Kent on No Retreat No Surrender


THE CAST

Q: Did you stay in touch with the actors? (2006)
Kent: Unfortunately I didn't keep in touch with anyone I worked with. My alma matta didn't have a course in networking. Too bad. After twenty years I doubt anyone would take my call. Good thinking though.

Q: Somebody asked whatever happened to Kathie Sileno. I am curious, too. She was indeed a hottie. (2006)
Kent: I don't know what became of Kathie Sileno. I've only seen her credited with NRNS. I hope she invented dry white out and is a zillionaire working in her lab in Paris on her next invention. But I digress.

Q: Hmm.. but how about our "friend" known as "Dean" [Dale Jacoby] from NRNS. Looks like he makes alot of money from doing x-rated movies. :S What do you think about this Kent? Personally, I thinks it's a bit sad. (2006)
Kent: That I can believe. He just had an air about him. Not that porn has an air... I have nothing against porn if everyone is of legal age. I don't really get into it but I know some people who do. To me watching porn is like watching an Oreo commercial. I can't eat that cookie.

Q: I think the thing that truly elevates this movie to camp-classic is Jason's dad. Timothy D. Baker, I think his name is. Anyways, did you get to meet him at all, and what was he like? (2006)
Kent: The guy who played Jason's dad was cool. He refered me to a moble mechanic when my car broke down on the way to the set. Unfortunately I didn't keep up with any of the cast. Nice guy... acting? Not so much.

Q: I was looking for information on the actors who played RJ (J.W. Fails) and Kelly (Kathie Sileno) and Dean (Dale Jacoby) but there is absolutely nothing on them. Did you guys keep in touch after NRNS? (2006)
Kent: Thanks for remembering me and taking the time to write. I unfortunately didn't keep up with any of the actors from NRNS. Now I wish I had. I often wonder what became of them.

Q: What was it like working with the rest of the cast? Did you get to talk much to J.W. Fails? (2005)
Kent: I got to talk to most of the cast. The great majority of them were very nice. Two come to mind that were a little self involved or maybe they were just shy. Kurt , J.W. and Jean-Claude were way cool. I think we were all just happy to be working. It was a first film for many of us. I had only been in town two months. It was my first audition in Hollywood. I was shocked that I was cast. Can you believe the director said I wasn't fat enough? I told him I could play fatter and tried to stick my stomach out. The only problem was it was already out as far as it would go. He cast me anyway, go figure. Don't ask me to name the two that were cold. If i'm lucky I may have to work with them again someday.

Q: Hey Kent, on the imdb Board for J.W. Fails (RJ) somebody wrote that he got crack addicted. Did you hear about these rumours and do you know if it's true? (2006)
Kent: I would find that hard to believe. I've never heard that. He really seemed to have it all together. He was a ball of energy. I can't see him on crack. That doesn't seem his style. I guess anything is possible. I hope it's not true. He was a nice guy.

Q: Wasn't J.W. Fails slightly 80's stereocasted? (2006)
Kent: Aaahhh the 80's... The last decade with a theme. What will be the fashion flashback of the 90's? What will be the soundtrack? This decade? Not much better. But then again I thought the same about the 80's. I thought it would me much cooler to have lived in the 60's. Free love and all that man. Or the 50's where all appeared to be squeeky clean and disease free.
As for J.W. he was a ball of energy. Just like you saw in the movie. Really upbeat and friendly. The kind of person who never meets a stranger. I'm really surprised he didn't continue to have success in the business.
There is a missing scene that explains the bad blood between Scott and R.J. It took place in a school lunch room. R.J. acciddentally makes Scott trip and fall. Scott is covered in food and humiliated. Thus the rift.

Q: I really hate Scott. What's wrong with you !?! (2006)
Kent: I'm so glad you hated Scott in NRNS! That means I did my job.

