The Study of Leonard Hughes
8.29.2005
by Brock H. Brown
FADE IN:
The sound of a jet engine ROARS into existence.
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. BOXING RING – STANTAFORD MATCH
A DEFT PUNCH TO THE JAW! GREGG STANTAFORD goes down like a ton of bricks. Standing over him is BOLIE ROBINSON (25), a chiseled man oozing formidability and radiant anger. The drunken SHOUTS of the crowd obviously favor him.
KNOCKOUT! Ladies and gents, your champ –
Bolie Robinson, THE EVERLAST!
CUT TO:
Bolie is still in the ring. In front of him stands a NERDY REPORTER and at his side is his striking, curvaceous GIRLFRIEND. She obviously doesn’t want to be there.
Bolie, you’re young, rich and have a
fantastic career. 5-0! Your next opponent,
“Dancin’ Jackson Lavigne” is a firebrand.
Thoughts on the outcome?
Bolie smiles like this is the question he’s been waiting for.
Look at me. Look. Two things separate me
from Lavigne, two things that I will now
rattle off to you so you can print them
in your little paper. One – Dancin’ Jackson
doesn’t like hurting people. The difference?
I do… In fact, I wish the gloves weren’t
there so I could feel the blood on my bare
knuckles. Decadent.
Bolie’s Girlfriend tugs his arm embarrassedly.
Bolie – Please…
He shrugs her off.
Two – When this fight is over, I will be
remembered. Dancin’ Jackson will not.
Why? Simple: I have the drive to live
forever. That’s something my father
bestowed to me when he died, forgotten by
my all too soon remarried mother. I don’t
want to suffer that. It sickens me. I am
unbeaten in the ring, “The Everlast”. When
I’m dead, there will be two constants in
this world: My legend…and Time itself.
THE NARRATOR (V.O.)
Enter Bolie Robinson, a man and his foolish
challenge.
We pull out to THE NARRATOR standing just outside the ring. A smile rests upon his face – yet, unlike Bolie’s ego-borne grin, this smile seems borne of foreknowledge. The Narrator gestures to the ring behind him.
What Bolie fails to understand is that
his own arrogance will cost him the very
thing he seeks out, the very thing he
lusts. He may be the greatest fighter in
the world, but out there lurks a figure most
unique, a figure with an even greater record
to his name. Yes, Bolie is about to learn
what a real match means.
BLACKOUT
Bolie’s entrance into the ring WIPES the black away. He prances around on the balls of his feet like a conqueror already vindicated.
Before him stands DANCIN’ JACKSON LAVIGNE (26), a wad of a man who glistens with sweat and fear. His lip twitches and the two touch gloves. They walk to their corners… the bell RINGS! The match begins. Dancin’ Jackson turns around from his corner to face Bolie, only, he is Dancin’ Jackson no more. In his place resides a STRUNG OUT, SINEWY and wry YOUNG MAN with a devilish grin playing upon his face. He is clearly no match for Bolie.
Bolie does a double take. Shaking his head, he approaches the center of the ring. The Young Man does so as well. Confused, Bolie can only dance away from the Young Man’s playful swipes. Oddly, he is toying with Bolie. After a few seconds, Bolie gets sick of it and goes in for the K.O.
EXTREME CLOSE UP – BOLIE’S FIST
He PULLS BACK for the kill. He lets it RIP!
With a deft SMACK, the K.O. punch comes to rest in the Young Man’s stomach. Sweat utterly EXPLODES around them! –-
But the Young Man remains standing. Bolie BLANCHES! The Young Man’s own wrist snaps back for the follow-up. Only, with his action, time itself seems to speed up, to blaze forward like grease lightning. A rocket, his uppercut squarely nails a defenseless Bolie on the side of the face.
EXTREME CLOSE UP – POCKET WATCH
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Time moves forward.
CUT TO:
Bolie is down for the count. He tries to shake the blow off. This is when he reaches up to the side of his face to look for blood and finds none. Instead, a jagged scar rests upon his once blemish-free face.
