Older Teodora Ungureanu: I'm going to marry the handsomest man in the world.
Older Nadia Comaneci: Sorin?
Older Teodora Ungureanu: He doesn't know that yet, but the circus was his idea.
|
Older Nadia Comaneci: Why don't you ask me questions about gymnastics?
|
Bela Karolyi: Nobody's here.
Marta Karolyi: [Phone ringing] I'll get it.
Bela Karolyi: Oh dear... nobody's here today! What shall we do? Where could they be?
[Starts searching]
Bela Karolyi: In here?
[Looks to the foam pool]
Bela Karolyi: Ah ha! In here! Come on come on
[laughing]
Marta Karolyi: Bela?
Bela Karolyi: Yes?
Marta Karolyi: The girls... they're gone
Bela Karolyi: What?
Marta Karolyi: The girls, they've been taken to Bucharest.
Bela Karolyi: That's impossible
Marta Karolyi: It's true, Bela
Bela Karolyi: But we're their coaches!
Marta Karolyi: Not anymore
Bela Karolyi: Nadia too?
Marta Karolyi: All of them
Bela Karolyi: Family. For nine years, Marta, we were family!
|
Bela Karolyi: Nadia! Time to wake up.
|
Older Nadia Comaneci: [sitting by an open window, whispers] Teodora! Teodora! Psst! Over here! Smell that food?
Older Teodora Ungureanu: Do you think they're dancing down there?
Older Nadia Comaneci: Maybe. I know they're eating though.
Older Teodora Ungureanu: I think we should sneak down there, don't you? It's now or never.
Older Nadia Comaneci: Let's go.
|
Bela Karolyi: Nadia, I can teach you what to do but I can't make you do it and I won't do it for you.
|
Bela Karolyi: [playing around with the girls] They like it.
Marta Karolyi: I didn't bring you here to be liked.
Bela Karolyi: Sometimes people can't help themselves.
|
Sorin Cepoi: [Nadia and Teodora at their first party in Bucharest] You must be the other one.
|
Bela Karolyi: You're late again Teodora, that's 200 sit ups.
Older Teodora Ungureanu: [sarcastically] Why not make it 400?
Bela Karolyi: That's a very good idea. Make it 400.
|
Bela Karolyi: She's getting *very* good.
Gheorge Comaneci: But will all this make her happy?
Bela Karolyi: You just saw her, I have to order her to stop.
|
Stefania Comaneci: If you do anything to ruin this for her...
Gheorge Comaneci: For *her*, Stefania? For *her*?
|
Nicholae Vieru: Congratulations.
Bela Karolyi: [packing a kit bag, not looking up] Thank you. It's so great to finally beat the national team.
[looks up]
Nicholae Vieru: Hello Bela.
Bela Karolyi: Nicholae.
Nicholae Vieru: Any new Nadias on the team?
Bela Karolyi: There will never be another Nadia and even if I had one I wouldn't tell you.
Nicholae Vieru: Tell me about Emilia Eberle.
Bela Karolyi: Emilia. Yes. You just saw her.
Nicholae Vieru: Impressive.
Bela Karolyi: She will win another gold before the evening is over.
Nicholae Vieru: How old?
Bela Karolyi: 12. The whole team is 12. They're harder to *steal* when they're 12.
|
Older Nadia Comaneci: Is that how you talk about me when I'm not here?
Older Teodora Ungureanu: No.
Older Nadia Comaneci: You tell everyone I'm fat?
Older Teodora Ungureanu: Look at you Nadia. You are fat.
|
Bela Karolyi: Do you think it's possible for a little girl to fly?
|
Nicholae Vieru: No, no, no. They are not going to Paris. We have better girls here in Bucharest.
Mili Simonescu: Nicholae, you are the expert for men, I for women. Trust me. We have no better girls in Bucharest or anywhere else in Romania. The Karolyis are training champions.
|
Nicholae Vieru: That is another thing. I really do not like your man Karolyi. He is ruthless. He will do anything to win.
Mili Simonescu: Yes. He will. Isn't that wonderful?
|
[Nadia fell off the beam twice during a gymnastics competition to the disgust of her trainers. She is sitting at the back of the bus on the way home, Bela goes and sits beside her]
Bela Karolyi: Don't cry about today.
Young Nadia Comaneci: I'm not crying. I never cry.