Q: Speaking of Jean Claude, what was it like working with him? And did any of you actually think this guy would become a big star in the future? (2006)
Kent: He was a really nice guy. He seemed very happy at the time. We were all young and... yah know crap happens. Dreams don't come true. Love doesn't always last. We all have our problems. I hope he's doing well.
He was being touted as the next big action star even as we filmed. All the girls were swooning. Some of the guys as well. He was working on reducing his accent. I think towards the end of filming he realized he was a soon to be somebody in a LOW budget flick. It was sort of like Across The Tracks. Brad Pit had broken out and was stuck in a LOW budget flick. He did not seem happy at all. Timing is everything.

Q: What was it like working with Jean Claude Van Damme, I read in an earlier post that he was tipped for stardom but it was belated success as his next hit was'nt until 3 years after with BLOODSPORT. What was this about the rumours of stardom for him...did you talk to him while on set? (2006)
Kent: I think we were all pretty cheesy, bad and over the top. And believe it or not the money behind the film wanted us that way. The producers were Chinese and they knew what they wanted. They wanted it over the top. Some people think Whatever Happened to Baby Jane was over the top. I agree! But I still think it's great. And some people think NRNS is great. One fan said it cheered him up to watch it. Victory! I did get to speak with Jean Claude on the set. I don't know if you've ever been on a movie set but there is a lot of hurry up and wait. So there is a lot of time to talk. If memory serves me everyone said he was going to be in the next Rocky movie. Of course, we all know that didn't happen. I just remember there was a lot of buzz about him.

Q: How was JCVD? (2006)
Kent: Van Damme was really a nice guy. He was really concerned that he had hurt me when he head butted me. The truth is I have a very hard head. He was just a humble guy. All the gals and some of the guys were GA GA for him. I remeber he had a happy healthy smile that would impress either sex. I guess the cliche would be 'lit up the room.'

Q: How fun was it to take a bite out of Van Damme. Lol, seriously, was he a good guy on the set because i hear he can be a real uptight guy on film sets? (2006)
Kent: Van Damme was really cool. He was nice, outgoing and not uptight at all. Once I was sitting in the grass outside of the gym where the final fight scene was filmed. He walked up to me, introduced himself (I had not been on set for his other scenes) and asked me what I was staring at. I told him I was trying to watch the shadow of the pole I was leaning against reach a particular blade of grass. He said 'very Zen'... can you believe they're feeding us Mcdonalds.'

Q: Did you see the other's actors after NRNS? And what about van Damme in the making off? Because he don't talk too much about it! (2006)
Kent: I didn't keep up with any of the actors from NRNS. I wish I had. Jean-Claude was very cool when we were filming NRNS. I wonder why he doesn't like talking about it? When you see him tell him I want to be in his next film.

Q: Was there any competition between the fighters during filming ? Who in your opinion was the best martial artist ? Pete Cunningham? How was Van Damme? Was he cool or a bit of a dick? (2007)
Kent: I was blown away by Van Damme. I thought he was great. Great fighter - cool guy. I didn't notice any competition among the fighters. It was a very friendly crowd.



LOCATIONS

Q: Was this film shot sometime in 1984? (2005)
Kent: Yes, it was shot in 1984 mainly in and around Los Angeles with one brief trip to Seattle. I remember them using clever tricks to mask palm trees in the background. Also paper WA car plates were taped over CA plates. I was always confused as to why I was eating chocolate cake outside of Jasons house. As an actor I just decided Scott sort of lurked around looking for trouble and food. Did you notice that the guy breakdancing is not R.J.? It was a caucasian dude with wig and makeup.

Q: How old were you at the time of the shooting? (2006)
Kent: NRNS filmed in late 1984 and maybe a little in January 1985. It was another year until it was released in the United States if memory serves me. That would have made me 23 at the time we filmed. A little old to be playing a High School kid huh? I watched NRNS for the first time in YEARS about a month ago. One of the nice people on this thread sent me the extended version on DVD. I was like 'Who is that?' Was I ever that young? I'll be 45 in October and to me I look nothing like I did back then. Some people say I haven't changed that much. I passed the DVD on to my Mom and Dad who still live in the south. They got a big kick out of seeing my two deleted scenes for the first time. I think they watch my movies at least twice a year. I really don't like seeing myself on screen. Maybe, if I ever get a really juicy part, I'll enjoy seeing myself. I'd really like to play a serial killer with a shaved head and tats everywhere. If I ever got a commercial that played all the time I'd probably sell my T.V. The 70's were cool. I got my drivers license in 77. Black Trans Am, t-tops out, groovy tunes, space invaders. Charlie's Angels and The Six Million Dollar Man.

