An Evening with the Saints
In nomine Patri. Et Filii. Spiritus Sancti.
The McManus brothers took a break from their duties in Boston to come to Ottawa this past weekend, and they brought their good friend Rocco with them.
It’s a rare opportunity these days to see Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocco in one room all together. Given different filming schedules and other projects, it was a real treat that the trio was able to make it to Ottawa Pop Expo for their inaugural year, and they easily packed a room full of people buzzing with excitement to see and possibly ask a question to the three actors.
Unfortunately for the film, it was under very limited release and received a meager $30,000 in box office sales. It fared well overseas, especially Japan, but came under fire from critics that gave them a “20% Rotten” vote on the popular site, Rotten Tomatoes. Users of the site however, gave the film a resounding 93%. It was clear that despite it’s limited release, word of mouth really was what saved his film, turning it into a cult classic.
“Boondock Saints was the people’s movie!” Quipped Reedus, sitting rather comfortably between his two former castmates, eyes hidden behind his signature sunglasses.
The people’s movie indeed, as the film went on to earn about $50 million to date in domestic sales.
Boondock Saints had come out only a few short months before a shooting that rocked the entire country. The tragedy that befell Columbine school wasn’t easily forgotten, nor should it be. That’s when the MPAA came down hard on the violent film, slapping it with the dreaded NC-17 label. When asked about the correlation of violence in films, television and games and the media blaming them for what happens in society, Sean Patrick Flanery took the floor:
“It’s fucking ludicrous! You can’t blame a movie for the stupid decisions you make.”
It’s been a hot debate for a while, but this writer has to take Flanery’s side to all of it.
As the hour went on, the three actors not only talked about Boondock Saints and some set stories (including a rather amusing one about the faces actor Willem DaFoe would make while Reedus and Flanery attempted to deliver their lines in varying languages), but about their upcoming and current projects, one we all know well as The Walking Dead.
“If you thought the first eight were insane, just wait… the next eight [episodes] are mindblowing!” Reedus exclaimed excitedly, but even though he knows things are going to burn if he’s killed off (If Daryl dies, we riot!) the actor still feels like he’s “a year away from Dancing with the Stars.”
Regardless, the love for both the film and the three actors is more than clear, and Flanery wanted to let everyone know it.
“We appreciate you guys more than you’ll ever know. It’s an honour when someone comes up to the table and tells us that you dug something we did, or moved them or spoke to them in some way. So, from the bottom of my heart and everyone else’s, thank you so much.”