----------------------------------------------------
12/20/12
Los Angeles, California
Samuel Goldwyn Theater
----------------------------------------------------
Fade In
* We open with an aerial view high above the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater during a special screening of Sacha Gervasi’s “Hitchcock”. A huge poster is scaled on the side of the building featuring Anthony Hopkins as the lead role of Alfred Hitchcock while hordes of people are found on the ground below. We cut to the red carpet where random celebrities are seen arriving in limousines and extravagant wardrobe. We pan the crowd to see hundreds of photographers and leaches of the entertainment industry running around like maniacs while police and security do what they can to keep everything under control. Finally, the front doors of the theater open as people begin to make their way inside. We cross fade to the screening room as the various VIP’s, cast members and individual celebrities are seen being seated in the very front of the theater. Minutes later the general public is allowed to enter the room and find their seats. We cut to two individual audience members making their way inside who are instantly recognized as practical special effects artist Greg Nicotero and self proclaimed “Personification of Perfection” Michael James. They find their reserved seats near the center of the theater and begin walking down the row. Out of nowhere James gets pelted in the back of the head with a quarter. When he turns around James gains sight of musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie a few rows back giving him a friendly middle finger. He laughs at Rob and tosses the quarter back before he and Greg sit down in their seats *
Michael James: Douche nozzle.
Greg Nicotero: You can’t really blame him. If I was in his spot I probably would have done the same thing.
Michael James: What “spot”? The dude is a ####ing rock star sitting on four successful feature films. When Zombie runs out of toilet paper he probably uses hundred dollar bills to wipe his ass.
Greg Nicotero: Right. But another thing you need to keep in mind is he’s married to a woman who can’t stand the horror genre. You gotta imagine the type of shit he takes on a daily basis from that chick just because he’s able to be successful doing something he’s passionate about. You and I take things like that for granted where Rob is just shit out of luck.
Michael James: I don’t know. For a chick who hates the horror genre she sure seems to like the attention she gets for showing her ass on camera.
Greg Nicotero: That’s just Sherri’s nature. Like any other woman she enjoys the attention she gets and knows she can use it to her advantage. As a matter of fact that’s exactly what she did with Total Skull.
Michael James: The clothing line?
Greg Nicotero: Yep. Rob didn’t want to invest any money at first since they were both unfamiliar with the fashion industry so she got some fan boy to help finance the company.
Michael James: Nice.
* We look towards the front of the room to see Emmy award winning director Sacha Gervasi, John J. McLaughin and Stephen Rebello walking onto the stage placed at the front of the theater. The audience in the theater applauds the three men as they take their place on center stage. The applause eventually dies down as Sacha brings a microphone to his mouth and prepares to speak. James thumps Greg on the arm and turns to him *
Michael James: I’ll be right back.
Greg Nicotero: Cool.
* James quietly gets up from his seat and walks down the row. He makes his way down the aisle and walks through the entrance of the screening room. James walks down a carpeted stairway and takes an exit through one of the side doors. He finds himself on the second floor of the building where a variety of people are standing outside smoking cigarettes. James takes a few steps forward and reaches inside of his jacket. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes and places one between his lips. He lights the cigarette and exhales. A few seconds later the crowd of people move back inside the building, allowing Michael James a perfect opportunity to gather his thoughts for the HWA viewers watching at home *
Michael James: No matter how many of these events I have attended over the years; it’s always the same thing. Everyone wants to be the center of attention. Everyone wants their time in the spotlight for whatever dreams they may have set out for themselves. The sad part of it all is ninety percent of the time those dreams and aspirations prove to be nothing more than simple compensation for people who constantly fail to accomplish the things they set out to do. But that’s life in the fast lane. In any given industry you either have the talent to make something of yourself or you find something else to be passionate about. Much like the douche bags in Hollywood, there are still a lot of people in the HWA who refuse to follow that simple rule. To be honest it really makes no sense to me. I mean, why stick around if you’re not going to compete to the best of your ability? It’s just kind of a senseless notion in my opinion but then again most of my opponents haven’t been what you would call sensible competition. In fact, they aren’t what you would consider legit competition either seeing how none of them could muster the balls to respond to me. Not a ####ing one. You wanna know why? It’s because they knew exactly what they were getting into and wanted no part of it. They knew that I wasn’t lying when I promised them defeat and public shame. Like most opponents I’ve faced in the past they decided to tuck tail and hide from me instead of finding a way to defend themselves.
