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"Football Spec"
by
H.G. Miller
606 N. Genesee Ave.
Apt. #3
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 655-8079
FADE IN:
EXT. LAWRENCE, KS - NIGHT
Welcome to Anywhere, America. A college town about thirty
miles from anything else.
Over the radio airwaves, PATTON MCKAY's gravely voice calls
out football play-by-play.
PATTON (VO)
...Kensing drops back to pass.
Incomplete at the forty-three, and
the 'Hawks will have to punt the
ball...
EXT. UNIVERSITY CAMPUS - SAME
Aging buildings. Manicured lawns and Trees. Criss-crossing
cement pathways.
PATTON (VO)
...Colorado leads by thirteen. A
run to the left side by number
thirty-four. That's Briggs. I
believe he's short of a first down...
EXT. MEMORIAL STADIUM - SAME
The lights burn strong. Fans in the half-filled stands half-
heartedly root for the home team.
ON THE FIELD
The battle rages. Bodies running. Hitting. Falling.
In BLUE, the University of Kansas Jayhawks line up on
offense. Number twelve, RAYMOND KENSING, drops back to pass.
PATTON (VO)
...It's been a war out there today.
The 'Hawks are giving ninth-ranked
Colorado quite a game. Here's a
pass play. Kensing looks right --
OH! He's blind-sided by Jones! What
a hit!...
When the pile clears, Kensing struggles to stand. He stumbles.
Trainers rush the field. Number twelve helped to the sideline.
PATTON (VO)
...Now, this is interesting. Coach
Allen will need to go with his
backup. Number nine -- Josh Hastings.
Hastings is a walk-on this year,
and he hasn't taken a snap in a
game yet...
JOSH HASTINGS, 21 years old, trots onto the field. The
typical build of a quarterback, he scans the field.
A few quick words to his teammates. Josh claps his hands.
The teams line up.
PATTON (VO)
...A hand-off to Watson. Two, maybe
three yards. Third and long, the
'Hawks will have to pass...
The play commences. Josh throws a bullet across the center
of the field. The receiver jukes a defensive back and skirts
his way to the endzone.
PATTON (VO)
...Oh my! What a play!...
The fans CHEER.
EXT. MEMORIAL STADIUM - LATER
The scoreboard shows 1:34 left in the fourth quarter.
Josh jogs onto the field with his team down by six points.
PATTON (VO)
...and what a game by this young
man. Two touchdowns and Hastings
has almost single-handedly kept the
'Hawks in this game. A minute and a
half left, he'll need a little more
magic now...
Precision passing. A few slide steps away from defenders. An
arching pass into the arms of the receiver in the endzone.
PATTON (VO)
Touchdown! Hawks win! Hawks win!
The fans EXPLODE. The team rejoices.
FINAL SCORE: Kansas 28, Colorado 27.
Josh takes off his helmet and smiles.
INT. COACH ALLEN'S OFFICE - MORNING
COACH RUSTY ALLEN, mid-fifties, looks over the morning
newspaper. An economic slowdown. His team's amazing upset.
Having made a living as a coach, Allen weighs each decision
with the knowledge that winning and losing are the ultimate
ends.
His assistant, DEAN MOENING, still in his early thirties and
looking for the next step in his career, enters. He waits
politely for Allen to finish with the paper.
ALLEN
What's the status?
MOENING
He's better this morning, but still
hurt pretty bad.
ALLEN
Spine?
MOENING
No. They say everything is intact.
It's just a severe concussion and...
Allen looks up.
MOENING
And a fractured collar bone.
ALLEN
Whew. Okay, what about Josh? Do you
think he can handle it?
MOENING
He was good enough to walk on, and
he's been looking pretty good in
practice. After last night.
Allen cracks a smile.
ALLEN
That was fun, huh? Dean, I've been
around long enough to know that
games like that don't happen very
often.
MOENING
Well, we've got a week to enjoy it.
ALLEN
We had last night. Go find Josh.
INT. JOSH'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - MORNING
Josh sleeps. A few posters on the wall. A pile of football
gear in the corner.
An AMBULANCE races by outside.
