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Sen. Cory Booker (D-ny) held the Senate floor overnight and through this morning as he delivered a marathon speech to protest Trump administration policies.

As of 9:30 a.m. Et, Booker had spoken for 14 1/2 hours, interrupted only when fellow Democrats would pose questions to him and give him short breaks to rest his vocal cords. He said in a video posted before he started that he planned to speak “for as long as I am physically able.”

“If you ask the question, are you better off than you were 71 days ago, not many Americans would say they are better off,” Booker said this morning, his voice still clear.

The purpose of the speech was to draw attention, and Booker did get coverage on cable network morning shows.

Before he started at 7 p.m. Et, Booker said that he was speaking “because Donald Trump and Elon Musk have shown a complete...

During the stage event at AnimeJapan 2025 today, the upcoming Tougen Anki TV anime reveals a second trailer and a new key visual. The new clips highlights the protagonist Shiki Ichinose’s experience at Rasetsu Academy, a school dedicated to training Oni. Tougen Anki 2nd Trailer The new trailer also features the anime's opening theme song "Overnight" performed by the four-member Japanese alternative rock band The Oral Cigarettes . The band's vocalist and guitarist Takuya Yamanaka said, "I'm very honored to be performing the opening theme for Tougen Anki! In this song, I tried to capture the spirit of the protagonist, who continues to uphold justice even when he’s far from his ideal self. I believe his circumstances are something many people can relate to in everyday life. Rather than living in regret thinking, “I wish I could’ve been more like this…,” my hope is that this song will give someone the push they need.

The Boston movie subgenre emerged from a crime wave, gang wars, and government corruption, fostering a gritty, brooding tone. The genre is flexible, allowing for thrillers, dramas, and neo-noir, with Oscar contenders like "Mystic River" and "The Departed." Some iconic entries in the genre include "The Friends of Eddie Coyle," "Gone Baby Gone," and "The Town," known for their compelling narratives.

Since the 1970s, the Boston movie has become its own cultural institution. Spurred by a sudden crime wave, a series of gang wars, and rampant government corruption in the Bay State, this loose subgenre has coalesced over the past half-century into something familiar. By the end of the 2000s, the Boston movie became associated with a particular tone, set of themes and cast of characters often including ensembles pairing Matt Damon and Ben Affleck some combination of Afflecks (Casey or Ben) and Wahlbergs.

The Boston movie is also fundamentally...

“Overnight!” That’s what Holland Taylor infamously shouted 25 years ago when she won her first career Emmy Award in Best Drama Supporting Actress for her guest-starring role as judge Roberta Kittleson on “The Practice.” (Watch the Emmy flashback video below.)

Can the esteemed actress now claim an Emmy bookend for playing Uba board chair Cybil Reynolds on Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show”? She’s competing yet again in the Best Drama Supporting Actress race and, just like in 1999, she’s billed as a guest star as opposed to a series regular, so Emmy history could repeat itself.

Taylor has submitted the episode “White Noise” to Emmy judges for this 2024 contest, in which Cybil’s career hangs in the balance when one of her old racist emails resurfaces. Cybil agrees to a damage control interview on the A.M. news program with Black journalist Chris Hunter (Nicole Beharie), but it...

Armie Hammer had a distinguished acting career before a slew of scandals and legal troubles brought it to an abrupt end. However, prior to all of this, he appeared in a number of highly regarded shows and movies. One of which was Blake Lively’s Gossip Girl. He appeared on the show as Gabriel Edwards, a con man who briefly dates Lively’s character Serena van der Woodsen.

Armie Hammer and Blake Lively in Gossip Girl || The CW

But he was abruptly removed in the second season after just four episodes. Even though his time on the show was limited, it reportedly had a fascinating tie to Anne Hathaway’s tragic real-life love story.

Armie Hammer and Blake Lively’s Romance on Gossip Girl Was Allegedly Inspired by Anne Hathaway

Armie Hammer‘s character Gabriel Edwards makes his first appearance in the 20th episode of season 2, titled Remains of the J.

Quick Links Who Is Matt Rife? What Is Matt Rifes Role in That 90s Show? The Odd Cameo Remains a Mystery

That 90s Show is shaping up to be a worthy sequel series to That 70s Show. From the return of Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty Forman (Debra Jo Rupp) and their iconic basement to the protagonist Leia (Callie Haverda) as the daughter of Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon), its a fresh new take on the story for a new generation.

