Genre: Action/Comedy.
Studio:
Unknown.
Production Company:
Trademark Pictures
Project Phase: In the Can.
Who's In It:
Sean Patrick Flannery; Billy Connoly (Mrs. Brown); Willem Dafoe; Norman Reedus.
Who's Making It:
Troy Duffy (Director, Screenwriter).
Premise: Two Irish brothers become vigilantes and try to fight crime in their neighborhood. But are the methods they use any better than the criminals they hunt?
Release Date: Unknown.
Comments: 25 year old Troy Duffy used to work as a bartender at the West Hollywood J. Sloan bar in L.A. - until the Weinstein brothers over at Miramax read the script for Duffy's The Boondock Saints. Six weeks later, Duffy was closing a deal with Miramax who was not only going to make a film from his script, but allow him to direct and exec produce the soundtrack.
The really cool part that elevates Duffy to mythological status is the additional deal he inked with Miramax. In addition to a sum of cash, one of the payments he received was co-ownership of his former workplace, J. Sloan. Yup - he got the Weinsteins to buy the bar for him. The three will be co-owners of the establishment.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
April 16, 1997... "...it's about two brothers who are Irish, Connor and Murphy McManus. They're highly religious, and decide the best way to help society get rid of bad people is to kill them, which is pretty much what the Catholic church has done for centuries anyway, right?"
The budget for the film is $10-$15 mil, and should start shooting in Boston in September. Duffy has had to turn down high-name actors he admires (such as Brad Pitt) because 'they aren't right for this project." [Additional info compiled by 'widgett'.]
September 14, 1997... An anonymous person informs us that Renee Zellwegger (she of Jerry Maguire fame) has been lobbying for a role in TBS. Apparently Duffy likes her, but wants to firm casting on brothers first. "Still, she looks like a shoo-in (Miramax loves her)." [Thanks to an anonymous scooper.]
Actor Stephen Dorff was seen at J. Sloan's, director Troy Duffy bar/payment for the film. Dorff was in for a jam session with Duffy and his band. [Scooped anonymously.]
March 4, 1998... Dorff did indeed agree to star in the picture, along with Patrick Swayze as his brother. Also joining them will be Norman Reedus. [Submitted by 'Dusk Till Dawn'.]
March 8, 1998... Obviously someone's a fan of the screenplay but this email still confuses us. "Not only is the screenplay going to bring the house down, the soundtrack will be a driving force as well! The BROOD is gaining extreme support from numerous sources. Troy Duffy's directing debut 'TWO RAVENS' will no doubt be regarded as an artistic masterpiece." [Sent in by 'kiddark'.]
But within the same day this puzzling scoop arrived: "Miramax has dumped Troy Duffy and will not be producing the film. It is rumoured that he is difficult to work with and has too many unreasonable demands for someone with zero experience. They DID NOT buy him the bar. Early press releases that disclosed information on the value of the script were inflated by more than 100%." We haven't heard a peep from Miramax that Duffy is off the project, so don't believe it just yet. [Anonymous.]
March 17, 1998... More from the side that claims Miramax is not shooting this film. "The Boondock Saints can be bought out by another film company as long as [Duffy] pays back the advance Miramax gave him," the scooper writes to CA. "In all the press releases that the public read, it was highly exaggerated as to what Mr. Duffy received. He never did get the bar as part of the deal. The music video he shot was payed for from the advanced money he received from the sale of the script. Basically, Mr. Duffy is right back to where he started from and that is no where. I had to laugh about the comment of Brad Pitt. The reason why he did not consider the part was they could not give him the salary he gets. Marky Mark was originally going to be one of the brothers but he dropped out because they would not give him what he requested in salary. The bottom line is Miramax and no one as to this date is doing The Boondock Saints."
You think with that kind of info to unload, the scooper had done all they could Troy Duffy's project, right? Uh uh. "Oh, by the way, this video he shot is not as hot as Mr. Duffy's people claims it is." Ouch. Maybe someone in Troy's camp can respond to this claim... [Scoop sent in anonymously.]