Josh wakes up with a start. Looks out the window. Nothing
there.
The CLOCK RADIO goes off. Josh shakes his head and prepares
for the day.
INT. JOSH'S APARTMENT - LATER
Josh chugs down a can of Mountain Dew. Grabs his bag. Opens
the front door.
ANDREW DAVIS, a scrawny sophomore working the sports beat
for the university paper waits with notepad in hand.
Tired of typing box scores, Andy wants to crack a big story
and get his picture next to the headline.
ANDY
Josh Hastings. Good morning. Andrew
Davis, University Daily Journal. Do
you have a few minutes?
JOSH
I need to get to class.
ANDY
You most certainly do. I'll walk
with you.
EXT. UNIVERSITY CAMPUS - DAY
Josh resides in one of many run-down complexes located along
the edge of the campus.
Andy walks with Josh up the hill that dominates the campus
landscape.
ANDY
Sorry to bother you so early. But,
I'm trying to gather some more
information about you for the paper.
JOSH
I already talked to somebody last
night.
ANDY
Dexter Weiland?
JOSH
That's it.
ANDY
Yeah. Dexter got caught with some
pot in his dorm room. So, I have
his notes, and... Well, there isn't
a lot you say about yourself.
JOSH
I thanked the team. They work hard.
Coaches, too.
ANDY
I know. I know. But, since you're
going to be the quarterback now-
JOSH
What about Ray?
ANDY
Out for the season.
Josh stops walking.
JOSH
Shit.
ANDY
So, I was hoping to do a feature on
you. You know, where you came from,
what you do in your free time. So,
how about it?
JOSH
Look. I don't come from anywhere.
Okay?
He walks into the nearest building.
Andy jots notes amongst falling leaves.
EXT. MEMORIAL STADIUM - DAY
The stands are empty now. Practice day.
The team runs through drills as the coaches watch. A small
gathering of reporters and scouts huddle near an endzone.
Josh runs a few plays. Things go smoothly. On the field,
he's all confidence.
Coach Allen walks up to him during a break.
ALLEN
Josh. How you feeling?
JOSH
Good, coach.
ALLEN
Some of the reporters want to talk
with you. Think you're up to it?
JOSH
I'd really rather not. Coach.
ALLEN
Tell you what. I'll hold them off
for a bit. You come talk to me
after practice. We'll discuss it. I
know you're pretty new at all of
this.
Josh looks to the reporters.
JOSH
Thanks, coach.
INT. COACH ALLEN'S OFFICE - LATER
Allen makes notes in the playbook. Josh enters.
ALLEN
Thanks for coming by.
JOSH
No problem.
ALLEN
I was checking your records, Josh.
Where did you say you played your
high school ball, again?
JOSH
Norton. Montana.
ALLEN
Big sky country.
JOSH
That's right.
ALLEN
I lost some money at a casino in
Montana once.
JOSH
It happens.
ALLEN
I guess I would have been better
off finding myself some cow of a
prostitute with missing teeth. You
know anybody like that up there
that'll take my money?
Josh cracks a smile.
JOSH
I could probably find you somebody,
coach.
ALLEN
Finally. Boy, kid. You don't let
out much emotion, do ya?
JOSH
I find it's best not to, sir. Um,
about the reporters?
ALLEN
Right, them. They all want to talk
to you pretty bad. You got any
secrets?
JOSH
Sir?
ALLEN
They'll find out, you know. That's
what they do.
JOSH
I just want to play.
ALLEN
And I just want to win. Let's keep
it that way for now.
EXT. MEMORIAL STADIUM - DAY
Game Day. The stands are about twice as full as the week
before, but still not to capacity.
This crowd is more energetic than last week.
PATTON (VO)
..The road isn't getting any easier
for the Hawks. A&M comes into this
game on a five game winning streak
with the nation's second-best
defense...
INT. MEMORIAL STADIUM - LOCKER ROOM - SAME
The players all bow heads. Coach Allen paces and waves his
arms. The pre-game pep talk.
PATTON (VO)
...This will be Josh Hastings first
chance to prove last week wasn't a
fluke. I'm not sure if the Aggies
would have been his first choice,
though...
