[Reported on February 23, 1998 by Jerry Witt]

A Word About DOUBLE DOWN

In the last report I slipped the title of our film in without calling any attention to it. I think the title of our film project, DOUBLE DOWN, is worth a brief discussion.

We didn't just randomly decide on the title. It went through several early ideas. They included Hit Me and Silencer. We finally selected Double Down as a title because it seemed to work on so many levels.

As a gambler would tell you, when you double down in blackjack, you are increasing your bet against the house because you believe they have a weak hand. Our hero is faced with the a similar dilemma; should he break his moral code in order to "win?"

The gambling motif is extended by two book-ending surreal dream sequences that take place in a casino. These dreams work on a very literal level of questioning if he should take the next "hit." They also inform us about a man who is questioning his decisions

Double Down also alludes to the first "hit" of the film. For the first time our hit man must kill both his intended mark and a witness to his murder. The aftermath of killing both of these people is the engine that drives much of the rest of the film.

And finally, Double Down has an appropriate negative connotation that we feel works well for a film about an anti-hero. Our goal is not to sugar-coat our hit man. We don't want to make an antiseptic Hollywood version of a killer. He is what he is, and that is a cold-blooded assassin.

One of the themes that runs through the film is that you must suffer the choices you made earlier. If you've done some pretty rotten things, you can't expect a miraculous change for the better. Our title -- Double Down -- is sort of a shorthanded way of saying, "It's not bad... It's worse."