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* FridgeBrilliance: Norma Desmond's theme, the most famous one of the movie, is the kind of music - exotic, epic, sweeping and grand - that suits the movie she ''wants'' to be in, an epic on the scale of ''Film/{{Cleopatra}}'' or ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]''.
* Max is a Troper. A former director, [[GenreSavvy he knows all the classic storytelling devices and clichés]]. He sees Norma and Joe as classic StarCrossedLovers having some BelligerentSexualTension, and works behind the scenes to stir it up and turn it into a real romance. Note the scene where he calls Joe to tell him that Norma has attempted suicide: he doesn't give him any details - doesn't even tell him ''if she's alive'' - guaranteeing that he'll come running to her side. He's constantly manipulating circumstances to get them together...because the narrative demands that they do.
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