EXT. MEMORIAL STADIUM - TUNNEL - LATER
High fives. Hoots and hollers. The mad dash onto the field.
Coach Allen walks after his troops. Playbook in hand.
EXT. MEMORIAL STADIUM - GAME MONTAGE
Bodies crunching. Ball bouncing. Fans cheering.
Allen screams at everybody.
Josh lays out plays in the huddle.
A few perfect passes. A few ugly ones.
The scoreboard shows 17 points for each team. End of the
third quarter.
END MONTAGE
ON SIDELINE
Josh watches the action on the field intently.
HARPER JACKSON, a gangly black senior with heavy black paint
under his eyes, puts a hand on Josh's shoulder.
HARPER
How you feeling, man?
JOSH
Good, Harp. Good. I think we've got
'em.
Josh keeps looking over to the pool of reporters.
HARPER
You staying focused, man?
JOSH
Of course I am.
HARPER
You know, there's an easy way out
of this.
JOSH
Is that right?
Harper pounds the number 83 on his chest.
HARPER
You just punch it in to eighty-
three, and I'll take care of the
rest.
The two high five.
ON THE FIELD
A busted play for the opposing team. The quarterback gets
dropped hard. The punting unit takes the field.
ON THE SIDELINE
Allen alternates between shouting into his headset and
yelling at Josh.
ALLEN
Hastings. We need it on this
drive -- What?! They've been
running a three-four front. Why are
we splitting three wide, then? --
Okay, Josh. I need you with me here.
If that safety drops back, then the
middle is open...
JOSH
Coach.
ALLEN
--Over the middle?! Of course it's
open. We need to eat clock, that's
why -- you got that, Josh? Run down
the clock...
JOSH
Coach.
ALLEN
...our defense needs the rest. Run
down the clock, and fucking score.
JOSH
Coach. Calm down. I got it.
Josh smiles. Pulls on his helmet. Jogs onto the field.
IN THE HUDDLE
JOSH
Okay, we need to kill this clock.
D, how are your legs?
DEACON BRIGGS, Number 34, holds out his fist.
DEACON
They fresh.
JOSH
Alright. You guys give him a hole,
and let's show these fuckin' Texans
whose field they're on.
A few solid running plays gain the team some ground.
Back into the huddle.
JOSH
Lookin' good. Fakey Fourteen. Alex,
I need you to be there for me.
A fake to the running back and a pass over the middle. The
wide receiver catches it in stride. Twenty yards before he's
taken down.
ON THE SIDELINE
ALLEN
I told you the middle was open.
What's left on the clock?
IN THE HUDDLE
JOSH
What do we got?
DEACON
Minute-twenty.
JOSH
All right. This won't take a
minute, but we need to finish this.
Streak eighty-three.
HARPER
Yeah. That's what I'm talking about.
JOSH
Take us home, sweetness.
The huddle breaks. The teams line up.
The clock ticks to 1:15.
The center snaps the ball. Josh drops back.
Flashbulbs POP. Fans SCREAM.
Harper streaks down the sideline.
Josh lets fly with a beautiful spiral.
Allen pulls down his headset. Josh ducks a tackle. Watches
the ball.
Deacon pulls the pass down at the five yard line. DIVES into
the endzone.
ELATION EVERYWHERE!
Fans go nuts. Players hug and high five. Cheerleaders damn
near break their faces smiling.
Allen throws his clipboard to the sky.
Josh and Harper go to trade fists.
INT. YACHT CLUB - NIGHT
Josh and Harper clink beer glasses. The after-game
celebration in full effect.
HARPER
I told you it was easy, baby.
JOSH
Things aren't ever that easy, Harp.
HARPER
Man, you need to loosen up.
Harper starts to dance with a few ladies. Josh drinks some
more beer and eyes a few potential friends.
EXT. YACHT CLUB - SAME
The normal kind of line. People waiting to get in.
Andy pleads with one of the bouncers.
ANDY
You've got to let me in. I'm doing
a story on Josh Hastings, and I
need to document his post-game
activities.
The bouncer appears unconvinced.
