BEHIND THE SGE]IES

A celebrqled scriptwriter relells the Chrisrmos story

By Frank Lovece

and Stan Shaw) wandering away from a Christmas pag-

er Stirling Silliphant is talking about camels. And car salesmen. And the homeless

The renowned scriptwrit-

in Los Angeles. And somehow, it all connects. As he

liberal guilt on the set of the

el. Journeying through Los Angeles until they reach the barrio, the "kings" inadvertently re-enact the ancient
Shooting on location, coproducer Silliphant and the rest of the cast and crew also found a more contemporary drama enacting itself. extras portraying the homeless," says Silliphant, "the
drama.

eant in costume and on cam-

launches into a discussion of

TV movie "The
Kings" (airing
Dec. 17 on ABC),

Three

ral-born storyteller.

appArent that he is a natu-

it

Thursday,
becomes

"While we had actors and homeless were all

real

around us. And here we are in this business of creating a fantasy, spending $4 million on it, and surrounding us is

to these people.'

very real suffering. There was a point where we almost wanted to say, 'Let's give the $2 million still left

"But that's not the answer," he sighs. "I don't khow what the answer is. We in Hollywood try to assuage our guilt by saying
that at least we write about it, but that's bull, too." As Silliphant has reminded us for years with scripts including the Oscar-winning

Stirling Silliphant

The camels that set off this discussion are.Scirocco ("an immense male with the sweetest disposition"), Marci ("as ill-tempered a beast as I've ever met") and a third whose name escapes him ("nondescript; no personality"). They're among the stars of a modern-day retelling of the Biblical tale, which, under Silliphant's pen, finds a trio of insaneasylum inmates (Jack War. den, I.ou Diamond Phillips

(1967), the best in us constantly has to fight to overcome the worst.

"In the Heat of the Night"

"We don't change attitudes," Silliphant maintains. "I think in most instances we subliminally reinforce what people already feel. I don't know where public feeling comes

from," he acknowledges. "I'm content if something

touch it now and then."

like 'The Three Kings' can

Release the week of Dec. 13.19, 1987