Original subtitles

(BELL RINGING)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

MALE TEACHER: A one, two, three.

(MUSICIANS WARMING UP)

MALE STUDENT: "O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,

"that I am meek and gentle..."

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

FEMALE TEACHER: Quiet! Quiet down, please!

MS. SI MMS: You got big dreams.

You want fame? Well, fame costs.

And right here is where you start paying, in sweat.

(SINGING) Remember, remember, remember

Remember, remember, remember, remember

Fame!

(BIG THINGS PLAYING)

(IN DISTINCT CHATTER)

Sorry!

Excuse me!

Sorry.

Oh! Excuse me.

Excuse me.

MAN: Hey, good luck, Victor.

Thanks, Papa.

(SINGING) You'll see my face on the cover of a magazine one day

You'll hear my voice blaring out your car radio

I'ma, I'ma, I'ma, I'ma do big things

I'ma, I'ma do big things

I'ma, I'ma, I'ma, I'ma do big things

I'ma, I'ma do big things

I'ma, I'ma, I'ma, I'ma do big things

I'ma, I'ma do big things

Big, big, big, big, big things

Hey! I'ma, I'ma, I'ma, I'ma do big things

I'ma, I'ma do big things

Malik, is that you?

(IN DISTINCT CHATTER)

I'ma do big things

Group Six, you're up.

(IN DISTINCT CHATTER)

Where do you train?

Cedar Falls, lowa.

My mom has a studio there.

You're a long way from home.

Well, I'm hoping to get into a professional ballet company.

We don't have a school like this there, so my mom put me on a plane.

Well, don't worry.

You might be back in lowa sooner than you think.

All right, thank you. That's enough.

I'ma, I'ma, I'ma, I'ma do big things

I'ma, I'ma do big things

(IN DISTINCT CHATTERING)

MUSIC TEACH ER: All right. Group Eight, let's go. Right away.

"You cataracts and hurricanes,

"spout till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks!"

(SINGING OPERA)

"Chickity China the Chinese chicken

"You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin'

"Chickity China the Chinese chicken

"You have a drumstick and your brain..."

Okay. I'm sorry. Actually, one more second.

"Chickity China the Chinese chicken Chickity China the..." Okay.

(SCOFFS) You talking to me?

You talking to me?

There's nobody else here. You talking to me?

Who the hell do you think you're talking to?

Oh, yeah? Okay. Okay. Uh-huh. Mmm-hmm.

Boom! And cut real wide,

like a, you know, a Scorsese wide shot.

I'm really, really angry. Like, really angry.

(GROWLS)

And scene.

Well, Neil, I take it that filmmaking is your number one passion.

Now, you wanna tell me why you want to study acting?

Well, you know, I'm a method director.

And I believe that actors are the heart of any film.

And in order to speak the language of an actor,

I must become an actor.

You'll do well.

Next group of musicians, please.

(CLASSICAL PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

That's enough.

I can play better. I just need to...

I doubt it. That was superb.

Next!

Five, six, seven, eight!

(UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)

Okay, that was good. Group Two on the floor, please.

My God, I can't stand any more of this!

First, you spurned me for Eddie.

Then you throw him off like an old overcoat for Rocky!

You chew people up and then you spit them out again!

I loved you.

Do you hear me? I loved you! And what did it get me?

Yeah, I'll tell you. A big nothing!

You're like a sponge. You take, take, take!

(SINGING) Come on, babe why don't we paint the town

And all that jazz

I'm gonna rouge my knees And roll my stockings down

And all that jazz

Start the car I know a whoopee spot

You've got to choose between me or Rocky,

so named because of the rocks in his head!

Where there's a nightly brawl And all

that

jazz

That jazz

Wow. You're fearless, aren't you?

Some say "annoying."

Well, you know, it's possible to be both.

(FU N KY PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

And you composed this track as well?

Yep. I didn't get a chance to add the guitar stuff yet, though. Let me show you...

No. No.

You've got talent.

Let's see what we can do with it.

Nice.

J EN NY: Do you know where Room 310 is?

WOMAN ON PA: If you have already auditioned...

Thanks. ...and have been cut,

please leave immediately. we have a lot of people to see today.

You lost? Thank you.

Uh, yeah, actually. I'm looking for Room 310. Mr. Dowd's class. Acting?

Yeah. Actually, I think they're that way.

I saw somebody with a wig and cape going down the hall.

Okay. Thanks.

Yeah.

Good luck!

Hope you get in.

Yeah. Thanks. You, too.

My theory is...

Um...

Parents are given a...

Jenny, Jenny, it's okay. It's okay.

There are a lot of things in this world to be nervous and afraid of.

And this isn't one of them.

So just relax, take a deep breath,

and then when you're ready, I want you to talk to us

and not at us.

Okay? Yes, sir.

(EXHALES DEEPLY)

My theory is that

when parents get divorced, they're given some kind of a handout.

When my parents told me that they were splitting, they told me three things.

One, "It's not your fault."

Two, "It's not your fault."

And three, "It's not your fault."

Problem is, I don't buy it.

No kid does.

I've seen the pictures of when you got married.

When you were good-looking, and you smiled at each other.

Hell, when you even just looked at each other.

So what happened between then and now?

Me.

I... I came along,

and I made you tired and cranky and anxious

and I made you lose your hair and gain 20 extra pounds and...

Somewhere in all of that, I... You stopped loving each other.

So I have my own idea for a handout.

Next time tell me, "One, happiness is hard.

"Two, don't make the same mistakes we did.

"And three, okay, so maybe it is your fault a little."

You want me to be honest?

You go first.

(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

"...death, destruction around every corner

"Another dead body and you wanna keep running"

(SINGING) I know I misbehaved And you made your mistakes

And we both still got room left to grow

"And all you could do is stay alert

"and try to stay out of the searchlight"

And we'll make this thing work

But I think we should take it slow

"No prison, nobody make bail"

We don't know which way to go

"Everybody gotta go, but see..."

'Cause we're ordinary people

"...it ain't no jail

"Think about death taking your last breath Heart beating like a..."

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it. Hold it.

And this time we'll take it slow

MR. DOWD: This is the theater, Malik.

Not the street.

The theater.

Sacred.

This is not a place of anger.

Oh, yeah, you get to play angry characters.

But there are no angry actors.

And do you know the difference between the two?

(CLEARS TH ROAT) All righty.

Marco. Yeah.

Uh, where have you trained?

Um, I sing at my dad's restaurant every once in a while.

That's pretty much about it.

Really?

Well, that's pretty impressive.

Thank you.

So, did I get in?

MS. SI MMS: Welcome.

This year we received over 10,000 applications

for the 200 openings from students all across New York City.

And you got in.

Congratulations!

(ALL CH EERING)

For the next four years, you have the unique opportunity

to immerse yourselves in the arts.

You can be spontaneous,

original, maybe even a little outrageous.

You got it made, right?

wrong.

You're gonna have it twice as hard as everybody else.

In the mornings, you're gonna have all your arts classes.

After lunch, you will cram in a full day of academics.

Drop below a C average and you're out. No exceptions.

Now, let me make this very clear.

We don't care about your headshot.

Or your dress size.

Or your dreams of being in OK! Magazine,

on talk shows, on the red carpet.

Here, you will learn a discipline.

Here, you will come to understand

what being a performing artist really means.

Here, you will dedicate yourself to your craft.

Now, if you're looking for shortcuts,

if you want fame,

if you want easy rewards,

I highly recommend that you get up and leave now.

There are many very talented young people

who would be thrilled to take your place.

So, have a great year.

Five, six, seven, eight, go!

