Kings - Visions in Noir

TRIVIA 4 [continued] - I was talking about this scene to David Chirban (Randall) at a wedding (during shooting), he loved the idea and wanted to do it. He suggested shooting at his family's fitness center and using his brother, Nathan Chirban, for the friend he fights. I gladly went home and wrote the scene and Emailed it to him that weekend. We shot the scene one week later. I remember having an "oh, my" moment when Nathan Chirban said, "There's a script?" David had not given him the script. He memorized the script in 5-10 minutes and the one mistake that stands out (for me) is that Randall's father had only been dead for 2 days, but Nathan Chirban kept saying "three days." After one take I told Nathan Chirban, "It's 2 days, not 3. He's not Jesus." It remains in the final cut. --Nathan Weaver, writer/director.

TRIVIA 4 - The scene at Vessell's Fitness Complex did not make it into the original script. I had always wanted to write in a scene where Randall went to a friend for help, but the friend tried to kill him for the money in a public restroom. I didn't write the scene, because I figured it was too far out of our range for things to film. Mainly because I always wanted the bathroom to get ripped to pieces and the friend to be brutally killed. Ironically, if you watch "Casino Royale" and watch the opening scene, that's pretty much what I had in mind...

TRIVIA 3 - I felt up to it, again. There is a deleted scene from "Hit and Run" that was never shot. It was the original introduction to the characters of Kyle and Logan. In the scene, Logan called Kyle a "stupid midget" because he had moved the driver's seat so far forward in the car and thus allowing Randall time to speed away while he adjusted the seat. We were glad to drop it, as we determined it was too much. The briefcase scene later where Logan and Kyle are introduced, I had Matt Sherrill (Logan) and I (Kyle) adlib some lines at the beginning since it was our new "entrance" scene. --Nathan Weaver, writer/director.

TRIVIA 2 - I felt up to it. I named the character of Jo (played by Stephanie Dixon) after the main protagonist of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt." Later, I would kick myself for not re-watching "Shadow of a Doubt," because the character's name was not Jo but Charlie. --Nathan Weaver, writer/director.

TRIVIA 1 [CONTNIUED] - In contrast to the first movie, "Kings 2: Diplomacy" was written and edited over the course of a semester. The last thirty pages of the script were writtne in two days, because I had gotten the itch after re-watching "Schindler's List." After completing the second script, I then spent several months editing and polishing. It's bigger, longer and much more polished. And, one of my favorite elements, it's in High Definition. More trivia later, when I feel up to it. --Nathan Weaver, writer/director.

TRIVIA 1 - "Kings: Hit and Run" was written in 2 weeks, because we were crunched for time. Because of the crunching, I was unable to edit the script and took a "hands-off" approach to the directing, "I didn't get to polish the dialogue, so please feel free to adlib if you don't like a line," I would say to the actors and I didn't give them much direction. While I'm glad in some ways I let the actors have their way with it, there were other actors who wanted and needed the direction. I realize now there are two types of actors: those who thrive off of getting no direction and those who thrive off of direction. I try to accominidate for both now...

UPDATE 1 - "Kings 2: Diplomacy" is currently in-production. We started filming in 2006, but went on hiatus at the end of the summer and just recently got back into filming (March, 2008). Hoping to complete shooting by end of year, at latest. Stay tuned to the channel for more clips and updates. --Nathan Weaver, writer/director.