Broad Street Bully
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
BROAD STREET BULLY by Chad Schultz Based on the life story of Dave "The Hammer" Schultz Lyrics to the song "Penalty Box" by Kal Mann reprinted with permission from Spirit One Music o/b/o Kalmann Music Inc. Chad Schultz Poets & Killers LLC o/b/o Dave The Hammer LLC 129 South Church St. Moorestown, NJ 08057 609.670.6808 [email protected] ©2009 Chad Schultz FADE IN: TWO HOCKEY PLAYERS collide in front of a TEAM BENCH where DAVE SCHULTZ (19), a clean-shaven, wide-eyed, innocent farm boy, watches the play like a rookie soldier on the edge of a war-zone. It’s 1969. Hockey helmets don’t even exist. And down here in the minors, guys knock out teeth for points. COACH (O.S.) Schultz. Get your gloves on. Dave slips them on and hops the boards. ON THE ICE - GAME IN PLAY Dave receives a breakout pass from a SMALLER TEAMMATE (20s). Skates like there’s a target on his back. Makes a HUGE OPPOSING DEFENSEMAN (20s) look like a fool by passing the puck to himself through the Defenseman’s legs. Ripping a quick, low snap-shot past the GOALIE -- SCORE! Sticks raise in celebration. Pissed, the Defenseman cruises over and plants a cheap elbow to Dave’s SMALLER TEAMMATE - who goes down - hurt. The sight of this stirs something in Dave, he glares at the villain, a cross-eyed brute, who takes the eye contact like any alpha male would. DEFENSEMAN (to Dave) What’re you gonna do, Chickenshit? Fight or flight? Dave chooses the latter. Turns his back and retreats to the bench. Thrilled with Dave’s cowardice, the Defenseman catches up. Passes. Jacks his stick-blade into Dave’s Adam’s apple. Dave drops to all fours - gasping - clutching his throat. The Defenseman coasts around smirking. Dave fights to breathe. Only the ice sees the fear of death on his face. 2. TITLE CARD: “BROAD STREET BULLY” FADE IN ON: A “BROAD STREET” sign blackened by car exhaust hangs over a grimy South Philadelphia intersection. In the distance, stands THE SPECTRUM SPORTS ARENA Super: The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, May 1973 INT. SPECTRUM OFFICE - SAME (1973) Darkness. A film projector runs. SCRATCHY HOCKEY FOOTAGE: Boston’s TERRY O’REILLY (20s) sucker punches Philadelphia’s young Captain, BOBBY CLARKE (20s), who goes down bleeding. In the shadows sits FLYERS CHAIRMAN, ED SNIDER (40s), a white- haired man in a perfect suit, disgusted by what he just saw. Head Coach FRED SHERO (40s) sits in the corner smoking a cigarette. His eyes darkened by his signature yellow-tinted glasses. He looks like a boxer waiting for the next round. Keith Allen turns off the projector. Opens the blinds. Daylight hits a FLYERS LOGO on the wall. We’re in an office. SNIDER How is he? ALLEN On the mend. But you know Clarkey. Anxious to get back to work. He’s already talking about training camp. SNIDER What about the rest of the boys? I know quite a few of them saw that and just rolled over. Gave up the game. ALLEN Could’ve been a lot worse, Ed. 3. SNIDER (sighs) The whole future of this club is just one cheap shot away from going down for good. Could you imagine? Be impossible to replace Clarke. Take years. We’d never survive. (thinks) Keith, hear me. As long as you’re General Manager, I don’t ever want to see a Philadelphia Flyer intimidated again. Not ever. ALLEN I hear you. Shero crushes out his cigarette. SHERO You wanna build a mean machine, you need muscle. SNIDER Guys who can beat up other guys? Shero nods. Snider looks to Allen. SNIDER (CONT'D) Get ‘em in here. EXT. DIRT ROAD - DAY (1973) It’s a hot, dry summer day in Saskatchewan, a flatland of gold prairies and farms of wheat, corn, flax and cows. Super: Saskatchewan, Canada, July 1973 DAVE SCHULTZ (20s) runs, shirtless, hockey stick in hand as he stick handles a rock. Sweat drips from his clean-shaven face to his broad shoulders. Years have made a young man out of him. Confident. His hair-style and sideburns show a little Elvis-inspired rebelliousness. ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN Dave shoots a row of rocks at a METAL SIGN -- CLANG! CLANG! The sign reads: “WELCOME TO ROSETOWN HEART OF THE WHEATBELT” 4. EXT. SCHULTZ’S HOUSE - DAY (1973) Dave sprints to a stop in front of a modest gray house with cracked siding and a chain-link fence. AT THE MAILBOX marked “SCHULTZ”. DAVE pulls out an envelope from THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS. Tears into it. Reads. Excited. Ditches the stick. Sprints back the way he came. EXT. PUBLIC POOL GROUNDS - LATER (1973) Dave reaches the fence. Eyes CATHY McNAB (17) on the other side, a knockout blonde in a red one-piece, reading a book. Dave whistles to her. Cathy looks, but instead of waving, she hops up, acting like she didn’t see him and is heading to the bathroom. OUTSIDE THE FENCE - BEHIND THE POOL HOUSE Cathy reads the letter. She’s about to cry. CATHY That’s great, Dave. Dave reaches for her, concerned. DAVE Cath? What is it? CATHY Wasn’t my plan to think about this today. DAVE Then don’t. Dave kisses her. Major PDA. Cathy pushes away, paranoid. CATHY Dave. DAVE No one can see. They’re interrupted by a car honk. Busted. 5. A WHITE CADILLAC FOUR DOOR. Out pops Cathy’s father, BOB McNAB (40s), a clean-cut gentleman in a suit and brimmed hat, the kind that a businessman molded in the 50s would wear. He appears quite ticked off at this sight. INT. MCNAB’S HOUSE – MOMENTS LATER (1973) On a clean, white LIVING ROOM WALL: CIVIC AWARDS presented to “BOB McNAB, MAYOR OF ROSETOWN.” BOB MCNAB (O.S.) He’s too old. KITCHEN Bob steeps a hot tea. JEAN (40s), Cathy’s mother, pulls a HAM from the oven as Cathy serves dinner to her YOUNGER SIBLINGS, JIM and ROB 14, 13 and LORY, 8). It’s a lively, light-hearted family dinner. CATHY By four years. Same as you and Mum. Bob and Jean glance at each other; guilty as charged. JEAN Edna told me Greg still wants to take you out. CATHY Mum, I don’t want to go out with Greg flippin’ Boucher! I’m with Dave. BOB MCNAB You’re not with that jockstrap. CATHY He’s a gentleman. BOB MCNAB Oh Malarkey. I know his father. And that’s not what I’ve heard. CATHY What? ... What’d you hear? BOB MCNAB He’s too old for you. 6. INT. SCHULTZ HOUSE - NIGHT (1973) Beef stew simmers on the stove in a dim, distant, poor home. Dave, RAY (20s), his stocky older brother, and THREE SISTERS (12,10,7), plus their MOTHER, PAULINE (40s), a heavy Ukrainian woman, all sit in silence as they slurp stew. Pauline glares at the one empty place setting. LATER THAT NIGHT - FAMILY ROOM A hockey portrait of DAVE’S FATHER (at age 19) playing for the CANADIAN ARMY TEAM hangs next to a smile-less wedding portrait on a cracked wall. Dave sleeps on a CHESTERFIELD. Anticipation wakes him. It’s dark. Pauline snores in a nearby chair. The door BANGS open. It’s DAVE’S FATHER, EDGAR (40s). Pauline wakes. Dave fakes sleep. Edgar shuffles in. He’s a burly grump in black-rimmed glasses and dirty coveralls. Drunk as a skunk. Pauline snaps to her feet. A stand-off. PAULINE What’s your excuse this time? Edgar slips past her like she’s nothing. PAULINE (CONT'D) Edgar. He goes to the ICE BOX. Grabs a BEER. Cracks it. Drinks. PAULINE (CONT'D) You’ve got to stop this. EDGAR Don’t you tell me nothin’. Pauline grabs a wooden spoon. Charges Edgar. He retreats around the table. She chases. Dave can’t take it. Jumps to action. Breaks it up. 7. DAVE Mum! For Chrissake! Stop it n’ go to bed! Finally, Pauline calms. Leaves for the bedroom. Edgar plops at the table. Sips beer. Like nothing happened. EDGAR You workout today? Dave pads over to a TRUNK in the family room. Takes out an OLD SCRAPBOOK. Shows his father an open page: THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS LETTER taped in. EDGAR (CONT'D) What’s that? Dave points to the FLYERS LOGO. It takes Edgar a moment to process as Dave waits for approval. Edgar hands it back. Somber in his reaction. Dave’s disappointed. DAVE Did you read it? Edgar drinks. He’s somewhere else. EDGAR I could’ve made the big time, ya know. Had my chance. (Edgar rubs his hands together feeling the texture) Goddamn cement hands. (beat) You better make it. DAVE I’ll try. EDGAR Better do more than that. You wanna end up back here playing with your brother? 8. INT. SLAUGHTERHOUSE FARM - DAY (1973) Dave and Ray shovel guts from a slaughtered cow into a BIN. RAY scoops, switches the shovel to a hockey style. RAY He shoots... Shoots the guts at Dave. Dave dodges, but accidentally tips the bin. Blood & guts spill all over the floor. RAY (CONT'D) He scores! Dave shovels frantically. DAVE Jesus! Ray, help me! Ray (20s) laughs as Dave slips trying to contain the mess. RAY Better get used to it, eh. DAVE No thanks. EXT. MCNAB’S BACKYARD - NEXT DAY (1973) White picket fence. Lush green lawn. Veggie garden. Cathy waters sprouting carrot tops. On the back road, Dave pulls up in his beat up Plymouth.