RSS
Home
WORDS WITH A SAINT: Sean Patrick Flanery on Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Sean Patrick Flanery (right) as Connor MacManus in The Boondock Saints
I had the opportunity to interview Sean Patrick Flanery, who twice played Connor MacManus in the cult-hit The Boondock Saints and the upcoming sequel Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. On a warm day in West Hollywood outside his Brazilian Ju Jitsu academy, we spoke of the upcoming sequel and what it’s like to make movies with the fans in mind.
SPF: We really want to treat Boondock Saints II like the film that it is. We want to give back to the fans. We don’t necessarily want to do Entertainment Tonight and things like that when we promote it. When the first film came out, everyone who gave us those great write-ups and reviews were these underground magazines and bloggers, you know, the cult following. We want to give all the interviews to those types of people. A strong voice in the underground, not necessarily some premiere magazine.
BH: You mentioned the cult-following of the first film. That movie poster seems to be in every dorm room across the country (it was certainly in mine). Why do you think that is? I remember, I didn’t see Boondock Saints in theaters, I saw it on DVD because a friend of a friend of a friend told me, you gotta’ see this movie. Why do you think it turned into that sort of wildfire?
SPF: (Hesitates) Because it’s politically incorrect. It’s people doing what everyone wishes would happen. You know, like this recent guy who kept some chick in his backyard for 18 years. If you’re the father of that child, you want to kill this guy. You don’t want him to get sentenced and tried, you just want him dead. It’s what everyone thinks, man. And the Saints do that. They sort s**t out. It’s like the courtroom speech at the end of the movie. “We will send you to whatever god you wish.” You commit these crimes, this is what needs to be done and you need to be eliminated from the gene pool. Everyone feels that, but nowadays there are perpetrator’s rights just like there are victim’s rights. Since when? What the f**k does that mean? Just kill him! People plug into that. And these Saints, they sort s**t out, and do heinous things to people, but to people who really deserve it.
BH: Do you think this new film is going to enjoy a similar status?
SPF: I guess realistically, there's no way to tell. All we can do is stay 100% true to the original and let the chips fall where they may. I think we accomplished that. Most sequels have studio execs second guessing and trying to steer the film in a certain direction, but that didn't happen on this one. We just went out and made the film we believed in. Having said that, I certainly hope the original fans love it, because I certainly do!
BH: Was there always going to be a sequel?
SPF: No there wasn’t. We made an independent film that we all fell in love with. We loved the script, we loved the idea, and we went out and made it. Now, I don’t really believe in luck. I believe in preparation meeting opportunity. The time was right for a sequel, and the time was right for people finding it. And there’s something to be said about a project that has no promotion, which gets the attention of people who are saying, “F**k, I love this, you gotta watch it.”
BH: You mention the promotion for the first film, and that’s interesting because I remember the trailer for the sequel just came out a few weeks ago, and the film’s release date is…
SPF: October 30th.
BH: Right, I was surprised by that because typically a big movie—and I think it will be—has its trailer released months before the film comes out.
SPF: But it’s not a big blockbuster. Sure, we had a little bit more money than the first time but we made a film that stays true. It’s not Big Explosions Part III. We didn’t just blow s**t up because we could. It doesn’t do that, it just continues the story. When the studio offered something like that to us, we went “We don’t need that, the script doesn’t need that. All it requires is this.” We used everything we needed and made the film we wanted to make. Our core fan base is such that we don’t need to compete with something like Inglourious Basterds. Everyone and their grandmother is going to see that regardless if they’re a fan of Quentin Tarantino or not, it’s just a huge blockbuster. Now Boondock II, people are gonna see it because they liked the first one. There won’t be very many people who go see it who aren’t familiar with the first one. And if a friend plans on taking them to see the sequel, they’ll probably insist that they need to see the first one before going. Those are the kinds of people we want to speak to and stay true to. And another thing, I’ve never been involved in a huge blockbuster that has six months of promotion time with billboards everywhere.
BH: Do you have a desire to?
SPF: I won’t lie, a part of me would be excited to see my face on a f****n’ billboard! I mean, anyone would be a liar to say that wouldn’t be cool. But I will say this: I appreciate and I get more satisfaction from a film that has wild success that didn’t have that crazy Hollywood treatment. I mean, did people go to see Inglourious Basterds because it was amazing or because it had Brad Pitt in it? And I’m one of those people too, I won’t lie. I’m gonna see Mission Impossible Part 9 because I like Tom Cruise movies! But just because the box office has that one receipt from the ticket I purchased, doesn’t mean it represents someone who liked it. But if a movie doesn’t have the kind of promotion that Inglourious Basterds or Mission Impossible had, you can more safely assume that the people who do see it are going to be true fans. I certainly hope they enjoy it, because personally, I’ve never had a bigger appreciation for a body of work like I have with this one. It makes me feel good to be a part of something that people enjoy like that. It’s like certain bands. You know if you discover a band, you wanna share it with people. But if you see some moron roll up next to you rockin’ that band, you’re like “who turned that guy on to it?” You’re possessive about it. And I think that’s what this movie is like, and the first movie was like. We’d like to let the fans still own Part 2.
