They played the role of the MacManus brothers Sean Patrick Flanery and known from the series “The Walking Dead” Norman Reedus. Both will return in the third part of the series. However, he will not be behind the camera Duffy. The studio is currently looking for his successor.
In the 1990s, Duffy was a security guard and bartender at a club. He had never written a script before and couldn't imagine working in the film industry. He invented the story of the MacManus brothers because he was tired of the evil that surrounded him. The defining moment for him was the sight of a dealer stealing the body of his former client. He finished the script in 1996 and, through the intercession of a friend, submitted it to New Line Cinema. This one passed the initial verification.
Although New Line dropped the project, Duffy's script suddenly became one of the hottest scripts in Hollywood. Producers offered him up to half a million dollars for it. Harvey Weinstein from Miramax offered not only a budget of $15 million. Duffy and his team were also responsible for the music, and the producer even assured that he would buy the bar where the debuting screenwriter worked. However, due to Duffy's violent behavior, the project was abandoned. It was ultimately produced by the independent Franchise Pictures. The budget was only six million dollars, and Duffy, with no training whatsoever, became the film's director.
As the budget decreased, it became increasingly difficult to find a cast. Duffy dreamed of Stephen Dorff and Mark Wahlberg playing the MacManus brothers. In turn, he saw Kenneth Branagh as the FBI agent tracking them, Paul Smacker. Everyone refused, and the director started talks with, among others, Brendan Fraser and Ewan McGregor. When Miramax was involved in the production, Sylvester Stallone, Bill Murray or Mike Myers were seen as Smakcer. Robert De Niro and Kevin Spacey were later suggested.
McGregor was close to an engagement and even met with Duffy. The talks were promising. Unfortunately, the debutant got drunk and started a discussion with the actor about the death penalty. The men had a deadly argument, and a disgusted McGregor folded. It was after this incident that Miramax withdrew from the project. When Franchise Pictures came into the picture, Reedus and Flanery were given the lead roles. Willem Dafoe played Smacker.
Billy Connolly, whom Duffy briefly tried to play the role of an FBI agent, played the legendary assassin Il Duce. The Scottish comedian had wanted to play a negative character for a long time and was delighted when he appeared on set as a gun-toting psychopath. He literally couldn't stop laughing. That's why in the movie Il Duce he smokes a huge cigar. Duffy shoved them into Connolly's mouth to stop him from enjoying himself. During breaks, the comedian improvised skits that entertained the other cast members and the film crew. At one point, an angry Duffy had to forbid him from doing so because it was delaying filming.
One of the most famous scenes is Smakcer's dance during the reconstruction of the shooting between the brothers and Il Duce. “I don't know whose idea it was,” Dafoe admitted. “I don't want to take credit for it, but I doubt we've talked about it before. I guess it's one of those things that just happens – and that's how most great things happen. They're not well-thought-out ideas. It happens because logic dictates it.” “.
The finished film was shown at the fair during the Cannes Film Festival in 1999. However, to Duffy's disappointment, he did not find a distributor. All because of the Columbine school shooting that took place a month before the festival. The topic was too fresh for anyone to risk introducing a production glorifying violence to cinemas.
Ultimately, the film was released in theaters in January 2000 in a very limited release. It was shown in only five theaters across the United States. Additional screenings were organized by the Blockbuster rental chain. News about “Boston Saints” spread by word of mouth. In theatrical distribution, the film earned only $30,000. However, it was a hit on video and DVD. The reviewers were not impressed. They criticized the amount of violence on screen, as well as Duffy's fascination with brutality.
“It's an interesting movie, a movie that went unnoticed at the time of its release and later became a cult hit on its own. I know this because wherever I am in the world, some dude of a certain age comes up to me and asks: 'Hey, do you know what movie Do I really like it?' And I can tell just by his face,” Dafoe laughed in an interview with Variety.