Photos
Quotes
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[Sam enters the gym]
Sam Sylvia : Okay. I said I'd do anything, so here we fucking are. Okay.
[clears throat]
Sam Sylvia : Hello, ladies. I'm Sam Sylvia. Today, we're just gonna be doing first looks and first cuts.
Ruth : Are there sides?
Arthie Premkumar : I didn't get any sides.
Sam Sylvia : This is how this is gonna go, all right? No more talking. Just sit there, and look at me and smile. Okay?
Cherry Bang : How about you tell us what the hell we're doing here?
Sam Sylvia : Oh... hi, Cherry.
Cherry Bang : Hey, baby.
Sam Sylvia : How you doin', baby? Mm-hmm.
Cherry Bang : Good. This another one of your trashy vampire movies?
Sam Sylvia : What? No. This is not a movie. This is GLOW.
Ruth : Sorry, what's GLOW?
Sam Sylvia : Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. This is a wrestling television show. Only ladies. Lady wrestling. Just like the big guys, but girls. Get it? Girl on girl.
Arthie Premkumar : So like, Hulk Hogan?
Sam Sylvia : If one of you turns out to be like Hulk Hogan, I've hit the fucking jackpot.
[several girls raise their hands]
Sam Sylvia : All right, take it easy. This is what's happening, all right. Yes, this is a wrestling show. And yes, you're all gonna have to actually wrestle on cable television for thousands of people. That means... tit grabs. Cunt punches. Shrinky dinks. That move that looks like a catfight, but fancy. Did I say cunt punches? Okay, good. So, if any of you have a problem with, uh, doing a wrestling show, I suggest you leave now.
[half the attendees begin to leave the gym]
Sam Sylvia : Thank you. Really? You're going? Thank you.
[Sam lights up a cigarette. Jenny is about to walk out when she decides to stay]
Sam Sylvia : What happened there? You just... decided? All right, for those remaining, congratulations. You've made it through the first round of cuts. Pretty painless, right? All right, so I guess what we gotta do now is, I'm gonna sit over there, and you guys are gonna line up, get your headshots out, and I'm also gonna have you sign a waiver in case of, uh, serious injury and/or death.
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Sam Sylvia : Resume gets a little thin after 1979.
Cherry Bang : Movies get a little white after 1979. You've seen my stunts. I can kick. I can punch. I can do horse work, car work.
Sam Sylvia : Yeah, yeah. I know you can double. But can you act?
[Cherry pretends to point a gun at Sam]
Cherry Bang : Freeze, motherfucker.
[Sam puts his hands up]
Sam Sylvia : Next.
[Arthie walks forward, looking at Cherry]
Arthie Premkumar : Wow.
Sam Sylvia : Yeah, I'm gonna need you to do that too.
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[Rhonda hands Sam her waiver and her window blinds ad as her headshot]
Sam Sylvia : You seem to be very versatile with window coverings.
Rhonda Richardson : Well, I'm from London, so...
Sam Sylvia : I don't know what that means.
Rhonda Richardson : Yeah.
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[Sam looks at Carmen's birthday photo]
Sam Sylvia : Your eyes are closed.
Carmen Wade : That's what happens when you blow.
Sam Sylvia : Can you blow with your eyes open?
Carmen Wade : Okay.
[Carmen blows with her eyes open and points at her eyes]
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[Sam looks at Justine's photo]
Sam Sylvia : How old are you?
[pause]
Justine Biagi : Nineteen?
Sam Sylvia : Yeah?
Justine Biagi : Yeah.
Sam Sylvia : Okay, we'll see.
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[Ruth hands her headshot photo]
Sam Sylvia : Ruth Wilder. Looks like you.
Ruth : Yeah. It's a headshot.
[Sam looks at Ruth's credentials]
Sam Sylvia : Oh, Strindberg. Who the fuck is that?
Ruth : Oh, it's a playwright.
Sam Sylvia : I'm kidding. I know who Strindberg is. I'm not an idiot. So what are you, like a... like a real actor?
Ruth : Yeah. I've done a bunch of plays in Omaha. At a little spot called the Blue Barn Theatre. I did a film a few years back. I've also done extensive mask work and clowning workshops.
[pause]
Ruth : How much acting will there be on this show?
Sam Sylvia : As opposed to what?
Ruth : Hair pulling?
Sam Sylvia : You don't like wrestling?
Ruth : Well, I don't really know wrestling.
Sam Sylvia : You don't think wrestling is acting?
Ruth : It's not, is it? It's... It's more like a sport with costumes? Or... sorry, are you... Are you hiring actors to play wrestlers or are we the wrestlers?
Sam Sylvia : Yes.
Ruth : Which one?
Sam Sylvia : Do people think you're pretty? Because, like, I'm looking at you. One second, I think, 'Fuck yeah, she's hot.' And then the next second, I'm like, 'I don't know. Is she? Really?' I mean, you just have one of those faces that kind of... changes. Like, 'Ehh... Hmm.' I don't know.
Ruth : What the hell does that mean?
