5 Questions #5: Nicole Holofcener

Writer/Director of this year's best titled film, and one of my favs...

That’s Nicole on the right!

I met Nicole Holofcener way back when. I was coming from my very first meeting with an agent. It was one of the only times I wore a tie, that is until I got married many years later. Nicole had made a student film that I dug, and lucky for me she had just finished her first draft of WALKING AND TALKING. I think the tie impressed her because she gave it to me to read. I signed on to produce. It took several years and draft to get it made, not because it wasn’t immediately deserving, but because it was hard back then to put together a million bucks. Still is. The film went to Sundance and sold late in the night after it’s first screening, but that was quite an ordeal. She is now rightly recognized as both a great filmmaker and wonderfully unique voice. And she’s been nominated for an Oscar. There’s that too. I love her films. In fact I think my favorite is her latest and it certainly wins for best title of the year, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS. It’s not to be missed! She also regularly now works for two of my favorite producers, folks who manage to be great people as well as being great at what they do. But I will allow her to tell you more about them.

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What is it that you distinctly strive for in filmmaking -- the thing that makes it yours -- and what are the typical barriers you have to overcome to get there?

I strive to make something that is meaningful to me.  Whether it's working with people I admire, or making something on my own that feels important. I don't mean "important" as in something that actually IS important, like human rights. I mean, important to me and my life and what moves me or inspires me. The typical barriers first have to do with finishing a script - as in having an idea that I like until I get to the end of it.  I'm not prolific. And then there's the getting it made barrier. Who's going to want it, who's going to give me enough money for it, who is going to get it seen (and hopefully not just by ten people).

Could you tell us about a collaborator you’ve worked with and why you respect them?

I have had a wonderful collaboration with Anthony Bregman and Stefanie Azpiazu. It started with you, Ted, and Good Machine, when you got my first movie produced.  Then you handed me off to Likely Story and I've been making movies with them ever since. They have been so loyal, collaborative, protective and relentless in trying to get my movies made. And they're friends so it's fun to work with them.  

What’s the difference between how you approach shooting (particularly the first day) versus the first time?

On the first day of shooting my first movie I felt I had to know everything. I thought I needed to know every lens, every light, every perfect way to shoot a scene, and every answer to all of the enormous amounts of questions a director is asked.  Needless to say, fairly stressful.  Throughout the shoot, and with each subsequent film, I've learned that this is not necessary.

 And especially I've learned not to pretend I know everything.  If I trust my crew, then we can collaborate.  I feel comfortable enough to say to the DP - 'hey I'm not sure how I want to cover this. Any ideas?'  Hell, that's what they're there for.  And if an actor has lots of questions about their performance or backstory or whatever, I answer what I can. Sometimes I write things intuitively and if I'm not exactly sure why a line of dialogue is there, I'll just say 'you know, I wrote it, I think it has a purpose, I'm just not sure what it is yet. Let's just try it.' An actor may laugh and say fuck off, but mostly they're game. I think actors prefer that to some long answer I can give them when I'm not really sure what I'm talking about. They can smell bullshit.

Can you generate inspiration? What do you do to spark it (or try to)?

Inspiration. That is hard to come by. Generally I wait til it arrives on my doorstep. And it's not like Amazon Prime.  It's more like a slow train or buggy ride from god knows where.  However, it usually comes from something I'm dealing with in my life - or something a friend is dealing with.  I start with a 'what if' scenario and go from there.

This time of year is crazy…. Awards season! How do filmmakers deal with it?

Award season is something I generally have to bear while hiding under the covers. Yes, I've had some lovely recognition over the years, but Best this and Best that and those horrible lists by who the hell knows, it's demoralizing and destructive.  Small movies that don't have money to take pages out in Variety or get seen on billboards, just get lost in the dust. The competition reduces me to Junior High, and that's not easy to admit.  Even for someone like me who has had the luckiest career.   I hate the awards, love the awards, condemn the awards, want to get an award. 

You can currently watch the film on any of the main VOD platforms. Here’s one.

Nicole Holofcener has written and directed seven films including Friends With Money and Enough Said, starring Julia Louis Dreyfus and James Gandolfini.  She co-wrote the Oscar nominated screenplay for Can You Ever Forgive Me and has directed numerous television shows including Mrs. Fletcher, Enlightened, and Extrapolations.  Nicole co-wrote the screenplay for The Last Duel directed by Ridley Scott, and released her latest movie You Hurt My Feelings this year.