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I was always embarrassed by it.
But it suited our purposes.
Steve didnt like me to say this, but the idea of the ropes?
Part of it was to keep out the street people.
You know, it was very bohemian, New York then.
Nobody had anything to lose.
(So nicely that President Obama gave him a presidential pardon.)
(He likes that comparison.)
He considers it exploitative.)
But they still have the chopped salad, with anchovies, that Schrager remembers.
Were here to discuss Matt Tyrnauers newdocumentaryabout Studio.
And I wasnt interested in all that.
And she said and here deploys his Tina imitation voice Oh!
you’re able to tell them if they are dead!
It does more than just that, though.
In the documentary, he admits that My father wouldnt have liked his doing so.
Especially if you want to make a film which is at all respected and even possibly admired.
Schrager and Rubell are Brooklyn boys of a jot down, the hustling children of a hustling generation.
Im lucky, Im lucky, Schrager says.
Being raised in Brooklyn and having that hunger.
(Im a go-through-the-wall throw in, he says.
I want to get it done.)
(I wouldnt give up.
I guess that resonated with him.)
They were on the cutting edge for everything.
I would go to the gay nightclubs and there was this vibe: There was sexeverywhere.
And it was different from picking up a girl.
There was a raw spontaneity and energy about the whole thing.
You would see the dance floor like a wave.
I think now, and you always have to look back for connect the dots, he says.
He had relationships with women, but I dont think there was intimacy involved.
He was in denial, I suppose.
I ask him if he was in denial of Rubells being in denial, and he stops me.
I was the last person he told.
I could care less.
According to the documentary, Rubells mother didnt seem clued-in either, even at his death.
You cant argue that the gays havent been good to them, though.
Klein reportedly gave them a blank check.
And you also cant argue the press hasnt been good to them, too.
Or theyve not been good to the press.
Feeding the beast, as Schrager puts it.
Thats how freewheeling the whole thing was, Schrager tells me.
Nobody gawked at him.
That was the reason for the door policy.
Of course with Liza and Andy and Bianca (and Truman Capote and O.J.
And all that attention went to their heads.
Only the mafia does better.
Theres nobody who was as effective as Roy, he says, still a bit amazed by this.
We got busted by the chairman of the state liquor authority.
And we got our liquor license back.
Howd Cohn end up their lawyer?
He was just a very effective guy, and did things nobody else could do.
And during McCarthy, I suppose.
And he brought that to New York.
Schrager and Rubell knew Trump too, of course.
And after the election, I got a lot of calls about Roy and about Donald.
I wanted nothing to do with it, he says.
And now Tyrnauer is making a doc about Cohn, which hes declined to participate in.
I know about all the bad things which Roy did.
And Im not going to talk about that.
And if I go into there and say good things, Im going to look like an idiot.
Besides, Roy hurt us in the end, giving too aggressive advice after the bust.
Today I wouldnt be going to Roy Cohn.
I was a different person then.
Hes changed, the citys changed.
Back then, I did things by corner-cutting.
I see articles about that recently.
Ive felt like that for a long time.
Which brings us back to the big question: Why hasnt there been another Studio 54?
Its not because of demographics, or AIDS.
I think so much can be explained in terms of economics.
The club business didnt take much capital, and there werent a lot of rules or regulations.
You just had to like music.
I did my first club for $27,000.
Studio for $400,000.
And there are lots of things involved with nightclubs: noise … drugs … fires.
So there are a lot of regulations.
Rightly so, I suppose.
But it means the Schragers and Rubells of today cant play.
Its a young persons business, and young people cant afford it.
You could do anything here.
And its not like that anymore.
Weve finished our salads.
The owner of the restaurant comes by to say a hearty hello.
Were both grayer!)
Right now, Schragers excited that this movie could cement his legacy in some way.
But at the end of the day, I went along with it.
Ever the canny promotion man, hes been deeply engaged with the process of getting attention for the film.
Ive been saying to everyone who will listen I want to get an Academy Award nomination, he says.
And an Oscar is a good way to get over any long-ago embarrassment.