Oh man! That was tough to watch. Bolie
Robinson hasn’t seemed to recover from
his fight years ago with “Dancin’ Jackson”.
The once undefeated champ now seems sluggish
against foe “Bobby One-Two”. Sad to say, his
age is showing.
As we can see, Bolie is indeed older. A new opponent stands over him now, grinning. SUPERIMPOSED over this new opponent though is the visage of the Young Man. He grins knowingly to Bolie underneath layers of muscle and flesh. Bolie twists his head around the ring frantically searching for a familiar face. Next to the ring, his girlfriend shakes her head sadly. Still beautiful, age is starting to show on her as well.
Bolie gets up and dances back a little bit. He tries to get space between himself and the Young Man, who has now resurfaced in place of the Opponent. The Young Man prowls across the ring like a jungle predator. He traps Bolie against the ropes and goes in for a FLURRY of punches. FLASH BULBS GO OFF WITH EACH PUNCH! A final smack keeps Bolie against the ropes.
EXTREME CLOSE UP – POCKETWATCH
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Time marches on.
CUT TO:
The REFEREE has pulled the Young Man away from Bolie. Bolie is reeling.
I tell ya folks this breaks my heart.
Bolie Robinson, once a legend in the ring,
now chases after lost glory. With an assault
like that, it shouldn’t be long before time
catches up with him.
By the ring’s side, his girlfriend’s eyes glisten with tears unshed. She has now aged considerably. And Bolie has as well. Older, sagging, he is no longer the formidable man we once knew. Defeat is imminent.
On the other side of the ring, The Young Man catches his breath. Oddly, with each breath he sucks in, time seems to speed up. The world darkens. And then with each exhale comes the overcrank –- things slow down. A glow is re-infused in the surroundings. The world seemingly breathes with him. Bolie shakes his head dizzily as The Young Man strides up to him.
Tick tock Bolie. Heh, heh…
Bolie’s eyes widen.
It was then Bolie realized that this was
no ordinary opponent. Time had caught up
with him. And his humbling wouldn’t be far
behind.
Bolie jerks forward in a final assault against the eternally young man, against TIME. Blow after blow lands on that smirk. But with each hit Time remains, and Bolie gets a little bit older. TIME finally pushes Bolie away and snaps back for the K.O. Things slow down. The ring darkens. Time glows with the halo of photograph snaps. Then, he unleashes the hit.
EXTREME CLOSE UP – BOLIE’S EYE
The glove approaches!
BOLIE’S P.O.V.
The ring spins around dizzily.
EXTREME CLOSE UP – POCKETWATCH
…TICK…
INSERT: Bolie stands over a defeated opponent.
EXTREME CLOSE UP – POCKETWATCH
…TOCK… We spin away from the watch towards…
SMASH CUT TO:
Bolie lands with an OOMPH against the ring floor. The match is over. His weary eyes stare up at the ceiling.
Bolie Robinson. “The Everlast”.
EXT. RING – NIGHT
A broken and aged man exits the ring. His girlfriend is nowhere to be seen. At the far end of the street, a gang of kids HOOP and HOLLER for the latest up and coming boxer to defeat Bolie. Bolie takes this in somberly. The Narrator casually steps next to him. Bolie doesn’t notice.
(gesturing to Bolie)
Time taught Bolie a lesson in that match;
he taught him that no man can outlast
the effects of age, of the years that
eventually pile themselves on.
Time steps out of the building and hails a Taxi. Bolie watches him with hungry eyes as the car pulls away. Out of his side window, Time/The Young Man, smiles at Bolie, cruelly.
No man can outlive Time, even in legend.
Bolie Robinson, “The Everlast” learned that
in his match against Time. He had defeated
some of the greatest boxers in his youth,
but it was his age that defeated him.
The Narrator steps away from Bolie. The Match is truly over.
- posted by Brock @ 1:08 PM 1 comments