Given the time period of the 90s in which the show takes place, its no surprise that That '90s Show has welcomed a long list of guest stars who were popular in that decade. But current-day celebrities with guest starring roles like Matt Rife seem slightly out of place. Not only is Rife's inclusion on the show odd, so is the nature of his character and how he plays into the story.

Alan Scarfe, the classically trained British Canadian actor known for his turns as bad guys in Double Impact and Lethal Weapon III and as Dr. Bradley Talmadge on the Upn sci-fi series Seven Days, has died. He was 77.

Scarfe died April 28 of colon cancer at his home in Longueuil, Quebec, his family announced.

Survivors include his son, actor Jonathan Scarfe (ER, Raising the Bar, Hell on Wheels, Van Helsing).

Born in England and raised in Vancouver, Scarfe portrayed the Romulans Tokath and Admiral Mendak on episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1991 and 1993 and was another alien, the powerful Magistrate Augris, on a 1995 installment of Star Trek: Voyager.

“Science fiction on film and television, especially if you are playing some kind of alien character with fantastic make-up, is great for actors with a strong stage background,” he said in a 2007 interview. “The productions need that kind of size and intensity of performance.

The Boondock Saints is the very definition of a cult classic. It survived a tepid box office, exploded in popularity when it hit home video, and continues to inspire debate to this day. Some find the vigilante exploits of brothers Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Seamus McMurphy (Norman Reedus) to be an ultraviolent good time. Others don't, and unfavorably compare it to Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. The Boondocks Saints would spawn a sequel and a third film is currently in the works but what many film fans may not know is that writer/director Troy Duffy was the subject of a documentary, Overnight. The documentary chronicles the events that led to The Boondock Saints hitting theaters, but it also reveals how Duffy's hubris made him into a one-hit wonder.

T​he Boondock Saints became a giant cult hit when it hit home video and, indeed, is a movie both loved and hated on this site. The film seemed to come out of nowhere. No one seemed to remember its theatrical run, but word of mouth soon made this film a huge underground hit. Why was this film so unknown? A multitude of factors played into the film’s mystery. Bad timing for the release, possibly bad word of mouth from a very famous studio head, and the biggest problem with the whole thing, the writer/director.

T​roy Duffy had moved out to Los Angeles to try and find success with his band, The Brood. They booked gigs playing in numerous taverns but hadn’t made much headway in securing a studio contract. While he waited for his big moment to happen, he got a job slinging drinks at the bar J.

The sky is falling over at Netflix right now. The groundbreaking streamer has had a string of bad news this year and it's culminating in the company's stock value taking a massive hit. In January they posted their biggest loss after revealing they didn't hit their subscriber numbers, and now they've eclipsed that bad news with their first-quarter report of 2022 which showed they've actually lost 200,000 subscribers and expect to lose 2 million more next quarter.

Naturally, shareholders didn't much care for that news, and as stocks were sold off, the price plummeted 35.1 in a single day. That translates to 54.4 billion (with a "b") market value lost in...

The post Netflix Lost 54 Billion Overnight appeared first on /Film.

Lloyd Dobyns Jr., the Peabody Award winner who once served as an anchor and correspondent for NBC News, died on Sunday in Mebane, North Carolina, after suffering complications from a series of strokes, his son Ken Dobyns tells AP. He was 85.

Dobyns, Jr. was born on March 12, 1936 in Newport News, Virginia, working at NBC between 1969 and 1986. During his time there, he hosted the programs Weekend and NBC News Overnight, working with Linda Ellerbee on the latter between 1982 and 1983. He subsequently moved on to anchor the network’s short-lived program, Monitor.

The broadcaster was a veteran of the U.S. army, who kickstarted his career in his hometown. He later worked as a reporter at Roanoke, Virginia’s Wdbj-tv, and as an anchor at Wavy television—an NBC affiliate in the Portsmouth/Norfolk/Newport News area—before coming to work at the network in other capacities.

Dobyns, Jr. won nearly 30 national awards for his work in news.

Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists. (Check out last week’s best songs.)

Johnnyswim, “Best Thing Ever”

The husband-and-wife duo of Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano-Ramirez deliver unrestrained joy in this hand-clap singalong written for the inspirational film A Week Away. Over finger-picked acoustic guitar and rhythmic touches (like a well-placed “hey!