Extend that leg. Travel!

Rosie, you're getting dizzy because you're not spotting. Now, spot!

I'm trying. Yeah, not hard enough.

Shoulders down. Press them down.

Stay with her, Kevin.

(GRU NTS)

No, no. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.

Kevin, you're a mess. Look.

She does passé fifth position. Let her get a real good plié,

so you both have a good preparation for the pas de chat.

On her next lift, you've got to use your stomach and your back.

Stay strong. You have to support her.

All right, take a minute.

Jeremy and Alice.

Kevin, you're not gonna be a professional ballet dancer

unless you learn how to partner.

And...

(SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

Kevin, watch Jeremy.

See that?

Lovely.

Beautiful, Alice.

All right. I don't want you to think about it.

Get out of your head and let it be spontaneous.

This exercise is about honing in on your natural instincts.

Free your inhibitions and physically inhabit your own body.

Otherwise, you'll never be in touch with any characters you're playing.

Here we go.

Zip-Zip! Zip-Zip!

Whoom! Whoom!

Pow! Pow!

(HOWLS) (HOWLS)

(GRU NTING) (GRU NTING)

Be! Be!

Booga-Booga! Booga-Booga!

Bam! Bam!

Che-whe-wow! Che-whe-wha!

(LAUGHS) (LAUGHS)

Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, get out of your brain!

You got to learn to loosen up

and go with the first thing that pops in your head.

Okay, everybody follow me. Come on. Shake it out.

Shake it out. Shake it out. Come on, shake, shake, shake!

Come on, it's the only body you got!

You gotta be loose! Loose, loose!

Jenny, is that loose?

You gotta learn not to be embarrassed and you better do it now.

All right, loose, folks! Loose. Loosen your bodies up.

Keep your eyes on the sheet music.

(BELL RINGING)

(ALL CLAMORING)

(WOMAN TALKING ON PA)

GIRL: (RAPPING) If you holdin' my money then pay me

Just another day in the life of the queen MC

Can't stop, won't stop Until I cop a Bentley

No, no, throw the dice.

Where you been, man?

I had to get this out of the storage room.

We gotta get rollin'.

Yo, plug this in. Are you serious?

Rosie, plug it in. Come on. Right now?

N EIL: Your action is "to give love."

Or "to seduce." Let's try "to seduce."

All right, what does that look like? What does that look like?

Okay. No, that was awful.

Can I sit down?

Sure.

Thanks.

I just met these agents, like, a month and a half ago,

and they've been sending me out,

and I guess these casting directors are really excited to see me for this pilot.

You didn't like the shaking?

See, I didn't see that as fun. It was more of a hassle.

It doesn't really have anything to do with acting.

I can maybe introduce you guys to the agents if you want. You know?

But it loosens you.

Okay, what happens if your character's, like, really tense?

BOY: Joe, does it work?

Today?

(CH UCKLES) No.

I keep telling her to just relax. It's nothing big.

But I have too much work to do after school.

I have vocal exercises and memorizing monologues,

and that's all before I even start on my normal homework.

You actually do all that stuff?

(CH UCKLES)

VICTOR: Huh?

There's a drum set over there. I dare you to go on it.

How many years have you been rapping?

She won in the last round.

You are retarded. Your brain is not working right.

GIRL: Yeah? Is that so?

Hi. Hi.

This is Marco. How you doing?

You know I'm gonna eat you up in front of everybody.

You can never...

(CH EERING)

Whoa!

Oh, yeah!

(ALL CH EERING)

(RAPPING) You need to get your life straight for Christ's sake

Because your mind state ain't moving as fast as my pace

You're spending cheese every other day on new kicks

It's useless, sometimes I wonder if you're stupid

(RAPPING) Yo, I'm a real boss chick You better believe it

I buy what I want whenever I need it

A girl like me don't worry about haters and all that light stuff

I'll worry about it later

You're acting like a dummy and I'm mad Mad?

You think we don't know you get your money from your dad

What? It's obvious

You never even had a job before

Step to this you'll be highly sore what up?

GIRL: Shut up. Yo, Jamie, drop out at the next bar!

(RAPPING) Now when I say we gonna Y'all say rock it

we gonna Rock it!

when I say we gonna Y'all say rock it

we gonna Rock it!

(VOCALIZING) when I say we won't Y'all say stop

We won't Stop!

when I say we won't Y'all say stop

We won't Stop!

This is my life

I got to get it, baby Say yeah

Say yeah This is my life

I got to get it, baby Say yeah

Yeah Say yeah

I got to get it, baby Say yeah

Hey.

Not your thing?

Not really.

My parents would die if they saw that.

They think it's a conservatory.

Everyone practicing cello all day.

Hey, I'm Denise.

Malik.

Mind if I sit down?

You know, if it makes you feel any better,

my mom doesn't even know I go here.

Seriously?

She thinks I'm down at the public high school.

She works three jobs. She's never gonna check.

Why don't you just tell her?

She doesn't want me to be an actor or a rapper.

Look, what about you?

I mean, I see you playing the piano like you're Beethoven and everything.

Is that your thing?

Yeah. Cool.

Well, actually, I don't know.

I mean, I guess, I think it...

Okay, truth is,

I've never tried anything else.

Oh.

(TOO MANY WOMEN PLAYING)

What's up, man? What you looking at?

I'm just watching this girl dance.

Yeah, I've seen her.

But she thinks she's, like, the most talented kid in the school.

Maybe she is.

Well, I gotta go. You want to keep staring, go right ahead, man.

See you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

(SINGING) But I will wait for you to figure it out

Soon you'll be chasing me through the out door onto the street

I will be kneeling on the ground

(CLAPPING)

Can I help you?

(CH UCKLES)

You know, you can really dance.

(SCOFFS) Thanks for the newsflash.

But I think you could dance a little better, though, if your music wasn't so wack.

I'm just saying.

Excuse me?

Yeah. I mean, if you really wanna dance,

you need something way better than that.

And you know just what that is.

Yeah.

Here, listen.

That's just a demo, too.

I mean, I'm adding, like, a lot more bass and effects.

The second, the second bar,

that's not even the final part, let me tell you.

I got more stuff that I can show you. Not bad.

(STAMMERING) I got more tracks.

I'm sure you do.

(EXHALES)

(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

(SINGING) There's a somebody I'm longing to see

I hope that he

Turns out to be

Someone who'll watch

Over me

I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood

I know I could

Always be good

To one who'll watch

Over me

Okay. Very good, Jenny.

Thank you.

Except for the fact that you have no idea what you're singing about.

Well, it's about a girl who gets her heart broken and is looking for another guy.

(CH UCKLES) Yeah. I was not feeling that from you.

That is technically what the song is about. Okay, this is very important.

Jenny, for your homework tonight,

I want you to go home and write out all the lyrics to that song

and then work on them like they're an acting monologue. Okay?

Because there's really no point in singing a song

if you don't understand what it is you're saying.

Okay, go sit down. Thanks.

It was pretty. I just wasn't getting a lot out of it. All right?

Okay. Okay.

Life will go on.

Okay, next.

Uh...

Let's see. Marco.

That's right.

I want you to sing the same song,

but I want us to all really understand

what the song is about. Do you know it?

Yeah. A little bit.

A little bit?

All right, well, this should be interesting. Come on.

Hurry up. Grass isn't getting any greener.

Could you change it to E-flat?

(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

(SINGING) There's a somebody I'm longing to see

I hope that she

Turns out to be

Someone who'll watch

Over me

I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood

I know I could

Always be good

To one who'll watch

Over me

MS. ROWAN: Yes. That's what I was talking about, everybody.

