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Murray Schisgal who's been my dear friend for over 30 years

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er..kicked off TOOTSIE with the thought of

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how would you be different if you had been born a woman

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in a conversation we had one time

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not what is it feel like to be a woman

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cause at all sexes have asked themselves the question

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what is it feel like to be, what would it feel to be like the opposite sex

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but his question was different

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if you were born a woman

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..how would you be different?

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so that kicked off, which is..um..it would take too long to answer

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how we then got involved in TOOTSIE for..

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..for about 2 years before we even got it directed

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..just working on different drafts of the script

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But I did go to Columbia and I asked them if they would

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spend the money to do make-up tests so that I

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I could look like a woman. And if I couldn't look like a woman

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they would agree not to make the movie.

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And they say: "what do you mean?"

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I just somehow intuitively felt that unless I could walk

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down the streets of New York and not have..err..dressed as a woman..

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..and not have people turned and said: "who's that guy in drag?"

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or turned for any reason,..that..you know.."who's that freak?"

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unless I could do that, I didn't want to make the film

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I didn't want to make the audience to suspend their..their..their..

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their..their believability. When we got to that point

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and looked at it on screen, I was shocked that I wasn't more attractive

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and I said: "now you have me looking like a woman, ..now make me a beautiful woman.."

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because I thought I should be beautiful

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if I was going to be a woman

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I would want to be as beautiful as possible

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and they said to me

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that is as good as it gets..

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er..

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that's as beautiful as we can get you, Charlie!

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and it was at that moment that I had an epiphany

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and I went home, started crying..er.. talking to my wife

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and I said: I have to make this picture

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and she said: why?

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and I said: because, I think I'm an interesting woman

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..when I looked at myself on screen, and I know that if I met myself at a party

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I would never talk to her, that character, because..

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she doesn't fulfill, physically, the demands

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that we're brought up to think

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we have..women have to have

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in order for us to ask them out..

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she said: "what are you saying?"

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and I said: "there's too many interesting women I have..

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..I have..I have not had the experience to know in this life..

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because I have..

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..been brainwashed.


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and ..

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that was never a comedy for me!