UK police are investigating new allegations that Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted a man in London in 2005.

The allegation was reported to police last week, days after The Old Vic Theatre reported that it had received 20 allegations of inappropriate behavior by the Swimming With Sharks star during his 11-year run as artistic director.

Scotland Yard confirmed that the allegations were made by a man in Lambeth, home to the theater. The story was first reported by Deadline sister publication Variety.

“The allegations are of sexual assaults against a man in 2005 in Lambeth. Officers from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offenses Command are investigating,” police noted.

Police confirmed that the allegations were made by the same man suspected in the 2008 case, which is thought to have taken place on a 23 year old actor. However, they did not name Spacey or the victim.

It is the latest allegation against Spacey after Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp,...

When Bryan Singer was accused of alleged sexual abuse in April 2014, 20th Century Fox had to quickly revamp its marketing campaign for Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past. The director stopped doing press and skipped the film's world premiere the following month.

Sony's TriStar is suddenly facing a similar dilemma as it gears up for the release of All the Money in the World, starring Kevin Spacey opposite Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams. Overnight, Spacey has become the latest Hollywood power broker to find himself engulfed in a sexual assault scandal, likely making it difficult for him...

Joseph Baxter Simon Brew Jun 29, 2017

Troy Duffy, creator of the cult favourite The Boondock Saints, is set to direct The Blood Spoon Council.

The Boondock Saints, the schlocky revenge-fueled 1999 action/crime drama, was a film liked by many fans, less so by critics. It also gained particular notoriety for the excellent documentary Overnight, which is well, well worth seeking out. For a glimpse behind the scenes of putting a film together, it's a must-see.

Writer/director Troy Duffy, hasn’t exactly maintained the most prolific directorial CV, with The Boondock Saints and its 2009 sequel The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day being his only produced credits. However, a behind-the-camera comeback is imminent.

According to ScreenDaily, Troy Duffy is about to dust off his director’s chair to helm a new movie – specifically one that’s not connected to The Boondock Saints. Joined by producer Scott Clayton of Oceanside Media, Duffy...

Author: David Sztypuljak

Overnight news broke that Moulin Rouge star Nicole Kidman and relative newcomer Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are set to join Warner Bros. / DC’s Aquaman. At this stage it seems both are in talks Atlanna, Aquaman’s mother and and the villain Black Manta respectively. If they are confirmed, they’ll join Amber Heard as Aquaman’s royal love interest Mera, Patrick Wilson as villain Orm (also Aquaman’s half brother) and acting veteran Willem Dafoe who is playing Vulko.

Abdul-Mateen II may not be someone you’re familiar with but he’ll appear in Paramount’s movie reboot of hit TV show Baywatch in the summer and has appeared in Netflix’s The Get Down from Moulin Rouge, Australia director Baz Luhrmann (spot the link!). At the moment neither have been confirmed by the studio but THR are reporting that they’re both have been in talks...

From The Birth Of A Nation to TWC, Screen reveals the key talking points.1. Has Toronto found an opening-night film that will get tongues wagging again?

After what might be described generously as a barren patch in the curtain-raising department since Looper kicked off proceedings in 2012, have artistic director Cameron Bailey and his team found the right weave of star power and spectacle again with the world premiere of Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven? The western remake feels relevant in today’s uncertain times, boasts stupendous action sequences and features a diverse cast led by Fuqua regular Denzel Washington alongside Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Martin Sensmeir. It’s popcorn with a message, but will the audience agree?

2. Can The Birth Of A Nation maintain its awards momentum?

Nate Parker’s slave-revolt drama had had tongues wagging all year, but now the conversation has taken a darker turn. Back in January, Fox Searchlight...

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50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...

Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.

I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.

50. McConkey (2013)

d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff

Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.

The Boondock Saints will get a TV prequel series.

The rights were bought by Im Global Television and the long-rumoured show will be written by Troy Duffy, who wrote and directed the 1999 movie and its 2009 sequel The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, Deadline reports.

"For years I've been obsessed with telling a real origin story with Boondock, and Im Global TV has stepped up," Duffy said.

"Television is the perfect medium to explore these controversial characters on a much deeper level and to bring Boondock Saints to a whole new audience."

Duffy will also direct the first episode of the series and be an executive producer alongside Don Carmody of Don Carmody Television, Lloyd Segan of Piller-Segan and D Matt Geller.

