THE BRAVEST

Genre: Drama, Feature Film
Writer: Jonathan Flora
Story by: Jonathan Flora and Deborah Flora
Producers: Jonathan Flora, Deborah Flora
Status: In Development, Script completed and available

SYNOPSIS

What started as a 1972 bar room challenge in Brooklyn, New York, between a legendary firefighter and a raucous cop, launches two new teams, the FDNY Bravest and NYPD Finest, whose fierce rivalry develops into one of the top semi-professional football games in the nation and grows into a league that now reaches coast-to-coast.

This is the story of one of the two teams created that day, the FDNY Bravest Football Club, led by the winningest coach in the history of American football with 621 wins, Pudgie Walsh, built like a fire hydrant with a gravely bulldog voice and face to match. Far removed from the spotlight and mega-salaries of the NFL, these men play not for fame, but for the love of the game and a brotherhood unique to the world of firefighters. 

This is also the story of friendships forged in the firehouses as well as on the football field. Childhood friends Steve Orr and brothers Timmy and Mike Stackpole. The bond between the three is as unbreakable as it is unlikely with their different temperaments. 

Most of all, this is a story of the triumph of the human spirit, one that shines brightest in the wake of unspeakable loss. On September 11, 2001, of the 343 New York Firefighters killed that tragic day, the Bravest Football Club lost 22 players and coaches. How does a team go on after losing so many key players they don’t have enough left to dress the squad? How does a player go on when their lost teammate is a brother or lifelong friend, like Timmy Stackpole, promoted to Captain just five days earlier? Or perhaps the real question is, do they go on at all?

When Timmy’s body is pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center, the answer is clear. Steve and Mike join Pudgie, and together they rally the remaining players. They know continuing on will be the best way to honor their fallen. However, resurrecting the team seems like an insurmountable task. Where will they find the players?

While the police force can recruit from over 40,000, some with big college and even NFL experience, compared to 10,000 for the FDNY, word spreads like wildfire through the firehouses, departments, and the Fire Academy. The team is overwhelmed by the response as more than 120 firefighters, twice the normal number, flood the field for their first practice. There is an underlying oath among firemen: they never let each other fight their battles alone.

The team’s inspiring comeback attracts the attention of NFL Films and suddenly a grieving nation is watching. The heart of America is captured as they cheer, not just for this battered group of men, knocked down so hard, but for the nation’s own collective healing as well. 

At the pinnacle of this comeback in Giants Stadium, as the Bravest prepare to meet their on-field nemesis, the NYPD Finest, most of the 30,000 fans in the stands and those watching on TV are rooting for the storybook ending of triumph for the Bravest.

Who wins? You’ll just have to see.

In the rich tradition of The Blind Side, Remember the Titans, and We Are Marshall, The Bravest is a story where underdogs become the champion of an entire nation wrestling with unspeakable tragedy and loss. The hopes of millions become united in one unforgettable football season.