* James takes a drag from his cigarette and walks up to a railing on the edge of the building. He ashes his cigarette over the rail and looks down below to see a mess of people still trying to get inside the theater *
Michael James: Even with guys like Stu Price who are supposed to be flagship members of the company you still have the chicken shit epidemic that seems to degrade the HWA roster like some sort of ####ing virus. I don’t know where it started and I don’t care. As long as there are people like Price, Butch Parker and Bryan Deas around to talk a big game with no serious intentions of success in mind, we will never truly be free of this bullshit. No matter how many of these no talent imbeciles have to lose to me in the process. It’s just going to get worse over time until someone has the ability to do something about it. That someone is me. You wanna know why? Because unlike lesser men like Wayne Heckler and Michael Kosh I’m not in the HWA to waste time or make promises that I can’t keep. If I’m booked in a match you can bet your ass that I’m going to promote the hell out of it with intentions of winning. I signed with the HWA to become the only flagship name in the company that means a damn to anyone no matter what consequences I have to suffer along the way. The last time I was on Havoc I made a horrific example out of one of the biggest idiots the company has to offer simply because I felt it needed to be done. Much like the two imbeciles I’m going to be facing in my debut match on the next edition of Havoc, Price is nothing more than another mid card piece of shit standing in my way of progression. That’s just the way things are meant to be and there isn’t a damn thing anyone can do to change the course of productivity.
* James takes another drag from his cigarette and begins to look around. He carefully reaches inside of his jacket and pulls out a wooden box filled with chronic marijuana. He slides open the top of the box and takes a brass one hitter pipe out of it. He flips it around and digs it into the side compartment of the box. He pulls it out and places the hitter between his lips. He lights the marijuana and inhales it deeply into his lungs *
Michael James: Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not a patient man. There is only so much bullshit that I can tolerate before I take action and these half assed opponents are seriously beginning to test my patience. In my first appearance in the HWA, I made an example out of Stu Price because he failed to accept the consequences of his actions. What men like Price, Heckler and Kosh fail to realize is the spirit of competition has always thrived on preparation. Since none of my opponents feel the need to come prepared I fail to see any reason to grant them mercy of any kind. There’s a saying I once heard that went “if you #### with the bull you get the horns”. The same applies to anyone stupid enough to try and test the Personification of Perfection. I’m not a patient man and it doesn’t take very much to get a reaction out of me. The only setback is that reaction is usually one involving merciless acts of mindless violence. And if people don’t want to believe me, that’s fine. My record speaks for itself so personal opinions are completely irrelevant. I don’t care about anyone’s opinion other than my own. I don’t care about the fans and I’m not here to win some kind of half assed popularity contest. If this handicap match scheduled for Havoc is management’s way of getting rid of two douche bags that have overstayed their welcome than I will have no problem taking out the trash for the good of the company. That’s an example of the type of loyalty I’m going to have to get used to showing as the next franchise player of the HWA.
* James digs the hitter into the wooden box once again and pulls out a fresh hit of marijuana. He places the hitter between his lips and lights the end. He inhales the smoke and places the hitter back into its side compartment. He slides the box back into his jacket as a few people are heard walking outside. James turns around and walks back inside the building. He walks back up the stairway and enters the screening room. James walks down the aisle and sits back down next to Greg Nicotero. *
Greg Nicotero: Wait a minute.
* Greg makes a sniffing sound with his nose *
Greg Nicotero: I know that smell.
Michael James: What smell?
Greg Nicotero: The same one that comes with a king size bag of cheetos.
* James covers his mouth and tries to avoid laughing out loud *
Michael James: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
* James says with obvious sarcasm *
Greg Nicotero: Yea. That’s what Romero used to say and we all knew he was full of shit too.
