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 / WGAE#I207794 FADE IN: INT. ICE RINK - ROANOKE, VA - NIGHT (1969) In the era of hockey players without helmets... Two PLAYERS collide along the boards. Super: 1969 Eastern Hockey League - Roanoke, Virginia ON THE HOME TEAM BENCH sits ROANOKE REBEL #16, DAVE SCHULTZ (19) - a clean-cut, wide- eyed all-Canadian farm boy. He watches this game like a rookie soldier on the edge of a war-zone. COACH (O.S.) Schultz. Get your gloves on. Dave slips hockey gloves over his bare hands. ON THE ICE - GAME IN PLAY Dave receives a crisp breakout pass. His thin frame lends to a speedy-style; he skates like there’s a target on his back. Dodges a body check in the neutral zone. Zooms over the blue line. A huge JOHNSTOWN JETS DEFENSEMAN (20s) with crossed-eyes and a crooked-jaw waits - it’s Dave and him. One-on-one. Dave dekes. Passes to himself through the Defenseman’s legs. Rips a quick, low snap-shot past the GOALIE -- GOAL! Throws his arms up in celebration! Pissed, the Defenseman skates over. Gives Dave a bump. Intimidated, Dave backs away. Retreats for the bench. DEFENSEMAM Little shit. Dave’s back turned, the Defenseman skates up from behind. Jacks his stick-blade up into Dave’s Adam’s apple. Dave drops - gasping - clutching his throat. 2. Only the ice sees the fear & lack of oxygen on his face. The Defenseman coasts around smirking. After a moment, Dave’s oxygen returns. And with it, a scowl of bloody revenge. He snaps. Pops to his skates. Gloves fly off in a crazed flail of fists that ends with a big right hand from Dave - breaking the Defenseman’s nose! Everyone, including Dave, is shocked by the sudden burst of violence and blood. IN THE STANDS KEITH ALLEN (40s), a gray-haired man in a PHILADELPHIA FLYERS JACKET watches in awe. Impressed, he marks his note pad. BACK ON THE ICE The REF (30s) latches onto Dave. Pulls him toward the penalty box. REF Where’d that come from? Dave rubs his throat. Shrugs. DAVE Didn’t mean to. REF Still gonna cost ya. (opens the penalty box) Rules are rules. IN THE BOX Dave catches his breath. A rush of awe, shock, and a little guilt. Did I just do that? Glances down at the other guy’s blood on his knuckles. DAVE Holy Sh- CUT TO: 3. TITLE CARD: “BROAD STREET BULLY” FADE IN ON: EXT. SOUTH PHILADELPHIA, PA - DAY (1973) A street sign blackened by car exhaust reads: “BROAD STREET” THE SPECTRUM sports arena stands guard over this intersection. Super: The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, May 1973 INT. SPECTRUM - 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. 4. 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. SNIDER Freddy? SHERO We need muscle. SNIDER Guys who can beat up other guys? Shero nods. Snider looks to Allen. SNIDER (CONT'D) Get ‘em in here. EXT. CANADIAN PRAIRIES - 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 ON A DIRT ROAD DAVE SCHULTZ (20s) jogs, shirtless, hockey stick in hand as he stick handles a rock. Sweat drips from his clean-shaven face to his broad shoulders. Four years has 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” 5. 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. Cathy waves. OUTSIDE THE FENCE - BEHIND THE POOL HOUSE Cathy reads the letter. She’s about to cry. CATHY That’s great, Dave. DAVE What’s wrong, Cath? Cathy wipes a tear. CATHY Wasn’t my plan to think about this today. DAVE Then don’t. Dave kisses her. Major PDA. They’re interrupted by a car honk. Busted. 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. 6. INT. MCNAB’S HOUSE – MOMENTS LATER (1973) On a clean, white LIVING ROOM WALL: CIVIC AWARDS presented to “BOB McNAB, MAYOR OF ROSETOWN.” KITCHEN Bob McNab steeps a hot tea. BOB MCNAB He’s too old. 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 How old were you when you and Mum started dating? 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 With no education. Probably spend the rest of his life scraping by, spending what he does make on booze and nothing else good. Just like his father. CATHY That’s not Dave. BOB MCNAB Dave, Joe Puck, John Hockey, they’re a dime a dozen, Dear. 7. 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 Well? 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. 8. 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 Look. Takes Edgar a moment to process as Dave waits for approval. Edgar hands it back. DAVE (CONT'D) You didn’t even read it. EDGAR Did so. DAVE Well? EDGAR I could’ve made it to the big time. (Edgar flexes his hand like he had some old injury) You better make it. DAVE I’ll try. EDGAR Better do more than that. You wanna end up back here playing with your brother? 9.