'Boondock Saints'' Troy Duffy: Grilled

 It’s been more than a decade since bar bouncer Troy Duffy became an overnight sensation in Hollywood.  His script about a couple of hard-core Catholic vigilantes, “Boondock Saints,” sparked a bidding war that ended with Harvey Weinstein buying Duffy the bar where the young writer worked. A lot happened after that: Harvey walked away. The movie lost its heat. The bar shut down. But against the odds, “Boondock Saints” became a cult hit, and now Duffy – older and wiser – is back with “Boondock Saints II,” featuring the very same cast and more than a whiff of his old rebel attitude. Duffy got grilled by Sharon Waxman, who has known him from the start of his journey.

Troy Duffy, where the hell have you been?

I’ve been going through a five-year, debilitating lawsuit in which the sequel rights were tied up. We sued the company that made it, the bank that made the loan and several distributors.

Wow. Why?

"Boondock" was obviously making a lot of money, and none of it was being paid to myself or the producers or anyone else involved.

The film only cost $6 million. It’s grossed probably over $60 millon in North America. It’s basically been a financial juggernaut from day one. So we sued the bastards. But all I’m allowed to tell you is everyone we sued settled out of court for undisclosed amounts.

The sequel rights were tied up in the lawsuits?

Yes. It was our impression that we had the rights. We sued Spartan, New City Releasing and several others. Spartan was the big one.

Who is Spartan? Ashit Shah. His first name is Ashit. Which is actually spelled a-shit. Not kidding.

I’m glad it worked out. Did you make any real money?

Everyone settled for an undisclosed amount.

Well, have you bought a house?

I have bought a house in the Hollywood Hills. I have a sweet property. I have my wife. Two dogs.

Wait, you have a wife?

I met the right gal. Angela. At my very worst moment – I blew all my dough, I was living on my buddy’s floor. I met Ang, fell in love. We opened a website, sold "Boondock" merchandising rights.

Like T-shirts? 

T-shirts, hats, buttons, stickers, pins. You can go on boondockstore.com.

That’s kind of genius.

Yeah. The fans of "Boondock Saints" have put a roof over my head and food in my mouth for the last 10 years. It’s been our sole source of income.

That’s making lemonade out of lemons.

That’s making chicken salad out of chicken s---.  Then we turned around and made some real money by selling to Hotpicks stores – 600 around the country. So I was able to hire better lawyers. And every cent we made was shoveled into the lawsuit.

So tell us about "Boondock Saints II."  Did you get much of the original cast? We got them all back.

 

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