Foxcatcher Page #2

Mark throws Karabajak to the mat. Pins him. Walks away, arms

raised. Crowd cheers. Karabajak’s on the mat, hurt.

7.

MARK (ON PHONE) (CONT’D)

Dave’s my brother...

On screen, Mark does a back flip.

JUMP TO:

MARK (ON PHONE) (CONT’D)

Olympic Champion...

Mark does a back flip.

MARK (ON PHONE) (CONT’D)

Dave’s my brother...

JUMP TO:

Mark’s holds the phone on his lap, just watching himself on

the screen, wrestling... winning... match after match...

EXT. MARK’S APARTMENT/OUTSIDE WALKWAY - EVENING

Mark’s outside at the second floor railing of this two-story

stucco building, looking out over the bleak landscape: a 711,

an Auto-Zone. He eats a hard-boiled egg. He watches a CAR

pull into the lot below. Dave gets out, looks up.

DAVE:

Where were you today?

CUT TO:

INT. MARK’S APARTMENT - MOMENTS LATER

Dave fills two mismatched glasses with tap water from the

faucet.

DAVE:

How far’d you run? Ten?

Mark’s on the tattered couch. He shrugs, though we should see

that he loves the fact that Dave is concerned about him.

DAVE (CONT’D)

More than ten? Dragging weight the

whole way?

(Dave turns off the water)

You’re a sick f***, you know that?

Dave turns to look at Mark, sitting in the bare living room.

8.

DAVE (CONT’D)

Place is looking good, by the way.

I like what you’ve done with it.

Dave notices the Public Schools Directory on the table.

DAVE (CONT’D)

You setting up clinics?

MARK:

Talked to some coaches.

Dave comes toward Mark, handing off a water glass, dragging

the folding chair over to sit across from him.

DAVE:

I hope you don’t have anything

booked for Saturday.

MARK:

Why?

DAVE:

I need a favor. This school called

me months ago to do a gig but now I

can’t. Nancy’s got a thing all day

so I gotta watch the kids. You

free?

MARK:

I’ll check.

He goes into the bedroom, looks at the calendar. There’s

NOTHING WRITTEN DOWN for any of the days.

MARK (CONT’D)

You said Saturday or Sunday?

DAVE:

Saturday.

MARK:

Saturday could work.

He comes back in.

DAVE:

Good. Thank you.

Dave looks at the BACK OF HIS HAND, where he’s written down a

name and phone number in MARKER. He grabs one of Mark’s VHS

labels and a pen and writes the information.

9.

DAVE (CONT’D)

Coach Vinson, Radnor High. I’ll let

him know you’ll call tomorrow.

He peels off the label and slaps it on Mark’s leg.

DAVE (CONT’D)

And Mark. Please come back to the

gym. You don’t have to do anything

with the team. Just train with me.

Mark’s just looking at his older brother.

DAVE (CONT’D)

I need you there. Stay focused on

what’s important. For both of us.

Seoul’s the goal.

Beat. Beat. Then, Mark nods at his brother.

MARK:

Seoul’s the goal.

CUT TO:

INT. RADNOR HIGH SCHOOL GYM - DAY

Seven HIGH SCHOOL BOYS plus a couple of PRE-TEENS, all in

wrestling gear, sit on the mat in front of Mark. He seems

manic, evangelical, not tuned into his audience.

MARK:

The minute you step on the mat, you

are exactly who you are. You can’t

hide. You can’t pretend you trained

harder than you did, you want it

more than you do. My brother Dave

and me care about this more than we

care about anything. The difference

between the number one guy in the

world and the number four guy is

paper thin. The one who wins is the

one who wants it more, who’s

willing to sacrifice, who can take

the pain. I can take the pain. My

brother Dave can take the pain. Can

you take the pain?

Blank looks from the teenage wrestlers. Mark gestures to a

table set up near the door, on which is his OPEN BRIEFCASE,

with a stack of TAPES.

10.

MARK (CONT’D)

I talk about all this in my

instructional videotape - which you

can purchase at the end of the day

for a nominal fee.

CUT TO:

INT. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN GYM - DAY

Mark exits the locker room in his wrestling gear, heading for

the MATS.

Dave’s in his wrestling gear, on the far side of the gym,

talking with TWO MIDDLE-AGED MEN in blazers with USA

WRESTLING INSIGNIA. Mark walks onto the mat, waits for him.

Dave and the two men see Mark, WAVE to him - but Mark

pretends not to notice, busies himself loosening his wrists,

hands, neck. Dave walks over to him.

DAVE:

You remember Fred Cole from USA

Wrestling.

The men walk up behind Dave.

FRED COLE:

Hey there, Mark, how you been?

Mark sort of nods, but doesn’t really respond.

FRED COLE (CONT’D)

(beat, then turns to Dave)

All right, Dave. Let us know if we

can count on you. We’ll talk soon.

Dave nods. They walk away. Then Dave turns back to Mark.

MARK:

You been calling me and hanging up?

DAVE:

(adjusting his knee brace)

No. What do you mean?

Mark doesn’t answer, just stands looking at him. For several

seconds, they look at each other. Then, slowly at first:

They start to circle each other. We sense immediately their

differences:
Dave’s hunched and not very muscular physique

belies his quickness and enormous strength.

11.

Mark’s defining characteristic is brute force. A weight class

heavier than Dave, he can NEVER SEEM TO BEAT HIS OLDER

BROTHER.

The wrestling becomes intense and violent - Mark’s head slams

into Dave’s nose, drawing BLOOD. This only energizes Dave,

who slams Mark to the mat - dripping blood onto him.

VARIOUS SHOTS of the increasingly brutal match, ending with:

Dave rides Mark, who’s on his stomach, flattened and splayed -

grappling for a hold. Mark glances up to SEE:

The USA Wrestling men WATCHING from near the door.

Mark looks away, gritting his teeth, but Dave’s gotten his

hold. As Dave TURNS and slams the bigger Mark

CUT TO:

INT. DAVE’S CAR/OUTSIDE MARK’S APARTMENT - EVENING

Mark looks out the window. Silence. They sit there, both

bruised and bloodied.

MARK:

Sorry about your nose.

DAVE:

No, you’re not.

(beat)

Come by the house, have dinner with

me and Nance and the kids.

Mark’s still looking out the window. He speaks quietly

MARK:

You win a gold medal for them. And

still. Nothing. No respect.

He reaches for the door handle.

DAVE:

Hey. Gimme a hug.

Dave reaches for his arm, and Mark folds automatically into

his older brother, puts his head on his chest. Dave embraces

him for several long moments - it’s like a father and his

young child. Then Dave smacks him on the back of the neck.

DAVE (CONT’D)

Same time tomorrow.

12.

Mark nods, gets out of the car and walks away.

CUT TO:

INT. MARK’S APARTMENT - EVENING

Mark presses PLAY on his answering machine. Hang-ups and DIAL

TONES.

CUT TO:

INT. MARK’S APARTMENT/BATHROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Mark examines his bruised face in the mirror, wiping away

blood - some of it his, some his brother’s.

CUT TO:

INT. MARK’S APARTMENT - LATER

Mark’s at the refrigerator, cracking ice cube trays into a

plastic 7-11 shopping bag. The PHONE RINGS. He picks up -

MARK (ON PHONE)

Yah.

A man’s voice is heard. It sounds like long distance.

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