Tonight on IFC

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Two movies that you want to take a look at, just in case someone hasn't seen them yet:

"Overnight"
This movie is about Troy Duffy, the director of the film Boondock Saints. Basically, this guy was in a position that we might all want to be in: picked up by Miramax, when the Weinsteins were still there, and put on the fast track for independent filmmakers. However, everything went wrong, largely because of Duffy himself. This film is a good example of what not to do when you are in a position to create a careeer from filmmaking. The film will be shown tonight on IFC at 9:00p and at 1:00am (eastern) If you haven't seen this documentary, you should.

Here's the wikipedia page in case you are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overnight

"This Film Is Not Yet Rated"
If you can manage to stay up this late, this film talks about how movies are rated, who began the ratings system and who is rating the films today and what their criteria is. This documentary was very entertaining, another must see. It will be shown at 2:30am (eastern)

Here's the wikipedia page for this as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_film_is_not_yet_rated

I think that if you are in or planning to go into filmmaking, these two films are mandatory viewing.

-- spinner :cool:
 
Thanks Spinner! I've been wanting to see "Overnight," so I have it ready to go right now!

I actually checked out "...Not Yet Rated" from my local library a few months ago (believe it or not). It was really interesting and I recommend it. Lot's of great interviews with the South Park guys and Kevin Smith, etc...
 
Let me know what you thought of "Overnight" I watch it whenever I can if for no other reason as a precautionary tale to remember all the reasons not to be too cocky and to not necessarily put too much stock in your own press because you just never know...

There is more to being a filmmaker than making a film...


-- spinner :cool:
 
I hope the filmmakers of that documentary are getting a decent reward for this movie -- They deserve it.

I have not yet seen Boondock Saints. I suppose now I should go get it, just to complete the picture. It was quite an interesting tale -- this documentary. I think the quote at the end was an interesting and telling choice for ending the movie -- about how success doesn't change people, it mearly gives them a truth serum to allow what is hidden inside to come out. Or something like that.

Yeah. He could have played his cards better.
 
I have seen Boondock Saints.

Remember when Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels came out, it was the cool indie crime film? I think that Boondock Saints was the cool indie crime film for the year it came out. It's a pretty good movie.

-- spinner :cool:
 
thanks for the tip on Overnight. I watched it -- quite a crash and burn story. Troy is an unsavory character, but to be fair, what is he but a dumber less shrewd Harvey Weinstein who didn't make it? Success is a drug and people do wild things on drugs. So I can't judge. And hey, Troy Duffy did get TWO nationally distributed films out of it, more than most bartenders with big dreams and grandiose visions.

Overall not a bad documentary but I got annoyed with the depiction of Troy's bandmates -- if they were as quiet and sheeplike as depicted during all Troy's ranting then how did they ever have the balls to play rock and roll? Is that why they only sold 690 CDs! Of course not -- it was a failure of the documentary makers to provide the deep contrast of human decency against which Troy's actions could be highlighted.

We must remember that all Troy is guilty of is being an asshole -- there are pleasant charming people in positions of great power who destroy lives with nary a thought and are never called to task.
 
kookooframe said:
We must remember that all Troy is guilty of is being an asshole -- there are pleasant charming people in positions of great power who destroy lives with nary a thought and are never called to task.
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It's true. He was mostly just annoying, but what bothered me was lack of respect for making an interesting project. He seemed far more interested in the title "film director" and being successful than he was actually making an interesting movie. If making the film were the most important thing in his world at that moment, he probably wouldn't have had so much trouble. People tend to get exited about a project when someone esle is really exited about it. Unfortunately, it seemed the most important thing was to get money and the respect he felt he deserved, the movie being really good appeared to be an after thought. Although, it looked like he figured anything he shot would be gold, so an interesting film was pretty much a given, I guess.

Truth is, the footage in this doc were mostly speeches given by Duffy to his posse, or him telling everybody some great or terrible news, or him being tough with someone or another, over the course of a few years. This made it look like he was in charge of when the cameras would roll, so we may really have no idea the "real" behind the scenes.