April 7, 1998... We finally get confirmation that Miramax has ditched Duffy's project. The April edition of Movie Maker magazine features Troy Duffy on its cover. Inside we learn Miramax pulled out due to, as Duffy states it, "purely casting differences". Duffy also mentioned Trademark Pictures had picked up the option and filming was re-scheduled to start sometime this spring. [Anonymous.]
Another anonymous insider tells us more regarding the fallout between Miramax and Duffy in this email. "Not only is The Boondock Saints not going to be made by Miramax, but all other major studios have a hands off policy on the script in deference to the Weinstein Brothers. This fact can be verified through a Hollywood Reporter article of a few months back. No record deal for Duffy's band The Brood either....a band that has never even played out live anywhere yet." The scooper also mentions some further trouble that Duffy got into that may have contributed to the setback, including losing his job at Sloan's. According to the scooper "The owners of Sloan's are pursuing legal action against Miramax and Duffy for various reasons...including never contacting them about a purchase before putting it out in their publicity. Not a good Year for the once rags-to-riches Duffy." ['TM'.]
April 12, 1998... A Washington Post interview with Troy Duffy suggests that The Boondock Saints may be back on track if Duffy can sign a marquee player to the role of the FBI agent, the role that killed the project in the first place. According to the piece, the Weinsteins wanted Stallone, who "has a relationship with the studio" for the part, where Duffy "bonded" with Patrick Swayze and wanted him and no one else would do. The studio wasn't interested in Swayze and they lost interest in the project. However, if Duffy can sign Willem DaFoe (and negotiations are "looking very promising... VERY promising"), then Miramax may put the money back into the project. Right now the brothers will be played by Sean Patrick Flannery and Jon Bon Jovi. Duffy concedes that he is hopeful, but "he's been there before," meaning that at any moment, negotiations could fall through and he's back to square one. Our scooper who sent this info to us added " Poor guy had some bad luck, but the Post writer declares that he 'has a vision,' and you know, he's already gone farther than a lot of us, y'know?" [Sent in by the 'Fake Shemp', with additional coverage by 'igmart'.]
July 23, 1998... This film is no longer in development hell urges our scooper; instead it's slated to begin filming August 10th in Toronto, Ontario. Willem Dafoe, Billy Connolly, Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flannery have been cast and Troy Duffy's band The Brood will still be belting out rock n' roll songs in the film (they also signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records last spring). ['jslotek' and anonymous are celebrating the news.]
September 7, 1998... Confirmation that Duffy's Boondock Saints picture has begun filming in Toronto arrives thanks to one of that city's online residents. "I can confirm that shooting on Boondock Saints is going on in Toronto, as I ran across the shoot at the University of Toronto. There were a number of vehicles made up to look like Boston TV and police cars. The (Toronto) cop who was at the shoot said the production was 'Boondock something-or-other', and one of the cast chairs said 'Connor' on it (which, if I'm not mistaken, is one of the principal characters' names), so it seems pretty certain that this is the production." [Our thanks to Michael for the scoop.]
October 29, 1998... "Saw a ten minute promo reel for this at MIFED. This movie ROCKS!!!" [Posted by 'Eurofilm'.]
"January 7, 1999... A lone scooper chimes in with some info about this picture. Filming of The Boondock Saints has been completed. Who, how, where, etc in regards to the distribution of the film is undetermined. Rumor has it that Troy Duffy and his band, The Brood, are cutting and album in Boston the next few months. Stay tuned for further details. ['Joe Shmoe', legendary film mogul, told us so.]
|
Copyrights and trademarks for the film and related entertainment properties mentioned
herein are held by their respective owners and are used with
permission or solely for the promotional purposes of said properties.
All other text and images copyright © 1995-98 Corona Productions. Last updated: Thursday, 07-Jan-1999 22:22:59 PST. webmaster@corona.bc.ca |