dan
10-31-2007, 06:13 AM
This is a really good documentary about the director of The Boondock Saints, Troy Duffy. It's about his rise and fall in Hollywood. In the beginning, we learn that as a 25-year-old LA bartender, Duffy was given the opportunity to not only write and direct his first movie for Miramax, but Miramax's Harvey Weinstein even agreed to buy the bar he worked in for him. On top of that, his band is offered a record deal tying in to the soundtrack of Boondock Saints.
However, we quickly see that Duffy is not quite the wonderchild Weinstein was looking for. He gets drunk constantly, badmouths nearly everybody he works with, tries to bully those around him in order to get them to follow him, and overall just burns as many bridges as he possibly can. Quickly, not surprisingly, he loses his movie deal, followed by his music deal. Boondock Saints eventually got made, but Duffy is pretty much a never-was now.
The documentary is a really good portrait of a man who allows his own arrogance and paranoia to destroy everything in his world. Though he is only one of four members of his band, The Brood, he refuses to allow anyone else to have any say in the direction of the band, and point-blank tells them that he is the one running the show, and that's how it's going to be, like it or not. It should be noted that these are all friends of his from Boston, where he grew up, not just some guys he met in Hollywood.
At first, Duffy just comes across as an asshole, but as the movie progresses, we can see him trying to overcompensate for some sort of inferiority complex. He constantly refers to how "these Hollywood guys" see him as just some hoodlum from the streets of Boston and how if he's going to get anywhere in Hollywood, he's going to have to be just as big of a bully as them.
I can't say whether the movie is accurate in its portrayal. They filmed it over four years, so there's obviously plenty of stuff they didn't show, but what was in there was damning enough. For example, the two directors of this documentary (friends of Duffy who he brought along to film his rise, "to show people how to succeed in this town) at one point ask Duffy if he could loan them some money. Somehow, The Brood has managed to get a second record deal, for the paltry sum of $1000, each, to the four band members. In addition to this, Duffy was paid $300,000 for the script for Boondock Saints, so he wasn't hurting for cash. Up to that point, the two filmmakers have also been working, for free, as the band's co-managers. Immediately after signing with the label, Duffy fires them as managers and hires a professional. When they are asking to borrow the money (one of the directors mentions how he's already sold his car and how he's getting kicked out of his apartment that week), they note that they deserve some of the money, as they've been working for free for the band for years. Duffy flips out, cusses them both out, and finishes the conversation with, "Y'know what? You probably do deserve the money, but you're not getting it." Friends like these....
Still, it's sort of easy to see how these people follow Duffy around, accepting his abuse. The guy is charismatic and seems to really believe all the egotistical nonsense he's constantly going on and on about, and the others are clearly followers looking for someone to give him direction.
Ultimately, he managed to make the movie, obviously, though it was with independent investors and at half the original budget. Though it made money on video, Duffy's reputation precedes him and he's still pretty much blacklisted in Hollywood. Can't say that I feel too sorry for him.
However, we quickly see that Duffy is not quite the wonderchild Weinstein was looking for. He gets drunk constantly, badmouths nearly everybody he works with, tries to bully those around him in order to get them to follow him, and overall just burns as many bridges as he possibly can. Quickly, not surprisingly, he loses his movie deal, followed by his music deal. Boondock Saints eventually got made, but Duffy is pretty much a never-was now.
The documentary is a really good portrait of a man who allows his own arrogance and paranoia to destroy everything in his world. Though he is only one of four members of his band, The Brood, he refuses to allow anyone else to have any say in the direction of the band, and point-blank tells them that he is the one running the show, and that's how it's going to be, like it or not. It should be noted that these are all friends of his from Boston, where he grew up, not just some guys he met in Hollywood.
At first, Duffy just comes across as an asshole, but as the movie progresses, we can see him trying to overcompensate for some sort of inferiority complex. He constantly refers to how "these Hollywood guys" see him as just some hoodlum from the streets of Boston and how if he's going to get anywhere in Hollywood, he's going to have to be just as big of a bully as them.
I can't say whether the movie is accurate in its portrayal. They filmed it over four years, so there's obviously plenty of stuff they didn't show, but what was in there was damning enough. For example, the two directors of this documentary (friends of Duffy who he brought along to film his rise, "to show people how to succeed in this town) at one point ask Duffy if he could loan them some money. Somehow, The Brood has managed to get a second record deal, for the paltry sum of $1000, each, to the four band members. In addition to this, Duffy was paid $300,000 for the script for Boondock Saints, so he wasn't hurting for cash. Up to that point, the two filmmakers have also been working, for free, as the band's co-managers. Immediately after signing with the label, Duffy fires them as managers and hires a professional. When they are asking to borrow the money (one of the directors mentions how he's already sold his car and how he's getting kicked out of his apartment that week), they note that they deserve some of the money, as they've been working for free for the band for years. Duffy flips out, cusses them both out, and finishes the conversation with, "Y'know what? You probably do deserve the money, but you're not getting it." Friends like these....
Still, it's sort of easy to see how these people follow Duffy around, accepting his abuse. The guy is charismatic and seems to really believe all the egotistical nonsense he's constantly going on and on about, and the others are clearly followers looking for someone to give him direction.
Ultimately, he managed to make the movie, obviously, though it was with independent investors and at half the original budget. Though it made money on video, Duffy's reputation precedes him and he's still pretty much blacklisted in Hollywood. Can't say that I feel too sorry for him.