Q: I had the good fortune to interview Tim Baker for a show I was doing on Van Damme a few years back and think I terrified the poor guy with my onslaught of questions about NRNS. Anyway, I've been thinking of doing a sort of unofficial tour of the movie locations and was wondering if that burger joint where the "geek" came along and broke up your fight with RJ/Jason is still around and, if so, where is it? (2007)
Kent: Tim was a really nice guy. I wish I had kept in touch with some of the cast. I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help with the locations. They shuttled us to the locations and I normally had my head in the script like I was doing Hamlet. I don't even remember the area where the burger joint was. It was a sort of mom and pop burger joint, not a franchise. The dojo was in the valley. I think on Ventura Blvd. Jason's house was in San Pedro. Kelly's house was off of Beverly and Highland. Damn that pool was cold. The Gym for the final fight was a YMCA - I think in Pasadena. What did I have for breakfast today? Hmmmm... It will come to me. Talk yourself out of the rat tail my friend.

Q: Were just a few shots of Jason and his girl and Jason at Bruce Lee's grave shot in Seattle and the rest shot in CA? I noticed that most of the "seattle" shots have palm trees in it. And did you keep any mementos from the film? How long did it take to shoot? (2007)
Kent: I'm not sure what momentos I have from the film. I always send that stuff to my Mom and she tucks it away. I believe only the grave scene was filmed in Seattle. The rest was shot in and around L.A. They tried to hide the palm trees by holding branches out. I think they just gave up after a while. At first they were putting paper Seattle plates on the cars but I think that grew old as well. It took about two months to film. It should have taken about two weeks but they were not very organized.



SCENES

Q: There is one scene where you drink some coke, burp eventually and say something completely not understandable. Do you remember what you said? (2007)
Kent: One of my Dad's favorite words is 'Rough'. If you ask him how his day has been, he'll say 'rough, it was a rough one.' So after I burp (actually it was a stunt burper as I cannot burp on cue) I sort of slur together 'oh/that/was/a/rough/one.' In Bikini Summer I also had to have a stunt burper. People tried to teach me how to swallow air to manufacture a burp but I never got the hang of it. I'm glad I've never been asked to burp at an audition.

Q: I was watching NRNS (again) and only noticed today that Scott suffered a cut on his forehead after being sent flying by Jason's kick this was at the burger place. I always thought the thing around Scott's head at Ian's dojo was a headband but turned out to be a bandage as I saw the dry blood coming through. (2005)
Kent: Yeah, Jean-Claude thought he had hurt my head too. Thing is I have a really hard head. It didn't hurt at all. It was hard to convince my grandmother of that. She was like WOW that must have hurt.

Q: When you desribe your injuries, with the classic "This, this, that" line, you point to nothing. Were your injuries from Jason so internal that they had yet to emerge, or were they phantom injuries from a previous tangle? Did nobody on set comment that there were no visible injuries? (2007)
Kent: The white thing on my head is actually supposed to be a bandage. Some people think it's a head band with a red circle on it. Head bands were all the rage at the time. I can understand the confusion. The other injuries were painted on with a very faint amount of makeup that didn't read on screen.

Q: Do you remember something special about the pool scene? (2006)
Kent: Did you ever notice that everyone looks really cold at the pool party in NRNS? It was filmed in December. Even in Los Angeles there are cool days in December. The pool was not heated. It has to be above 80 degrees for four days before I will get into the unheated pool at my building. This normally happens in late june. I did not want to jump into that pool in December. I told them I would do it only once so it had better be a 'one take wonder'. I was shocked but we got it in one take. I'm guessing the water was about 55 degrees. Yikes! Has anyone seen my nuts?

