Rocky Page #10

ROCKY:

(uneasy)

Freak luck is a strange thing.

Mickey does not hear. His attention is drawn to the turtles.

MICKEY:

Whatta' those?

ROCKY:

Turtles -- domestic turtles.

MICKEY:

(businesslike)

I'm here tellin' ya to be very

smart with this shot. Like

the Bible sez, ya don't get no

second chance.

Mickey looks hard into Rocky's eyes.

MICKEY:

(continuing)

Ya need a manager. An advisor.

I been in the racket fifty

years. I done it all, there

ain't nothin' about the world

of pugilism that ain't livin'

up here.

He lights a half-smoked cigar.

ROCKY:

(at a loss)

Fifty years, huh.

65.

MICKEY:

(stronger)

Fifty years. The rep is known

around Philly, an' a good rep

can't be bought, but I don't

have to tell you that.

ROCKY:

How 'bout a glass of water?

MICKEY:

Rocky, d'ya know what I done?

ROCKY:

(uneasy)

... What?

MICKEY:

(driving each

word hard)

I done it all. I've done an'

seen everything'. Believe

what I'm tellin' ya -- Ya

shoulda seen the night in

Brooklyn, I smacked 'Ginny'

Russo outta the ring, September

14, 1923 -- same night Firpo

knocked Dempsey outta the ring.

But who got the Press? He did.

He had a manager -- September

14, 1923.

ROCKY:

(softly)

Ya got a good mind for dates.

Mickey deafly continues, becoming more engrossed every second.

MICKEY:

Look at this face -- twenty-

one stitches over the left

eye, thirty-four over the

right -- my nose was busted

seventeen times, the last

being the Sailor Mike fight

New Year's Eve, 1940, in

Camden, New Jersey -- What a

professional pastin' I give

him. Here, read about it.

(MORE)

66.

MICKEY (CONT'D)

(shows a tiny

press clipping;

points to

cauliflower ear)

An' he give me the vegetable

on the ear. I got pain an'

experience... an' you got

heart -- kinda remind me of

Marciano, ya do.

Rocky points to his most prized possession.

ROCKY:

Nobody ever said that --

There's his picture.

MICKEY:

Yeah, ya kinda remind me of

the Rock. Ya move like 'im.

Mickey has rung the bell. Nothing could please Rocky more

than being compared to his idol.

ROCKY:

Really think so?

MICKEY:

Ya got heart.

ROCKY:

Heart, but I ain't got no

Tocker.

Rocky shifts against the wall and lowers himself into a

crouch.

MICKEY:

Christ, I know this business.

Rocky, when I was fightin' it

was the dirtiest racket goin',

see. Pugs like me was treated

like fightin' dogs -- throw ya

in the pit an' for ten bucks

ya try to kill each other. We

had no management...

(MORE)

67.

MICKEY (CONT'D)

fought in boxcars, in

whorehouse basements, any

joint with a floor -- October

1931 I fought a bum who put a

tack in the thumb of his glove

an' punched so many holes in

my face I had spit shootin'

outta my cheeks -- I never had

no manager watchin' out for

me -- See that picture outside

the gym -- 'Mighty Mick,'

that's me in my prime. I had

all the tools. I coulda

starched any lightweight husky

on the East Coast -- But I had

no management. Nobody ever

got to know how slick I was,

but I had a head for business

an' stashed a few bucks an'

opened the gym -- It's a dirt

hole, I know it, but that an'

a lotta scars is what I got to

show for fifty years in the

business, kid -- now you come

along with this shot an' I

feel like it's me gettin' the

shot I never got... Yeah, we

was treated like dogs -- like

them Dago's, no offense, in

the Colosseum in Rome there --

An' now I got all this

knowledge, I wanna give it to

ya so I can protect ya an'

make sure ya get the best deal

ya can!

Rocky rises and opens a window.

MICKEY:

(continuing)

Respect, I always dished ya

respect.

ROCKY:

... Ya gave Dipper my locker.

MICKEY:

(almost begging)

I'm sorry, I -- I made a

mistake. Kid, I'm askin' man

to man. I wanna be ya manager.

68.

ROCKY:

The fight's set -- I don't

need a manager.

MICKEY:

Look, you can't buy what I

know. Ya can't. I've seen it

all! I got pain an' I got

experience.

ROCKY:

I got pain an' experience too.

MICKEY:

Please, kid.

ROCKY:

(tightly)

Whatever I got, I always got

on the slide. This shot's no

different. I didn't earn

nothin' -- I got it on the

slide... I needed ya help

about ten years ago when I was

startin', but ya never helped

me none.

Mickey drops the ashtray and kneels to pick it up... He

remains on one knee.

MICKEY:

If ya was wantin' my help, why

didn't ya ask? Just ask.

ROCKY:

I asked, but ya never helped

nothin'! -- Like the Bible

sez, ya don't get no second

chance.

MICKEY:

(yells)

Rocky, I'm seventy-six years

old. Maybe you can be the

winner I never was -- your

shot is my last shot!

Rocky is choked and goes into the bathroom and closes the

door.

Mickey struggles to his feet and, like a beaten man, leaves.

Several moments later Rocky steps out and lowers himself

into bed. Springing up a second later, he runs outside.

69.

EXT. STREET OF ROCKY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Rocky races up the block toward the shadowy and hunched form

of Mickey. Way in the distance, we SEE Rocky stop the old

man beneath a street lamp. He places an arm around his

shoulder.

INT. ROCKY'S APARTMENT - PRE-DAWN

The following morning, Rocky's ALARM CLOCK GOES OFF at

exactly four A.M. Not accustomed to rising this early, with

great difficulty Rocky staggers to his feet and wavers to

the bathroom. He turns the light on and roaches scatter.

At the top of the mirror hang the telegrams. Rocky fills

the basin and submerges his face in cold water.

Rocky sways to the icebox and removes a dozen eggs. He

cracks five raw eggs into a glass and downs it in one

swill... his body quivers.

EXT. STREET OF ROCKY'S APARTMENT - PRE-DAWN

Rocky steps outside. He is dressed in a well-worn sweat

suit with a hood, gloves and sneakers. It is pitch dark and

his steaming breath attests to the cold.

He begins running down the center of the deserted street.

He can only be clearly SEEN as his form passes beneath the

street lamps.

Two garbage men stop hoisting cans to watch him pass.

EXT. ART MUSEUM STAIRS - DAWN

Rocky stands at the base of an overwhelmingly steep flight

of stairs. He stares up at the stairs that nearly disappear

into the morning gray. Taking a deep breath, he starts up.

From the start, he looks out of shape and halfway up his

legs give way. Standing, he brushes off and descends the

stairs.

EXT. CITY HALL - DAWN

Rocky passes City Hall and veers to the river. He pauses,

heaving great gusts of exhausted breaths. He throws several

lazy jabs in the air and walks awhile with hands on his

aching sides. Men delivering the morning papers observe

with amusement.

Rocky forces himself to begin running again.

70.

EXT. ELEVATED TRAIN STATION - DAWN

Heading along Spring Garden Street, Rocky passes beneath an

elevated train station. The ROARING TRAIN overhead seems to

blend perfectly with his muscular running style.

EXT. DOCKS - DAWN

The sky is beginning to lighten. The fighter now runs along

the piers and past anchored freighters.

EXT. EASTERN PACKING COMPANY - DAWN

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