Michael James: So, I didn’t want to sit through some thirty minute speech about Gervasi’s artsy fartsy rendition of Alfred Hitchcock. Sue me.
Greg Nicotero: It was ten minutes at the most. And it actually wasn’t that bad.
Rob Zombie: Psst!
* Rob tries to get Greg and James’ attention. Before James can turn his head he gets hit with another quarter by Zombie *
Rob Zombie: Will you ladies keep it down?! Some of us are trying to actually watch this.
* Rob says with playful sarcasm. Both James and Greg give Rob the middle finger before turning back around. James reaches inside of his jacket and removes a small flask from the inside pocket. He unscrews the top and takes a swig of Saki. James nudges Greg and offers him some but Greg refuses. James takes another swig as he sits back in his chair preparing to enjoy the movie. A sudden frantic static feed is seen mixed with the sound of white noise. When the static clears we gain sight of a match recap from HWA Havoc. The footage cuts to slow motion with a shot of Michael James bumping into Stu E. Price. A quick fade cuts the feed to black.
Less than a second later we fade in to the same recap
(Stu-E): Oi!
Stu says in an effort to gain James’ attention as he grabs a hold of him by his jacket. James quickly turns around and breaks away from Stu-E’s grip by shoving him into the wall. The two men face off with only a few feet between one another. Michael James speaks to Stu-E in Japanese with a threatening tone as Stu-E glares at him with an unimpressed smirk. A quick fade to black ends the video feed.
Same as before, we fade back to the footage of James and Price facing off in the hallway. James removes the cigar from his mouth and exhales a cloud of smoke into Stu-E’s face.
(Stu-E): I don’t have the slightest clue what the hell you just said, but I can promise that you don’t want to do this, mate.
Michael James removes his sunglasses and glares back at Stu-E Price with an expression of apparent anger in his eyes. He replies to him in Japanese with the same threatening tone as he places his sunglasses inside of his jacket pocket and spits on Stu-E’s boots.
(Stu-E): Alright, I’ll give you that one for free.
The footage jump cuts to a shot of Price talking to the girls with his back turned to Michael James.
(Stu-E): Sorry about that ladies, just a little business…now, where were we?
Michael James grabs Stu-E from behind and slams him head first into one of the walls made of solid concrete. The women scatter as James begins to stomp on the fallen Stu-E Price while insulting him in Japanese. A frantic jump cut reveals Michael James grinding the lit cigar into Price’s chest as he screams in agonizing pain. A static feed interrupts the footage
----------------------------------------------------
12/20/12
Grand Hotel Sofia
Sofia, Bulgaria
----------------------------------------------------
* We open with an exterior shot of the extravagant Grand Hotel Sofia in Sofia, Bulgaria. We gain a full frame view to see an array of cars moving past and behind the hotel’s location in the center of downtown Sofia. Transparent lights illuminate the various buildings surrounding the hotel while the noise of the city and its people create an outstanding commotion equivalent to the world’s largest surround sound stereo. A cross fade transitions cuts to the flamboyant lobby of the hotel to show Michael James speaking with speaking to a female clerk located behind the front desk. *
Woman: And how many days will you be staying with us Mr. James?
Michael James: I’ll be checking out of here Friday afternoon.
* She looks down at her computer monitor and begins typing on the keyboard *
Woman: Okay. Looks like you’re all set.
* She hands James his room keys and hotel brochures as he places them in his overnight bag. James turns away from the desk and walks along the hotel’s marble floors until stopping at the elevators. He reaches forward and presses the symbol pointing up as the elevator gradually makes it way to the first floor. The doors open and James steps inside. He presses the “3” button on the hotel’s electronic floor directory. The elevator doors close and it begins to move towards the third floor. James places the strap of his overnight bag over his shoulder as the elevator doors slide open. James exits the elevator and walks down the hallway until reaching his destined room. He opens the door to room “306” with the key given to him at the front desk. James enters the room and drops his bag on the floor. His cell phone beeps notifying James that he has a new text message. He reaches inside of his jacket and pulls out his cellular phone. He flips it open and finds a new message from Ken Dell. He reads through the message and carefully looks over the card for Havoc where he is booked to face Wayne Heckler and Michael Kosh. He grows an unimpressed smirk on his face as he closes his phone and tosses it aside.