Q: 'Alright, who pee'd in the pool?' That line made every pool-going experience in the mid-90's a riot for me and my friends. I even paid homage to it in a script I wrote. (2006)
Kent: Let me tell you that pool water was COLD FREEZING. It was filmed in December. Even in L.A. the temprature goes down in December. I'm like, 'You want me to jump into ice cold water? This better be a one take wonder.'. Luckily it was.

Q: Hey Kent, me and my brother here in the UK love NRNS, our favourite scene is the birthday party when you steal the show. The drink throwing, food flicking and tripping up scene always makes us cry with laughter. (2005)
Kent: I like the party scene too. Except the pool. IT WAS COLD! I'm not sure where my facial expression came from when I was flicking the cake. I'm not a big fan of my work but I do get a chuckle out of that. I had a small part in a movie this summer - not sure when it's coming out. I just optioned my first screenplay. It's a slasher flick. It should film in the spring.

Q: What is your favorite scene from "No Retreat, No Surrender"? (2005)
Kent: That's a tough question. I guess my favorite scene would be where Scott robs the local soup kitchen and has a stand off with police... Wait, that wasn't in the script. But it would have been GREAAAAT! Although gueling work, having to takebite after bite of cold cheese burger, I'd have say my favorite scene was at the burger joint. At first the makeup lady tried to keep the mustard and ketchup stains around my mouth consistent from scene to scene. She finally gave up. That was at the start of the shoot when there was enough money for extra takes and catering. By the end of the shoot they were throwing us bags of McDonalds for lunch and keeping the first take no matter how bad it was. A good example would be the locker scene room before the fight.

Q: One scene you are chasing RJ who is on a skateboard and you are jumping this "road block" but you fall flat and sorta destroy it and if you're older than 14 you cant help but notice this stuff you fall on is probably held together by... I dunno... toothpicks... anyways... stuntdouble/you? What where you standing on as you did the jump? Did it hurt? When Jason (Kurt) is doing the training, and he is running, he always seems to be running at this same place... where is that? What is that building in the background? (2006)
Kent: The only stunt double I saw on the set of NRNS was the kid that did the break dancing for J.W. Yup, look closely, it's a caucasion dude in a wig and makeup. What a hoot that was. So, the few stunts I did were all me. My grandmother said 'I know it must have hurt when you slid across that table. You were bleeding.' She didn't believe we had ever been to the moon, so there was not much use in arguing with her. They built a wooden ramp that I ran up and jumped over the sawhorses. I think the sawhorses were held together with masking tape. When I fell back on them they totally fell apart. I never got hurt. I wasn't around for the filming of the Jason scene you asked about. I don't know where they filmed it. I don't have many hobbies, so if I ever make it big I still intend to try to keep up with anyone who writes me. Lately I've been sending out two or three pictures a week and answering a few letters. NRNS fans are the greatest!

Q: Also, I know it's not your line, but Dean's "Bitching. I think it'll be.... Awesome" may be the 5th best line in the film. "Who pee'd in the pool" being numbers 1 - 4. (2007)
Kent: I think my favorite line is 'go on home and play with your wooden dolly.'

Q: Why did Scott dislike RJ so much? And what did Scott whisper into Dean's ear when he saw Jason & Kelly going at it in the living room? (2005)
Kent: There is a deleted scene that explains Scott's hatred of that slime ball RJ. It took place in the school lunch room. Scott was coming down steps with a tray FULL of food. RJ was sitting on the steps and food went all over him. I'm not sure why Scott's burger joint friends weren't around. Something to do with the budget I'm sure. As you know there was very little budget.

Q: When Scott chases R.J. he jumps over that barrier and falls to the ground. Then R.J. comes back and starts kidding at Scott. In this moment R.J.'s foot is between Scotts legs............ WHY didn't Scott grab him and beat him up so badly his mother woudn't even recognize him? ;-) ..... by the way.... why didn't Scott just walk round the barrier instead of jumping over it ? (2008)
Kent: Scott jumped over the barrier because he knew the construction workers would make fun of him if he didn't. Scott is a lot like the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz. He talks a big game but really doesn't have the skill or courage to fight.



