Raging Bull Page #16

VICKIE:

Are you drunk?

JAKE:

No. Open the door.

JAKE tries to touch her face through the doorway

crack, but she steps back.

JAKE (CONT'D)

Please, Vick. I won't bother you.

I'm out on bail. You can send the

kids next door. I just gotta pick

one thing up, then I'll get outa

here.

VICKIE thinks a moment, then opens the door and

lets JAKE in.

VICKIE:

The kids are sleeping.

JAKE:

I promise I just gotta pick up one

thing.

VICKIE:

All right, just don't make any

noise.

INT. JAKE'S MIAMI HOUSE - DAY

JAKE walks directly past VICKIE into the living

room. VICKIE watches from a safe distance.

JAKE removes his jewel-studded championship belt

from the glass bookcase and carries it into the

kitchen.

In the kitchen, he takes a hammer and screwdriver

out of a drawer, places the belt on the counter

top, and starts digging the jewels out of it.

VICKIE appears in the doorway.

VICKIE:

What are you doing?

JAKE:

I need ten thousand dollars. My

lawyer says if we can spread ten

thousand bucks around, we can get

the case dropped.

VICKIE:

But they don't have a case against

you.

JAKE:

(digging at the belt)

Are you kiddin'? Did you ever see a

14-year-old testify in court? Did

you see the papers? "LaMotta on

Vice Rap." Everybody likes a shot

at the Champ.

VICKIE:

Jake, be careful! What're you doing

to the belt?!

JAKE:

Don't make no difference no more.

VICKIE:

Can't you get the money from your

friends?

JAKE:

What friends?

JAKE, frustrated by his task, turns the belt over

and hammers at it. The jewels scatter across the

counter top and floor. JAKE collects the jewels and

puts them in his pockets.

INT. JEWELRY SHOP - DAY

JAKE stands at the counter of a small jewelry

store. The JEWELER examines the stones.

JEWELER:

Didn't you also wish to sell the

Championship Belt, Mr. LaMotta?

JAKE:

That's it. Those are the jewels

that were in the belt.

JEWELER:

But where's the belt?

JAKE:

You want the jewels or the belt?

JEWELER:

Both. These stones are worth about

fifteen hudred dollars, but the

belt of a champion is a very rare

item. The belt with the stones

untouched would have been worth

near five thousand dollars.

JAKE seems to despair of the whole thing: the belt,

the attempt to raise 10 g's, the vice case, his

life.

EXT. PHONE BOOTH - DAY

JAKE places a call from a booth outside the jewelry

store.

JAKE:

(on phone)

I can't raise the ten thousand.

F*** 'em. Let 'em put me on trial.

INT. BARBIZON DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT

Same as Scene 1.

JAKE, 42 years old, continues to rehearse. He is

seated across from a mirror.

JAKE:

So there I am in the can... and not

the one that says "gentlemen" on

the door. I'm talkin' about jail!

Down south! I mean, jail up north

is gotta be like summer camp

compared to jail down in cracker

country. And if you're a guy like

me, you ain't got a chance in a

place like that. Especially if

you're Italian... you come from the

Bronx... and you're an ex-champ. As

soon as they saw me... soon as they

heard me... I know I'm in trouble.

To me, they got an accent, and to

them, I got an accent! You gotta

get the picture -- I'm big, I got

small hands, I walk like I'm still

in the ring... the balls of my feet

pop up and down, you know... and

whenever I get the chance, I read a

lot. So naturally, takin' all this

into

consideration, they figure it

adds up to one thing -- I'm queer!

Now I didn't mind too much when

they called me "Queer" or "Mr.

Tough Guy" or "Yankee Punk"... But

one day these screws got to me... I

was workin' on the work gang,

pickin' up some trees that were

knocked down by a storm or

somethin' and puttin' 'em on this

truck. All of a sudden... one of

the trees slipped and fell on me

and pinned me to the ground. I'm

lyin' there with a tree across my

chest! This screw walks over,

takin' his time, he looks down at

me and says, "Well, Champ Pimp...

you lyin' down on the job again?"!

They got a great sense of humor

when they're standin' there with a

gun in their arms and you got a

tree on your chest! So I look up at

him and say, "Oh, this tree...

it fell on me." And he says, "Oh,

I'm sorry... If I'd have known, I

would've yelled 'timber'" I said,

"Hey, look... it hurts. I think

maybe I broke somethin'!" He says,

"Well, whaddaya know... Champ

PImp's got himself a boo-boo." Then

I got as stupid as him. I said, "If

I'm Champ Pimp... how 'bout givin'

me the money you made last night?"!

Then another screw comes over and

says, "This Yankee creep givin' you

trouble?" -- What kind of trouble?

What am I gonna do -- hit 'em with

the tree? Now anybody else in their

right mind would've said, "No sir,

I wouldn't think of giving any of

you gentlemen trouble... I just

want to serve my time and get the

hell out of here as soon as I can."

That's anybody else. When I said

it... it was a little different.

"You stupid cracker... take your

hands off me or I'll get up and

kick your brains out -- but first

you gotta bend over so I can find

'em!" Next thing I know I'm in the

hole. Solitary confinement. All my

life I had guys in my corner

yellin' "Go get 'em, jake... kill

'em! You're the greatest." Now

there's nobody rootin' for me. But

it wasn't so bad. I learned things

there. I learned how to scratch a

calendar on the wall. I never knew

how to do that before. Now I know.

Monday is one scratch. Tuesday is

two scratches. Wednesday is three

scratches. And so on. Except for

Sundays. Sundays is no scratches.

Sundays rested.

INT. DADE COUNTY STOCKADE - DAY

The CAMERA TRACKS down the lonely corridors of the

Dade County Prison. Empty faces stare out from

behind the bars.

JAKE is led down a long corridor by TWO GUARDS. His

hands and legs are manacled and chained.

The GUARDS, redneck screws both, take special

pleasure in working JAKE over.

They take JAKE to the "Hole" -- solitary

confinement.

ONE of the GUARDS unmanacles JAKE.

Both GUARDS push JAKE into the cell and slam the

door.

INT. THE HOLE - DAY OR NIGHT

A thin slit provides the only light in JAKE's cell.

The rough cement walls are covered with obscure

graffiti. The 8x8x8 room features only a cot and a

toilet.

The room is mostly darkness. Sounds are more

tangible here than sights.

WE SEE JAKE's body as it passes through the slit of

light.

JAKE crouches into the corner away from the light.

As WE SEE JAKE's face, the following MONTAGE images

appear.

(There will be contrasting sound effects

accompanying the images: for example, the image of

JAKE hitting VICKIE might be accompanied by the

sounds from a love scene between them.)

A) 1940s black and white pornography: partially

clothed men and women engaged in explicit sex acts.

B) Boxing magazines: fighters' beaten and bloody

faces. A body building ad: Charles Atlas raises his

muscled biceps.

C) Li'l Abner comics; Daisy Mae's tits seem about

to fall free.

D) Reprise from earlier scene: Back in JAKE and

IRMA's old apartment, JOEY, using a towel as a

glove, punches JAKE in the face.

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