Azurine Vebbins vs Tyler Ransom

A single camera, no cut shot of a large west coast mansion is revealed. The house on the outside is pristine, something almost out of a movie. The camera operator’s hand is revealed, pressing the door bell. The sound of the ring is faintly heard, but is clear that it has gone off in the house. Then, there is nothing. No response. No answer. The camera sits in silence for almost a minute which is truly almost an eternity in live air time.



Then, off screen, a voice is heard, presumably that of a crew member.



Unknown voice: Hey. Um, yeah. He’s not here. (pause) No. Seriously. (pause) Well, I suppose, yes, he could be here. Somewhere. But currently, it’s been about twenty, thirty minutes and we’ve tried the door, banging on windows, calling him. Nothing. (pause) Yes, yes we got some b-roll footage of the house. We’ve done all we can do, and we’ve got a deadline too, you know? We’ve got places to be. I’ve got my kids Christmas program here in a few hours. We’re going to have to leave. (pause) Seriously? (pause) Um. Are you sure that’s alright? (pause) Um. Okay.



Dale. Hey, boss says to check the door. See if it’s unlocked or something? Said that we can cover our asses and say its like a welfare check.



At this moment, another voice, louder is heard. This one is clearly one of the man operating the camera. Simple deductive reasoning means that this man’s name is Dale.



Dale: Well, alright.



A simple reach to the door is seen on camera. Shockingly, the door handle turns, the door cracks open.



Dale: Well I’ll be…this son-of-a-gun is unlocked.



Unknown voice: Boss, did you hear that? It’s unlocked. (A longer pause) Um. Okay. Um. Yeah, sure. (pause) Okay. Will do. But I’m just sayin’…(pause) Yes ,I understand. But seriously, if I get arrested and miss my kids program….(pause) yes sir. Okay, okay fine. (pause) Okay. Yes. Um. Yes, we will. We will. (pause) Okay. Okay bye.



Hey Dale, boss said we need to go in. We need to see if he’s here. If he’s here, we’ve got to try to get something. Boss said it’s money just burning right now and we’ve got to try to get something usable.



But look, man, we’ve got to make this quick. I’ve got to be out of here in the next hour. If I miss another concert, the wife is not going to be happy.



The camera finally turns towards the unknown voice and nods in agreement. The unknown voice is now revealed to be a crew member holding a boom mic. He is a bit disheveled and clearly frustrated by the appearance on his face.



Dale: Well, look. Money doesn’t make itself, and I really can’t afford to be searching for another job. So let’s just get this son-of-a-gun done and over with, shall we?



The camera shows the crew member begrudgingly agree before turning back to the door and slowly opening up. The camera scans around the downstairs area of the house and the appearance of it can only be described in two words.



Crew Member: Holy shit.



The place is nothing if not a disaster. Clothes, bottles of alcohol, food are everywhere. It’s almost hard to see the ground. It looks as if the place had not been cleaned in months or if a party had occurred in the previous days. We see, via the camera, the men step over the trash and look around, from the living room they travel to the kitchen, and then around to another area which could be described as an entertainment room. Large TV’s, a pool table, and something that appears to be a dance floor. This area, though, is still as in much of ruins as the rest of the house.



One could almost describe this as symbolism. A shiny, beautiful exterior, and an inside that is torn to shreds. An inside that is broken, and appears almost unfixable.



This has been the reality of Tyler Ransom for a very long time. The rumors were true. A party boy with an inability to control himself. A warrior in the ring, a former champion, but one with demons that control him in ways that have led to his ultimate demise and fall from grace.



He had promised those at Mile High that he was going to turn a corner, to be the best version of himself. Yet this image painted a whole different picture entirely.



The camera begins it’s scan of the areas in the house and moving through the rooms before heading to a set of stairs. At this moment, the camera stops and we hear the crew member once more.



Crew member: Dale. Dale, you hear that?



Dale: I do, I do. It sounds like…



Crew member: An alarm. Like one of those iPhone alarms.



Dale: I think that son-of-a-gun is coming from upstairs.



Crew member: Well, go up there, go on. We’ve gotta check it out.



There is no more speaking at this point and instead we see the camera heading up the stairs. About half way up the stairs the camera microphone is able to pick up the sound that the men have heard. It is, indeed, a phone alarm. As the camera moves down the hall, the sound becomes louder….and louder….and louder until it turns and reveals a master bedroom. This room, like the rest of the house, is an utter disaster. However….





Crew member: Holy shit.



Dale: Son-of-a-gun.



The camera reveals a man face down in the master bed, wearing nothing but briefs. Even though the face is not seen, it seems clear that this is the physique of Tyler Ransom. The camera then quickly turns and shows the crew member with his mouth agape.