Very good, Marco. Thank you.

So you live in Long Island, right? Yep.

And stay with my dad enough days to meet the residency requirement.

I'd like to stay with my mom more, but...

Yeah. Is it worth it?

Of course.

It's what I want. Always wanted. You understand.

I mean, not everyone is like you, Jenny.

You know, as committed and focused as you are. All the damn time.

Yeah, but you're the best singer in our class.

With that kind of a talent, you have a responsibility.

I mean, the only thing I gotta do is be happy.

What?

Do you always take things this lightly?

I would give anything in order to stand up in front of class

and sing a song and be completely in tune.

Or whiz through a monologue

and have everybody laughing. Jenny...

And there are so many kids in this city that would love to be going to this school.

You wouldn't understand. See you in class, Marco.

(SIGHS)

These are not diaries.

They're journals.

I'm not interested in what you had for breakfast,

or what you think of your stepmom's boob job.

Not even your latest breakup.

I wanna know about the world you inhabit.

The people around you.

Who are they?

How do they behave?

(IN DISTINCT CHATTER)

Language and behavior, that's all the actor's got to work with.

So keep your eyes open.

Observe. Record.

WOMAN: Mr. Bazinska, this is disgraceful.

It's unhealthy, it's unsanitary. No, it's fine. It's clean.

No, it's not unsanitary. It's... The only thing missing from it

is a finger on the scale. Your finger on the scale. You're the worst.

MR. DOWD: How is emotion expressed through action?

Gesture?

WOMAN: That's disgusting. What can I say.

Look, it's clean. So they got all the...

Now what are you doing?

Taking my pictures without asking! Sorry. Homework.

You're supposed to get me to write off something before you do that.

I could sue you, and I could sue you.

Dad, you home?

MR. DOWD: Understand other people. And you'll begin to understand yourself.

(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

Bye, Mr. Cranston.

Ms. Dupree.

Yes?

You practice more than any other student here at P.A.

You are a very talented classical pianist.

Thank you, Mr. Cranston.

I happen to be looking for an accompanist

for our spring production of Chicago.

It might serve you well to branch out a bit.

Expand your horizons.

Okay, so what does this entail?

It's just a couple rehearsals. It might go a little late...

Okay, what's "late"?

Midnight.

Midnight? Only on the nights it performs.

That's what Mr. Cranston said.

Daddy, it's a big honor for a freshman to be asked to play for one of the musicals.

And it's Chicago! Do you realize...

You are training to be a classical pianist.

Can you tell me how playing honky-tonk songs

till all hours of the night is gonna help with that?

It won't, but it would be fun. Fun!

Something new! Daddy, I want to do something different for a change.

"Something different" was never part of the deal, Denise.

You will be saying "no" or I will be pulling you out of that school. Period.

I'm sorry.

Ma, I was gonna tell you.

Performing Arts?

Do you have any idea how risky that is?

As a career?

Of course I do.

Malik, you're trying to do something everyone wants to do.

Every teenager on this block thinks they can make it as the next rapper...

Look, Ma. You have to let me stay there. It's everything I have now.

I just don't know about this.

Look, they're good grades! Did you even look at it?

Look, Ma.

I'm talented.

If somebody's gotta make it out there, why can't it be me?

And who in the world told you you were so special?

You did.

I just can't deal with this right now. I'm late for work.

(DOOR BANGS SH UT)

(ALL CH EERING)

(INAU DIBLE)

(ALL CH EERING)

All right. Bobby.

(ALL CH EERING)

Okay. Kevin!

Look out!

Yeah? Master Tavares,

you play with élan, brio, gusto, panache

and a host of foreign adjectives that indicate excessive style.

What you neglect to do is play the music as written.

And though your interpretation may be entertaining,

it is of no value in my class.

May I suggest that the only thing of value you could possibly bring to Bach

is your respect.

And unless you devote yourself to study,

drill and mastery of technique,

you will be of little or no value to anyone. Including yourself.

Now let's try this again, as written.

Parenthetically,

study, drill and technique do not stifle talent.

They free it. Once more.

Mr. Cranston. This music, it's boring.

It's just not my thing.

No, it's Bach's thing.

Stubby little German guy. Wore a wig.

Yeah, and he died 1,000 years ago.

His teachers told him to stop playing music his way. He said no.

Really?

Well, if his teachers told him that, then they were wrong.

And should your music

survive for the next 350 years,

please allow me to apologize in advance.

Proceed. We will suffer through it with you.

She was eight years old.

Her name was Ayanna.

Means "beautiful flower."

She was always on the street, playing,

jumping rope.

Happiest girl you ever saw.

She didn't see the man in the car

or the man running past, until the bullets flew.

The day after she was buried,

I got this.

I was only 13 at the time.

I thought my mom would whup my ass.

But she didn't.

Said I should remember every single day

what happened to my little sister.

MR. DOWD: How did her death affect you?

I mean, you've given us the facts.

And you waited till the end to let us know that Ayanna was your sister,

which was very dramatic.

But I want to know how you felt.

And I think you need to know how you felt.

How do you think I felt?

Well, I have no idea. Why don't you tell us?

You know what? Screw this.

I ain't gonna cry for you. I gave you the truth.

Is that what happened? Did you cry the night she died?

Did you blame yourself? Do you think you could have prevented it?

Listen, I'm gonna be famous.

And I don't need you or your therapy bullshit!

So screw this and screw this class!

The theater is not a place for cowards, Malik.

(SIGHS)

(SINGING) Sometimes I wonder

Where I've been

Who I am

Do I fit in?

Make believin'

Is hard alone

Out here on my own

we're always provin'

Who we are

Always reachin'

For that risin' star

To guide me far

And shine me home

Out here on my own

When I'm down

And feelin' blue

I close my eyes

So I can be with you

Oh, baby, be strong for me

Baby, belong to me

Help me through

Help me need you

Until the morning sun appears

Making light of all my fears

I dry the tears I've never shown

Out here on my own

But when I'm down and feelin' blue

I close my eyes so I can be with you

Oh, baby, be strong for me

Baby, belong to me

Help me through

Help me need you

Sometimes I wonder

Where I've been

Who I am

Do I fit in?

I may not win

But I can't be thrown

Out here

On my own

Oh, yeah

Out here

On my own

WOMAN OVER PA: Attention, students.

After-school rehearsal will be canceled due to the dance performance class.

Tomorrow, regular scheduled rehearsals will resume as normal.

Those of you who would like to see the show,

tickets will be on sale in the main office starting Thursday.

(IN DISTINCT CHATTER)

Yeah?

I know your secret.

What are you talking about?

Why didn't you tell me you could sing like that?

Wait, you were in there?

Yeah. And I heard you.

Look, look, just come with me. I got an idea. Okay?

Hold on, hold on, calm down. I have class.

Look, just trust me. Come with me.

All right? It won't take long. Come on.

Excuse me. Sorry.

Where are we going?

Me and my man, Victor, is working on this record that's gonna be huge.

I'm talking about beats you wouldn't even believe. All right?

Yo. Yo!

What's up? Listen.

If you think the girls we've been trying out are good...

Ten times better.

I didn't know you could sing.

Dogs, this girl is amazing.

Wait. Hold on. You guys produce?

Yeah, we produce.

I'm actually working on a track right now. We still need a singer.

So, what's good? Will you do it?

I can't.

(SIGHS) Come on. Why not?

My dad. He doesn't like me to get distracted.

And why, exactly, would he have to know?

(YOU'LL FIND A WA Y PLAYING)

(SINGING) Go ahead, you know you want it

You'll have no other way You just want to take us down

Go ahead...