Original stars Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery are said to be in talks to join as co-executive producers.

Walking Dead star Reedus told Digital Spy back in...

Ewan McGregor, Jane Seymour, Malcolm McDowell and Hong Kong director Johnnie To among the guests set to attend the festival.Scroll down for competition titles

The line-up for the 69th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has been unveiled this morning by new artistic director Mark Adams.

This year’s Eiff (June 17-28) will comprise 164 features from 36 countries, including 24 world premieres, eight international premieres, 16 European premieres and 84 UK premieres.

Highlights including the UK premiere of Asif Kapadia’s documentary Amy, about the life of singer Amy Winehouse; the latest Disney-Pixar animation Inside Out; Arnold Schwarzenegger in zombie drama Maggie; comedy The D-Train, starring Jack Black and James Marsden; and a biopic of The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Love & Mercy, in which John Cusack and Paul Dano play different aged versions of the musician.

Classic Screenings will include a rare outing for Noel Marshall’s Roar, a cult 1981 big cat movie.

Star power

This year’s Eiff will present...

Every week, Shelf Life sees Tom White select and talk about a movie that lives on his DVD shelf, one he thinks we should all see. Released in 1999, The Boondock Saints is a movie more known for its problems than anything else. The script, written by first timer Troy Duffy, was regarded as the hottest script in Hollywood, and when it was picked up by Miramax, Duffy was attached to direct, even though he had zero experience in the field. What followed, as captured in the documentary Overnight, will live on in infamy as Duffy's ego took control. He burnt every bridge he could in Hollywood, insulting and alienating producer and actor alike, resulting in the first time director becoming blacklisted in the industry. This ill will spilled over into the films release, receiving only one week in five theaters, and garnering poor reviews. But despite all these problems, The Boondock Saints...

If the name Troy Duffy rings a bell, that means you are a big fan of The Boondock Saints. Or you may just be familiar with his rise and "fall" in the documentary Overnight. Either way, his story is an interesting Hollywood story that we have heard countless times before. With The Boondock Saints and it's sequel hosting a rabid cult following, news of Duffy returning to direct a third feature will be met with a lot of excitement. Deadline reports that Duffy will be developing not...

I'm a big fan of the first Boondock Saints movie, and the documentary that followed the making of it called Overnight. I didn't really care for the sequel though. It had some fun ridiculous moments, but in the end I was pretty disappointed, and it seemed like a lot of other fans were as well.

It took director Troy Duffy ten years to make the sequel, but it's looking like it won't take that long to get a third film off the ground. In case you're wondering how and why a sequel is happening, it's because the sequel actually did pretty well with home entertainment sales.

The news of Boondock Saints 3 comes from star Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) who says it might happen. Here's what he said in an interview with IFC,

I’m meeting with Sean [Patrick Flanery] and Troy [Duffy] tonight. I just landed a couple hours ago and tonight...

If there’s any proof that fate has a sense of humor, it’ll come when Boondock Saints 3 starts rolling its cameras. The first film was a sleeper hit that was so perfect in its ridiculousness and bloodshed that it was impossible for it not to earn a dedicated audience. When a sequel didn’t come, but a lawsuit against Franchise Pictures did, director Troy Duffy became something of a legend. His low budget feature had scored big with video sales, but Duffy was also used as an example of what not to do when finding Hollywood success in the documentary Overnight where he acts like a complete jackwagon to his close friends and business associates. The noise calling for a sequel was deafening, but Duffy was unable to make it happen until ten years later. Unfortunately, Boondock 2: All Saints Day was the terrible kind of ridiculous, and it alienated all but the most hardcore of...

Boondock Saints star Norman Reedus, who currently stars in The Walking Dead, confirmed in a recent interview with IFC that a third Boondock Saints is in the process of becoming a reality. Here's what he said when he was asked about the film,

I’m in L.A right now. I’m meeting with Sean [Patrick Flanery] and Troy [Duffy] tonight. I just landed a couple hours ago and tonight I’m going over to Troy’s house with Sean. It’s definitely in the works. Look for it. It’s gonna be crazy.

I've enjoyed the Boondock Saints films, but I liked the documentary based on the first film Overnight more. There's not word on if there's a script for the movie or not, but it sounds like they are getting together to discuss some ideas for it! If a third film actually ends up getting made, I'll definitely watch it. It...