Bela Karolyi: You should. So that I can tell you not to. Nadia, the tragedy isn't that you fell. It's that you were the best and you didn't live up to it. You completely lost your concentration
Young Nadia Comaneci: It will never happen again.
Bela Karolyi: You're not serious about gymnastics
Young Nadia Comaneci: Yes, I am
Bela Karolyi: No you're not, you should quit
Young Nadia Comaneci: No.
Bela Karolyi: Did you see *anyone* as bad as you were today?
Young Nadia Comaneci: No.
Bela Karolyi: Neither did I. Quit!
Young Nadia Comaneci: No!
Bela Karolyi: Go back to doing cartwheels if you just want to play.
Young Nadia Comaneci: No! I want to be a champion!
Bela Karolyi: I have a confession to make to you. I've been playing too. When I first met you I only knew four sports. I wasn't even a real gymnastics coach So instead of teaching you what I don't know. I wanna teach you what I do know. I will teach you how to have a runner's strength. The cunning of a handball player, and how, like a boxer to be fearless of pain. Are you interested?
[Nadia nods]
Bela Karolyi: I'm talking about a lot of work, total concentration, total committment, don't take up my time and then quit.
Young Nadia Comaneci: I'll never quit.
Bela Karolyi: No one has ever worked as hard as I'm going to work you.
Young Nadia Comaneci: I shall work.
Bela Karolyi: You do, and you will be the best in the world
|
Older Nadia Comaneci: It's not my fault if people don't pay attention to you.
|
[Watching the young Teodora perform a floor routine]
Bela Karolyi: How can a little girl do that?
|
Older Teodora Ungureanu: So Nadia, how do you like Fort Worth?
Nadia Comaneci: The judges were tough on you.
Older Teodora Ungureanu: It was about right.
Nadia Comaneci: You usually do better. Judges resent the fact that little girls grow up.
Older Teodora Ungureanu: Nadia, gymnastics has changed and we're the ones who changed it. What was once special is now ordinary. I wanted to help the team win if I could but before Fort Worth I had already decided to retire. It's hard being on a team with 12 year olds who are better than I am.
Nadia Comaneci: They're not.
Older Teodora Ungureanu: Not all of them, but they're getting better and I'm getting worse. It's time.
Nadia Comaneci: What will you do?
Older Teodora Ungureanu: Join the circus.
Nadia Comaneci: The circus?
Older Teodora Ungureanu: Yeah. It'll be fun!
|
Young Teodora Ungureanu: Professor, isn't there someone you can call?
Bela Karolyi: Do you speak French? Neither do I.
|
Nicholae Vieru: [about Bela] For years I have put up with that egomaniac.
Mili Simonescu: He's winning.
Nicholae Vieru: I don't like him.
Mili Simonescu: You like him to win, don't you?
|
Older Teodora Ungureanu: [to Nadia] The Russians are going to win *again*.
|
Bela Karolyi: Canada, Marta. We're going to Canada.
Marta Karolyi: Canada? But our girls haven't even been in European competition yet.
Bela Karolyi: I know. That's why we're going to Paris first.
|
Bela Karolyi: [at dinner discussing the upcoming Olympic Games in Montreal] If we don't go. I'll tell everyone why. Including the press.
Mili Simonescu: That would *not* be wise.
Bela Karolyi: Aha. Tell me where are all the wise coaches?
Mili Simonescu: I don't know.
Bela Karolyi: That's because you've never heard of them. Being wise is not what we do best.
Marta Karolyi: Would you like some more, Mili?
Mili Simonescu: Don't tempt me Marta. Be careful Bela. Don't push too hard.
Bela Karolyi: *That* is what we do best.
|
Bela Karolyi: You let her get to the *food*!
|
[in an effort to help the Romanian team win, an injured Nadia decides to compete]
Older Nadia Comaneci: I will compete.
Bela Karolyi: I can't let you.
Older Nadia Comaneci: What does the team need to win?
Bela Karolyi: 9.9
Older Nadia Comaneci: Tell the judges I'm competing. Tell them.
|
Marta Karolyi: [helping Nadia warm up] Are you all right?
[Nadia squirms]
Marta Karolyi: No, you're not all right. What did you eat last night? You went out, didn't you. How could you. Today of all days.
Older Nadia Comaneci: It won't matter.
|
Bela Karolyi: I wonder, wonder, wonder who the other cartwheeler was.
[turns to look at Nadia]
Bela Karolyi: I think you know who it is. And I think that if you give her this card, she'll think about it and fill it out.
|
Older Teodora Ungureanu: I'm sorry.