Sam Sylvia : It means I don't know... Ruth. Ruth. Ruth. That is not a great name.
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[Sam exits his office to face the candidates]
Sam Sylvia : Okay. Five minutes, everybody.
[Ruth storms in the gym, wearing makeup and a wrestling costume]
Ruth : Hey!
[Ruth points at Sam]
Ruth : You're wrong about me.
Sam Sylvia : Yeah, I doubt it.
Cherry Bang : Damn, girl.
[Ruth enters the ring. She takes off her cape and struggles to throw it out of the ring]
Ruth : How long must this... go on? This punishment? Haven't I served my term?
[stomps on ring]
Ruth : Can't I apply... for a pardon?
[grabs stool and threatens to throw it]
Ruth : You know what I feel like? I feel... all the time... like a cat...
[hisses]
Ruth : ...on a hot tin roof.
[stomps on ring, then does a forward roll]
Ruth : ...who has come here to save...
[jumps on the turnbuckle and points at the other candidates and Sam]
Ruth : You! And you! And You! From evil.
[gets down from turnbuckle and jumps to the ropes, barely balancing herself]
Ruth : Train. Say your prayers. Eat your vitamins. 'Cause, uh...
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[Debbie slaps Ruth, to the shock of the other ladies]
Debbie : I don't know... I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
Ruth : It just happened.
Debbie : Haven't you learned anything from that sad fucking scene study class? Things don't just happen. People make choices. They want things, and then they go for them.
Ruth : Can we go somewhere and talk about this?
Debbie : I don't wanna fucking talk to you. I wanna... I wanna kick you ass. And then I never want to see you again.
[Debbie chases after Ruth]
Ruth : No!
Debbie : Come on!
Ruth : I'm not gonna fight you!
Reggie Walsh : Fight her! Do it!
Debbie : Come on!
Ruth : Debbie!
[Debbie grabs Ruth from behind, but Ruth hits her in the face with her elbow]
Ruth : I'm sorry.
[Debbie chases after Ruth again]
Debbie : Fucker!
Arthie Premkumar : Is this real?
Melanie Rosen : Who the fuck cares?
[as Sam watches Ruth and Debbie fight, he envisions them in an actual GLOW match. Salty snaps Sam out of it]
Salty 'The Sack' Johnson : Sam! Sam! Should we call it?
Sam Sylvia : Yeah. Call it.
[Salty slides in the ring to count the pinfall, as Debbie has Ruth pinned to the mat and Ruth helplessly looks at Sam]
Salty 'The Sack' Johnson : One! Two! Three!
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Salty 'The Sack' Johnson : Next.
[Ruth and Carmen crawl into the ring, preparing to do the hair mare. Carmen is about to grab Ruth by the hair when Ruth backs away]
Ruth : Please! I beg you! I am not your enemy!
Carmen Wade : You stole.
Ruth : Bread. For my family!
Sam Sylvia : W-What the fuck is this?
Salty 'The Sack' Johnson : Just do the move.
Ruth : We are. We are. We're just motivating it with backstory.
[pause, then Ruth reminds Carmen of her next line]
Ruth : [singing] There is a law...
Carmen Wade : There is a law, and you broke it. And now, you will pay the ultimate price.
[Carmen extends her hand before Ruth approaches to have her hair pulled]
Sam Sylvia : Okay, all right. That's it. Number 30, number 22, thank you.
Ruth : What? Why?
Sam Sylvia : What do you mean, 'Why?' I gave you basic direction. You didn't follow it. You're both out.
Ruth : There are no scenes to read, no character work, so yes, we improvised.
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Sam Sylvia : Jesus Christ. Fucking actresses. All right, I'm feeling generous. Sophie's Choice, why should I pick you and not her? Go. Girl fight.
Ruth : I'm a real actress. I will work my ass off, and I will make you believe me when I do stuff, even if it's just hair pulling.
Sam Sylvia : Well, that was a very nice pitch. Very earnest. What about you?
[pause]
Carmen Wade : My dad's Goliath Jackson.
Salty 'The Sack' Johnson : Holy shit!
Sam Sylvia : Holy shit, why?
Salty 'The Sack' Johnson : He's a giant. I mean... he's a legend in the ring, but he's also literally... gigantic. And the brothers too. Mighty Tom Jackson and Big Kurt Jackson.
Sam Sylvia : No shit.
Salty 'The Sack' Johnson : The Lumberjacksons.
Ruth : The Lumberjacksons?
[Salty shakes Carmen's hand]
Salty 'The Sack' Johnson : It's an honor to meet you.
Carmen Wade : Thanks.
Sam Sylvia : Hard sell, but I'm gonna have to go with the dynasty. You're out.
Ruth : Why? Because my dad was a high school science teacher and not some famous giant?
Sam Sylvia : Maybe. Or 'cause I don't like your face, or your ass. I-I-I don't know. Maybe I like both of them too much. I-I don't... I don't have to explain myself. That's the beauty of being a director. You're out.
[Ruth walks out of the ring]