The Boondock Saints is a polarizing film, to say the least. Dumped to only a handful of screens upon its initial release after the cataclysmic fall from grace of its arrogant director, Troy Duffy (seen chronicled in the documentary Overnight), the film managed to become a cult classic on home video and became a hit with the dorm room crowd on college campuses across the country. After ten years, Duffy was able to pull together financing for a sequel, and now one of the franchise's stars Norman Reedus tells IFC that yet another sequel is in development. But don't start lining up for opening night just yet. More details below. Here's what Reedus told IFC when asked about a potential third Boondock Saints film: I’m in L.A right now. I’m meeting with Sean [Patrick Flanery] and Troy [Duffy] tonight. I just landed a couple hours ago and tonight I’m...

“I’m in shock.” “I feel sick.” “Are you kidding me? No, really, are you kidding me? I can’t believe this is happening. I’m mortified.” “I’m gonna pretend this never happened.”

Those were the tear-streaked words that Weepy McCrazypants uttered as her brief and humiliating journey came to an end on Monday night’s edition of The Bachelor, but they’d have been just as apt applied to at least a half-dozen other moments during the episode. Seriously, try mentally playing back Jenna’s quotes while visualizing any one of the following scenes of horror from the...

We all love The Boondock Saints? Right? Right? Guys? Where you going? Look, I’m fully aware of the animosity for this film, especially its writer/director, Troy Duffy. Hell, even the DVD is annoying me right this second with this “You wouldn’t steal a car, so why steal movies” PSA. But there’s a point in everyone’s life where you have to realize bad filmmakers like talking about their film just as much as the geniuses. So we’re gonna let Mr. Duffy speak, and we’re gonna be taking detailed notes as to what he has to say. Yes, this one comes with the decade long-backlash. And I’m sure Troy Duffy’s commentary here is going to be filled with all kinds of insightful anecdotes about crafting the film, honing the story so its concise yet layered. I’m sure there isn’t going to be anything on this commentary track that...

While a large majority of Occupy Wall Street protesters don’t seem to take issue with celebrity support, visits, or participation in the movement, filming at their expense might be another thing entirely.

According to the New York Times, the filming of an episode of Law & Order: Svu was interrupted early Friday morning when more than 100 Ows protesters took over the downtown Manhattan Foley Square set, which was transformed to look like the camps in Zuccotti Park, the home base of the Ows movement, for an upcoming episode. (Can’t you just picture the scenario in which L&O: Svu...

The Double

Directed by: Michael Brandt

Cast: Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Martin Sheen

Running Time: 1 hr 35 mins

Rating: R

Release Date: November 4, 2011 (Chicago)

Plot: A formerly retired C.I.A operative (Gere) is brought back to work to find his #1 enemy, a Soviet assassin named Cassius who might be connected with a senator’s murder. He is joined by a younger agent (Grace) who has spent years studying the assassin’s every move.

Who’S It For? The Double would function as Ok matinee fare for moviegoers who like their stories with a few twists in them, whether they ultimately make sense or not. And if you’re that hard-pressed to see an action movie with Richard Gere, perhaps rent last year’s under-appreciated Brooklyn’s Finest instead. If you’re still afraid of Russians, this one might be for you.

Expectations: Putting Topher Grace and Richard Gere at the...

With news that Margaret, Kenneth Lonergan‘s follow-up to 2000′s You Can Count On Me, has indeed been cut to just under the contractually-obligated 2 and a half hours (2 hours, 29 minutes, and 40 seconds to be exact) running time, I pray for the day we, the people, are given a peek inside what exactly happened to the film, which languished in post-production hell for more than 5 years. Something not unlike the fascinating Overnight, the documentary that chronicles the meteoric rise and legendary fall of The Boondock Saints and its writer/director Troy Duffy, would be much appreciated.

Since the fall of 2005, when the film was in principal photography, two of the film’s producers, Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, have died; Anna Paquin, the film’s star, went from transitioning former child actress to full-blown on-screen sex pot in HBO’s True Blood (see how different); Mark Ruffalo, who plays a crucial role in the film,...

