Troy Duffy Story Says A Lot About What You Can Accomplish

This October 30th, Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day will arrive in theaters. It has been 10 years since the first film was released. Troy Duffy is the mastermind behind both movies. If you don’t know his story, Troy started out as a bartender when his script for Boondock Saints was discovered. Harvey Weinstein bought his script and gave Duffy the opportunity to direct the film. Duffy’s attitude and aggressive manner cost him this opportunity, and Weinstein wanted nothing to do with him. Some say that Weinstein made sure nobody in Hollywood had anything to do with him either. Nevertheless, Duffy managed to get his film out, albeit on a much smaller budget than anticipated. Hardly anybody knew about the film when it was released. After a few years out on DVD, it slowly gained a cult following. Duffy made nothing from the DVD sales.

Fast-forward to 2009 and Boondock Saints II appears on the Hollywood scene with a much bigger budget and a huge payoff for Duffy. Despite what you may think about Duffy or his movies, this is a story of perseverance of the like we’ve never seen. Think about it! You are out to make a film. You have Hollywood’s most powerful man (Weinstein) making sure you’re not successful. You release a movie that nobody sees, make almost no money from it, but still manage to wait it out 10 years later to hit the big time.

Duffy’s story is proof that if you work hard and are patient enough, things will pay off. Even if it takes 10, 20, or 30 years. Geez, it kinda makes your problem of waiting six months for a promotion seem small, doesn’t it?