The documentary Overnight is a film that follows Troy Duffy, a former bartender who became an overnight Hollywood sensation when his script The Boondock Saints caught everyone’s eyes and delivered him a deal with Harvey Weinstein and Miramax Films, and a $15 Million budget to make his movie. Film makers Tony Montana and Mark Brian Smith followed Duffy and his friends and family as they reached the highest of highs with the movie deal and a music deal, and then lost them both as Troy seemingly refused to kiss the system’s feet.
The movie painted the man in an interesting light. As you can plainly tell, a large amount of people flat-out decided that he was an ass and that they hated him based solely on this movie, and something never felt quite right about it. Because of that, I’ve personally always been interested to hear what Troy himself thought about it all, and now we know thanks to an interview that he did with /Film‘s David Chen.
Click over for direct quotes from Troy Duffy as well as the the studio and film makers behind the documentary.
Here’s what Diffy had to say about the entire thing, starting with if he felt the way he was portrayed was fair at all.
Absolutely not. I don’t have to feel, I know, I was there, it was me it was happening to. That type of behavior that you saw in that film was the exception and not the rule. And I don’t think it was too fair of them to not provide any context of why is Troy upset, who’s he even talking to, what’s the situation. It was basically “Show me acting like an asshole.” After three years of shooting that would be a fairly easy thing to do. And through especially three of the most tumultuous years of my life.
[E]ven as clever as the little devils were who made that thing, they couldn’t hide the fact that I was a newbie in a business, I got a movie deal and a record deal. I lost them both. I was able to resurrect them both with new companies and ultimately make my film, and the band make its album, all our way, right out of the gate, knowing nobody. From watching that film, you have no idea how I accomplished that. To suggest that that type of behavior got all these people to invest millions of dollars in my unproven talent…to me it stretches [credibility] quite a bit. If you think I was able to accomplish all that by acting like that, feel free to give it a whirl yourself. See where it gets you.
Montana came back and calmly explained that they were simply making an observational film about a man who was given the “opportunity of a lifetime,” and that they just filmed what they saw. Overnight‘s producers came back with their own thoughts as well. They’re quoted as saying that they have trouble understanding how anyone can “take him at his word” when talking about Duffy, and how they’re surprised that he was even to get his sequel, Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, off the ground. You can head over to /Film for full quotes from the film makers and producers of overnight.
Personally, I think Troy Duffy is a very talented man who could give us some incredibly fun movies over the years. Hell, he’s a warm and welcomed option over 70% of the directors out there right now. So why is the fact that he’s a no B.S. director that who fights for what he wants even if he has to piss people off to get there so threatening to people? We should all be so passionate. I don’t know the man, so I can’t say what’s what in all of this, but I also don’t think people should be so quick to judge based on one film. If we took everything that Michael Moore has told us as 100% fact, the world might be an even scarier place.