The Film:

Every great director has his imitator, and that’s what Troy Duffy is to Quentin Tarantino. Not like that’s a bad thing, either. Imitators feed a style that turns into a genre, and that’s where The Boondock Saints came from, this tough guy genre, made famous with the clever dialogue and cool guys with guns, like in Reservoir Dogs. But I think we can’t blame too much on Troy Duffy, since he knew what he was doing, right? The film has become a huge cult phenomenon, mostly because the imitation was done so well, with some sprinkles of originality, that people liked. Tough guys with guns are the pivotal image in the action genre, Tarantino just gave it a voice, that Duffy repeated.

Of course, we cannot separate the seemingly staged behind-the-scenes drama while making the film that became more of a vocal point than the film itself.

It looks like there's a possibility that Troy Duffy's action cult film Boondock Saints is going to get a TV series adaptation which could be kind of cool depending on how much you liked the movies. I liked the first film, and although it was cool to see the characters return for a sequel, it wasn't as cool for me. Although, I absolutely love the documentary surrounding the film and the filmmaker Overnight.

Duffy revealed the news in a recent interview We Got This Covered. He say that he's been talking with network executives about the project. No one has officially picked it up yet, but Duffy wants pushing to get it on a network like HBO or AMC so that he can go all out with it, and stay as faithful to the tone, violence and setting of the movies as possible.

Oh, and in case you were...

I had the opportunity to interview actor Brian Mahoney who has starred in such films as The Boondock Saints and The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day!  Keep reading to learn about Brian's unique road to Hollywood.

Even though you wanted to become an actor at an early age you took a round about route to achieving that goal.  How does the pressure of being a military pilot compare to the pressure of embodying a character for the stage or screen?

Brian:  Acting, like public speaking is a skill set not taught in the military.  It is in fact on opposite poles.  In a military aircraft there is no emotion.  In acting, you try to express emotion constantly.  It has been a very challenging transition!

A number of your film roles have been in movies about the military. Did you enjoy working on Jarhead and The Kingdom and how accurate...

You know who’s pretty good? That, rapper Drake. You ever hear his mix-tape “So Far Gone”? It’s pretty good. If you Google it or something you can download it for free. It’s a mix-tape, so it’s perfectly legal. I don’t think his studio album will be very good, but at least we’ll have the mix-tapes.

So welcome to This Week in Comics, which is at least as good as a mediocre studio record.

Monday

First Issues

Boondock Saints: In Nomine Patris #1

(Troy Duffy/J.B. Love/Guus Floor)

12 Gauge Comics

Ignoring the fact that The Boondock Saints franchise is awful Tarantino wannabe bullsh!t, I can’t fathom a comic book publisher willing to deal with writer/director Troy Duffy, who is a major-league a$$hole. At least he’s got a co-writer scripting the thing, which means that this comic book version will...

Enter a true movie lover's home and you're obviously going to see shelves and shelves of DVDs (and now Blu-ray), but you're also likely to see a lot of books about filmmaking, including filmmaker biographies. There are a number of classics, many in interview form like Francois Truffaut's Hitchcock and the (director) on (director) series -- I'm particularly fond of Trier on von Trier. And recently, a lot of lower brow fanboy types seemed to be reading Rebecca Keegan's book on James Cameron, The Futurist, so reading about directors is not just for film studies nerds looking to expand on their knowledge of film history and auteurism.

So where are all the great biographical documentaries about specific filmmakers? I'm not talking about DVD supplement stuff, or episodes of Encore's The Directors or even docs about the making of -- or attempted making of -- specific films, such as Hearts of...

DVD Playhouse: March 2010

By

Allen Gardner

Precious: Based On The Novel “Push” By Sapphire (Lionsgate) In-your-face, but undeniably powerful film that follows the plight of an overweight inner-city teen (Gabourey Sidbe, a real find) who must deal with an abusive mother (Mo’Nique, in a career-making turn for which she won a most-deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar), a baby born of her abusive, and absent, father, and trying to survive day-to-day with few people to offer her help, save for a sympathetic teacher (Paula Patton) in a special ed program. Director/producer Lee Daniels, a former personal manager/producer-turned-filmmaker, brings a kitchen sink authenticity to the proceedings, along with a cast of famous powerhouse performers, who manage to disappear into their roles. Tough stuff, but not to be missed. Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher). Bonuses: Commentary by Daniels; Featurettes; Interviews with Sapphire and Daniels; Deleted scene. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.

