An exclusive interview with the producer of the “Dallas Sucks” project
By Ryan Neal
To get this project running, we need your help, and to spread more awareness, we interviewed director Matt Broad to find out more about him and this great project.
Matt Broad and Brian Bennett need your help. They are in the midst of creating an amazing documentary entitled “Dallas Sucks: A completely unbiased Documentary.” This documentary is going to capture much more than just a rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys.
Recently, Ryan Neal of Inside The Iggles had the privilege of interviewing Matt Broad, the director/producer of this great project. We wanted to make people more aware of this project and find out more about it ourselves. Here is the result of the interview.
Eagles
- Can you let us Eagles fans know a little more about you?
We’re a team of filmmakers (Brian Bennett – the director/producer – and Matt Broad – the writer/producer) who grew up together as die-hard Philly sports fans over the Ben Franklin Bridge in Marlton, New Jersey. Both of us moved to Los Angeles over a decade ago, and following sports, specifically the Eagles, is a way that we maintain our connection to Philly – the community that will always define us.
Brian’s big break was as the time-lapse photographer on Breaking Bad – he’s one of the few people who worked on that show from the pilot to the finale. He’s an accomplished cinematographer, editor, and director. I’m (Matt) a sports, media, and comedy fanatic and writer– this movie is really a combination of all three. Brian and I produce and collaborate on everything we do. This is our feature debut but we’ve been working steadily as a duo for the last five years.
- Do you have a favorite Eagles memory? What do the Eagles mean to you?
Without a doubt, my favorite Eagles memory is “The Pickle Juice Game” of 2000. I was 17 years old at the time and coming off a half-decade of horrible Eagles play as well as Cowboys dominance.
When they recovered that onside kick and Duce (Staley) proceeded to reel off over 200 yards in a huge victory, the entire fanbase could just tell that it was two ships passing in the night. The Cowboys were no longer the Cowboys and the Eagles were in charge of the division. Unfortunately we didn’t get that elusive Super Bowl title, but as a Philly fan can you ever really expect that? We’re planning to do a big animated segment on “The Pickle Juice Game” – can’t wait for that.
To us, Eagles fans are our community. Without Philly twitter, streaming radio stations, and the ability to watch games from afar there is no way we could maintain the connection we have to Philadelphia. On a personal note, being an Eagles fan links me to my father, my brother, and my grandfather, all of whom still live on the East coast – during the season I have hour-long conversations with all of them, every week. Philly sports bond us together as a family.
as you go up funding tiers, you can even be named as an executive producer in the opening credits and you (or your business) can actually be assured a spot in the movie. – Matt Broad
- What does this project mean to you?
This is our feature film debut, and we think it’s the ONLY movie that could be our feature debut. There’s no story we’re more qualified to tell than the story of the Philly sports fan – which ultimately is what this documentary is about. We know we took a chance by using “Dallas Sucks” as a title, but to us there was no other possibility.
In Philly, saying Dallas Sucks is like saying “Good morning.” It’s ubiquitous. So there’s no better way to delve into the community of Philly sports fans than by using the rivalry as a jumping-off point. And we want to assure the Internet that there can be a smart film called “Dallas Sucks”! And this will be a smart film – filled with wit, history, and Philadelphia culture.
- What has been your favorite part of this process?
Last year we filmed in Philadelphia for a week. The results of this shoot are seen in the trailer that is everywhere right now. We talked to a lot of legends, but I’d say sitting down with Ray Didinger for 2 hours, and discussing the entire history of the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry was the highlight. The man literally wrote The Eagles Encyclopedia, and here I am talking to him for two hours about the most important aspect in the history of the franchise. It was like talking to the Pope about The Bible. It was incredible.
- The Eagles vs Cowboys rivalry is huge, how are you going to portray it?
The Eagles-Cowboys rivalry is the backbone of the film. We are going to cover every important moment in the history of the rivalry, from Lee Roy Jordan‘s 1968 hit on Timmy Brown which is considered the start of the rivalry, to the disastrous end of the Chip Kelly era exemplified by DeMarco Murray‘s final fumble.
We’ve already got enough interviews to do this, but the fact is we are not making an NFL Films documentary. We love NFL Films, but this isn’t that. More than anything, we want to show how the rivalry influences the culture of Philadelphia sports fandom, and we will also address what Glen Macnow so brilliantly refers to as “the fungus amungus.”
The fact that surveys have shown that 1 out of every 12 people in the Delaware Valley consider themselves a Cowboys fan is a huge part of this film. The box scores and major benchmarks of the rivalry will be in the film. We’re very serious about capturing the history, but the movie is about more than the rivalry. That’s the jumping-off point so we can delve into the history and culture of Philadelphia.
- I feel like this movie can bring the Eagles community together in a sense, do you feel the same?
We absolutely feel like this movie can and will bring the Eagles community together. That is 100% the reason we decided to give Kickstarter a chance. Truth be told, there are other ways for us to finance this film. But if we’re able to come together as a community to get it produced, then we all own it in a sense. And if we own it, we can tell the story the way that WE want to tell it. No BS, light on sentimentality, heavy on humor. We want to take every stereotype that’s out there about Philly sports fans, contextualize them and free us of the burden of over 50 years of being misunderstood. In other words, not every “boo” should be created equally. They all have different meaning, and isn’t it time that someone told the REAL story of why we booed Santa. But with claymation?
- Can you talk a little more about the rewards people get for donating for this cause?
First off, even a minimum donation of $5 gets you a digital download of the film after the movie premiers, plus your name in the closing credits. We’ve designed some hilarious memorabilia as well, and we are so excited that Cheesesteak Tees asked us to partner with them. They’ll be handling the tee-shirts. We’re setting up a store with them as we speak, so people don’t have to wait until next year to get those. The Buddy Ryan one we came up with is AMAZING.
We’re also offering stills from Breaking Bad – the iconic shot of the RV in the middle of the desert, and as you go up funding tiers, you can even be named as an executive producer in the opening credits and you (or your business) can actually be assured a spot in the movie. You can be in it! We really need business and civic leaders to step up, so we can fund this movie ourselves. But again, we’re THRILLED with minimum donations. This is a real grassroots movement, and we can’t make it without everyone donating whatever they can and sharing.
Next: Eagles: Injuries and a guess at the final 53 man roster
From Ryan Neal:
I hope this interview answered any questions you have concerning this project. As you can see, this is much more than the Eagles vs. Dallas rivalry. I hope you take comfort in knowing this project is done by two very genuine people. This documentary is for us. This documentary is going to bring us together. Like Matt said, as a city, we can get this project funded. As a city, we are coming together for this project. This project is much more than a great documentary filled with wit, history, and culture, it is a chance for us to come together as a city and let our passion shine.
To get this project done, we need to come together as a community. We are calling for anyone to help out. Anything you can donate is great. It all goes towards a great cause. We are going to give you a link to their Kickstarter page. You can donate there.