Justin
 
kookooframe said:
thanks for the tip on Overnight. I watched it -- quite a crash and burn story. Troy is an unsavory character, but to be fair, what is he but a dumber less shrewd Harvey Weinstein who didn't make it? Success is a drug and people do wild things on drugs. So I can't judge. And hey, Troy Duffy did get TWO nationally distributed films out of it, more than most bartenders with big dreams and grandiose visions.
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..."dumber, less shrewd and didn't make it" means that he is decidedly not Harvey Weinstein by any stretch of the imagination.

I think he was a person with big dreams, as we all are, the point was for all we know he could have been the next Tarantino or Jonze or Duffy had he not forgotten that he was also unproven. I would be willing to bet that there are alot of writer/directors out there with great stories and abilities, but not everyone will have those stories and abilities and as long as that is true, independent filmmakers will have to prove that they have the goods. And as you can see from the film, there is more to filmmaking than making a film.

Overall not a bad documentary but I got annoyed with the depiction of Troy's bandmates -- if they were as quiet and sheeplike as depicted during all Troy's ranting then how did they ever have the balls to play rock and roll? Is that why they only sold 690 CDs! Of course not -- it was a failure of the documentary makers to provide the deep contrast of human decency against which Troy's actions could be highlighted.
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...you sound like a musician ;) Well, The Brood would not be the first band with a bigger than life bandmate, to self-destruct because of irreconcilable differences. I think it was the films intent, however, to focus on the movie end of it because the film is the reason we know who Mr. Duffy is.

We must remember that all Troy is guilty of is being an asshole -- there are pleasant charming people in positions of great power who destroy lives with nary a thought and are never called to task.
Click to expand...
Being an asshole has sunk more than its share of careers. There is kind of no excuse for it, though I would expect that we all have our "asshole moments". The bottom line is: are you going to let someone who doesn't know what he doesn't know, order you around in your own house at a party you invited him to? Its a Weinstein party, and maybe Mr. Duffy forgot how to be a good "guest".

I think you have to have a certain amount of self-confidence in filmmaking (or in anything creative for that matter). But everyone needs to keep their ego in check, even if you think you are the next Speilberg. Maybe he did get two films distributed - - I don't know what the 2nd one was - - but the film said that no one would touch him after this episode and that is not the result anyone is going for. It would be nice to know what is going on with the guy in 2008. I wouldn't hate the guy if he turned screw up into becoming wiser, and was able to create a second chance for himself. That would be a good story, too...

-- spinner :cool:
 
Right, Spinner, I am also a musician LOL To make a broad generalization, most musicians I've come across, even the dimmer ones, seem to have good bullshit detectors. That's why I find it unlikely that those guys didn't more often tell Troy to f-off. It just wasn't caught on tape.

by the second nationally distributed film I'm referring to the docu itself -- I don't know if Troy got any $ out of that but he at least would have had to sign a release

Interesting coincidence, I have been fascinated by B.U. film prof Ray Carney's web site for over a year now, and in the docu, lo and behold, there is Duffy as guest speaker in Carney's class. On Carney's web site, he says Duffy was a real jerk.
 
I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that class. I wonder if it was a recent class considering Duffy's turn of events...


-- spinner :cool:
 
i wish I could have seen this. Can someone please explain to me what basically destroy his career? Im assuming it was a contract in which he did not recieve a penny thru the sales of BDS dvd?
 
In the first post of this thread, there is a wikipedia link that can tell you about the film.

In the film, it did say that he was left out of any negotiations for DVD and overseas sales....

-- spinner :cool:
 
I heard IFC is going to show HE WAS A QUIET MAN. I thought the movie just came out on DVD so I'm a little confused about how its going to be on IFC so soon. I'm saying the movie is awesome. I didn't even realize it was Christian Slater as the main character until about 30 minutes into the film. William H. Macy is also in it he is an IFC regular. Can someone confirm this for me because I know it will eventually be on there but this seems a little early.
 
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