Smokin' Aces Page #2

PADICHE (V.O.)

Well just so I got a quote in my

head. What's the rate for the Swede?

SERNA:

That's the punchline, y'ready?

PADICHE:

Shoot.

SERNA (V.O.)

A million flat.

PADICHE (V.O.)

No sh*t.

SERNA (V.O.)

None whatsoever.

SMASH CUT TO CREDITS:

The Ace of Hearts, spinning through mid-air, slow motion,

end over end. Bullets blast big sizzling holes through it.

SMASH CUT TO:

EXT. CASINO -- LAS VEGAS (PAST)

Neon-framed doors fly open as a slicked-back chump with a

store-bought tan strides out onto the strip, swinging underage

bar-bait on each arm. He's all strut and punk swagger,

grinning like a geek who just struck gold.

DUPREE (V.O.)

Buddy Israel, nicknamed "Aces" Born

a bastard, mom Laverne chased the

pipe dream from a Dairy Queen in

Kansas City to the Vegas stage. Two

months after stepping off a Greyhound,

she gets knocked up by some hood.

CUT TO SCENE:

INT. DRESSING ROOM -- NIGHT (PAST)

A row of chorus girls, gilded like gold-flaked flamingos,

rubbing coca-butter on bare midriffs. THE CAMERA FINDS Buddy's

mother LAVERNE, prominent bulge, seriously pregnant, she's

arguing with her employers, trying to suck in her belly,

yelling "bullshit, you just have to light it right..."

DUPREE (V.O.)

Biological abandons her and the

showgirl thing goes sideways so she

winds up working as a magician's

assistant to make extra cash.

CUT TO SCENE:

INT. CLUB -- NIGHT (PAST)

Second rate dive bar. Laverne Israel assists a pompadour-

maned MAGICIAN on stage. In the lounge, sitting on a

stripper's lap, a young Buddy plays with a deck of cards.

CUT TO:

INT. POOL HALL -- NIGHT (PRESENT DAY)

Bamboo-style ceiling fans circulate cigar smoke and shitty

attitudes. At a billiard table in the back: JACK DUPREE,

40's, third generation Bail Bondsman, talks with HOLLIS

ELMORE, 30's and "PISTOL" PETE DEEKS, 30's, ex-Vegas vice

cops. As Dupree speaks, WE SEE the scenes behind the story:

DUPREE:

...And young Buddy learns everything

about cards from this Mandrake

motherf***er his mom is working for...

CUT TO SCENE:

The magician being brutally beaten -- pelted with poker chips,

kicked in the chops, pissed on, the works.

DUPREE:

But magic man was also a degenerate

gambler and got caught dealing bottom-

deck at a mob-owned poker parlor.

(beat)

He didn't get outta there with much

more than a pulse.

CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL -- DAY (PAST)

The Magician, full body cast, taking his meals through a

straw. Young Israel labors over him, performing card tricks.

CUT BACK TO SCENE:

DUPREE:

Point is, he passed on all this slight

of hand sh*t onto Aces and the kid

is sick with it... By the age of

twelve Buddy Israel is positively

prodigal with a deck of cards. By

sixteen, he's headlining the MGM's

main room.

CUT TO SCENE:

Buddy, cards and coins dancing off his fingertips, dazzling

sold-out crowds. Laverne Israel sits in the front row, decked

out in ankle-length fur, applauding wildly.

CUT BACK TO:

INT. POOL HALL -- NIGHT (PRESENT)

Dupree rounds the table, lines up a shot, leans over it.

DUPREE:

This punk is pulling down ten bills

a night and more showgirl geech than

you can shake a stick at. Four years

of sold-out shows, he becomes the

unofficial mob mascot

CUT TO SCENE:

Buddy meets mob hierarchy; silk suits and pinkie rings.

DUPREE:

By the tender age of twenty-one he's

breaking bread with the wheels,

keeping company with major muscle.

And it goes to his head in a big way

CUT TO SCENE:

Buddy, poolside, glass of top dollar Dom in hand. Chicks,

Coopertone and chasm-deep cleavage abound.

DUPREE:

...Wiseguys start to think this

sonofabitch is a mystic, something

special... and Aces plays it up,

lets the legend grow, takes time off

from his stage act and starts

showcasing the chip on his shoulder.

CUT TO SCENE:

Buddy, tipping a craps table, attacking the stick-man,

stripping off one of his gold chains, going garotte.

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