Go ahead, I'll be your junkie

I'll be deplete you can heap all rubbish here

Go ahead, now dump it on me

If I go quiet will the itch go down with me

Oh, you got to get it

Never mind that it was never there nowhere

But, oh, no, not for a minute

For now you'll make your bed And it will wait, I swear

No way not me what you got, it's not for me

But you'll find a way

No way not me what you got, it's not for me

Don't reach too far You will fall over

Don't be surprised what you discover

Don't fear your call

Yeah!

...what you got It's not for me, but you'll find a way

No way not me what you got, it's not for me

Don't reach too far You will fall over

Don't be surprised...

Yo, Malik. I just finished it last night.

Pop it in, man. Let's see what they think.

(CAN'T HIDE FROM LOVE PLAYING)

Malik, what are you doing? Why are you playing our song?

What's the problem? Victor said he finished it last night.

I just wanted to put it in and see what people thought about it.

But you know this is our secret.

My parents don't know about this. I don't...

Just relax. Your parents aren't even here.

And besides, they like it. Look.

(ALL CH EERING)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Yo, give it up for a track produced by my boy, Victor!

Yeah!

You made that?

And of course, yours truly.

Let's go! Let's give it up, y'all!

And on vocals, give it up for

Anonymous.

N EIL: And she's drinking.

All right, hurry up before someone steals my camera.

Are you wasted yet?

I don't know. I've never been drunk.

What's it feel like?

(BOTH LAUGH ING)

KEVIN: It feels like that.

Yo, check it out.

This is for my homies.

(BOTH EXCLAIMING)

N EIL: No, don't waste it.

Check it out. Mike check, one-two.

Turn my headphones up. N EIL: Ooh!

(RAPPING) Cruisin' down the street in my six-fo

Jockin' the bitches Slappin' the hoes

went to the park to get the scoop

Knuckleheads out there cold shootin' some hoops

A car pulls up, who can it be

A fresh El Camino rollin' Kilo G

He rolls down his window and he started to say

It's all about makin' that GTA

'Cause the boys in the hood are always hard

You come talkin' that trash we gonna pull your card

Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit

Don't quote me, boy, 'cause I ain't said...

Shit.

Well, first of all, I loved the presentation.

Why, thank you. I mean, it's, you know... It's totally not ready yet.

But, I mean, it's...

The drunkenness, however...

I was trying to expand my life experience.

I've never been wasted before.

Trust me. I'm not gonna do it again.

(ALL LAUGH ING)

(BELL RINGING)

MARCO: Hey, hey, Jenny, hold up.

Just a dinner. At my dad's restaurant. I promise.

If you don't have a good time, I'll stop asking.

I don't understand.

You keep asking me out and I keep telling you no.

Why do you keep trying?

I don't know. I feel like if I keep asking,

maybe one of these times, you'll actually say yes.

Text me the address.

Really? Yeah, I'll come.

Okay. I'll see you later then.

Okay. See you later. (CH UCKLES) Okay, bye.

(WHOOPS)

(IN DISTINCT CHATTER)

So, how's school?

Do you think you'll get what you need?

Will it be enough to get you into a professional company?

How am I supposed to know?

You know, Alice,

Dr. Malamed thinks that your aloofness

is a sign of subclinical depression.

So, are you depressed?

No, Dad. I'm bored like I always am.

VICTOR: Alice!

Excuse me, sir. Huh? Oh, I'm with them.

May I take your hat?

No, no...

Are you sure I can't take your hat?

Who is that?

The opposite of boring.

Hey, baby. How are you?

What's up?

These your parents?

J EN NY: I know, I know, it's just that...

I've never had to work this hard in my entire life.

And they don't really tell you what it's gonna be like.

(CH UCKLES)

I don't know why I'm telling you all of this.

Everything seems to come so easily to you.

No, that's not true.

I've just... I've been performing my whole life.

I mean, as soon as I could, I was out there singing.

I will tell you this,

no one makes as much in tips as a first grader.

So, you play the piano, too?

(CH UCKLES)

A little. Yeah.

Okay, I want to hear.

I mean, you see me sing all the time at school. There's no need to...

Yeah, I want to hear something different. Come on, Marco.

No. Just 'cause the piano's there...

Just me, you, and the restaurant.

You're playing for me.

Jenny...

I told you, you've already seen this.

No! Go on.

Well, what do you want me to play?

Uh, anything you want.

And we'll see if I'm willing to give you a tip at the end.

(CH UCKLES) Okay.

(PLAYING N U RSERY RHYME)

Seriously?

(CH UCKLES)

(EXHALES)

Okay.

How about this one?

(SINGING) If I walk, would you run?

If I stop, would you come?

If I say you're the one

would you believe me?

If I ask you to stay

would you show me the way?

Tell me what to say

So you don't leave me

The world is catching up to you

while you're running away

To chase your dreams

It's time for us to make a move

'Cause we are asking one another to change

And maybe I'm not ready

But I'll try for your love

I can hide up above

I will try for your love

we've been hiding enough

I will try for your love

I can hide up above

If I walk, would you run?

If I stop, would you come?

If I say you're the one

would you believe me?

So I'm guessing you liked it?

You could say that.

Okay, that was good, but let's take it again from bar four-twenty. Okay?

Denise!

(PANTING) We got in with the label.

They want us to come in and talk about our stuff.

Can you go? Tomorrow, after school.

I'm supposed to have extra piano... No, no, cancel it.

No, no. Cancel it, cancel it. Meet me out front at 3:00, all right?

Sorry. This is it, Denise. Our big break. I can feel it!

(LAUGHS)

(CH UCKLES)

Okay. Sorry, let's... Sorry.

ALL: (SINGING) What a mighty God we serve

What a mighty God we serve

Angels bow before him Heaven and earth adore him

What a mighty God What a mighty God

What a mighty God we serve

He's mighty He's mighty

He's a mighty God He's a mighty God

He's mighty He's mighty

He's a mighty God He's a mighty God

What a mighty God What a mighty God

What a mighty God we serve

JOY: So, I have an audition later today,

but I don't think I'll go because I'll never get it.

KEVIN: But you're working with a casting director. That's huge.

See, that's what I thought, too.

And they do get me some auditions,

but I'm up against the same 15 girls.

And they always get the part.

Yeah, maybe, but they're not Joy.

Yeah, well, me, I've got a lot of good shit happening off of my YouTube page.

In fact, I'm meeting with a producer today

about putting together an independent film.

What?

Yeah. Uh...

I have an idea for a short.

It's about a legendary director

who suddenly dies while filming his movie.

So his inadequate son decides to honor his father by finishing the film,

but the only help he has is this misfit cast of characters,

like, straight out of a Wes Anderson.

It's The Life Aquatic meets The Bad and the Beautiful.

Sounds really artistic, Neil.

Well, I think so.

Hopefully, Sundance agrees.

Small place. Yeah.

You want some coffee or some water?

I'm all right. You don't want to see me on coffee.

Wired enough as is.

Take a seat.

The script is good.

Thank you.

It's, you know, a labor of love of mine and it's not quite there yet.

I would be honored to take it on.

We don't often do shorts, but, in your case, we'll make an exception.

Eddie, that's... That's amazing!

(BOTH LAUGH)

Now... Now, let's talk about the budget.

Yeah, let's talk about it. Let's talk about the budget.

How are you gonna raise the money?

N EIL: This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here.

I don't understand. Shouldn't he be giving you the money?

Isn't that what producers do?

He's not the financier. He's the producer. And there's a difference.

All I need you to do is kick in, like, five grand.