INT. YACHT CLUB - SAME
Josh sits at the table with a few players and girls.
DEACON
Don't tell anybody I said this, but
I think you should have been
playing the whole season. You've
got a much smoother motion than Ray.
JOSH
He's the scholarship player, D.
Besides, he was all right.
DEACON
Na. You're just being nice, 'cause
you're supposed to.
JACKSON CHANDLER, mid-thirties, a well-dressed sports
reporter, saunters up to the table.
CHANDLER
Josh Hastings. Jackson Chandler,
KVVS. Hell of a game tonight.
JOSH
Thanks.
CHANDLER
Two wins in a row. You guys are
turning into quite a story. I'd
love to get a sit-down with you
sometime.
JOSH
I'm not supposed to be doing
interviews right now.
CHANDLER
Of course not. You celebrate. I'll
set it up with the athletic
department. We'll call you.
JOSH
Great.
CHANDLER
Just remember to dress nice. We're
national you know.
A point. A click. And Chandler walks away with a few beer
nuts in hand.
JOSH
Yeah, I know.
INT. MEMORIAL STADIUM - GAME ROOM - DAY
The coaches go over film from last night's game.
ALLEN
You see here, McCarthy dropped his
block too early.
MOENING
Hell of a job by Josh to get out of
the way.
The tape runs:
Josh narrowly avoids having his head taken off by a
linebacker. Pulls back. Guns a pass down field.
ALLEN
Look at that form. This kid didn't
just pick up football.
MOENING
I checked his history. Went to a
community college in Oregon
somewhere, but never played ball.
His high-school records haven't
come in yet.
CHANDLER (OS)
He played at Norton High. They won
state his junior season.
Chandler saunters into the room.
ALLEN
Hey. These are closed meetings.
Chandler sits back into a folding chair.
CHANDLER
Sure thing, Rusty.
MOENING
How did you know that?
CHANDLER
My sources are better than yours.
Funny thing, though. Kid didn't
play his senior year.
ALLEN
Why not?
CHANDLER
That we couldn't find out.
MOENING
Injured?
CHANDLER
Probably. Makes for a good story.
Career-ending knee surgery. Gives
the college game one last shot. Et
cetera. When can I talk to him?
ALLEN
I don't know, Jackson. He's not too
keen on reporters.
CHANDLER
Come on, Coach. He's the big story
right now. The only other thing
I've got is your career being
resurrected after all that trouble
you had.
Allen drops his gaze to the floor.
CHANDLER
And, we don't really want to bring
any of that up again, do we?
Allen glares at Chandler.
ALLEN
Gee. That's mighty big of you, Jack.
MOENING
We'll get an interview for you,
Jack. Just cool it a bit.
CHANDLER
Thanks, Dean.
Chandler stands to leave. Watches the film run.
CHANDLER
The kid's good.
MOENING
We've noticed.
CHANDLER
Three years out of the game is a
long time.
ALLEN
Yes, I know.
INT. HOCH AUDITORIUM - DAY
An amphitheater-style classroom for six-hundred students.
Lost in one of the last few rows, Josh quietly takes notes.
A nearby girl smiles in his direction. He smiles back.
Andy moves into the seat next to Josh. The smile fades.
ANDY
Got a second?
JOSH
I'm trying to learn, here.
ANDY
Right. We all need Roman mythology
in order to better serve our country.
JOSH
Some of us need it to graduate.
ANDY
And you have a three-five grade
point average. Studies aren't your
first concern.
Josh checks his watch.
JOSH
Can this wait fifteen more minutes?
ANDY
Fine.
EXT. UNIVERSITY CAMPUS - LATER
Josh and Andy funnel out with the other students. A bright,
clear day on campus.
ANDY
That was pretty interesting. The
whole swan thing.
JOSH
Yeah, I thought so, too.
ANDY
Okay. Down to business. Where have
you been playing football for the
last three years?
JOSH
Don't I get a softball first? My
favorite color or something?
ANDY
Do you have a favorite color?
JOSH
Forrest green.
ANDY
So, you're a nature-loving hick
from the sticks. I'll be sure to
put that in. Now, about the last
three years?
