Q&A with Nicholas Gyeney

Categories: Blog, Q&A's

Nicholas Gyeney is a writer/director/producer. His latest film is Matt’s Chance. He answered some of my questions about his life and career.

 

–          Tell me what initially attracted you to writing & filmmaking in the first place.

Nicholas Gyeney

Nicholas Gyeney

 

My father. He introduced me to movies as a kid. After he died, I dove head first into movies, and never looked back. A big part of my ambition comes from a drive to honor my father’s memory, or perhaps to give myself some purpose for his death when I was just 12 years old. It’s a heavy answer, but my father surrounds everything that I do.

 

–          Tell me about your writing process. How long does it take to you finish a script? How many drafts do you typically write before you start production?

 

I tend to write out a basic outline and then flesh it out to as much detail as possible before beginning the screenplay. Having that outline makes it easier to pump out the first draft, which I’ve done in one week before. Then it’s months and months of slow revisions, giving yourself  time away from the script every few days to keep yourself as objective as possible. I’ve also found that a writing partner is a great way to keep yourself on your toes, creatively.

 

–          You are a writer/director/producer. What part of the filmmaking process do you find most challenging?

 

Writing is my biggest weakness, definitely. I’m so in awe of great screenplays. Raising the money, is of course, the most arduous task for any independent filmmaker. Once the money is in place, the rest is fun, no matter how stressful.

 

–          What’s the most important thing a director can do on set?

Have a clear vision of what he or she wants, while remaining open-minded to new ideas and possibilities.

 

–          Tell me about casting and how you handle your auditions.

I’ve worked hard to develop a married business/creative mindset when it comes to developing my projects. In casting, especially for the level of filmmaking I’m at (quite near the bottom when you consider the massive scale of this business), I tend to aim for a few up and comers in the leading roles, with a few bigger names in smaller roles  to help with foreign sales and marketing.

 

–          Tell me about your latest film Matt’s Chance and how this all came to be.  

 

Believe it or not, the film is based on a true story. I met a guy in Seattle, Matt (go figure), who once told me this crazy story about one night when he walked in on his fiancée sleeping with another man… I immediately said to him that I had to turn this into a dark comedy. From there, it was just a matter of containing the creative elements to an intimate indie world. That is to say, forcing ourselves not to write car chases or big explosions in favor of sequences we could actually pull off for little money.

 

–          Tell me about working with Gary Busey. How does he approach his scene work?Matt's Chance

I’ll give you the real answer as opposed to the sugary one. Gary Busey is quite literally out of his mind. Many directors can say they’ve worked with Gary, but not many can claim to have actually DIRECTED him. Of that, I am very proud. For a man like Gary, who many might claim to have difficulty working with, you have to work harder to understand the man. It’s a director’s job to understand the actors, and they’re all individuals, with individual egos and problems. Once you have a grasp on that, you can strategize the best way to get them to that place you need them to go.  Gary comes from an era of Hollywood where movie stars reigned supreme. Now, the world is different. Producers run the show. Actors make less money. And there is very little room for egos, especially in indie film. Gary stressed the entire crew out with his intensity, but that is Gary. And you have to know that before he ever steps on set. You’re not getting some bizarre character when you cast Gary in a film. You’re getting Gary, delivering lines in a manner that’s easy on the ears. He knows how to deliver a line, but he’s a personality. I cast him for that reason specifically.

 

–          Matt’s Chance features some actors who have a negative reputation on & off set. How did you manage the egos and personalities of some of the stars of this film?

See above ;).

 

–          How long was the shoot for Matt’s Chance?

 

15 days. Very fast. Very very. We had no time to enjoy ourselves between takes, really. It was all business, but it was all we could afford. As I look back, it’s my one regret from that production. I learned from that experience to do all I can do budget a looser shoot as much as possible (which isn’t easy on an indie production).

 

–          How did you go about funding the project? How have you funded your other films?

 

There’s no magic answer. Part of it is developing yourself as a business man; Developing your pitch, your business plan. Then, a lot of it is asking everyone, in every corner of your world, for help in connecting you to those with money. The rest is being in the right place at the right time.

 

–          Matt’s Chance is a dark comedy. How do you find writing comedy differs from writing drama?

It’s different mainly in that it requires you to develop a different energy throughout your narrative. While I was in film school at USC, Spielberg himself once told us how he mishandled “1941.” It was such a simple mistake to make: He tried to make the film funny. And that was the downfall. You don’t go into writing a comedy just to make it funny. First and foremost, you do what you can to write a good movie. The energy and humor should come organically from who your characters are and the situations they face in the narrative. The narrative should never live to serve the joke. It’s the quickest way to make a comedy no one will remember. With Matt’s Chance, I hoped to achieve a bit more than just a dark comedy. If I succeeded at all, I wanted to make a film that would create conversation, and hopefully require a second viewing to soak it all in.

 

 

–          Is there anything about the project that you would change in hindsight? Do you feel like you made the film you initially set out to make?

I will always consider myself a student. I’m always learning and growing as a man and a filmmaker. I’m a better filmmaker now than I was when I began Matt’s Chance, and there are certainly things I would do differently. The best I can do now, is to take what I’ve learned from that experience and make a better film with it the next time. When I made Matt’s Chance, I put my soul into it, but I know that I can make a better film now.

 

–          What mistakes do you see directors make most often?  How about mistakes writers make?

The biggest mistake is succumbing to ego. Filmmakers are flawed. Writers are flawed. None of us have all the best ideas or all the right answers. It’s important to be self-critical at every turn, yet confident in your vision. It’s a delicate balance, and I feel, the difference between a filmmaker with a lasting career, and one that will burn every bridge rather quickly.

 

–          What advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers looking to break in?

 

Make your film. But make it right. Don’t direct a movie just to satisfy an egotistical need to “direct”. If you’re going to make a feature film, make it right. Cast it right, with the right names in the right roles to sell it internationally. Write it right, and develop the narrative to serve your limited budget. Too many indie films stretch far beyond their means. And shoot it right. It has to look and feel like something that can compete with the big boys. If you can’t do all that, WAIT… until you can.

 

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