Battle of the Year

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

That's last year's

Battle of the Year.

It's an international b-boy

competition held in France,

which for the last 15 years

the United States has lost.

I went to a concert

this past weekend,

and I overheard

some high school kids

saying that b-boying

was no longer cool

and it was something

their parents did.

That scared me.

It scared me

because this company,

everything I've built,

started off with b-boying.

It's obviously still

cool over in France.

The government subsidizes

Battle of the Year.

The government is

keeping hip-hop alive.

Still cool in Russia,

Germany,

Korea.

But it's not cool here

where it was founded.

Which would explain why,

domestically,

our sales are down.

Merchandising, record sales,

ticket sales, apparel.

But for the first time

in this company's history,

international sales

are exceeding domestic.

We are in trouble.

Think about it,

if b-boying ain't cool,

how long before

hip-hop isn't cool?

And what will that mean

to our business, our company?

Hey, yo!

Wake up!

Hold on!

Get your ass up.

Come on, man. You can

sleep when you're dead.

Coming.

Dante?

See your maid doesn't

do windows, does she?

What the hell are

you doing here, man?

I've been calling,

you ain't been answering.

I've been busy lately.

All right, well, bring your busy

ass over and open up this door.

This ain't

no prison visit.

You look like sh*t.

Look, if you came

here to sweat me, D...

Came here to make

you a proposition.

You gonna

let me in or what?

Okay-

This... This old thing work?

All right. Here we go.

Check this out.

That's Japan versus Korea,

world champions.

I mean,

b-boying ain't the same

from back in the days

when we were dancing, man.

I mean, what's the farthest

we ever had to go to battle,

the Bronx?

Now these kids are battling

in Japan, Germany, France.

So, the Battle of the Year

is coming up, right?

And I'm sponsoring

the US crew.

So my crew is called LA's Finest.

Now, these kids are good.

Acrobatic, they got skills,

but they're not great.

Yet.

Only missing one thing.

You.

I want you

to coach the crew.

Coach?

Now, I know

you need money, so...

Here you go,

check that out,

let me know if that

meets your approval.

But the freestyle

sessions are next month,

and I need you to prepare

my crew for battle.

I was a basketball coach.

It doesn't matter.

A coach is a coach, and you were

the best I've ever seen, man.

It's in your heart.

I ain't that guy anymore.

Just come with me,

let's go check out the boys,

and if you think they suck,

you walk away.

No pressure.

So what are you waiting on?

You don't want me, D.

I mean, seriously,

how many opportunities

do you have

come knocking at

your window every day, WB?

Can't even keep

my own sh*t straight.

Look, I'm not

gonna stand here

and pretend like I know

what you're going through,

'cause I don't.

But, come on, man,

that fire in your heart,

that need to win

and the ability

to infect those around you and get

them to believe the same thing?

Man, you still got that sh*t.

Guys like you don't lose it.

Look, man, this right here,

this ain't you.

You had trajectory.

And I'll be frank

with you, man,

you and I both know

she's never coming back.

You know what, man?

We're done here.

I was wrong.

This was a prison visit.

And this is

your cell, man.

The only difference has been

between my life and yours,

is that I made a life

out of opening doors

and you made one

out of closing them.

(TELEPHONE RINGS) RECEPTIONIST: Dig

One Entertainment. Please hold.

Dig One Entertainment.

How may I help you?

DANTE:
WB!

Welcome to Dig One, baby.

What's up, D?

It's impressive.

So talk to me.

Tell me something

good, man. You in?

(SIGHS) Not yet.

I need to do some homework, see if I

can even pull this off, all right?

Follow me.

FRANKLYN:
That's it.

About 100 hours of footage,

goes back four or five years.

Need anything else?

A hundred hours, huh?

Maybe a pot of coffee,

couple sandwiches.

So that is just

coffee in there, right?

Yeah. Just coffee.

Good.

Keep the good sh*t

right here.

Come on, D.

Can't plug

the cork overnight.

Doesn't work that way.

I'll be in my office.

Okay, got you a fresh pot.

(MUTES TELEVISION)

Did you want me to order you

any dinner before I punch out?

No, I'm all good, thank you.

Yeah.

Yo, look at those

elbow spins.

That sh*t is nasty.

Koreans came

strong that year.

Those K-boys are

like superheroes.

You b-boy?

Nah, I wish.

My people are not exactly chosen

when it comes to breaking.

What do you mean, your people?

Jews.

We're rhythmically challenged.

We're stripped of our swag

at the circumcision.

I've made my peace with it.

Anyway, I'm a fan.

Be dope to see the US

crew take the BOTYs.

What the hell is a BOTY?

Seriously?

Have a seat.

What's your name?

Franklyn, with a

Blake.

So, Franklyn with a

fill me in.

The BOTYs stands for

Battle of the Year.

It's the world cup

of b-boying.

It's the premier event,

the big daddy of them all.

It started in Germany

in the '90s,

but now it takes

place in France.

Why France?

'Cause the only thing the French

revere more than carbs is dance.

Anyway, 20 countries bring their top crew

to battle for the world championship.

And a nice Jewish kid like

you knows all this because?

They don't teach you how to pick

up chicks at Hebrew school,

and breaking made me cool.

I mean, I might be Jewish,

but my religion is hip-hop.

You've seen

Planet B-Boy, yeah?

Afraid not.

Can I ask you something?

Sure.

Why is Dante having

you coach his crew?

That's a good question.

Planet B-Boy,

it's like our bible.

It's this dope documentary

about what b-boying is now.

Can I see that?

What, this?

Yeah.

What is this thing?

It's the new Sony tablet.

It's the future.

(SIGHS)

Planet B-Boy, it's got a

billion rentals on Netflix.

Hold on.

Check it out.

Come on, wake up!

Wake up!

No time to sleep!

Work to do!

What time is it?

9:
00.

You been holed up

in here all night?

Hundred hours of footage,

right?

Guess you did

your homework, huh?

Enough, anyway.

When did all

this sh*t happen?

Feeling old yet?

Little bit.

The moves these guys are

pulling off are phenomenal.

The Koreans are on fire.

And we need some of

that fire for our crew.

So what's up, man?

We got a deal or what?

Two conditions.

Name them.

First, I want Franklyn here

as my assistant coach.

For real?

This guy?

Yeah.

All right, done.

Second one?

This right here.

Made a little addendum

to your contract.

If this is about money,

I'll take care of it.

It's just one line, D.

Just read it.

"If I do this... "

I can't make this out, man.

It's chicken scratch.

What does that say?

"If I do this,

"I got to do it

on my own terms. "

Little place for your

initials right there.

Okay-

You are a tough negotiator,

my man.

All right, let's go see

the crew in about an hour.

Hey, Jan,

how you doing?

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