Q: After viewing the film I was left wondering what genre Shadow Glories might be categorized in. Is it an action film, a love story, is it noir, a martial arts film, a morality play?

Hamzeh: Simply put, yes. And more. Fundamentally, it’s a human genre, a human story. One of our challenges as filmmakers is to capture humanity and mold it into an entertaining form. I’ve always thought that life is way too complicated to be contained into a particular genre. Besides, I like breaking the rules and crossing boundaries to stir the emotions. It provides an audience a pure emotional experience. That’s one of the things that drew me to the story in the first place.

Sandler: But are we breaking the rules? Perhaps for American films that have martial arts as a backdrop, sure. But, you see, when I conceived the story many moons ago I was inspired by classic, award-winning American boxing films that I loved like Champion, Body and Soul, The Fix, Raging Bull. These were action films but deeply character driven. Raging Bull and Rocky aren’t movies about boxing; they’re movies about people who just happen to be boxers.

Hamzeh: Exactly. The classic samurai films of Kurosawa followed the same form and function of using what at first sight might be simply categorized as an action movie but then grounding it in universal storytelling populated with real people with real emotions and real needs.

Q: But how do you think female audiences will take to the violence in the film?

Hamzeh: Well, my wife likes to call Shadow Glories a love story with fight scenes. The entire film is built around a love story. Redemption is also a theme that runs through the film, and is certainly a central motivation for the main character Simon Penn.

Q: So female audiences will be drawn to the love story, the male audiences to the action?

Sandler: The perfect date film.

Q: But are you concerned about the level of violence? The film puts you right there in the ring with all the viciousness one can imagine.

Hamzeh: Aah, but there’s method to our madness. We’re using the violence to tell an anti-violent story. Nothing about any of the fight scenes glorifies violence. In fact, quite the opposite. Simon Penn’s inherent nature is a violent one, but approaching middle-age he’s awakened to it and desperately trying to break free from it. Fighting, violence was his means to an ends, his solution to problems. But it’s also destroyed his life, a life he’s now trying to rebuild. The level of violence seen on-screen puts us right in his soul and makes us feel what he feels.

Sandler: You know, when I was living in LA I almost sold the script outright two or three times. The last time, when the cash – close to six figures, mind you – was almost in my hands, demands were made for me to change the inherent nature of the story, to glorify the violence, even add more of it, you know, to Hollywood-it up. As tempting as the money they were offering was – and struggling as I was I sure could’ve used it – in the end I just had more faith in my story and more faith in the audience to just sell out. Besides, this story is just way too close to my heart. Honestly, I’d rather it sit in a closet unmade than give it up. It cost me years waiting to make the film and risking it would never get made, but some things in life are worth holding the line for.

Q: So, the journey from concept to screen was a long one?

Sandler: Oh, only over twenty years, a little over five of them with Ziad onboard as producer/director. But hey, it went by like (snaps) that. Yeah, right.

Hamzeh: Quite a few of us on the project go back years. Michael Denney, the actor who plays Killer Kuzinski, and I went to college together and he was a founding member of The Open Fist Theatre Company, the theatre I created in Los Angeles. Mike and Marc acted together at The Open Fist, I’ve directed both of them before there, and the three of us have been friends for over ten years.

Sandler: In fact, knowing Ziad’s work is why I sought him out when I decided to independently produce Shadow Glories. I needed a partner, a director who was brilliant at bringing out the nuances within the story and the characters that embody it, not an action director. The action would take care of itself, but if the story or performances fell flat the entire film would, too.

Hamzeh: Then there’s Eric Allen, Shadow Glories’ fight coordinator.

Sandler: Rick and I have known each other since 10th grade, over twenty-five years. He’s one of my best friends. As teens in Philly, we sometimes trained (martial arts) together in his backyard.

Hamzeh: Kurt Brabbee, the cinematographer. I’ve known him for almost ten years. And let’s not forget Paul F. Harron, Jr. our executive producer.

Sandler: I’ve known him for almost thirty years.

Q: Quite the family tree. So after some twenty odd years in the making, how long did it take to complete the shoot?

Hamzeh: Twenty-eight days.

Q: Twenty-eight days?!

Hamzeh: And the fight scenes; now compare our schedule to, let’s say, Raging Bull. DeNiro trained for six months and Scorcese shot the fight scenes in ten weeks. All told, Rick Allen trained the fighters in Shadow Glories for three weeks and we shot all twelve fight scenes in six days.

Q: Now, haven’t you turned down offers from foreign distribution companies and sales reps who wanted to put Shadow Glories on the market in exchange for distributing the film yourselves?

Hamzeh: Yes. We’re handling domestic distribution under our own Hamzeh Mystique Films banner.

Q: Sounds very risky, no?

Hamzeh: Of course it is. But then again, risk is in the eye of the beholder. What we gain in return is continued control over our own destiny. We create the marketing, the theatrical trailer, the poster, the plans of attack, not because we’ve been hired to do so, but because we believe in the film and, quite frankly, ourselves that much.

Sandler: And we’ve been exceptionally fortunate to have Bert Brown working with us as producer, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge, experience and energy. And most importantly our exec producer, Paul Harron Jr., believes in Shadow Glories so much that he’s been more than willing to continue on with us in a tremendously supportive capacity through the self-distribution phase. In fact, he’s encouraging it. He’s been our guardian angel.

Hamzeh: We’re definitely breathing rarified air distributing Shadow Glories ourselves. It’s a challenge and excitement that matches our entire journey of making the film.

Sandler: But hey, it’s the American dream, you know? Cliché but true. And even in the hardest, leanest times in my life I believed in that dream just a little bit. How could I not, I saw other people making it happen. It was a damn long struggle to come by, but the fact of the matter is we’re underdogs who stuck to our guns to be rewarded beyond our wildest dreams.

Hamzeh: We’ve still got a ways to go, but even if it all ends here that will always ring true.

*Disclaimer: This Q & A serves as a lead sheet. While all of the answers are true and factual, it is not an actual interview.