Chicago – “There’s not a bigger ‘f*ck you!’ from Hollywood than when they say: ‘Eh, we’re not going to release this film.’” But then the fans say: “Oh, you know what? About $100 million says that you are retarded. It says that you made a bad decision,” “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” star Sean Patrick Flanery said in a Chicago interview with HollywoodChicago.com.

Flanery added: “Everybody thinks they know. Executives say: ‘We do this for a living.’ Well, you f*cked up. You f*cked up! You didn’t put this in the theater, and with no advertising, people just picked it up and said: ‘You’re an idiot. This is a good film.’”

Left to right: Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Connolly, Norman Reedus and

Clifton Collins Jr. in “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day”.

Photo credit: Stage 6 Films

While the sequel (actually) received a theatrical release on Nov.

This weekend The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, a sequel to the 1999 cult favorite and DVD sensation, goes wide across the country. It has been a decade since Troy Duffy’s first feature, and roughly five years since a documentary titled Overnight was released. While some are revisiting the Boston brothers, I decided to check out the latter which Duffy recently told /Film was a “smear job.”

The scathing behind-the-scenes film chronicles the years surrounding his intial deal with Harvey Weinsten and directorial debut, portraying the Boondock Saints director as an obnoxious, arrogant egomaniac. He spends much of the 82 minutes chattering away about his lofty ambitions and holding court as if he’s trying to convince himself of his talent more than even the lackeys leeching off his modicum of success.

News outlets heralded Duffy’s meteoric “overnight” rise and dubbed him the next Tarantino before he had even...

Director Troy Duffy does it again. Why?

Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Connolly, Norman Reedus and Clifton Collins Jr. in "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day"

Photo: Apparition

Having been unable to sit through the 1999 "Boondock Saints" in its wretched entirety, I've been surprised to watch it become a massive "cult hit" on DVD. Blockbuster-stoked fan enthusiasm has propelled it into the top 20 of all catalog titles currently on sale, and to number 12 in Blu-ray unit sales. So shut my mouth.

Now comes director Troy Duffy's flatulent sequel, "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day." Ten years in the contemplation! It doesn't feel quite that long to sit through in its wretched entirety (which I did this time), but I still can't imagine any but the most easily entertained being willing to do so.

The new movie opens where the last one left off, more or less. Twin brothers...

It's sort of a miracle we have one Boondock Saints movie, let alone two. The story behind getting writer/director Troy Duffy's ultraviolent cult favorite to the screen was so ripe with drama, it inspired it's own movie, the documentary Overnight, which doesn't portray the auteur in a favorable light. The good news for fans of the cult is that you made it so successful we get another adventure of the Irish vigilante heroes. The good news for haters is that you can watch Overnight and marvel, time and time again.

Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day picks up 8 years after the blood baths created by the MacManus Brothers, Connor and Murphy (Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus). They would execute criminals, in a bid to clean up the streets of Boston, to the public's support. Sort of like Batman, but with more silenced pistol fire. The first film...

As rags-to-riches stories go, Troy Duffy's is tough to beat: A former bouncer and bartender from Boston, he sold his violent vigilante crime-thriller script to Harvey Weinstein and Miramax in 1997. That script, The Boondock Saints, eventually was developed into one of the most wildly successful cult classics in a generation -- but not by Harvey, whose relationship with Duffy soured prodigiously in the months after their deal was made. The project landed in turnaround, which was really just the beginning of Duffy's tobacco-streaked, booze-fueled, angst-ridden, massively hubristic legend that finally willed The Boondock Saints to the screen in 1999. (That journey is chronicled in the documentary Overnight, a fascinating, cringe-inducing romp that Duffy understandably disavows.) The rest is home-video history -- or at least it is until Friday, when The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day arrives in theaters with the original cast, crew and Duffy in charge.

There are really two reasons why you'd recognize the name of writer/director Troy Duffy. One, you're a member of the energized fan base who can recite every line of his 1999 debut, "The Boondock Saints." A John Woo-styled crime thriller that first trickled out in a perfunctory release, Duffy's blood-soaked tale of Irish Catholic twins who go vigilante on some Boston mobsters slowly grew into a monstrous cult hit on home video. But if you haven't seen it, the only other way you'd know Duffy is from the 2003 doc "Overnight," a behind-the-scenes chronicle of the "Boondock" production, in which the novice filmmaker is depicted as an arrogant jerk who shoots his mouth off, alienating his golden-boy relationship with the Weinstein brothers, who pulled out of financing the movie before shooting started.

