Kent Moran – The Challenger

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) Michael Clarke Duncan is a part of the film The Challenger. When was it filmed in regards to it now finally being released?

A) We started filming in 2012. Right after we wrapped with Michael, a few months later, he (very sadly) passed away. It was totally shocking for us and, of course, we had to film a little bit after that here and there for some pickups. We’ve been in post-production since then.

Q) In regards to the post-production filming, did you have to do anything for his part?

A) Actually, we were blessed in terms of that because most people we had to do ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording) with. It’s pretty standard, but for some reason his dialogue was clear and we were able to use all of his dialogue form shooting and from set. So, we were fortunate in that aspect of it. A lot of the post-production was taken up by visual effects shots. We had some great visual effects teams working and they did some great work for us.

Q) You are writer/director/star of the film. How did the whole concept for the film come about?

A) Growing up I always heard stories about my great uncle, who was a professional boxer. We saw pictures and saw his records. Always being into sports, when I became a film maker and started making movies, I just had this urge to tell a story about a modern day boxer. My uncle was from the Bronx so I thought it would be great if the film was set there and what it might be like to follow a boxer coming from nothing and then he might have a shot at a heavyweight title. I wanted to also include the whole reality show thing that America seems so obsessed with lately. I thought it would be interesting to put that in there as well.

Q) What makes the story so compelling?

A) Part of it was that I wrote it when we were deep in the recession and I thought it would be a good show of people getting behind somebody. It’s a coming-of-age story so I thought people could get behind his journey of believing in himself and coming up out of the recession is an underlying tone and theme of it. For me, I wanted to tell something inspirational that people could get behind whether they were into boxing or not. Also, there was a family dynamic that we haven’t really seen before with a white kid growing up with an African American mother and just showing the family of not just blood, but those there to support each other.

Q) You have these wonderful and rich characters. How did you develop them?

A) When I was thinking about the characters I wanted to keep it, the boxing and the story, as real as I could. When I was training for the movie as I was writing the script, I had some great experiences over at Wildcard Boxing in Hollywood where I was training. That’s like where in the movie the boxer meets his trainer, in the laundry mat. That’s where I met someone in a laundry mat who gave me the inspiration behind this character. There was a boxing gym across the street and he was actually playing a lottery machine in the bodega nearby, where he was making more money doing that then he was in the laundry mat. I thought that was an interesting look into the character and I modeled Duane off of him and my trainer. So, I sort of combined those two guys. With Jaden and his boxing, I sort of modeled our training sessions as to what happened in real life. I didn’t know what I was doing when I started so I wanted people to see what it was like to take it from nothing to growing from there. There are definitely little things I pulled from and then again from my great uncle, stories of him in the Bronx and what he went through.

Q) Were these just casual conversations you had or on the record?

A) Actually, I trained at that place for seven months so it was really a matter of getting to know them over time. I was writing and adjusting into the script more about these people as I learned about them. It wasn’t necessarily an interview style more than appreciating someone and understanding their character as I got to know them.

Q) We discussed you were writer/director/actor in the film. How did you manage to balance these various hats at once?

A) The directing and the acting were the most intimidating for me, for obvious reasons. When you are directing, how can you also act in front of the camera? It seems counterintuitive, but the way I was able to do it with the weight on my shoulders was just to overly prepare for the directing aspect. I had a lot of help with a great crew. I had a secondary director who I would go over the plans for the day with and we talked to the key crew members so we pretty much knew what we were doing before we got on set each day. Then, that enabled me to be freed up for the acting. Then, my second unit director would give me notes that would help me with my acting as well for my performance so I could focus on everyone else. That was definitely helpful!

Q) There are a number of incredibly talented actors in the film. Talk about the casting process.

A) Each one was cast a little differently, but it all seemed to happen in a pretty cool fashion. I was meeting with Michael Clarke Duncan’s agent at the time I was casting. I sort of during the meeting was pitching this project to him and they got Michael the script. He ended up liking it and wanted to come on as an EP as well. That was great! Also, I had always loved Epatha [Merkerson] and her work on “Law & Order” and other things. So, I contacted her agent. Epatha is obviously a great actress, but also so great to work with. She was a pleasure and so much fun. Justin [Heartley] is someone I met when I was casting his character. I met him at a gym I work out at. He was already on my list and so I just literally walked up to him and asked him if he wanted to see the script and be a part of it. I learned so much as an actor and a director from both her and Michael, just how they work and how they act. They were so great to work with.

Q) Are you nervous or excited about the instant fan feedback you will be receiving through social media?

A) I’m more excited than nervous. We’ve gone to a bunch of festivals now and we had a limited theatrical release in September. So far, people are really liking the movie. If they do or don’t, there will be people who do respond well and enjoy it. That’s the great thing about a subjective medium like filmmaking, I did what I set out to do on my end and now it is up to the audience to enjoy it. Hopefully, they will!

Q) What do you hope fans take away from watching the film?

A) Well, certainly I want them to appreciate Michael’s performance in it and he is great in it. He really put a lot of himself into it and did such a great job. Also, just the inspirational messages in it of family and believing in yourself – all you can accomplish if you can do that. Hopefully, those messages come across.