As Woody Allen said, the heart wants what it wants. So, why are you here?

Flashbacks Script: Original Script

FLASHBACKS (A BOXING STORY)

FADE IN:
INT. LIVING ROOM -- EVENING
Cheers are heard through the television as a broadcast announcer gives color commentary to the viewers of the night's boxing match. The camera pans throughout a wall that displays picture frames of a boxer in the ring with his hands lifted; a family photo of a husband, wife and little boy (the main character's family) set in a rustic and rugged countryside/ Deep South neighborhood. The camera continues to pan towards a man by himself in front of a case of boxing trophies and belts. The camera tilts down to a little boy, Michael "Mugsy" Fields the main character when he was six years old, staring up at the case.

CUT TO:
INT. DRESSING ROOM -- NIGHT
MICHAEL "MUGSY" FIELDS, a black mid-twenties professional boxer, hangs his head down in contemplation. He is wearing a boxing robe, his hands are taped up as He raises his head to look at himself in the mirror. There are bright lights around the mirror which expose everything evident on his face: fear, hurt, tension and perseverance. It is quiet around him for a time, but the sound of the crowd's chants, the music in the arena, and all the ambient room effects begins to fade in and get louder and louder. He regains composure, leaves the room and begins to walk out to face his contender.

CUT TO:
EXT. THE FIELDS' BACKYARD YEARS AGO -- AFTERNOON
MUGSY, ten years old, is under a tree writing and listening to music in his cassette walkman. His dad rolls up into the driveway after work. He sees his father exit out of his vehicle. MUGSY walks towards the car with a piece of paper in his hand. The son tries to get the dad's attention but the father ignores him and walks into the house as if the son is not there. The son walks away. The paper that he was so proud of at first to give to his father he throws to the ground and walks off screen.

CUT TO:
INT. ARENA HALLWAY -- NIGHT
MUGSY puts the hood of his robe over his head as he walks out into the hallway with his manager and cut-man beside him. A security guard is in front of him to ward off the crowd as MUGSY keeps his head low and his eyes pointed at an angle towards the ground trying to obscure himself and channel his focus to what lies ahead.
But any quiet time he has is filled with past memories and cluttered thoughts.

CUT TO:
INT. LIVING ROOM -- EVENING
MUGSY, eight years old, walks into the living room as his father is sitting at the edge of the couch with his fists swinging in the air. MIKE looks at his father and then looks away at the family's television set as the father is watching an old black and white fight. MIKE sits beside the man, but the man doesn't seem to notice his son-he is completely focused on the boxing match he is watching on the television set. Yet this is the closest MIKE (MUGSY) can get to the father. The fight on television continues to ensue as the battle between the two fight continues. One of the boxers knocks out the other fighter at the same time MIKE's father swings a right hook. MIKE looks at his father. The father looks at his son in excitement and gives him a friendly nudge with his elbow. The boy smiles and moves away. The father waves for him to come forward. The boy approaches as the father gestures for him to swing a punch at him. The boy looks at him and gets really nervous-even scared of his dad. The man assures MIKE that he will be alright and puts his father's hand timidly. In fact his punches are dopey and weak. The father waves his son off and corrects MIKE's swing. The boy starts to mimic what his father just taught him and starts again with his father's hand. He continues to punch his dad's hands and starts to smile as he punches faster and harder. The last time MIKE hits his dad, his father brings a few friendly swings back. The son tries to defend himself by placing his army in front of his body. But his dad hovers over him and gives him a Hugh. There is a pause as the father puts his hands out. The main character goes to give his dad a "pound"-

CUT TO:
INT. BOXING RING -- NIGHT
MIKE taps glove with his opponent, the champion Chavez Juarez aka The Mexican right when he was imagining "tapping gloves" with his father.
INT. BOXING RING/ RINGSIDE ARENA -- CONTINUOUS
The father watches the fight from ringside. The nervous tension is evident by the hat he is squeezing. MIKE looks over towards his father as he walks towards the corner. The FATHER looks at his son