Finally getting the multiplex treatment, Duffy returns with "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day." Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery...

The /Filmcast Interview is a series of conversations with actors, directors, and other key figures from the entertainment industry. In this episode, David Chen speaks with director Troy Duffy about Overnight (the documentary chronicling his rise and fall in Hollywood), and about the long, winding, arduous path to getting the Boondock Saints back onto the big screen. The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day will be in theaters on Friday, October 30th. Have any questions, comments, or suggestions? Want to be interviewed on the /Filmcast? Feel free to e-mail us at slashfilmcast@gmail.com. You can also call and leave a voicemail at (781) 583-1993. You can download the interview or Play Now in your Browser: [audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/slashfilmcast/Duffy.mp3] Subscribe to the /Filmcast:...

On Friday, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day arrives in theaters, a decade afer the notorious first film. Troy Duffy may or may not have earned a reputation for...well, for being a prick back in the late 1990s, and the documentary Overnight explores his amazing rise to rookie filmmaker for Harvey Weinstein to his almost as immediate fall from grace based on, the documentary suggests, Duffy's abusive attitude towards others and his own vainglory.

There's probably something to it, based on how disgraceful the theatrical release was back in 1999 ($30,000 in ticket sales), and even for Harvey Weinstein, that's a bad result. The documentary indicates that Harvey was just one of the people Duffy pissed off (or pissed on, perhaps) during his brief ride, and as a result he had his career turned upside down.

Slashfilm has a great article on Duffy's response to the 2003 documentary, and that film's...

With The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day on the verge of hitting theaters (it opens this Friday), one of things that's continued to fascinate me is the story of how Troy Duffy was able to remake himself in the aftermath of The Boondock Saints and Overnight, the 2003 documentary that chronicled Duffy's rise and fall. Duffy was just a bartender when, in 1997, Harvey Weinstein agreed to purchase his Boondock Saints script for $300,000 and let him direct the movie with a budget of $15 million. However, as portrayed in the film, Duffy is an egomaniacal lout, obsessed with the heights of his talent and abusive to his friends. He goes on to lose his deal, his friends, and his Hollywood connections, although the massive success of The Boondock Saints on DVD has brought him to the point where a sequel, complete with theatrical release, is now possible.  Here's ...

As writer-director Troy Duffy recalls it, the cast and crew of The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day were more than a tad nervous when they began work on their Boston-set, vigilante-action sequel. “Everybody was terrified to be the guy that screwed it up,” he says of the Toronto shoot for his movie, which is released October 30. “They knew the fans would find out where they lived and burn their f—-ing house to the ground." If you've never heard of Troy Duffy or his films you’re not alone. The Boondock Saints, a violent slice of Tarantino-esque Irishsploitation, was...

I’m so not a fan of The Boondock Saints, the 1999 pseudo sorta cult flick, though it is one of the most hilariously bombastic bits of wannabe-Tarantino shit that I’ve ever seen. And Overnight, the tell-all documentary about what an ass writer-director Troy Duffy is, is a hoot and a half. So how could I miss The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (opens in the U.S. on October 30; no U.K. release date has been announced), Duffy’s followup? The answer is: I cannot.

I had the opportunity today to speak with writer/director Troy Duffy, the man responsible for The Boondock Saints and the forthcoming The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day. My full interview with him, where we discuss his reaction to Overnight and some of the lessons he's learned since that film's release, will be available online later this week. In the meantime, hit the jump for some exclusive new plot details about the script he's going to try to make after Boondock Saints 2, entitled The Good King. Duffy described it as "markedly different" from Boondock Saints, a "period piece buddy comedy" whose comedic elements are as "dark as a starless night at the bottom of the ocean." Assuming this thing ever gets made, you can assume minor spoilers ahead (I guess?). Here's a plot summary, straight from the man himself: It is basically a tale from the mind of an inebriant.

All Saints Day We knew we had to go big to follow up Jenna Busch so we just said fuck it, and called The Boondock Saints. Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery, the MacManus bros. themselves, join Johnny Moreno and myself to talk about their upcoming sequel, All Saints Day, and shoot the shit about Comic Con, Troy Duffy, the dicks that made Overnight, and the last time they went on a romantic date together. Also: - Norman tells us about being hit by an 18-wheeler, the awesomeness of Judd...