James opens his overnight bag and reaches inside pulling out a small black case of some kind. He places the case on his night stand and opens the top with a zipper. James reaches inside of the case and pulls out a DSLR camera and his laptop. He places the laptop on a table along with the camera while gathering a few cables needed to hook his camera up to the internet. James boots up his laptop and plugs the camera into the side of it with a USB cable. He turns on the camera as a program appears on the monitor of the laptop showing the frame seen from James’ camera. He flips the camera dial to “video mode” and sets the picture style to his liking. James presses the “record” button on the camera. He walks around to the front of it and removes his jacket and sunglasses. He takes a seat a few feet away from the camera and gets comfortable as he prepares to speak *
Michael James: Here we go again. In less than a week’s time I will be looking towards my official in-ring debut on Havoc where I’m booked against two lackluster opponents trying to make a name for themselves at the expense of the Personification of Perfection.
* James says with an annoyed and frustrated tone *
Michael James: The only aspect about this match that truly gets under my skin is the fact that instead of putting me up against someone with actual merit in the HWA, I get booked against two mid card douche bags that have already proven to be two of the biggest imbeciles in the entire company. And no, that wasn’t a compliment about your size or ability to perform as a team. It was an insult directed towards your lack of basic intelligence and experience resulting from my first impression of your pathetic material. As far as I can tell, there's nothing complicated about either one of you. I can see right through that. Maybe it's your paranoia or maybe you just need to accept the fact that Michael James is simply better than the team of Hecker and Kosh. I apparently have the natural born talent to prove it. And when I say that, it's not just to talk about the past. The past is the past and you can't have a present or a future without it. That is the reason for records and awards, to illustrate what has been done. It's not just some sort of bragging device to use when you run out of things to say with your severely limited vocabulary. If anyone deserves recognition, it's me. If anyone deserves a shot at any of the championships in the HWA, it’s me. I try day in and day out, night in and night out. I'm one of the few that actually poses an instant challenge to my opponents no matter who they decide to book me against.
* James moves out of frame for a few seconds and unzips his overnight bag. He walks back into frame holding a bottle of Saki and a shot glass. He sits back down and pours some of the Saki into the glass *
Michael James: What you see before you isn't just a man hell bent on a mission to get the respect and recognition he deserves. What you see is a man who's going to replace the second rate imposters like Wayne Heckler and Michael Kosh. The ones that always talk a big game but when it comes time for them to show, they play it safe and take the long road back home. I'm the one that the HWA is going to look for to carry it into each and every card. I'm the one that's going to establish wrong from right and make sure douche bags like the two of you are forced to happily settle with second place. Those are things I do to earn my respect and those are things that you dipshits could never do.
* James downs the shot of Saki and slams the glass down on the table *
Michael James: When it comes to the matches I've had, I’ll admit, I haven't had to do much. Just enough to get the job done and that’s what I will continue to do walking into the next edition of Havoc. I just want to make sure the both of you are prepared. Because no matter what game plan you decide to pull out of your asses I am going to be bringing everything that has made me what I am today, a ####ing legend. Just mention my name and people will bow their heads in respect. And no matter how inexperienced or clueless you both may be, I'll do my best to help you accept your place in the company. You belong with men like Butch Parker, Buff Bridges, Bryan Deas and others who have no business being in the same ring as me. But since I can’t choose my opponents it looks like I will have no choice but to make the best of the card I’ve been dealt. And just like I’ve proven in the past, this pathetic encounter will be nothing more than a walk in the park for the Personification of Perfection. It will be just another notch on my ####ing belt.
