Don’t bet against Tony Duffy in knock-down fight
If Troy Duffy gets into a bar brawl, don’t bet against him. The 38-year-old bartender-turned-director has been fighting with some Hollywood power players for more than a decade, and he’s still standing.
His highly publicized battles have revolved around “The Boondock Saints” (1999). In the R-rated vigilante tale, which Duffy was inspired to write after a Los Angeles experience in which he saw a drug dealer take money out of the pocket of a dead crime victim, two Irish brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) become fast-shooting vigilantes hunting down those who escape justice in Boston.
“Boondock” initially had a $15 million budget and the support of Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein, who even offered to purchase half-interest in the saloon J. Sloan’s, where Duffy worked as a bartender. That relationship soured, and Duffy eventually secured $6 million to make his film.
In a classic case of bad timing, “The Boondock Saints” opened about the same time as Columbine. Due to its numerous shooting scenes, the picture was removed from theaters after grossing a paltry $30,471 in the United States and just $219, 529 internationally.
Once released for home viewers, “The Boondock Saints” because a cult sensation. It was a favorite on VHS at Blockbuster outlets and then on DVD, where, according to Entertainment Weekly, it has grossed more than $40 million.
Now comes the awaited sequel, “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day,” which opens in theaters Oct. 30.
Duffy credited the support of hard-core fans with making the sequel, which took five years and numerous law suits to get the rights, a reality.
“As soon as the (original) film touched the public, the kids took it from there,” Duffy said from his Philadelphia hotel during a publicity stop for the follow-up. “A fan base formed, and over the last 10 years, ‘Boondock’ has become a cult hit and a virtual financial juggernaut.
“At some point, it just became financially irresponsible for the powers that be in Hollywood not to make the sequel.”
To earn an income over the last decade, Duffy, who didn’t share in the film’s profits, launched a “Boondock Saints” merchandising campaign that enjoyed success.
“That’s actually all me,” said Duffy, who also offers items on the Web Site www.BoondockSaints.com. “I made deals (to sell hoodies, T-shirts, posters, buttons, patches and more) with stores like Hot Topic.
“The fans bought them and helped to keep a roof over my head during that period.”
Why does the original continue to touch many viewers a decade after its release?
“If you talk to fans, you get all sorts of reasons why they like the film,” said Duffy, who named director Gary Oldman’s edgy London-set family drama, “Nil By Mouth” (1997), as his favorite film. “I’m not sure I want to know what that magic is.
“We just got together, busted our butts, did something, and had a lot of fun doing it. ‘The Boondock Saints’ had some weird connection with the public.”
When Duffy, whose topsy-turvy experience with Hollywood bigwigs and “The Boondock Saints” is chronicled in the fascinating 2004 documentary “Overnight” (ThinkFilm; $7.99, DVD), wanted to break into the motion-picture business, he just looked at his life for inspiration.
“The best writers write what they know, so these characters (played by Flanery and Reedus) came from exaggerated characters in my life,” said Duffy, who’s currently working on a third “Boondock” installment. “It reflects the relationship between my brother (Taylor, co-creator of the story) and me to a certain extent.
“The characters do things that you can’t really do, but everyone thinks about. You see a story on the news about a 4-year-old girl getting raped or killed, and whether you’re a liberal or a conservative or a man or a woman, the first gut instinct, which I believe everybody has, is the person who did that should die.
“They may not say it, but they have that feeling. The story of ‘The Boondock Saints’ was just a way to escape a little bit and play with it (vigilante justice.”