And I know. I'm aware.

I'm aware that's a lot of money. I really get it. I get it.

But, you know, Eddie says we could even, you know...

We could sell it to television and make a profit.

You gotta trust me on this one, Dad.

I'd be shooting on a real film and everything.

I mean, Dad... I mean, this is the real deal, Dad.

The real deal, huh? You think so?

Come on, Dad.

Help a brother out.

(PEOPLE LAUGH ING)

So this is what it's like to have a social life?

Yeah, well, it beats memorizing Shakespeare, doesn't it?

Yeah.

How long do we have to stay here?

I don't know. Come on, let's just have fun.

We haven't been out in a while.

Okay.

I'll get us some drinks. Okay.

Well, look who it is.

Andy! Hey! Hey! Um...

Jenny. Jenny. That's right. Of course.

I remember you from last year.

You did the show with the monologue from...

From Proof, right?

Yeah!

Yeah, you were really good.

Thank you. You're welcome.

So how is P.A.? I kind of miss it.

It's the same-old, same-old.

But I've been watching you on your show.

Oh, really? Yeah.

Well, thanks. Yeah, it's going pretty well.

I got a big storyline right now, so...

MAN: Andy. It's kind of blowing up.

We're slamming shots, bro. Yeah. Shots.

Give me one second. I'm talking to Jenny. Um...

You want to take shots?

I'm good, thanks.

Are you sure? Okay. Yeah.

You know, they're looking for day players on the show.

Would that be something you might be interested in?

Seriously? Yeah. I mean, I could put in a good word.

(STAMMERING) Yeah! That would be perfect. Thank you.

Okay. So how should we do this? Do you want to give me your number?

Yeah, I don't think I have a pen or a...

No, no, don't worry about it. Just put it right in here.

Okay.

Um...

I think that's it.

Yeah, I can do this. Yeah, I don't... Yeah, okay.

Perfect. Well, it's so good to see you. You look great.

Thanks. You, too.

All right. I'll see you later.

(CH UCKLES) Okay.

Bye. See you.

See you.

MAN: Shots up. Ready to go.

One, two, three! ALL: One, two, three!

(ALL CH EERING)

J EN NY: All we were doing was talking, okay?

He saw my monologue from P.A.

That's all we were talking about. He wants to help me.

God, could you possibly be that naive?

He's trying to hook up with you, Jenny.

That's ridiculous. He's a big-time actor.

He can hook up with whoever he wants.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, he loves your talent. That's what he loves.

So it's that preposterous that somebody might actually like me for my talent?

No, of course not.

Look, no one believes in you more than I do, and you know that.

Honestly, it's just the way he was looking at you.

Fine.

If it means that much to you, I won't talk to him ever again. Promise.

Now let's get out of here.

We can go to my dad's apartment.

What, now? Mmm-hmm.

He's on a date.

He won't be back until later.

(CAN'T HIDE FROM LOVE PLAYING)

There's definitely something there.

Something that could be interesting.

Check it out. We've got an A&R meeting next week.

What I'd like to do is play it for the team,

see what kind of feedback we get,

and I'll get back to you.

VICTOR: Nice.

Yo, yo, did you see him bobbing his head?

He was bobbing his head to himself. He was bobbing...

Guys, guys. He didn't say he wanted us.

Did you not hear what he said? He said, "Interesting."

Interesting! Man, we are so in.

Yo, I'm gonna give my moms a house in the Hamptons on the beach.

Guys? It's gonna be crazy.

You're not even trying, Rosie.

Ballet is a requirement for every student dancer in this school.

But, Ms. Kraft, I'm good at hip-hop!

My job isn't to cast music videos. It's to train serious dancers.

P.A. isn't about just doing whatever you want.

It's about becoming a complete performer.

I... I don't know where you fit in here.

Fit in here? What's that supposed to mean?

It means you're gonna keep flailing around and you're not gonna...

This isn't about me, is it?

You don't like my body. Admit it!

Don't be ridiculous. Modern companies are full of girls who don't have the...

Oh, really? Then how come this department is filled with skinny little girls

with no titties and tight little butts, walking around drinking Diet Coke?

I ain't never gonna be like them. And I don't wanna be.

You want girls who've been starving themselves,

and look like they're 11 and have so little body fat

they can't even get a period to dance parts for real women.

And that sucks!

You're part of a machinery of oppression, Ms. Kraft. Just admit it.

Hey! First of all, don't speak to me like that.

Don't speak to any teacher like that. It's very rude.

It's also very ugly.

And second of all, you know that's not true.

I want my dancers to be healthy,

and I talk to you all about that all the time.

You don't have a good technique,

and you're not working toward a technique.

And yet, I wanna keep you here.

Shit.

Jenny! Guess what.

What?

I got a job.

You're kidding!

I've been trying to find you to tell you that it's the best show ever,

and I'm only semi-regular at first,

but then they said I could get a lead,

and it's so amazing you won't believe it.

Yay! Okay. So what show is it?

Sesame Street.

Holy shit. That show's still on?

(CH UCKLING) I'm gonna get paid to act.

That's incredible!

You bitch.

I wonder if they need any hot, young, new, macho director types.

I mean, I know they're always looking for new talent on that show.

I don't think so.

But if you're really nice and give me back rubs,

I might let you be part of my entourage.

Ooh, back rubs. You mean like...

(GRU NTING)

Oh, I'm sorry, did that hurt? I'm sorry.

(STRAIGHT UP PLAYING)

Yeah. You know what?

Singing in front of all of your friends in the classroom

is one thing, but now we're here.

And you guys are gonna sing

in front of this lovely group of total strangers,

who actually are sort of hoping that you'll be really bad.

It's gonna be great.

Also, try to have fun, because it's part of your grade.

(LAUGHS)

(SINGING) I get knocked down But I get up again

You're never gonna keep me down

I get knocked down But I get up again

You're never gonna keep me down

Pissing the night away

(SINGING) I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve

I have a history of losing my shirt

It's been one week since you looked at me

Cocked your head to the side and said, "I'm sorry"

Five days since you laughed at me

Three days since the living room

lt'll still be two days till we say we're sorry

Two days till... Sorry

(CROWD CH EERING)

WOMAN: All right! wow. Thank you. You guys are awesome.

So tonight, I would love to donate my time.

I'm gonna do a little something special.

I'm gonna give my time over to someone very important to us.

Our teacher and hero... No.

...Ms. Fran Rowan!

(ALL CH EERING) No!

Yes! It's all you. You brought us here.

That's our teacher!

Yeah, thank you.

Shake it.

(WHOOPING)

Oh, God. How did this happen?

Okay, you're expelled. Hope it was worth it.

Oh, no. All right, I don't even know...

(FLUTTERS TONGU E)

Do you have You Took Advantage of Me by Rodgers and Hart?

Say no. Please say no. MAN: Yep. we have it!

They have it!

Good. Perfect!

MAN: Yeah, Rodgers and Hart.

(SINGING) A mental deficient

You will grade me

I've given you plenty of data

You came, you saw, you slayed me

And that-a is that-a!

(MUSIC PLAYING)

I'm a sentimental sap, that's all

What's the use of trying not to fall?

(ALL CH EERING) I have no will

You've made your kill

'Cause you took advantage of me

She's amazing!

Of course she is.

I'm so hot and bothered, that I don't know

My elbow from my ear

I suffer something awful every time you go

It's worse when you're near

Here am I with all my bridges burned

Just a babe in arms where you're concerned

So lock the doors

Lock that door!

And call me yours

Because you took

You took advantage of me

(ALL CH EERING)

N EIL: Oh, my God, that was amazing!

