"Certainly," Polanski said. He still seemed a little unsettled even as he eased back into his chair and attempted to take on the air of being comfortable.
"Ah -- I just don't really have a sense of the plot," Love began.
"Oh," Polanski replied, "I had assumed Mr. Callow had filled you in."
He rose from his chair and placed a copy of the script in Love's hands. "It's about a self-help guru ," he continued, "who develops a Svengali-like hold on a small group of followers. It's basically exploring self-help as an offshoot of religion rather than of popular psychology. He puts his followers through a series of 'tests'... It's essentially a series of four short films -- a biographical sketch of the leader and three of his followers. I'd just assumed you'd already read the script."
Love found herself feeling very intimidated. She felt now as though, no matter what she asked next, it was fairly probable that a reading of the script would answer whatever question she asked next.
"Did you want to review the script?" Polanski asked after Love had shifted about nervously in her seat for a few moments, unable to think of what to say.
It wasn't as though there weren't things Love wanted to say, like I'm going to kill Frank when I get out of here. He'll wish he'd never been born or Why didn't I do more to prepare for this meeting? But she knew that no matter what she said next would make her sound unprofessional.
"How long are you staying in Italy?" he asked. "Perhaps we could meet again later in the week."
Mon Apr 21 16:37:36 2003