Bikie massacre movie planned, by Karl Quinn - 23rd June 2002
(Credit: Fairfax)

The Father's Day bikie massacre of 1984 could become the subject of a $9 million feature film starring Colin Friels and Lisa Hensley.

Brothers At War is based on the shoot-out between rival motorcycle gangs the Comancheros and the Bandidos at a New South Wales pub that left seven people dead and 21 injured.

Nine bikies were convicted of murder, but the Court of Criminal Appeal later quashed the murder convictions and substituted verdicts of manslaughter.

Richard Bradley, a film industry veteran, will make his feature film directing debut on the project. He co-wrote the script and also is one of the film's producers.

"There are two key things that made me feel confident about doing this film," said Bradley from his Sydney office on Friday. "If you have a good screenplay and a good cast, everything else will fall into place. And we've got both."

But what Bradley does not yet have is the money to make the film. Although he has received about $50,000 in government funding during the film's five-year development period, Bradley has no intention of taking the traditional route of seeking Film Finance Corporation money.

Instead, he has issued a prospectus to the public, inviting would-be producers to take a stake in the picture, at $5000 a unit.

"To get FFC funding, you need to have pre-sold foreign distribution rights, and we didn't want to do that," Bradley said.

"This is a really strong story, but a very local one. We thought our best chance was to release it locally, build its profile, then take it overseas."

According to the 46-page prospectus document online at www.brothersatwar.com a big advantage of this film is the strong public awareness of the incident.

Colin Friels confirmed on Friday that he has signed a letter of intent to play Comancheros leader Jock Ross.

"I'd love to be part of this film," Friels told The Sunday Age.

"Will it get made? Who knows? But from what I've seen, it would be a tragedy if it didn't."

There is one certainty, though. Should the film be made, there will be two world premieres. Bradley said: "Would I hold separate screenings for the Comancheros and the Bandidos? Yes, I'd say so. That would be probably be a good idea."

Links:

Brothers At War official website

Interview - Gary Young, director of "Cosy Cool" - 3rd March 2004

Profile - Gary Young

Mediaman: Entertainment

Biker websites

Harley-Davidson

The Harley-Davidson Cafe

Oz Biker.org