Dale: What do we do?



There is a long pause as we see the wheels in this man’s brain turning. He paces for a moment before stopping and looking back to Dale.



Crew member: Shake him.



Dale: Say what now?



Crew member: Shake the damn guy. We’ve got to, ya know. See if he’s dead or something.



Dale: I can’t…son-of-a-gun…I can’t shake him.



Crew member: Why not?



Dale: Because. I’ve got the camera.



Crew member: I don’t care! Shake him.



Dale: You shake him.



Crew member: You shake him!



Dale: No…you!



In the middle of this argument, which is of the same ilk as a long-time married couple, we hear, off camera, the moans of another voice, coming from, what appears to be, the bed. The camera quickly turns back to the bed to see the man, now definitely Tyler Ransom, stirring from his bed.



Tyler Ransom: Shut the (expletive) up! Both of you! And for the love of God, turn that damn alarm off.



Tyler Ransom is seen clutching his head, stirring from his slumber. His body slowly moves as one does when rising from a long nights sleep. As the camera stays fixated on Tyler Ransom, we see the crew member rushing over to the phone on the other side of the bed and turning off the alarm. The camera is now on the right corner of the foot of the bed, while the unnamed crew member is on the left side of the foot of the bed. The camera, once again stays fixated on Tyler.



As he rolls around on the bed for a moment, coming to his senses, we then see that exact moment where his brain ticks on to the point where he realizes that two complete strangers are lurking over him, one with a camera.



In this exact moment we see Tyler’s eyes widen to the point where his eyeballs reveal his large bloodshot baby blues. As soon as this happen, his body movies with cat-like reflexes to grab a sheet from his bed to cover his body and he stands up, on the top of his bed, his mouth clenched.



Tyler Ransom: Who are you!? Who are you!? What the (expletive) are you doing in my house? Get out of my house! Get the (expletive) out! You’re both (expletive)!



Crew member: Mr. Ransom! Mr. Ransom! (His hands moving in a defensive position) We mean no harm, no harm at all! We are here for an interview, a scheduled interview. We talked on the phone last week.



As Tyler’s body stays in attack mode for a moment, we begin to see everything clicking in his brain. This realization is becoming clear through his facial expressions and by showing how is body relaxes a bit.



Tyler Ransom: Oh, shit. And you assholes didn’t think to knock?



Crew member: Mr. Ransom, we did. We’ve been here for a half an hour.



Tyler stares at him for another second before sitting at the edge of the bed, his hand moving to his temples, massaging them.



Tyler Ransom: (Looking up to the crew member) Well, damn. Guess I hit it a little too hard last night, didn’t I?



Crew member: Look. Mr. Ransom, we are just here to do our job, to get some thoughts on your debut. We were brought here to put together an introduction package for you and to get your thoughts on your debut match against Azurine Vebbins. That’s why we’re are here. Trust us, we don’t want to be here as much as you don’t want us here.



Tyler Ransom: Who sent you here?



Crew member: Mile High executives. (He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a card and hands it to him.) See? Here are my credentials.



Tyler Ransom: Well (expletive).



Dale: Mr. Ransom, if you could refrain from that kind of language though, it makes it really hard for editing purposes. Really.



We then, again, see Tyler flip a switch to anger and turn to the camera, starring at the man behind the camera with intense aggression before standing up on the carpet at the foot of his bed.



Tyler Ransom: And you are, you stupid mother (expletive)?



Dale: I…I’m Dale.



Tyler Ransom: Well, Dale, let me give you a little bit of advice here, my friend. If you tell me what to do one more time, it’ll be the last time you ever speak, you understand me? I don’t care if I’m still drunk or not, it will be nothing but pain for you, okay?



Dale: Sir. Sir, I’m sorry. It’s just. Look, we can’t be here long and we just needed some footage, and your match against Ms. Vebbins.



He pauses before sitting back on the bed, clenching his temples again and looking back him to him.



Tyler Ransom: You mean the woman with the speech impediment? Sounds like she’s dumb or something?



Dale: Well, sir, I wouldn’t say that…



Putting his hand up as if to shush him, he shakes his head.



Tyler Ransom: You wouldn’t? You wouldn’t do that? You wouldn’t say she sounds like an absolute disaster and looks even more like one? Well, don’t worry about that, camera man, because those are my words. That’s what I’m saying…and that’s an absolute fact. You ever hear that clown try to form sentences? It’s like she’s got a mouth full of marbles. I mean, for Christ Sake, she’s got that Bobby Boucher shit going on like she’s trying to be the star in the sequel of the Waterboy.