Why are you guys so boring in class

and so great at karaoke tonight?

Why didn't you ever bring us there before? That was so much fun.

I know. I should've done it before.

You know, that was so great, because it's not about you.

It's about the audience, and I really saw that. It was great.

I know. You know what else is great?

That girl gave me her number. That was a guy, Neil.

Irregardless, I was flattered.

Joy, you were on fire. It was unbelievable. Thank you.

I mean, it was so cute and good.

And completely ambushed by Kevin.

Hat's off. Wait, one thing.

How come you never sang in front of us until tonight?

Oh, my God. Because I'm the teacher. Seriously.

You should more often, because you were stellar, man.

I mean, I'm inspired. Speaking of...

So do you ever perform, ever? Like...

Do I what?

Recently, any of these days, do you ever perform?

No, no. No, no, no. You should.

KEVIN: Yeah. Gosh.

Especially for your students. Well, why...

No, no. Too much. Can't...

Why did you quit? Huh?

Why did you quit?

It's... Why did I... Um...

(LAUGH ING) She's like, "What..."

It's not a good... It's a boring story. It's long and boring.

No, really. Why did you quit?

(CH UCKLES)

Um... Well, let's see.

You know, I went to college and I was a little, happy theater major

and all bright and shiny and everything.

And graduated from college and moved to the big city

and started getting out there and auditioning, and I did the whole thing.

You know, I did all the cattle calls and the whole nine yards.

I don't know, after a while I just kind of started feeling like

it really wasn't meant to be.

But, you know, I mean,

sometimes when I go see a Broadway musical,

I just kind of sit there and think,

"You know, I could've done that.

"I totally could've done that."

I think. I think. I think I could've.

Now, look, man, you said there was something interesting about it, though.

Yes. There is.

Her.

Look, you don't come across a voice like that every day.

Hold up, man. She didn't even want to sing!

Look, you need to find different producers.

You know? Work with Pharrell, Ronson, Timbaland.

No, look, I'm the producer, man. I make the tracks, right? Me.

And I found her. She wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me.

Look, guys, I'm sorry. That's just the way this business works.

Look, you're young.

All right, you're just getting started,

but right now this is her time to shine.

Look. Give me an opportunity to do this for you.

We're doing 360 deals that will blow your mind.

We just joint ventured with Live Nation.

Clear Channel's giving us 1,000 spins of anybody that we want.

Listen, I worked on Alicia Keys' record.

I worked on Lauryn Hill's record.

I know what to do for you. But you gotta trust me. Let's do this.

Come on, let's go.

This is bullshit. And you know it.

Wait, wait. Hold, hold on.

Now, you were born to do this. You know that.

You know what, thank you, but I can't. I just can't...

I know they're your friends.

But what I'm trying to do for you could make you a star.

Look. Just take my card and think about it, all right?

MALIK: Denise! You coming?

(SIGHS)

So, this is all I've been able to come up with for the moment,

'cause my financiers were slightly shallow...

Don't worry about the money. I mean, we'll shoot some scenes.

Okay. We'll cut a mini-trailer.

We'll use that to get more money.

I'm feeling it. I mean, I've already got this storyboard thing going with...

I've got some visuals here.

I thought I could run this by you. Right, right. Yeah!

I have a shot list in my bag somewhere if you'd like to see it now.

You just get into your process. Sure.

I've already talked to my friends at Sundance.

This is exactly what they're looking for.

That's incredible. Let's make a movie. Let's make a movie.

Excuse me.

Hi, I'm looking for Andy Matthews' trailer.

Is he expecting you?

Yeah.

Right this way.

So what's going on?

Um...

We were gonna go see your casting director, right?

At least that's what you said on the phone.

Right. Yes. No, no, no. Totally. She's actually out today.

She has a flu.

Wow. I'm so sorry. Well, then I should come back another time...

No, no, no, no. She said that we could put a scene on tape for her.

Yeah. No, that's fine. That's great.

Okay. Perfect.

So, I have a scene coming up this afternoon if you want to run that one.

Yeah, sure, that'd be good.

Okay.

Um...

It's... Yeah, it's a scene where

we're coming back from a party and we're just at my apartment.

Just relax. Here.

You're gonna be great.

Thanks.

So I told her a lot of stuff about you, you know.

I told her you're the prettiest girl at Performing Arts.

Thanks. It's true.

So, what we're gonna do here,

we're just gonna slate. Okay.

Okay. It's like name and age, and then we'll get going with the scene.

Okay.

And go.

Hi, I'm Jenny Garrison and I'm 17 years old.

(CH UCKLES)

Perfect.

(CLEARS TH ROAT)

And action.

"The music was so loud, I had to get out of there."

"Well, Maddy, I'm so glad you brought me with you.

"You know how I feel about you.

"Or at least I hope you do."

Andy, you actually have still another line. Right.

Yeah, that line. I like to improvise. It's kind of my thing.

You know? I'm sorry.

No. It's okay. Just don't stop the scene again.

Okay. You want to be an actress, right?

Right, of course.

You gotta be ready for whatever they throw at you.

I mean, our job, as actors,

is to make the audience believe what's really going on.

Right. I remember learning that at P.A.

Am I wrong? No, not at all. That's exactly... Yeah.

No, that's it. Perfect. Okay.

Let's try it again?

Yep. Let's do it.

Okay.

And action.

The music was so loud, I had to get out of there.

Maddy, I'm so glad you brought me with you.

I mean, you know how I feel about you.

Or at least I hope you do.

Andy. Jesus, Jenny.

Look, I don't understand it. You're not getting it.

I mean, do you know how many girls would die for this opportunity with me?

Yeah. And I'm sure you've had every one of them in this trailer.

No, probably not every one of them.

Look, is this even an audition or do you have a collection of these tapes?

I might have a few.

Look, Jenny. No. You came here.

Okay, what did you think was gonna happen?

We were gonna talk about our craft?

I don't do that.

Okay, you don't, but I do. Right.

No, look. Stop it, okay!

Can you just leave me alone? Jenny.

Just leave me alone!

Wait. Andy? What about Andy?

Andy invited me to set to meet a casting director.

And we went into his trailer. And...

Well, I... Jenny.

Well, did he try something on you?

Kind of.

I knew it! I knew this was gonna happen.

Marco! I told you

about this asshole from the beginning.

But you still went behind my back.

I know. And I'm sorry, but I...

Look, I thought that maybe if he did want to flirt, just a little bit,

that it would be fine if I...

What, if you got the job?

You know what, Jenny?

If becoming famous is so important to you,

then go for it. I'm done with this.

Marco, I... Hey, you know what?

I hope you really get the role. I really do.

N EIL: What do you mean, I can't have my camera equipment?

You see, I already gave the check to my producer.

So, this is a matter of... Sir, there's no...

You are not registered on the computer. Right.

Neither you nor your producer are here. Okay.

I cannot do that.

At the same time, this film is fully funded.

I don't care. It may be. He just called me.

He goes, "Earl's gonna help you out." You're not helping me out, Earl.

I would love to help you out, but there's nothing I can do. I cannot...

You know what, let's check the name again.

I've checked the name already three times...

Please just check the name again. Let's do it again. Come on.

B-A-C-Z-Y-N-S-K-Y. I know how to spell it.

I tried it three times. Earl, please help me here.

I would love to help you, but it's not there. There's nothing I can do.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Eddie, it's Neil.

(BLACK AND GOLD PLAYING)

You remember how you asked me to write you that letter of recommendation?

Of course.

Well...

I'm sorry, but I can't write you that letter.

Sometimes we get students who are promising,

but they never progress past that early promise.

