The original Boondock Saints was a DVD cult fan favorite. Following the excursion of two Catholic Irish-American brothers, Conner and Murphy, (played by Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) on their quest to perform "God's Will," and take out the organized crime underground of Boston. All the while being hunted by the "best-of-the-best" (homosexual) detective Paul Smecker (played by Willem Dafoe).
Not only was the film's story a hit with fans, but so was the behind-the-scenes drama involved with Troy Duffy (writer/director) and Harvey Weinstein of Miramax Films. Duffy's actions have been notoriously noted as "What not to do" in Hollywood. Much of which, was recorded in the 2003 documentery, Overnight, which captured Duffy's sudden rise "overnight," and almost immediate fall.
Due to the magnitude of the film's following, however, it has since invoked a sequel, Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, which is currently planned for a 2009 release.
According to Comic Book Resources (CBR), that is not all Boondock Saints fans have to look forward to.
From CBR:
Timed to coincide with the cinematic release "Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day," writer/director Troy Duffy is working with 12 Gauge Comics on a comic tie-in project. The original cult hit movie followed brothers Connor and Murphy MacManus, who take it upon themselves to clean up the streets of Boston, ridding their hometown of crime as local vigilantes. The film sequel does not yet have a firm release date, but upon its release, the series will follow. CBR News caught up with Duffy, comic series co-writer Jason Love, 12-Gauge publisher Keven Gardner, and Eben Matthews, the series producer, to discuss the comic.
Duffy said that the comic will flesh out the fan-favorite character of Il Duce, the brothers' father played by Billy Connolly, in even greater depth than what will be seen in the cinematic sequel. "There was so much interest about that guy and how he became a killer," Duffy told CBR. "The character was one of those characters that comes in in the last 10 minutes and blows the plot wide open, but he was not in there throughout the film, so I wouldn't have expected so much interest in him. I had to address it, because fans of 'Boondock' were just too interested in this guy and how he became a killer, and why he was where he was, and everything about him."
In the original movie, Il Duce was the "secret weapon" of the Mob. Sent to take out the brothers.
CBR continues:
Given the storied history of the first "Boondock Saints" film--after a calamitous production process, it screened in only a handful of theatres for only a week, but went on to make $100 million in DVD sales--we asked Duffy whether there any strange behind the scenes stories leading up to the second film. The director laughed knowingly, but there was only so much he could say on the record. "Any time you make a movie, you're going to have some interesting, horrifying, and amusing stuff happening. Movies are nothing but triumphs and tragedies all rolled into one, over the course of three to six months," he told CBR. He pointed to the Youtube videos of cast and crew as a good glimpse of what was happening on set. "I didn't even see them until we'd wrapped, actually, I was extraordinarily busy. I just laughed my ass off watching those. There's one where Sean [Patrick Flannery] and Norm [Reedus] are acting like these homeless guys, it's a riot."
Duffy will be attending Comic-Con International this week to promote the "Boondock Saints" film sequel, and signing Saturday at 3:30 at Sony's booth. Fans should also check the 12 Gauge booth for signing times.
You can check out the full article on CBR.
___________________________
Your friendly neighborhood Falcon,
John "
Falcon" Ayers
The Falcon's Nest
Image from fanpop. (Actually, it's a wallpaper. Pretty badass eh? Go get you one!)