Flanery (center), Reedus at left
Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia celebrated its 25th anniversary this past weekend, and what a con it was! Readers of the site may already know what a fan I am of Sean Patrick Flanery, and this year marked his first appearance at Dragon*Con.
In all of my years of attending this convention, Flanery is the one guest I always wanted to meet, and I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly in the Walk of Fame, where the stars sign autographs and interact with their fans. I found him to be very sweet, and the crush I’ve had on him since the days of Young Indiana Jones remains.
Naturally, I attended most of his panels, including The Boondock Saints panel with his co-star Norman Reedus. This panel was one of the most interesting and engaging I’ve ever attended at Dragon*Con. The actors were funny, considerate to their fans, and they were obviously having a wonderful time on stage. The fans were equally funny: one gal in the audience screamed out, “Can I have your baby?” I’m not sure if she asked Reedus or Flanery, but the audience had a good laugh over it.
Flanery also mentioned that due to his appearance at Dragon*Con, he would be skipping the premiere of his newly released movie Insight. When I read that this film would be released over Labor Day weekend, I feared his schedule would forbid him from attending the con, but no need to worry.
The question and answer part of the panel bounced from the humorous to the poignant. An emotional fan of the film approached the microphone to talk about a brutal murder in her family and how watching The Boondock Saints encouraged her to fight back and obtain a concealed weapons permit. She said the movie saved her, and the actors applauded her.
Since it was a The Boondock Saints panel, the question on everyone’s minds was whether or not there would be a third film in the series. The short answer is YES. According to Reedus, writer and director Troy Duffy is currently working on the script, and both actors are more than willing to participate.
Another fan asked if Flanery had actually watched the Saw films before participating in Saw 3D: The Final Chapter, but he joked that since he has made a career of acting in movies that usually don’t get released, the Saw franchise allowed him to be a movie that would appear on thousands of screens. While he joked about it, it’s true that very few of his films see a theatrical release. He tends to act in smaller films that debut on TV or get directly released to DVD and Blu-Ray, but I watch them all regardless.
They also said that they would like do another USO tour, having done one already and enjoying it. I think after seeing Flanery and Reedus at this panel, fans would love to have the opportunity to sit and have a drink with these guys. (I heard through the Twitter grapevine they were at the Marriott bar just last night, but my efforts to locate them for an interview were in vain).
They’re fun, funny, appreciative of their fans, and everyone had a great time. At the end of the panel, they fulfilled an earlier request to say the Saints’ courtroom prayer, and the audience recited along:
And shepherds we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee, power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command. We shall flow a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patri, et Fili, Spiritus Sancti.