BH: I’d like to talk about the differences between Part 1 and Part 2. Obviously one of the themes is vigilante justice, what we talked about at the beginning of our conversation. Are there any additional themes that are present in the sequel that are worth mentioning?
SPF: Absolutely there are, I’m rifling through my files trying to determine which ones I’m allowed to tell you about. I can’t divulge much, but I can tell you this: Everything comes crystal clear when you see this. All those questions you had in the first one, it’s all crystal clear now. It all makes sense.
BH: What kind of questions from the first one? Like, how far do the Saints go?
SPF: More like, why was Il Dulce so feared and revered? Why was he incarcerated? Questions like that are answered in the sequel and I think it’s really worth it.
BH: Is getting slapped in the face with slabs of meat a theme in this film? What was that like?
SPF: (Laughs) Man, we had to do that so many f****n’ times to get it right. It was hard for me to act like I didn’t know it was coming! We’d do it five times and I’d flinch and be like, “Ah f**k, dude you gotta go quick, I know its coming!” It helped when he would do it quick, ‘cause it f****n’ hurt! Just do it and move on! Everyone on the set was laughing so hard.
BH: Do any cats get shot in this one?
SPF: No cats. PETA can rest easy on this one. But I will say this. (Leans into the microphone) There were a few spiders in my trailer, and I f****n’ squashed ‘em. That’s for you, PETA.
BH: One thing I noticed from the Boondock II trailer is that Willem Dafoe does not make a return appearance. Was that a script choice? An availability issue?
SPF: It was really an availability issue. By the time we got through all the legal issues surrounding the rights to the film, he wasn’t available. We couldn’t wait any longer, so we went ahead without him. The window of opportunity here was a porthole, not a bay window. We couldn’t wait any longer.
BH: I’d like to talk about the director, Troy Duffy. What was your relationship with him while making the film?
SPF: I think he’s really easy to work with. He’s a guy that shoots straight. You know, there are some directors that put on this faux-bedside manner. They’re like (puts on a convincingly pretentious accent), “Thespians... gather ‘round. Now your motivation for this scene shall be your undying love for your fellow companions…” Now Troy is a dude who will be like “This motherf****r killed your f****n’ buddy now you f****n’ kill him, now go!” And then you get all pumped and you’re like, f****n’ roll the camera! Let’s go! You get excited with that kind of direction. Troy is passionate about the work, the creation. Now, he’ll certainly tell you if you f**k up, because he knows exactly what he wants. It’s like if you order a cheeseburger with extra tomatoes and they don’t give you tomatoes. By the third time your burger comes without tomatoes you’re like, I need some f*****g tomatoes. Troy is the same way. He needs the right thing done, and he’s vocal about it.
BH: So what are the plans for the release? Will it be a limited release?
SPF: They’re releasing it in about ten cities, and if it does well, they’ll do a wide release.
BH: I have a feeling that this one is going to explode just like the first one did on DVD. It’s going to get a lot of attention. Fans have been waiting ten years for this. When did you first start talking about the sequel?
SPF: About three years after the first one came out. I mean, when it came out on home video, it was one of the top rentals. It did battle with Saving Private Ryan and other high-budget films. Obviously when a film does that, the studios always come calling. I’m glad they wanted to make a second one. I’m glad they gave us the opportunity because you know, we had a ball making it. It’s just a bunch of dudes with too much testosterone hanging around a set telling really crude, unacceptable, politically-incorrect jokes… it was a f****n’ ball. But you know, even Julie Benz was a good sport, even though it was a bunch of guys being inappropriate.
BH: I’m very eager to watch Julie Benz’s performance in the sequel, I can’t wait.
SPF: Dude, two roles that I think are gonna be breakout roles. Julie Benz and Clifton Collins Jr. They’re very well-written roles and they nail ‘em. Clifton is a solid actor, man, and he is like Rocco (from the first film) in this movie. He’s a buddy of the Saints that wants to fit in with them.
BH: You mentioned Rocco, and I’ve been curious about something ever since I saw the first film. Why is his character name the same as his real name? David Della Rocco?
SPF: Because that’s how Troy wrote him. He’s Rocco. I mean, when they say “cut” on the set, I start speaking like I do now, without an accent, ordering pizzas, and then when we start filming again I’m like (Irish accent) “shut your f****n’ mouth in, shut it! Put the f****n’ gun down!” and they cut and I’m back to my regular voice. But Rocco, he’s like that all the time. No difference between the takes. He was the heart and soul of that film, and he’s got a great role in this one, man. He’s got a little flashback and he just sings it out and it’s great. It’s a great speech about the emasculation of man, and how every dude these days has got his balls cut off, no man is willing to do what’s necessary. His diatribe speaks right to the point, about how no one stands up for anything and why what the Saints do is so necessary.
BH: I appreciate that kind of honesty in movies.
SPF: I do too. It’s what this movie is made of. I hope the fans enjoy it.
BH: Count me in.
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day will be released in select theaters on October 30th.
Click here to watch the red-band trailer.
Click here to visit Sean Patrick Flanery's website.
Related Articles:
Comments