(SINGING) If the fish swam out of the ocean

I know you want to be a ballet dancer,

but I don't believe that's going to happen for you.

Not on a professional level.

And the stars fell out of the sky

And my tears rolled into the...

I work harder than anyone else.

I'm sorry, Kevin.

You're just not a strong enough dancer.

...set my world into motion

'Cause if you're not really here

You will never, in my opinion,

be able to support yourself as a dancer.

It's my responsibility to tell you that.

Black and gold

Black and gold Black and gold

Black and gold

'Cause if you're not really here

You should continue your year here at P.A.

But you need to be prepared.

Black and gold Black and gold

Kevin, there are students who are going to get picked up

by Ailey, City Ballet, Complexions.

And there are other students who are going to have to pursue other options.

Like,

you might make a wonderful teacher.

JOY: Maybe you're right. J EN NY: I know, I'm so proud of you.

It's Sesame Street. Okay, who doesn't know Sesame Street?

Everybody grew up with it at some point. Cookie Monster!

JOY: Okay, okay...

MAN: (SINGING) You made me want you

And all the time I guess you always knew

You made me happy sometimes

You made me glad

No. No?

See, there are some people that like crispy cookies

and some people that like gooey... I don't like...

And so, if I could create my perfect Sesame Street cast...

No, see, you see, if I could make my ideal Sesame Street cast...

The puppets...

(TRAIN APPROACH ING)

Kevin!

Did he call you again?

Yeah, he called me again.

So does he want you to record an album or something?

Yeah. He wanted me to work with Damon and Poyser, whoever those people are.

What'd you say?

I told him no.

Because of your pops?

(SIGHS) No.

What? Because of us?

(EXHALES) Yes, because of us.

It's you, me and Malik. That's it. Package deal.

Denise, look, I... I don't wanna keep you from your dreams, all right?

That man's right, you were born to sing.

Jesus, Victor! Enough already.

(SCOFFS)

Before you and Malik,

I didn't even realize I could sing that music.

That I loved that music.

I didn't even know who I was.

You guys believed in me,

so I'm not gonna sell you out.

And that's that.

Now, can we get back to practice?

(CH UCKLES)

Yeah.

I've been calling you and texting you.

Left a few messages and you don't even respond.

And I didn't see you at school. What's up with that?

I'm sorry. It's been crazy. I've been so busy getting ready and stuff.

Busy? Doing what?

I got into Complexions.

Complexions? What's that?

Only the greatest modern dance company in the world.

They want me for a world tour.

What?

Wait, are you serious?

Yeah.

(LAUGH ING)

Oh, my God.

That's what I'm talking about. What did I tell you?

It's gonna be a lot of work.

I bet. What's it like? Give me details.

Twenty-two cities. We start rehearsing next week.

Next week? What about school?

I'm dropping out.

Your parents will let you?

Are you kidding? They've put me in dance class since I was five.

They're thrilled.

Oh.

That's great.

I know I should have told you sooner, Victor. I'm sorry.

We'll still, like... We'll still see each other, right?

When you come back to visit your parents. Right?

Alice, baby, come on.

Victor, listen. It's not just us.

A lot of my friends say that after P.A.,

you just go on your separate ways.

It's just the way the world works, Victor.

That's just how it works?

Hey, Malik.

What happened to your dad?

What?

Your dad. Where is he?

Mrs. Simms?

Joy. Come in.

Have a seat, dear.

MR. DOWD: Come here.

Come and have a seat. I want to talk to you.

I think we both know why I asked to see you.

Your grades.

I'm your teacher, Malik. And I want an answer.

The oldest story in the book, all right? He left.

After Ayanna was born. Didn't even come back for her funeral.

Was there anyone there to take his place?

I tried to make it work for as long as I possibly could.

I know.

You know how I feel about P.A.

But I'm working on the show all the time now.

And I... I just...

I don't know what to do.

Everything you're ashamed of,

all the parts of yourself that you keep secret,

everything you want to change about yourself,

it's who you are.

That's your power.

Deny it and you're nothing.

And you'll never be much of an actor.

This school is here to develop you as an artist.

And when you're ready, send you out there to go to work.

Are you ready?

Now, you're good, Malik.

But you've got to start breaking down those walls

and accept your circumstances.

Just tell the truth.

Nobody cares about that shit.

Yeah, maybe so.

But I do.

You all right?

Why the hell are you so nervous?

MALIK: Cool. You invited them.

No, not exactly.

What does that mean?

I told them some kids from school were performing

who were, I don't know, musically gifted.

Wait, so they don't know you're singing tonight?

No.

But do they know it's hip hop?

I told them, "Classical jazz."

Oh, it's gonna be good tonight.

Oh, yeah.

(BOTH SN ICKERING)

You sure you don't want anything to drink?

I'd love one, but I'm gonna be paying my dad back till I'm 30.

I can't afford a drink.

You don't mind if I have a sip of yours, though, right?

Look who it is. Look who it is.

(WH ISPERS) Mr. Dowd.

(CH UCKLES)

Yeah, sorry, guys, I gotta go.

How've you been?

I've been okay.

That's good.

I've been thinking a lot about you.

Yeah, I have, too.

I think about how I hurt you

and it kills me. I'm so sorry.

I went there for all the wrong reasons and I know that now.

Things will probably never be the same between us, but...

MAN: Mike check, one-two, one-two.

Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive me?

Hey, guys, the show's about to start.

Coming.

Listen.

Let's just talk about this later. Okay?

All right.

MAN ON SPEAKER: Yo, what up, everyone? How y'all feeling tonight?

Come on, let me hear y'all.

CROWD: Yeah!

Come on, y'all can do better than that.

Look, look, look. we got a special group for y'all tonight,

straight out of the Performing Arts High School.

How y'all feel about that?

I got a question for y'all.

How many people here have gone to the Performing Arts?

Okay, raise your hands. Let me see. Let me see.

I see you. Okay, one, two, ten. Okay, good, good.

So look, look, tonight is their first performance ever...

Good luck, girl. ...so try not to be too mean, all right?

Just give it up, people. Give it up.

(CROWD CH EERING)

(RAPPING) You want to know my life?

well let me give you a backdrop

I was born in the era of the flattop

Low-cut Air Jordans with the black socks

When Run-DMC was chilling with Ad-Rock

Mom was broke and Dad did crack rock

So I hit the streets to keep the padlock off our apartment door

Me and my mans holding the 'four

Standing in front of the stash spot

Until one day my little sister got popped

It took away my whole life in a snapshot

And it might sound gory But that's the unfortunate story

Between the "haves" and the "have-nots"

Between the "gots" and the "ain't-gots"

I was tired of not getting so I got on the go

Everybody worldwide got to get it for sure

Get on your job, get on your grind Get on the flo'

Now let's go

Yeah, come on

(SINGING) Baby, get on the floor Come and shake it with me

So high we're not coming down

we ain't coming down Baby, get on the floor

'Cause I know you believe Yeah

We've come too far to turn back now Tell them, baby

Don't want to think about yesterday

Or the time that slipped away

Or the things that people say

'Cause I'm just living my life Living my life

And I can have anything if I choose it

And I'm ready and willing to prove it I like the way you move it

I like the way you do it, yeah So let's get down tonight

It's time to show me what you got Show me what you got

Keep it moving, please don't stop Don't stop

Don't want to wait until tomorrow

All we got is here and now All we got is here and now

No need to let these moments go by

we got one night One night

One life One life

So come take this chance with me Yeah

Baby, get on the floor Get on the floor

Come and shake it with me Just shake it

So high we're not coming down

Baby, get on the floor Get on the floor

'Cause I know you believe Yeah

We've come too far to turn back now Don't turn back now

Too far, too, too, too far Too far

Too far Come on

Yeah, what's up, everybody? Give it up for the band!

