Military kids Tyler Korsmo, Avi Nickola and Blake Korsmo on the film set for the Western short movie “Rivals” (Kat Nickola)
A few military kids from the Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) got to see themselves on screen following the release of the short Western film “Rivals” by Michael Brian Rawlins. Rawlins is an actor and director known for his Western films and stunts. In addition to directing his own Western shorts, he was a stunt double for Pedro Pascal in “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and a stunt performer in the upcoming “Fallout” series on Amazon Prime.
“Rivals” follows the story of two competitive boys who both want to be famous lawmen when they grow up. Avi Nickola, Tyler Korsmo and Blake Korsmo were cast in minor roles while in Tucson, Arizona during filming in the fall of 2020.
Being in a Western film meant plenty of shootouts and roughhousing, and the young actors especially enjoyed filming a scene that depicted the kids at a home-grown sheriff training camp. One afternoon, Avi was tied to a tree and had multiple takes of a powder pellet being shot over his head. “It was fun to act that out,” he says. Tyler’s favorite thing was “definitely getting all dressed up in costume, for sure.”
Military kids Avi Nickola and Blake Korsmo on the set of Western short film “Rivals” (Kat Nickola)
It wasn’t always easy, though. “I drop a gun in the movie… and the hardest part, for me, was probably trying to make the drop look real. That took a lot of takes,” said Blake. There were also long days and COVID rules were still in effect, so off-set everyone wore masks and mingling was prohibited. “The most difficult thing was probably waiting around while the designers would have to get the next scene all ready,” said Tyler.
The kids were also fascinated by the production process. “My favorite part was all the cameras and the environment of making everything…you feel like you’re really there in the environment of a Western,” said Blake. “It was really interesting to see how they actually made movies,” said Avi “It takes a lot of work.” Scenes were filmed numerous times, both for acting changes and to get the shots from different camera angles. The kids spent a long hot day filming various shots for a picnic scene. Zoe Nickola, Avi’s sister, was cast as an extra for a sequence that included a lot of running around. “They cut my scene,” she lamented, “but kept the chickens.”
After the 2020 filming, both families moved to the KMC area in Germany. During that time, COVID and other complications meant that the project was put on hold. “If I was the producer, I wouldn’t have nearly enough patience to even be able to complete that film,” said Tyler describing Rawlins’ commitment to the project.
Luckily, production resumed with some script changes in the fall of 2022. By then, the Korsmo family had returned to Arizona allowing Tyler and Blake to film some of the additional scenes. All the military kids in the film were excited about the project and expressed interest in being in other movies. “I would do the whole thing again,” said Avi.
“Rivals” premiered on Friday, June 16, 2023, and will be submitted to various film festivals. It is currently available for public viewing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGocLDotGck.
