Naman Shrestha
‘The Rivals of Amziah King’ is a crime thriller movie that stars Matthew McConaughey as Amziah King, an apiarist who sharpens his musical passion for bluegrass by jamming with his group of friends over potluck lunches. Besides operating a honey-making business in a rural Oklahoma town, the charismatic man serves as the community’s unofficial mayor. His life takes an unexpected turn when his former foster daughter, Kateri, reenters his life as she leaves foster care due to the loss of her mother.
The reunion provides Amziah the opportunity to reconnect with her after spending several years apart. As he tries to become her mentor and teach her his trade to get her involved in the honey business, his beekeeping rivals threaten his livelihood and passion. When Kateri is forced to take over the beekeeping, she puts Amziah’s teachings to use and seeks justice. Written and directed by Andrew Patterson, the neo-Western film is set in a rural Oklahoma community, with Amziah’s business and residence being the primary focus.
The Rivals of Amziah King Filming Locations
‘The Rivals of Amziah King’ was filmed entirely in Alabama, specifically in Greater Birmingham, Columbiana, and Guntersville. Principal photography reportedly got underway in June 2023 during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. After nearly two months of intense shooting, production was concluded in early August of the same year. Goleman Casting shared a post regarding the details of the shooting process, stating, “Two months ago, this movie started filming and it was an amazing journey to get to the end! In all total, 528 of you came to set, and every one of you gave us your time and your efforts and we appreciate each of you and what you brought to this film!”
Greater Birmingham, Alabama
A major chunk of ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’ was lensed in Greater Birmingham, with the city of Birmingham serving as a prominent production location. Kurt Russell and the rest of the cast and crew members were spotted taping key exterior portions on Birmingport Road, and Mulga Loop Road. The southwestern suburb of Birmingham, Bessemer, also hosted the production of the crime film. The J & J Grocery & Deli at 8169 Dickey Springs Road was reportedly turned into a film set, serving as a stand-in for the fictional Dead Dino. As per reports, the filming unit took over the Pell City Steak House Restaurant at 2401 Comer Avenue in Pell City, the county seat of St. Clair County.
According to reports, the neighborhood of Cropwell in Pell City also features in a few scenes. The premises of another restaurant were utilized for recording important interior sequences — The Frosty Mug at 8340 Highway 78 in the city of Jasper. During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker Andrew Patterson talked about the conditions of the shooting process, stating, “We made a movie out in the elements. We were always around bees. We were always getting shut down for lightning strikes and weather. We were always navigating schedules and availabilities.”
“In the end, you got this big, bright, sunny movie that I think represents a lot of the world that we lived in, that Matthew and I at least lived in, growing up in the middle of the country. Matthew and I got into it. We were in each other’s business 15, 16 hours a day for production,” he added. McConaughey elaborated, “Andrew had to make a lot of choices before production, during production, when magic would happen, and all in a limited amount of hours to get it done. One of the great scenes in the movie is when all the musicians come over to Amziah’s house and they make literally what we were just talking about, make Kateri the center of the circle — the center of attention. That was not really improvised, but it took its own life and built into a beautiful three-act scene in itself.”
Other Locations in Alabama
Additional portions of ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’ were reportedly shot at various locations outside Greater Birmingham in Alabama. The makers set up camp in the city of Columbiana, the county seat of Shelby County, and Guntersville, the county seat of Marshall County. On the set, Matthew McConaughey got stung by a bee. Adam Hickman, the founder of Foxhound Bee Company who served as a beekeeping adviser and lead bee wrangler, talked about the incident at length in an interview with AL.
He revealed, “We got done with training, and we walked away from the hives. We’re about 30, 40 yards away, nobody’s having any issues. And then one bee goes for Matthew’s forehead, and he tries to duck away from it, but it just gets him right in the forehead — not in the eye, but right on his hairline basically. It just slammed him right on the forehead and he got stung there. And there’s a picture of him with a swollen-up face that he posted. That was just during training and it was at the very, very end. But as far as working with him, he was the professional you expected him to be.”
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