When the "Making Of" is better than the Movie it's being made about

My last post was prompted by having seen both Boondock Saints and the documentary based on its director Troy Duffy, Overnight recently.

I didn't particularly enjoy Boondock Saints, sure it was violent which is always great and there were some pretty good outfits but the characters all appeared to be douchebags. Willem Dafoe is pretty hilarious but it didn't seem to suit the movie and it really plays out better in a two minute cut up of all the ridiculous parts.

If you haven't seen the movie now you need not bother and if you have you'll know what I mean. You don't need to have seen Boondock Saints to enjoy Overnight though, which is based on the first time writer director Troy Duffy and how instant success in Hollywood revealed his massive ego to his close friends. It is a good watch if you are interested in how "the business" works as well, it appears that you only have to annoy one significantly powerful person in Hollywood for your whole career to be thrown into jeopardy.

Mark Wahlberg makes a short cameo and this coupled with the portrayal of studios and artists bickering was enough to prompt my girlfriend to ask me if HBO series Entourage was based on this documentary. It is a pity that Harvey Wienstien doesn't make an appearance (well there is a shot of him in the distance at Canne) though because he is the significantly powerful person who gives Troy the flick after he bites the Mirimax hand feeding him. Overnight paints an ugly picture of Duffy, but it also goes to show that Boondock Saints would have been more that a One Week Release had it not been for Weinstiens authority in Hollywood.

I got thinking about other great film making documentaries and without a doubt my favorite is cult classic American Movie.



American Movie is in sharp contrast to Overnight; its appeal lies in empathizing with the writer-director of Coven, Mark Borchardt. I loved watching Troy Duffy struggle under circumstances often out of his control mainly because I wanted him to fail. When your watching American Movie you can't help but get behind the endlessly enthusiastic Mark and you get the feeling many of the people helping him at the time in his town felt the same way. Its a heart-warmer and a tear-jerker and its might just inspire you to invest in a digital camera and go out and make your own horror movie. Chances are you'll find it alot easier now that Mark did in the late 90's.

One final recommendation on this subject is Heart of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse. I know that many of you are going to be scoffing that this documentary could equal Apocalypse Now, not to mention better it, and that's fine. If you've seen Francis Ford Copploas classic already, you will love the story behind its making but if you haven't and you don't really have 202 minutes of free time for the Redux version, (which is the one you should be watching) Heart of Darkness is a fantastic insight.

You could do alot worse than read Heart of Darkness, the Joseph Conrad novel Apocalypse Now was loosely based on. Google books has got the first eight pages and its a "Popular Penguin at a Perfect Price" which means you can buy it for ten dollars. Best option is to borrow a copy off someone a bit older though they'll be grateful you did and you might restore their faith in the Xbox generation.