Mulan Rooge
CohenTheKitty
Chapter Two
An Untimely Disaster
AN- For any readers not familiar with Moulin Rouge or any who just might not remember it, check out either or for info and pics and such. This story will NOT center around the plot of the film but it might be helpful to know about it.
"Ok Mark, this is the last step, bear with me for a few, eh?"
Mark grunted as he tried to desperately hold onto a new sofa he was helping Roger carry up the stairs to the loft, unable to see over it where Roger was going ahead of him. He shook his head. "When did you become Canadian? And besides, this is so . . .ah . .ah . . .ROGERSAVEME!!!"
Roger had no idea what had happened until Mark had rolled down half the steps to Mimi's floor, where he landed with a 'thunk'. Roger blinked and looked down at the step Mark had been standing on, realized it had indeed not been the last to climb up and when Mark had gone to walk forward he had walked into what was the last step and fallen backward.
Oh, shit.
Roger dropped the sofa and bounded down the stairs after him, lifted his head off the landing, smacking his pale face. "Mark? Mark? Speak to me Mr. Demille!!!!" He looked up when he heard Angel and Collins hurrying up the flight of stairs nearest. "Oh hey guys, wow, are those our costumes???"
"Roger!!!" Angel knelt next to Mark and examined him outwardly.
"Oh right. Yeah he fell."
Angel shot him a look that screamed 'duh' and pointed up the stairs. "So go call an ambulance, dingbat." She was careful not to move Mark at all, looked helplessly at Collins, who was buried in a pile of petticoats and sequins, sparkles and well-tailored suits. She shook her head and pointed up the stairs. "Go set them down and come back down here."
He nodded and went and did as he was told, Roger came whirring down the stairs as he climbed up, nearly sending him off balance. He met Angel where Mark lay unconscious and she shook her head at him as well. "Don't go knocking him down the stairs too."
"What?! I didn't knock Mark down." They sat and sort of stared at him until the ambulance arrived. Roger went with Mark to the hospital and Angel and Collins agreed to meet them there when they had rounded everyone up.
Maureen, Joanne, Mimi and Angel and Collins soon arrived at Mark's bedside, both horrified and concerned. Roger explained what Mark's old, Jewish doctor had told him only moments before. "Um, well, basically he's got a good bump on his head, his arm is broken and he's in a coma."
"He's comatose?" Joanne asked, disbelief oozing from every word. "Well that's just perfect, Roger. What are we gonna do about the movie? We were all so excited. . ." Her and Maureen exchanged disappointed glances at the thought of their project going down the tubes.
"Hey! I didn't like, shove him down the stairs on purpose!"
"You would have!" Mimi shrieked. "You would have because you didn't want to do the movie!"
"Hey, I wasn't the one complaining about who I had to kiss."
"I guess it's all over now. . ."
"Well, there's always work to get back to. . ."
Angel cleared her throat several times but no one seemed to hear her over their bickering and sad discussion. Angel had the silver whistle half-way through her lips when suddenly Collins let out a deafening, low holler of no distinct language pattern until they all were silenced and looked at him and Angel. He smiled triumphantly. "There baby. You have the floor now."
"You are so mine when we get home." Angel purred to him, then turned to the rest of them. "Um, guys? I'd hate to burst your sad little bubbles of disappointment and 'woe is me', but we can still do the movie, and then you know, give it to Mark when he wakes up. As a little present."
Chatter started up again and confusion regarding the writing of the script and who would direct and all that jazz when Collins cleared his throat and opened his mouth to holler again, and when they all saw this, everyone become deadly silent. He grinned proudly at Angel, who proceeded to move slightly closer to him. "Right, well whoever isn't on screen can direct, so we'll take turns. As for the script, we'll use what Mark has so far, and then go from there. Um, Roger. You can write the script with me."
Mimi was practically spitting on his back, like an enraged cat suddenly doused with water. Collins opened his mouth and she shot him a deadly glare. "I swear to God, ONE thing comes out of you and I'll shove my entire fist down that throat, Collins!"
Collins, needless to say, was from thence on silent.
The introduction to the movie, involving Roger singing/speaking as a heartbroken Christian as he revealed that the love of his life was dead, and that he had first come to Paris one year ago, during the summer of love. They were all ecstatic to see Christian and Satine's world in small Montmarte Paris was full of Bohemians and their ideals of truth, beauty, freedom and love.
They learned that Angel came into this scene, and Collins had a brief cameo, as well as Mimi, so Benny would be forced to direct and hold the camera. Angel and Roger, with some of Mimi's most insistent help choreographed that scene and the meeting of the Bohemian's, where Mark's script had ended, and then they filmed it, with over 21 takes, not too bad for beginners.
The writing of the next scene would be crucial, but Angel didn't feel she could introduce Satine properly for what she was, so she left it to Roger after giving him lyrics to 'Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend' and lecturing him about how important it was to stick with the plot. Bright and early the next morning a lazily smiling Roger plopped his first bit of the script in front of Angel.
This is how it began.
SCENE TWO- Sparkling Diamonds
Setting: Christian and the Bohemians go to the Moulin Rouge where Harold Zidler and his 'Diamond Dogs' perform their ideals for them and the other hundreds of patrons that show up. Everyone dances until Christian and the Bohemians slip past Zidler unnoticed, and Satine descends from the ceiling in the climax of song on a sexy trapeze in a sexy sequined outfit that wasn't too slutty but still made the mens mouths water. Her hair is piled under a feminine tophat and arms are covered in sliky black gloves. . . .
Angel looked up at Roger, one neatly trimmed brow raised high on her forehead. "Don't answer too quickly, but you had a blast writing this, didn't you Roger?" Collins began to chuckle behind her and mumble something about 'lotion and Kleenex' and Roger blushed bright red and only nodded in response to Angel, who, to his utter surprise, seemed to like his intro for the courtesan. Then he made some comment about 'whiplash' and Collins shut up instantly while Angel grinned over at him.
They spent the remainder of that day and much of the next morning choreographing that scene and busting major ass to get everyone timely and precise. Mimi was actually rather excited about her entrance, despite Roger's state of mind while writing it. She added fishnets to the costume, naturally, and several 'whoops' to her singing and dialogue.
They broke for that evening to eat dinner and speak and at around 8:00 resumed filming. After a few technical difficulties (Roger SWORE that that damned wire had been there when Mimi had first leapt off the trapeze!) they wrapped at around midnight and agreed to get a few scene written before they filmed anymore.
So while parts of the script were slowly churned out they all worked to learn what they had previously gotten so as to be ready for when they would shoot again, which was to begin, as Angel had warned 'bright and early Monday morning!'. Today was a Friday. Angel and Collins left the Space cuddling and giggling to one another, Roger wore they had the libido of high school kids.
He watched them slowly turn out the door in a lip-lock and shook his head, grabbed his things and combed his hair, moved to the door. He froze at the makeshift girls dressing room door and listened, he thought he heard crying and it sounded a lot like Mimi. He sighed sadly and shook his head, left the Space to return home and call the hospital to see if there had been any change with Mark.
He spent the night playing his guitar silently with nothing to eat, images of how happy Collins and Angel were dancing through his head, images of just how happy he and Mimi could be dancing with them and images of the parallels his own, well, their own story were beginning to slowly draw.