The other crew member, who is still in the frame, is seen laughing a bit at this undercut jab. Tyler’s head turns to him.



Tyler Ransom: Oh? You think that’s funny do you? You think I’m entertaining now? You think what I have to say has value now, huh? Well, maybe you’ll think about that the next time you decide to break into my house and try to get footage for me for a dumb-ass promo. Okay? Jesus Christ!



Tyler then stands up and stumbles over to a stand near a television and grabs a bottle of water that is on the stand, he slowly opens it up and takes a swig.



Tyler Ransom: Look. Guys. Look. I’m sorry, really I am.



He appears sincere in this moment.



Tyler Ransom: I get that you’re trying to do your job, and you’re going to try to get it done by any means necessary. I understand. In fact, part of me really sorts of respect that you guys both have the nut sacks to break into my house and try to get information from me. But here’s the deal, I’m not in the mood to talk right now, you understand? I had a long night, I had a good time, and now, here I am, waking up with two hairy ass strangers in my room who are acting me to juggle for them like I’m a clown. If you want footage from me, if you want something that shows who I am then why don’t you just go get some old footage of me from a decade ago. I’m sure I said some really cool things back then that you can put to use, okay? Just go and do that and those clowns at Mile High will never know the wiser.



Crew member: But Tyler, Mr. Ransom, don’t you think it needs to be a bit more personalized? I mean, you’re back after a five year hiatus. After five years you’re clean and sober….



He looks around and sees the mess, many of the bottles that are around are alcoholic.



Crew member: Allegedly. People were excited to see you back and healthy, they just wanted to know what your game plan was and what your goal was for Mile High…



Tyler’s hands go up again, dismissively.



Tyler Ransom: Look boys. You want to know what my game plan is? You want to know what I’m going to do here at Mile High? You want to know how I feel now that I’m sober? If that’s what you want to know, then why don’t you ask me when I’m sober, okay? Jesus Christ.



The fact of the matter is, I’m back because I miss the thrill of going out there and laying asses on the mat. I’m back because the paychecks that come to me for doing it make me living the lifestyle that I like living worth it. I’m back because I can be. Isn’t that enough? Just get the (expletive) out of here, now, before I call the cops and we do this proper next week for my next match okay? But, for Christ’s sake, get out of here now, and don’t ever walk into my house again, you understand me?



The camera pans over to the crew member and we see him nod and gesture to the camera to exit. The camera begins to oblige before stopping and turning, one last time, to Tyler.



Dale: Mr. Ransom. Sir. Can you just….maybe, give a message to Ms. Vebbins for your match here in the coming days?



We see Tyler sigh and flop back on his bed, starring at the ceiling. He gestures to the ceiling as if he’s talking to himself and then, eventually, becomes a bit vocal.



Tyler Ransom: You want to know if I have a message for Azurine Vebbins? You want to know if I need to threaten her to scare her for our match? Jesus Christ, man, You don’t understand do you?



The fact of the matter is, I haven’t thought more than 5 minutes about that woman and her mouth. Have I trained for her? No. Have I made a gameplan? No. And why is that, do you think? Well, That’s because I’m the best thing this company has ever seen and I don’t need to train for something that is an automatic. Do I have to train to breathe? Do I have to train to take a shit? Do I have to train to shave? No. No I don’t. That’s because it just happens. And when it comes to Tyler Ransom, that’s how this sort of stuff goes. When it comes to victories, it. Just. Happens. It’s what I do.



You see, boys, when it comes to Azurine Vebbins, she’s more worried about whether or not it’s ‘wear a green sweater’ day or ‘National Four Loko appreciation’ day than she is about battling someone who is a supreme talent in this industry. She will not know what hits here when she gets in the ring with me. No one ever does. I don’t care if it’s been five years off or fifty years off, when it comes to Tyler Ransom, the world isn’t ready. They’ve never been ready, and they never will be. I am THE absolute greatest gift this place has ever seen, and when I get into the ring after this five year hiatus, the world will remember that Tyler Ransom is the greatest thing this world has ever seen. And frankly, boys… (He pauses for a moment before delivering his money-line catch phrase) That’s ALL I’ve got to say about that.



See you soon, Azurine.



He shakes his head as he rubs his temples again.



And I’ll see you both when I’m sober. Now get the (expletive) out of my house. Now.



Once again, the crew member gestures to the camera to leave, and this time, they both do. The camera goes down the step and quickly hits the door to the outside. After the door opens it hurries outside before turning to the other crew member.



Crew member: Well, that’s something. We at least got something. (pause) Right?



There is another long pause before we hear the voice of Dale.



Dale: Son-of-a-gun.



The camera clicks off.