(ALL CH EERING)

Yeah!

Thank you for coming out.

I'm Malik. That's my boy Victor on the keys.

And on vocals...

what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Denise!

I say everybody Everybody

Keep moving to the beat Move to the beat, y'all

If the feeling that you're feeling is true

It's true, baby It's true, baby

I say everybody Everybody

I want to see you on your feet On your feet

'Cause the music's got me feeling brand new

Baby, get on the floor

Get on the floor, y'all

Shake it with me

Just shake it

we're not coming down

Baby, get on the floor

'Cause I know you believe

Too far to turn back now

Baby, get on the floor I know you like it, baby

So high we're not coming down we're not coming down

Baby, get on the floor 'Cause I know you believe

We've come too far

We've come too far to turn back now

Yeah, yeah

DEN ISE: Daddy... Denise, I can't believe

you tricked us into coming here tonight.

I thought it was a school event.

I had to. There was no other choice.

And who were those boys you were up there with?

They're my friends. I...

And when the hell did you start singing?

I just want you to know that this is completely unacceptable.

You know what? If you can't accept this, then you can't accept me.

Because this is who I am.

Playing piano isn't enough for me anymore, Daddy.

Sitting in an orchestra, invisible. I hate it!

That's it! I'm pulling you out of that school.

I don't care if there's three months left.

But... What? No.

I have been watching Denise play the piano all her life and she is good.

And she practices and she's done everything we asked her to do.

But she doesn't love it.

She went to school to be...

You will stay at that school and we will support you no matter what.

Now, wait...

There will be no more discussion.

There are some things success is not.

It's not fame. It's not money or power.

Success is waking up in the morning

so excited about what you have to do

that you literally fly out the door.

It's getting to work with people you love.

Success is connecting with the world and making people feel.

It's finding a way to bind together people

who have nothing in common but a dream.

It's falling asleep at night knowing you did the best job you could.

Success is joy and freedom and friendship.

And success is love.

What are you doing here? You're not graduating.

True, but my best friend is. I bought you a present.

Oh, my God! Where did you find this?

I thought the Gucci print might be a little too much, but I thought you'd like it.

No, it's perfect.

(CH UCKLES)

What happened to all your stuff?

It all went home already.

What do you mean?

I'm going back to lowa.

But I thought we talked about you staying here,

doing dance class and Broadway...

Joy, Joy, Joy.

I'm lucky. I have a place to go.

I'm gonna take over my mom's dance studio.

And I'm gonna be the best goddamn dance teacher there ever was.

(SIGHS)

Four years of ups and downs,

of wonderment and disappointment,

of ennui and joy.

It was everything I'd ever hoped for.

And scene.

WOMAN: Congratulations! MAN: Can I take a picture?

(IN DISTINCT CHATTER)

MAN: Over here.

Hi. Hi.

MAN ON PA: Welcome, everyone, to the New York High School of Performing Arts

graduation and performance. I got us seats right here.

we ask that you now turn off all your cell phones

and please refrain from any flash photography

during the performance.

Thank you very much and enjoy the show.

(SINGING) Countless hours of learning more

Countless hours of knowing less

Can't look behind you

You have to look ahead

So many doubts running through your mind

All the excuses Don't have the time

All the rejection you have to leave behind

Leave it all behind Leave it all behind

Hold your dreams

Don't ever let it go

Be yourself

And let the world take notice

You'll find strength

when people bring you down

They will see

If you would only

Only believe

Someway, somehow Yeah, yeah, yeah

Don't give up now Don't give up

Don't be afraid

To succeed To succeed

Yeah

Someway, somehow Come on, everybody

The time is right now It's our time, yeah

Don't be afraid

To succeed To succeed

Yeah

Hold your dreams

Don't ever let it go

Be yourself

And let the world take notice

You'll find strength

when people bring you down

They will see

If you would only

Only believe

(AU DIENCE CH EERING)

Remember, remember

Baby, look at me and tell me what you see

You ain't seen the best of me yet

Give me time I'll make you forget the rest

I got more to me

And you can set it free

I can catch the moon in my hand

Don't you know who I am?

Remember my name Fame

I'm gonna live forever

I'm gonna learn how to fly High

I feel it coming together

People will see me and cry Fame

I'm gonna make it to heaven

Light up the sky like a flame Fame

I'm gonna live forever

Baby, remember my name

Remember, remember, remember, remember

Remember, remember

Baby, hold me tight

'Cause you can make it right

You can shoot me straight to the top

Give me love and take all I've got to give

Baby, I return

Too much is not enough

I can ride your heart till it breaks

Ooh, I've got what it takes

Remember my name Fame

I'm gonna live forever

I'm gonna learn how to fly High

I feel it coming together

People will see me and cry Fame

I'm gonna make it to heaven

Light up the sky like a flame Fame

I'm gonna live forever

Baby, remember my name

Remember, remember, remember, remember

Remember my name Remember, remember

Remember, remember, remember, remember

Remember my name Fame

I'm gonna live forever

I'm gonna learn how to fly High

I feel it coming together

People see me and cry Fame

I'm gonna make it to heaven

Light up the sky like a flame Fame

I'm gonna live forever

Baby, remember my name My name

Remember my name

(CAN'T HIDE FROM LOVE PLAYING)

Nowhere to run Nowhere to hide

No time for games Time to decide

The pressure's on

It's got to be right

Won't be detoured by foolish pride

Gotta work just a little

Just a peek for something committal

Got to find somewhere in the middle

So confusing with my feelings

I'm just lost in the fever

It takes time for true feelings

But I can't seem to fight it

No matter how I try

You can't run from love

You can't push and shove

'Cause no matter what Love will always catch you

You try your best to speed up

But you don't measure up

There's nowhere to hide Love will always catch you

You can't run from love

You can't push and shove

'Cause no matter what Love will always catch you

You can't hide from love Can't hide from love

Can't hide Love will always

How do I feel?

what do I say?

I'm on the spot Today's the day

Decision time What should I do?

Should I deny or give in to?

Gotta work just a little

Just a peek for something committal

Got to find somewhere in the middle

So confusing with my feelings

I'm just lost in the fever

It takes time for true feelings

But I can't seem to fight it

No matter how I try

You can't run from love

You can't push and shove

'Cause no matter what Love will always catch you

You try your best to speed up

But you don't measure up

There's nowhere to hide Love will always catch you

You can't run from love

You can't push and shove

'Cause no matter what Love will always catch you

Can't hide from love Yeah

Can't hide from love Come on

Can't hide Love will always

Through all my shades you shine so bright

Move, you do it You do it like

Nobody It's plain to see

Your TNT is dynamite

Your fuse I'd gladly ignite

For your bomb madly recite

Stadium status 'cause you're the baddest

midnight train since Gladys Knight

Girl, you know we got a problem, right?

I salute you like stars and stripes

Introduce you to all these sights

'Cause that's what you've been waiting for all your life

I know you like that fancy stuff

Make a nigga wanna take advantage of

Yes, I'm calling 'cause I'm falling

For you and cannot be hurt Let's go

You can't run from love

You can't push and shove

'Cause no matter what Love will always catch you

You try your best to speed up

But you don't measure up

There's nowhere to hide Love will always catch you

You can't run from love You can't run

You can't push and shove

'Cause no matter what Love will always catch you

Can't hide from love Can't hide from love

Can't hide from love Can't hide

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