Bunuel_Luis_My_Last_Breath

America 129"You're going to have dinner with the man you'll be workingfor," Ugane told me on the way.At seven that evening, I did indeed meet a gorgeous youngwoman and a gentleman with gray hair who was introduced as mysupervisor. (I also ate avocados for the first time in my life.) Notuntil dinner was over did I realize who the man wasÑCharli Chaplin~andthe beautiful woman with him was Georgia Hale, the starof The Gold Rush. Chaplin knew no Spanish whatsoever, but claimedto adore Spain, although his idea of the country was strictly folkloric,composed as it was of foot stomping and a lot of oh.The following day, I moved in with Ugarte on Oakhurst Drivein Beverly Hills. My mother had, once again, given me some money,and the first thing I did was to buy a car (a Ford), a rifle, and a Leica.When my first salary checks arrived, I thought Hollywood, and LosAngeles in general, close to paradise.A couple of days after my arrival, I met aproducer-director namedLevine, one of Thalberg's right-hand men, and Frank Davis, whowas theoretically in charge of my career."Where do you want to start?" he asked me, clearly puzzled bythe vague terms of my contract. "You want editing, scriptwriting,shooting, set design?""Shooting," I answered."Okay. We've got twenty-four sets. Pick any one you want, we'llget you a pass, and you can do whatever it is you have to do."I chose the set where Greta Garbo was making a film; and, passin hand, I walked in cautiously, careful to stay on the sidelines. Themakeup men were fluttering around the star, getting her ready fora close-up, but despite my discretion Garbo spotted me. She signaledto a man with a pencil-line mustache, whispered something, andbefore I knew it, he was standing in front of me demanding to knowjust what I thought I was doing. I didn't know what to say, since Ihardly understood what he'd said. In no time at all I found myselfback out on the lot.From that day on, I stayed quietly at home, never going to the