screening
Behind The Seen: Nik Fackler
John Millin on 6/16/09 @ 4:17 PM
How'd you get involved with music videos?
I e-mailed [Omaha-based] Saddle Creek [Records] and was like, "Hey, can I drop off a DVD of my short film and a script? I want to ask Azure Ray if I can use a bunch of their music in this film." Orenda [Fink, Azure Ray] read the script, and she said I could use any Azure Ray songs that I wanted. I had this premiere for the film, and Todd [Fink, the Faint] and Orenda came and [asked if I'd thought about doing music videos]. And I really hadn't. But I was like, "Well, short films are getting expensive. If I do this music video thing, I can get a budget for it and actually get paid."
What inspired you to make the jump to feature-length films?
I try to take everything in steps. I'd done enough short films, so it seemed like the right time to do a feature-length. I've learned enough about how short films work, let's take the next step. Around the time when I was 17, I started turning what was a short film into a feature, and that was Lovely, Still. I had a really good time writing it-I got really obsessed with the characters and things like that. It's a Christmas film, so I set up the Christmas tree and had Christmas lights and sat in front of a fire and wrote it that way, which is kind of funny to think back, because I definitely don't do that now, but it was inspiring at the time.
So how does some 20-something go from music videos to feature films with big-name actors?
Positive intention. [Laughs.] It happened really naturally. [The leads are in their 70s and 80s and] I feel like there's not enough films written for people of that age, so we'd have a better opportunity to cast really amazing actors that we could learn from. An agent at the William Morris Agency saw my website [with my short films and music videos] and wanted to support [Lovely, Still]. He asked if I had a feature-length screenplay, and through him, we got it to Martin Landau's agent. Then Martin Landau wanted to meet with me, so I flew to Los Angeles and then he was locked on.
I made [the film] when I was 23, so it took awhile to get all of that put together. I didn't want it to be one of those horror stories like a band signing to a major label. In film, it's always the director signing to a company that's going to give him money, but they end up taking control over of the film. We had situations where that was potentially going to happen, so we backed away from those deals, but it was worth it in the end, because we have a great working relationship with the producers and the investors, and we're all just excited to be filmmakers. We're not trying to make billions of dollars.
Not many aspiring filmmakers may realize they can aim that high on their first project.
Yeah! I think [you need a] plan and your strategy. You might have enough confidence, but you also need to be smart about your decisions you're going to make. But also, too, just letting a film grow organically. I think any project just needs room to breathe and allow things to happen and change and not be afraid of the changes and sort of embrace the ones that are good. At least that's my style of filmmaking. -Rachel Lux
For more info, visit nikfackler.com.
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