JOSH
I haven't been playing football.
Nothing organized, anyway.
ANDY
Rumors have it that you may have
played some pro ball a few places.
Arena league. NFL Europe.
JOSH
NFL Europe?
ANDY
Look, the last record of you
playing football was as a Junior in
high school. All of a sudden,
you're tearing up the Big Twelve.
Where did three years go?
JOSH
I was injured.
ANDY
Can I see your scar?
JOSH
This is getting a little personal,
isn't it?
ANDY
Three touchdowns and no INT's
against the nation's second-best
defense. You don't get a personal
life, anymore.
JOSH
Then, I'll try to play worse next
game. Okay. This is over now.
Josh heads into another campus building.
ANDY
I have other sources.
JOSH
You have fun.
INT. APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAY
NATALIE HOLLAND, a cute sophomore, walks slowly down the
hall. Checks apartment numbers against a slip of paper in
her hand.
Dressed in casual attire, Natalie has the look of a shy girl
from some small town, still finding her place among the
thirty-thousand students on campus.
She finds Josh's apartment number. Takes a deep breath.
Knocks.
INT. JOSH'S APARTMENT - SAME
Josh pulls a high-school yearbook from a corner shelf. Sets
it on a table. Opens the door.
He stares silently at Natalie, who returns a nervous gaze.
JOSH
Natalie?
NATALIE
Hey.
JOSH
Wha- what are you doing here?
NATALIE
I... Can I come in?
JOSH
Sure.
He motions for her to sit at the couch. She passes the table.
Notices the yearbook.
NATALIE
I go to school here. I didn't know
you were here until I saw the paper
last week. You're playing again?
JOSH
Yeah. Couldn't stand watching any
more. I didn't think I'd actually
make the team.
NATALIE
I came all of this way to escape
Norton, and I find you. How small
world is that?
JOSH
Pretty small. Can I make you a
drink or anything?
NATALIE
It's one in the afternoon, Josh.
JOSH
Right. I meant, like a Coke or
something. I can't believe you're
here.
NATALIE
Neither can I.
JOSH
How are you? How's your mom?
NATALIE
Fine, Josh. Everybody's fine. I
went home for the break. There's a
new Dairy Queen in town.
Josh smiles.
JOSH
Yeah, my dad told me about it.
His smile fades.
JOSH
How's Nathan?
Natalie looks away. Bites at her lower lip.
NATALIE
He still hates you.
JOSH
I figured that. But,...
NATALIE
His leg is doing well. He gets
around with just a cane now. I
think that's about the best it will
ever get.
JOSH
What about you?
Natalie hesitates.
NATALIE
I'm fine, Josh. I came by to see
you, didn't I?
JOSH
Does he know?
NATALIE
That you're playing. No.
JOSH
I... I shouldn't-
NATALIE
No! I'm glad you're playing, Josh.
It means you're better, right?
Josh puts his arms around her with big-brother familiarity.
JOSH
Yeah. I'm better.
Natalie squeezes Josh tight. Stands away.
NATALIE
I'm so glad you're here. I can't
believe it. Where have you been for
the last three years?
JOSH
I've been... around. It's a long
story.
NATALIE
I can imagine. Here.
She grabs a pen and writes her number down.
NATALIE
Call me.
JOSH
Natalie.
NATALIE
It's okay, Josh. I'll talk to
Nathan. It's time.
She gives Josh a peck on the cheek.
NATALIE
Call me. I mean it.
JOSH
You say that like maybe I won't.
Natalie looks away.
JOSH
I will. I promise.
She smiles as she leaves. Josh rubs his cheek where she
kissed him.
He goes to the table. Opens the yearbook to a book-marked
page.
A picture of Josh and two friends in football gear.
"Juniors Nathan Holland, Kevin Merker and Josh
Hastings celebrate Norton High's first State
Championship."
The picture is signed by Nathan and Kevin.
Josh unfolds the bookmark. A newspaper clipping. An obituary
for Kevin Merker.
"Local Teen Dies in Car Accident"
Josh's hand shakes. He folds the clipping. Closes the cover.
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