I had one question that I had been wanting to ask since I first saw the film so I was the first to raise my hand. I asked three questions in all. Each of my questions starts with QK rather than just Q. So here is a report on the discussion. 

QK: Is there a reason that all the women in Buddy's life, excluding Stella and Dawn, have names that begin with M (Michele, Mitzi, Mallory, etc.)?
A: Huang said he was playing with motifs. There was a psychological bent that perhaps Buddy was only attracted to women who's names begin with M because he was trying to find someone like his wife. 

QK: (a friend suggested this question): What happened to Rex, the Buddy Ackerman assistant before Guy? If we visited Rex a year after he left Buddy, would he treat his staff like Buddy treated him.
A: Huang said that Rex turned out to be Fenster in The Usual Suspects.  Actually, he said that the model for Rex is an executive at Turner Network Television (TNT) and that has mellowed out considerably since he got married. 

Q: Is the story based on Huang's real life?
A: Legally, he is prevented from giving out the details or he might be sued. What he can say is he had $15,000 and, after being urged on by director Robert Rodriguez, he went to Sundance for three weeks to write the script. Word got out to the press about the film's subject, and he went from unknown writer to promising young director immediately. Disney bought the project and they wanted to rework it so the language and actions weren't so strong, and there was a happy ending. He returned the check to Disney. 

QK: Spacey said on the Jay Leno Show that there were some problems during the first days of shooting, such as an earthquake. Can you tell us about the problems?
A: The first four days of shooting were a disaster. Day 1, they had no film. Day 2, the transportation coordinator was run over by his own truck. Day 3, the art truck blew up and they lost all the props. Day 4, the Northridge earthquake hit. 

Q: How did Huang cast the film?
A: He wrote the parts of Buddy and Guy with Kevin Spacey and Frank Whaley in mind. He admired the work of both of them. Amazingly, he got both the actors he wanted. Sometimes, Spacey stayed in character a BIT TOO LONG. It was intimidating to direct an actor of his caliber. The first time Huang gave him direction was when Guy was first holding Buddy at gun point. He told Spacey to appear more scared. Spacey yelled at Huang: "It's in the eyes, it's in the eyes." (and it is). 

Q: Does the film conclude that there is no good, no right or wrong?
A: Huang said he tried to present the other side, showing what would happen if Guy sold out so the audience would leave the cinema and hope that they'd never be like him. 

Q: Why doesn't Buddy turn in Guy? Is it another step in "the game?"
A: Buddy now has something he can hold over Guy for the rest of his life and he has sort of enslaved him. Maybe Buddy and Guy worked out all the details before Dawn even arrived.

Q: Why did he pick the name Guy?
A: Guy was picked because he wanted a name without an identity. For years, he was "George from Barry Josephson's office," so when he left and called people he had dealt with, they didn't KNOW George Huang, so he became, "George, formerly from Barry Josephson's office." 

Q: What does Joel Silver think of the film?
A: Joel Silver will not speak to Huang but he has heard from someone who still works for Silver that he sees it as sort of a take-off on him.

Q: Did Buddy's wife actually die?
A: Yes. Audiences often wonder this. The breakdown when Buddy starts to cry about his wife was added to reinforce that the story is true. 

Q: Did Kevin Spacey's Academy Award for "Suspects" affect "Sharks?"
A: Yes, it did. "Sharks" was actually filmed right after "The Ref," but "Outbreak" was released before "Sharks." When the film was released on video in October 1995, it was priced for rental. After Spacey won the Oscar, the price was significantly reduced for purchase, and the marketing stated that the film starred Oscar winner, Kevin Spacey.

Finally, to show there is a dim bulb in every crowd, some guy asked, "If Buddy wasn't killed, who was that in the body bag at the end of the film?" Huang very patiently answered, "It was Dawn," but almost everyone in the cinema turned around to see who asked this ridiculous question. 

George Huang was very pleasant and personable. It was a pleasure to talk to him. He has film in the can called, "Trojan Wars," with Lee Majors, and is working on a script that he will also direct. I hope this discussion synopsis answers some of the questions we have all been asking about "Swimming with Sharks." 

Keyser  

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