Older Nadia Comaneci: For what?
Older Teodora Ungureanu: For being jealous. You deserve all your wins.
|
Older Teodora Ungureanu: I took an olympic silver medal next to you and no-one even knows that I was there.
Older Nadia Comaneci: It's not my fault if people don't pay attention to you. I wish they would. I wish they would all go away and leave me alone.
|
[at the Olympic Games]
Bela Karolyi: Don't let *anyone's* reputation intimidate you. All it means is that they *used* to be good, they must prove that they still are.
[Ludmilla Turischeva performs the vault]
Older Nadia Comaneci: [to Teodora] They're still good.
|
Bela Karolyi: How could this happen to her?
Marta Karolyi: You never taught her to control her appetite, you only took away her food. She is completely dependant on you.
Bela Karolyi: Nadia is independent, she always fought with me.
Marta Karolyi: And you always won.
Bela Karolyi: I can't be with her forever. Then what will happen?
Marta Karolyi: That's a very good question.
|
Older Teodora Ungureanu: What do you think?
Older Nadia Comaneci: Let's go home.
|
Older Teodora Ungureanu: [arguing with Nadia] I'm tired of being "Nadia's best friend".
|
Bela Karolyi: What was *that*?
Nadia Comaneci: My new floor routine.
Bela Karolyi: Where are the hand gestures?
Nadia Comaneci: I'm not a little girl anymore. I don't need hand gestures. I'm growing up. Can't you see that?
Bela Karolyi: Growing up. You call arguing with your coach growing up.
Nadia Comaneci: Those hand gestures are childish. I won't do them.
Bela Karolyi: So long as you are in *my* gym you will do it *my* way. Understand?
Nadia Comaneci: Yes.
Bela Karolyi: Yes what?
Nadia Comaneci: Yes. Comrade Professor.
|
Marta Karolyi: [watching Nadia train] Bela, Nadia becomes so involved in her performances that she forgets the audience. She doesn't smile.
Bela Karolyi: Geza! Teach her to smile!
|
Bela Karolyi: Nadia, concentrate. Forget *everything* but the exercise.
|
Mili Simonescu: [talking about Nicholae Vieru] He sees you as the bright stars of our future.
Bela Karolyi: [sarcastically] Yes, I can see that.
|
Older Nadia Comaneci: All you think about is boys.
|
Bela Karolyi: She's getting very good.
Gheorge Comaneci: But will all this make her happy?
Bela Karolyi: You just saw her, I have to order her to stop.
|
[it's the end of the day - Teodora arrived at the school and performed a floor exercise for everyone - everyone has left except her and Nadia]
Young Teodora Ungureanu: You're the best here, aren't you?
[Nadia nods]
Young Teodora Ungureanu: I knew it. Are you jealous?
[Nadia shakes her head]
Young Teodora Ungureanu: Why not?
Young Nadia Comaneci: It was beautiful.
|
Bela Karolyi: I wonder, wonder, wonder who the other cartwheeler was.
[looks at Nadia]
Bela Karolyi: I think you know who it is and I think that if you give her this card she'll think about it and fill it out.
|
Young Nadia Comaneci: [telling her father about school] We run and jump into a big hole full of bouncy things.
Gheorge Comaneci: A big hole full of bouncy things?
|
Bela Karolyi: Do you remember how long a day lasted when you were a child? A week. And a week lasted a month and a month lasted a year.
|
Older Nadia Comaneci: I have often wondered what would have happened if Bela had chosen you in Paris instead of me.
Older Teodora Ungureanu: So have I.
|
Young Teodora Ungureanu: Another delicious carrot stick my dear?
Young Nadia Comaneci: Which one is delicious?
|
Nicholae Vieru: She is not training.
Mili Simonescu: No. She is not. For the first time since she was eight years old. But she will.
Nicholae Vieru: I want you to confine her to the dormitory. And restrict her eating.
Mili Simonescu: You want me to do that?
Nicholae Vieru: Yes. Now. And no visitors.
|
Mili Simonescu: [talking about the upcoming Olympics in Montreal and the difficulties of getting the Onesti team there] You have to see Vieru's problem. Bucharest is the capital. It has the most expensive facilities, the most experienced coaches and supposedly the best gymnasts.
Bela Karolyi: Does Bucharest win medals? No. Onesti wins medals.
|