Q&A: Filmmaker Ronnie Khalil on Giving Shakespeare’s Juliet a Vampiric Twist in New Movie WITH A KISS I DIE

What if Juliet not only survived William Shakespeare's timeless tragedy, but went on to live for centuries as a vampire? Would she ever find true love again? That's the question filmmaker Ronnie Khalil seeks to answer in his new movie With a Kiss I Die. Ahead of the vampiric romance's August 28th release from Gravitas Ventures, we caught up with Khalil in our latest Q&A feature to discuss filming on the islands of Greece, adding his own twist to one of history's most popular literary characters, and overcoming the unexpected obstacles of a cast member's heart attack and bloodthirsty leeches.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Ronnie. How and when did you and your co-writers come up with the story for With a Kiss I Die?

Ronnie Khalil: Believe it or not, this film was originally conceived as a My Fair Lady-type comedy by my contributing writers Barbara Leibell and James Orie, but I really gravitated towards the darkness of having Juliet Capulet as a vampire forced to live all eternity knowing her soulmate died when she was just thirteen, and that she was partially responsible. So we sat down and reimagined it together and it was quite fun.

You filmed this movie on the islands of Greece. What was it like shooting a film there, and what did that environment add to the atmosphere of the movie?

Ronnie Khalil: Greece was magical, we got to spend time on numerous islands, including Mykonos and Santorini, and the locations really play a vital role in the film’s look and feel. The colors are so gorgeous during sunrise and sunset, yet it also provides a moodiness that works incredibly for a vampire film, yet hopefully makes it stand out from its predecessors and inspirations. Ella Kweku, who plays Juliet Capulet, and Paige Emerson, who plays her love interest, Farryn, really did an outstanding job and their love story is painted on this incredible backdrop, so it makes some moments quite breathtaking.

How fun was it for you to add your own unique continuation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?

Ronnie Khalil: I never felt tied to the old Juliet, other than her backstory, because events like she experienced totally change a person down to their core. But going forward, I really just thought about how someone would be so afraid to love again after that incredibly tragic ordeal, and how love sometimes pops into your life at the most unexpected time and in the most unexpected ways.

What was the most challenging or rewarding scene to shoot?

Ronnie Khalil: Definitely the final scene, known as “The Gathering.” We were on a tight schedule already and with only two days left in the film shoot, our lead vampire had a heart attack on set. He was rushed to emergency surgery. My producer Paola Cétares and I had to recast at midnight, and we were introduced to George Kavgalakis, who was very different then our original choice, yet brought this aggression that really worked. We had to reshoot all the previous scenes and all the remaining scenes while George learned the lines only moments before. He really ended up doing a fantastic job despite it all, which is a testament to his acting prowess.

Looking back at your time on set, is there a favorite or funny moment that stands out?

Ronnie Khalil: I think the most comical in hindsight, not at the time, was when our actor playing Amaltheo, George Kospidas (lots of Georges), wanted to use real leeches in his scene. I was going to take it out originally because the fake leeches just weren’t convincing, but he insisted that this was integral to his character and we agreed to use live ones. Apparently leeches are much faster than we thought and they quickly attached to him in places we did not intend at all. You can’t detach them once they’ve started feeding so George had live leeches sucking his blood all over and we were trying to calm him down so we could shoot and there was blood everywhere. It was quite a disaster, but we still managed to get some great usable footage, and incredibly George was composed and gentle with his leech friends throughout. Once they fed, they happily went back into their bottle and George kept them as pets.

Do you have any favorite movies or stories that influenced or inspired you while making With a Kiss I Die?

Ronnie Khalil: I watched quite a few films to get the flavor of all the different genres this film fell into, and many may seem like odd choices at first. I guess my biggest influences were Only Lovers Left Alive, which makes sense, but also Before Sunset, Room in Rome, and A Single Man. When you watch the film I think you’ll see why.

Is this a world you would return to in a potential sequel?

Ronnie Khalil: Definitely. I’d actually love to see a prequel and have Juliet going through all the different ages as a badass, broken-hearted superhero type. She could also meet some of the most amazing people of history and maybe show how she helps influence them in their creations, art, or military dominance. Ella Kweku was so good in this film and she balances emotion with constraint so well, I think it would be an amazing series of movies.

What do you hope viewers take away from your latest film?

Ronnie Khalil: Well, for vampire fans this just adds to the vast amounts of lore out there and we definitely add a few surprises and twists to the genre, which I hope they like. But ultimately this is a love story, and I think people will relate to how sometimes love doesn’t work out the way you want and you think you’ll never be able to put yourself back together again, but then someone comes along and changes all that, and really makes you believe in love again and jump in head first despite the fears and reservations you once had.

With a Kiss I Die is coming out on August 28th from Gravitas Ventures. Do you have any other projects coming up that you’d like to discuss?

Ronnie Khalil: Yeah, Gravitas Ventures has done a tremendous job and it’s incredible how many countries, stores, and online vehicles they’ve gotten our film into. As for me, I just signed on to produce a film in Egypt, and I just started writing a four-part YA novel revolving around magic and creativity.

Ronnie Khalil (photo by Wade Petersen):