DISSOLVE TO:
INT. BOXING RING-FATHER'S -- NIGHT
The FATHER is going into the ring and fighting the champion of the world: a tall, slender, muscular built Cuban with a
burly mustache and tightly curled, fro-like hair. During the father's fight he was punched, beat and knocked down hard. As he lay on the ground the camera shows the Cuban yelling at him to get up. The ref calls the fight off and the Cuban is declared the champion. He jumps around stage triumphantly and wins the match. The father is brought towards the corner by his manager and cut-man and left to himself. Towels are over his head and he is covered in shame. The bells ring.

CUT TO:
INT. BOXING RING/ RINGSIDE ARENA -- NIGHT
The champion boxer, The Mexican, is sturdy and determined. He is pounding his gloves, moving his mouth and chewing on his mouthpiece. He cannot take his eyes off his contender as he stares him down like hunter upon his prey.

CUT TO:
FULL SHOT BOXING RING -- NIGHT
The boxing ring with crowd around screaming and yelling as bell rings and the fight begins.

CUT TO:
INT. BOXING ARENA -- CONTINUOUS
The Mexican comes out of his corner towards the main character. He is quick and resilient. He dodges punches and exchanges them with his fair share of jabs, right hooks and 1-2 combinations. MUGSY is being brought back from the Mexican's advancement of attack. His legs are becoming weak and he is loosing focus as the champion is gaining momentum. In effort to project himself and get off the ropes in the right corner of the boxing ring, Fields attempts a punch but misses the champion. The Mexican find his opening and strikes a right hook that meets the challenger's temple. Fields is quickly knocked hard to the ground.
CUT TO:
INT. BOXING RING/ RINGSIDE ARENA -- CONTINUOUS
The father jumps out of the seat and stares at the ring in disbelief as people are shocked and amazed. He rushes towards the ring, but he cannot break through the security guards and the throngs of people circling around him trying to reach the ring as well. He watches in horror and disbelief as the paramedics off his son in a stretcher right before his eyes.
FADE OUT:

FADE IN:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM -- NIGHT
The room is dark as MIKE lays in the hospital bed asleep. The father enters slowly-looking quietly behind the door to see if his son is sleeping. He walks towards his son's bed. He looks at his boy and puts his hands on Mike's shoulders in attempt to get his attention. MIKE slowly opens his eyes as he looks towards his father. The father sits on a chair by the bed and goes into the inner pocket of his jacket to take out his wallet. Inside his wallet is an old, folded and weathered piece of paper.

CUT TO:
EXT. THE FIELDS' BACKYARD YEARS AGO -- EVENING
The father comes back outside to throw away the trash. As he walks towards the garbage cans he notices a piece of paper laying on the grass by the trees. Before he was ready to throw it away he opens and notices it is a message from his son. He realizes that when he got back from work his son was trying to give him this note:

CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM -- NIGHT
The father smiles as he places the paper in MIKE's hand. MIKE looks at his father as he picks up the paper towards his face. The camera cuts to a CU of the paper which reads:

DADDY, YOU'RE MY FAVORITE BOXER. I WANT TO BE JUST LIKE YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE THE BEST. I LOVE YOU. YOUR SON, MUGSY.

The son reading the letter remembers the memory. He hands the letter back hurt. The father affectionately takes the letter and goes into his jacket pocket on his side to take out another note. He hands it to his son. The son tired of reading letters but doing it anyway, opens the note which reads:

MUGSY, YOU ARE MY FAVORITE BOXER. YOU ARE BEYOND WHAT I COULD EVER BE. I AM A PROUD FATHER. THANK YOU. I LOVE YOU.

Mike looks at his father surprised by these words. He had never heard any type of expressions like that from his father. He looks towards his dad who is looking at his son with a look of forgiveness.
The camera slowly zooms out as the father and son quietly look at each other.
FADE OUT:

posted by Ben Wyman @ 4:39 PM