Philadelphia is one hell of a sports town (full disclosure, I grew up in the shadow of Philly in Camden NJ). While our championship titles are few and far between, we’ve got a hell of a lot of passion, even if it involves throwing snowballs at Santa Claus, throwing up on fans intentionally, or throwing unruly fans in a makeshift court/jail at now-defunct Veterans Stadium. That’s why Philly sports fans and horror fans alike should be thrilled that Rob Zombie has revealed that he’ll be writing and directing a film about the mid-70s Philadelphia Flyers.
Broad Street Bullies is the title of the film, and also the name of the HBO documentary that Zombie bought the rights to. While many may be wondering why Zombie would get involved in a sports film, the combination of ’70s, the Flyers’ fierce reputation, and his love of blood and slow motion are perfectly suited for a movie about the Flyers, who came from out of nowhere to win two Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975, and it’ll likely be a lot more raw than Invincible, another sports film about Philly. Deadline says that he’ll have full cooperation from the Flyers organization, whose senior VP Bobby Clarke played on the Flyers in their Broad Street Bullies era.
Zombie got the rights to the team’s story and has the full support of the Flyers organization. He likened the tone of the tale to Rocky meets Boogie Nights on ice. “Each character involved is more outrageous than the next,” Zombie said. “The backdrop of the turbulent year of 1974 is perfect for this ‘stranger than fiction’ sports tale.”
In short, this totally makes sense for Zombie. Philly has always been a rock and roll town, the ’70s rock hits and violence should make for the best movie about ’70s hockey since Slap Shot. They hope to start work on it soon.
