Cue up “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai, becauseCenter Stageis turning 20.
“I was cast because Nick wanted to get ballet right.
He didn’t want an actor,” she tells EW.
Illustration by EW; Everett Collection
“The studio wanted an actor who could dance and use a body double if they need to.
“He was a huge ballet fan,” she says.
“It was beautiful to dance onstage there,” Schull says.
Illustration by EW; Everett Collection
“I remember getting really choked up being onstage at the Lincoln Center bowing for this fictitious audience.
“Now I would have overanalyzed every detail,” she says.
For Gropman, his job ended up being very easy for all the scenes shot at the Lincoln Center.
Illustration by EW; Everett Collection
“It’s a very iconic theater and it’s so photogenic on film,” he tells EW.
“We were able to be honest.”
“You had to have mirrors that work both for the dancers and for the camera.
Illustration by EW; Everett Collection
We also shot on stage sets for the dormitory rooms as well.”
“They even built foot-washing stations for dancers to rinse their feet off.
Everything about it was perfectly curated.”
Illustration by EW; Everett Collection
“That was a blast.”
“In the late ’90s it was a pretty popular club,” Gropman says.
“It looked perfect, didn’t it?
Illustration by EW; Everett Collection
We didn’t have to do much to that location to make it work.”
It was perfectly appropriate for where a jazz class would take place.
It has that great view, and we added a little bit of neon in the window.”
[Laughs] We didn’t go very far.
We just went around the block but it was cobblestone streets!
I remember thinking, ‘Oh, we’re rebels.'”
“It was cool and bohemian, perfect for Cooper.”
And Schull remembers the loft for being hot but not because of the hookup.
“We’re in Brooklyn, so just consider the muggy factor.
I was wearing tights, a leotard, jeans, a shirt, and an angora sweater.
Between every single smooch I was sopping up sweat.
And it was the very first scene Ethan and I ever shot!”
Who the hell are you?
“That was a brownstone in Brooklyn that we found and loved,” Gropman says.
And their day ends with a ferry ride to see the Statue of Liberty.
“They actually chartered a boat and we went out to sea.
Since she never had to pause a scene to use that bucket, the director took notice.
“I remember Nick complimenting me afterwards for being able to keep it together,” Schull says.
I was very proud of myself.”
A version of this story appears in the May 2020 issue ofEntertainment Weekly, which you canbuy here now.