MEMORIES

Q: Do you ever have a problem with people recognizing you on the street and approaching you to quote random lines from "No Retreat, No Surrender"? When you say "just what Kingswood needs...a bruce lee freak...why me?" and dismissively toss a fistful of chocolate cake to the side, was this gesture improvised or scripted? (2005)
Kent: I used to get recognized a lot after the movie came out. But people were always nice. Normally they were quoting the movie. 'Who peed in the pool' was normally the favorite. I only get stopped in a blue moon now. About a year ago a security guard stopped me outside a spot on Sunset Blvd. and said 'Hey, I know who you are. No Retreat No Surender!'. I was a little shocked.
I was allowed to do a lot of improvisation in NRNS. Throwing the cake, not being able to get over the fence at the burger joint, pointing out my injuries to Dean, make my day etc. Scott was an intersting character. He sort of just took control and they let me play with it. I think now Scott is either in prison or the manager of a Home Town Buffet.

Q: In me and my friends eyes you're the main star of NRNS. :D (2006)
Kent: Hey, thanks, man. I thought I did okay for a first try. I thought I was better in Extreme Prejudice. Of course, the material was better. We were all young, excited and high strung on NRNS. Plus we were taking it all so seriously. Like we were in the Godfather or something. I think that's part of why it's so campy. I had a feeling when it ran on HBO for an entire summer that it would stick in a lot of people's minds. Somebody out there start a NRNS convention! Great to hear from you dude.

Q: You got some props left from the movie? (2006)
Kent: I don't know about props. My Mom has all the junk I saved at her house. I need to go through it sometime. I did have a friend who worked at a movie theatre give me some clips of the actual film. I thought that was cool.

Q: I'd just like to say, I think your performance in NRNS, at times, verged on comical genius. You made the character memorable and delivered some brilliant one-liners. You should feel proud for having such an impact in this film. (2006)
Kent: A couple of years from now when I'm in a nursing home... I hope they will let me have access to this site so I can re-read all the nice things you guys say. I definately thought that Scott was the comic relief in NRNS. And the funniest thing was that he took everything so seriously. But like most comedic villians he never caught his Roadrunner. Maybe in the REAL sequel! Or better yet a prequel. In 'No Restraint No Slimeballs' Scott terrorizes the pre-school sand box. "No Kelly, this is not cat poo. It's chocolate. Of course, I will share."



SEQUEL

Q: Also sure this has been asked WHY THE HELL NO RETREAT NO SURRENDER 2 done the real way? I mean, what the hell was with the sequles and why wasn't the story a follow up to Jasons story? (2006)
Kent: I don't have a clue why the sequels were like Halloween Three. Very disturbing. I was not contacted. Maybe Kurt wasn't interested. Someone should have turned it into a television series... That would have been great. Anyone out there? It's not too late. N.R.N.S. The Next Generation. Good luck casting the fruit of Scott's loin. Maybe just get pit pug boxer mix.

Q: There was in a Channel 4 Documentary I saw on Jean Claude Van Damme a while back, it was said that NRNS2 was originally to be a straight up sequel to the first and then Van Damme wanted more money and persuaded Kurt Mckinney to do the same. So the producers went down the whole Loren Aveidon and Matthais Hughes (Clearly being the same characters) route. So can I ask was there in these initial stages talk of Scott, Dean and all the fist movies villains coming back for the second?
Also I have, and own Extreme Prejudice but haven't saw it in about 15 years and didn't at this time of first watching it notice Scott from NRNS in it. (2007)
Kent: I was never contacted about NRNS2. I would have done it in a heartbeat. The only rumors I heard at the time were that Van Damme was going going to be in the next Rocky movie and that Kurt was going to be in American Ninja. Of course, none of that happened. Your guess is as good as mine. Also I never got to hear what the potential story line might be if the original characters were in the sequel. There was a NRNS2 made not long after NRNS. Unfortunately, none of the original cast was involved.
In Extreme Prejudice, I'm the first character that Nick Nolte kills. It was a lot of fun to do. Nolte was trying to quit smoking at the time and seemed a little on edge.