoilĂ .

Hey, girls, go get ready. It's great, Joe.

Great.

- Halston, come on! - Elsa, I'm thinking. I'm thinking!

I... I'm gonna look like a fucking idiot out there in just a skirt.

Now it's a dress.

This is the most boring thing I've ever seen.

And my mother did Man of La Mancha in a barn.

Joe...

Bravo! Bravo!

Well, thank God that's over.

Au contraire. There are four more to go.

Oh! Let's go see the girls.

Excuse me, Eleanor.

Oh my God.

In the time this French half is taking,

I could have fucking built the Eiffel Tower.

Karen, what's happening out there now?

All the French models are wearing animal ears,

and there's a huge spaceship.

What? A spaceship?

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Miss Josephine Baker!

Josephine Baker? Oh my God!

They have Josephine Baker!

Are you ready to put on a show?

You bet.

- But I have to follow Josephine Baker. - Oh, they're all asleep out there anyway.

You're gonna do great.

Oh, thank you, David.

♪ I wanna step out down The Champs-Elysees ♪

♪ From the Arc de Triumph To the Petit Palais ♪

♪ That's for me ♪

♪ Bonjour Paris! ♪

♪ I wanna wander down the Saint-Honoré ♪

♪ Do some window shopping On the Rue de la Paix ♪

♪ That's for me ♪

♪ Bonjour, Paris! ♪

♪ I wanna see the den of thinking men ♪

♪ Like Jean-Paul Sartre ♪

♪ I must philosophize With all those guys ♪

♪ Around Montmartre and Montparnasse ♪

♪ Am I here? ♪

♪ Is it real... ♪

Anne Klein!

All right. Here we go. We're gonna do great.

It's gonna be great. Wonderful.

Stephen Burrows.

Bill Blass.

Halstonettes.

Swirl, Pat. Elsa, gorgeous. Gorgeous.

♪ The livin' is easy, the livin' is high ♪

♪ All good Americans Should come here to die ♪

♪ I'm strictly tourist You can titter and jeer ♪

♪ All I wanna say is ♪

♪ Lafayette, I am here on a spree ♪

♪ Bonjour, Paris ♪

♪ Bonjour! ♪

Over there! In the back!

Yeah.

We're gonna be completely free now.

Yeah. But in exchange, you sold your name.

No, not my name. My trademark.

Your trademark is your name.

Look, Joe, seven million dollars in stock, and lots of other things.

Halston is funded.

And Halston is fucking rich.

Rich enough to buy every orchid in Paris.

Just think of all the things I could do.

♪ I've really got to use ♪

♪ My imagination ♪

♪ To think of good reasons ♪

♪ To keep on keepin' on ♪

♪ Keep on keepin' on ♪

♪ Got to make the best of ♪

♪ Best of, best of ♪

♪ A bad situation ♪

♪ Bad situation ♪

♪ Ever since that day ♪

♪ I woke up and found that you were gone ♪

♪ Gone, gone ♪

♪ Darkness all around me ♪

♪ Blockin' out the sun ♪

♪ Old friends call me ♪

♪ But I just don't feel like talkin' To anyone ♪

♪ Emptiness has found me ♪

♪ And it just won't let me go ♪

♪ I go right on livin' ♪

♪ But why, I just don't know ♪

♪ You're too strong Got to keep on keepin' on ♪

♪ Yes, I am ♪

♪ You're too strong ♪

- ♪ Got to keep on keepin' on ♪ - ♪ Staring down reality ♪

♪ Don't do me no good ♪

♪ 'Cause our misunderstanding ♪

♪ Is too well understood ♪

♪ Too well understood ♪

♪ Such a sad, sad season ♪

♪ Sad, sad season ♪

- ♪ When a good love dies ♪ - ♪ When a good love dies ♪

♪ Not a day goes by ♪

- ♪ Not a day goes by ♪ - ♪ When I don't realize ♪

- ♪ Realize ♪ - ♪ Ooh, ooh, oh, I've really got to use ♪

♪ I've got to use ♪

♪ My imagination ♪

♪ I've got to use ♪

♪ To think of good reasons ♪

♪ I've got to use ♪

♪ To keep on keepin' on ♪

♪ I've got to use ♪

♪ I've got to make the best of ♪

♪ Best of, best of ♪

♪ A bad situation ♪

♪ Bad situation ♪

♪ Ever since that day ♪

♪ I woke up and found out That you were gone ♪

♪ You're too strong ♪

- ♪ Got to keep on keepin' on ♪ - ♪ I've really got to use ♪

♪ I've got to use ♪

♪ A good imagination ♪

♪ I've got to use ♪

♪ To think of good reasons ♪

♪ I've got to use ♪

♪ To keep on pushin' on ♪

♪ I've got to use ♪

♪ I said I've got to make the best of ♪

♪ Best of, best of ♪

- ♪ A bad situation ♪ - ♪ Bad situation ♪

♪ Ever since that day ♪

♪ I woke up and found out ♪

- ♪ I've really got to use ♪ - ♪ I've really got to use ♪