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FILM 1114: THE BOONDOCK SAINTS

TRIVIA: The woman that the priest refers to in the opening scene of the film, Catherine Genovese, was an actual person. She was raped and murdered by a serial rapist in 1964 outside her home in Queens while 38 eyewitnesses did nothing to save her. This apathetic bystander phenomenon is now referred to as the bystander effect or "Genovese Syndrome", stemming from the inability to take action or to know whether action has already occurred. In both The Boondock Saints and the graphic novel Watchmen (2009), the story of Kitty Genovese inspires a vigilante to go to war against crime.

The tattoo that Connor has on his left hand/index finger says, "VERITAS," which is Latin for "Truth." Murphy also has a tattoo in the same place but on his right hand, that says, "AEQUITAS," which is Latin for "Justice/Equality."

The maximum security prison that Il Duce is being held in is actually the old Suffolk County jail in Boston, is now a 4 star hotel.

The script's initial sale garnered a considerable amount of publicity (including the cover of USA Today) as a "rags-to-riches" story; writer/director/composer Troy Duffy was a bartender at J. Sloan's in Los Angeles when Miramax head Harvey Weinstein not only bought the script, but signed Duffy to direct, his band to score the film and agreed to purchase the bar for Weinstein and Duffy to co-own. However, Duffy quickly managed to sour the deal, putting the script into turnaround where it was eventually produced for less than half of the budget offered by Miramax. After its limited theatrical release, the film gained popularity on home video as a Blockbuster Exclusive, unfortunately Duffy's contract did not give him any royalties from video sales. Duffy's initial success and consequent self-destruction are chronicled in the documentary Overnight (2003).

Mark Wahlberg turned down one of the lead roles in order to star in Boogie Nights.

The character "David Della Rocco" is named after the actor who plays him, because the character was based on and written for him.

Kevin Spacey was the original choice for Paul Smecker.

For the role of Paul Smecker, Miramax preferred Sylvester Stallone (with whom the studio had an existing relationship), Bill Murray or Mike Myers.

CAMEO: Troy Duffy:  The bar patron in the overalls and green bandanna in the scene where the McManus brothers get into the bar fight with the Russians. Duffy is actually seen standing in the background and doing nothing after the fight starts. In fact, his whole band (The Boondock Saints, formerly The Brood) have cameos in that scene, including Troy's brother, Taylor Duffy.