Fame

A one, two, three.

"O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,

"that I am meek and gentle... "

Quiet! Quiet down, please!

You got big dreams.

You want fame? Well, fame costs.

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

Remember, remember, remember

Remember, remember, remember, remember

Fame!

Sorry!

Excuse me!

Sorry.

Oh! Excuse me.

Excuse me.

Hey, good luck, Victor.

Thanks, Papa.

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?

I'ma do big things

Group Six, you're up.

Where do you train?

Cedar Falls, Iowa.

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 Iowa 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

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!"

"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.

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.

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.

That's enough.

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

I doubt it. That was superb.

Next!

Five, six, seven, eight!

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!

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.

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.

Do you know where Room 310 is?

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.

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.

"... death, destruction around every corner

"Another dead body and you wanna keep running"

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

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?

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?

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!

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,