* James picks up the bottle of Saki and takes a swig. He places the bottle down on the table *
Michael James: But you two go ahead and show me what you've shown everyone else. Show me that you're nothing. And don’t take this the wrong way. I don’t want you to feel as if I’m passing judgment on either one of you because I’m not. I have always judged myself before judging other people and I can honestly say that I’m proud of the man I am today. You see boys, I'm good. I'm damn good. I know this and you know this. The entire company knows this. If the HWA ever need to headline a pay-per-view, all they have to do is put me in the main event with anyone else and they'll have gold. Plain and simple. You two on the other hand would only be good for a mid card tag match or some kind of segment but nowhere near the level where I reside. I guess I just don’t get men like you. I mean, why can't you just accept your roles in life? You're destined to be losers and you always will be. You wonder why when people like me come in here and succeed without much effort while people like you are pushed down below everyone else. It's not very hard to figure out. I’m simply better than you. I have what the HWA is looking for and you douche nozzles don’t have a ####ing thing to offer but a bunch of senseless bullshit and meaningless banter. I figured even a couple of dipshits would know better but I guess I figured wrong. But don’t worry because I won’t be losing any sleep at night over it. I have bigger things to worry about than your incompetence. Despite whatever reality you ####ers want to believe, the truth is when it comes to the team of Heckler and Kosh the two of you are barely breaking the barrier of worthy competition against the lowest of the low that the company has to offer.
* We hear the telephone in his room begin to ring. James stands up and moves out of frame. He answers the phone and begins speaking in Japanese. He ends the call a few seconds later and walks back into frame. He sits back down and prepares to pour himself another shot of Saki *
Michael James: If you want to brag about something as pathetic as that, be my guest. I’m not going to stop either one of you from making the same mistakes you’ve been making since day one. The sad part is your own public shame seems to be the only place where you two hold any kind of actual strength and I hate to break it to you but that’s the last place you want to be in this particular situation. The most sensible option would be for the two of you to just quit while you’re still behind. But I can tell from your material that you two aren’t the type of men to use brains over bullshit. You’re the type of men who will always take risk over reason for the sake of your own egos and that’s one of the many reasons why I refer to you as two of the biggest idiots in the HWA. Like I said before, there’s nothing complicated about either one of you fools. In my eyes you’re nothing more than just another road block for me to kick aside on my way to the top of the company. You’re nothing more than an annoying blip on my radar that will soon be a thing of the past. I don’t believe in fairy tales and I don’t believe in your bullshit either. If you were smart men, you would go back to the drawing board and find a new line of defense. Because right now I can honestly say this match is going to be more than just a sample of your public humiliation. This is going to be a massacre of your characters and it’s not going to be easy showing your faces around the back after suffering such a catastrophic defeat.
* James down the shot and slams it back down on the table. He grows a smile on his face and glares into the camera lens *
Michael James: Like Mick Taylor says, no worries. Because soon enough it will be time for you two assholes to face the music where you’re going to learn just how serious I am about making an example out of men like you. Its douche bags like you who talk and talk with no serious purpose other than the opportunity to hear themselves speak. Just yammering on about how great you are in hopes that it will ensure your chances of victory when it does nothing but further increase your chances of defeat.
* James tosses his cell phone aside and leans back in the chair. He puts his feet up and grows a confident smirk on his face *
Michael James: Just in case you don’t know who I am by now allow me to give you a proper introduction. My name is Michael James and I’m the one known as the future of the HWA. I’m the man who doesn’t take shit from anyone and refuses to back down from any challenge placed in front of me. As far as you’re concerned you can consider me the man who is going to be teaching you both how to lose with style in a match you’re going to remember for the rest of your pathetic careers. Get this through your head. I’m nothing like either one of you. I don’t rely on imaginary bullshit to get through matches. I don’t try to get ahead or gain advancement by making an ass out of myself for the sake of attention. Unlike you two, failure and public shame is not an option for me. I can’t afford to suffer a loss to anyone and I’m sure as hell not going to start with someone as Wayne Heckler or Michael Kosh. I understand that you both want to truly believe that you stand a fighting chance in this encounter but the truth is that you are completely out of your league no matter how you want to look at it. I know you probably don’t agree and will argue the fact so I will eagerly await your response. No matter how moronic or predictable it may be.
* We hear a knock at the door as James gets up from his chair and walks out of frame. He opens the door and begins speaking with another man whose voice sounds very familiar. James and the man walk further into the room as James walks to the camera and shuts off the video feed *
Fade Out.
Message Thread
« Back to index