PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Here at PopHorror, we have loved covering the new movie The Nursery, which is about a babysitter with a dark past who finds more than she bargains for at her newest Saturday night job. Although we had been lucky enough to interview Director Christopher A. Micklos (read the interview here) once before, we were thrilled when both directors of The Nursery, Micklos and Jay Sapiro, took the time to answer some questions about the film and how they got their starts in this genre.
PopHorror: Have you both always been fans of the horror genre?
Christopher A. Micklos: Before we get started, let me first just say thank you to Pop Horror for this interview, as well as for your consistent support of The Nursery. You guys were the first horror outlet to give us any real attention, and you’ve been great about helping us get the word out on The Nursery ever since… and we are really grateful for that. So thank you!
Jay Sapiro: Absolutely! But, getting back to your question, I personally enjoy and draw inspiration from all kinds of movies and genres. When it comes to horror, I’m right there with all those who appreciate the classics as well as the cutting edge, newer flicks. You’ll note that I’m treating the word “fan” with great respect. That’s because it’s very hard to compare your love or knowledge of horror films to my collaborator, friend, and business partner, Chris Micklos. So, I’ll hand this one over to the genre-expert himself. Chris, the stage is all yours…
Christopher A. Micklos: Yes, I’ve been a true horror fan forever. When I was a little kid, I’d sleep over at my grandparents’ place on the weekends when my parents would go out, and my grandmother would let me stay up late and watch the old classic horror movies—the Universal classics and the old giant insect movies—with her. And I’ve been in love with them ever since. I think it actually started more with the old horror comedies—Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and the old spooky-house movies with Bob Hope or Jerry Lewis or the Bowery Boys or whoever—and that sort of introduced the idea of horror and the old monsters in a more palatable way for a little kid.
And then, from there, I was off and running! I consumed the old fan mags and picture books. I had those cheap clay monster-head things that you’d cast and paint. In fact, I still collect classic horror movie memorabilia to this day, and I revisit those old classics every chance I get! And then, as I got older, I sort of worked my way through the various eras of horror, until I hit the stuff that started to get really scary from the ’70s and ’80s and beyond. And today, it’s like a bonanza! With all the outlets out there and all the different platforms and stuff, you can get the old classics, you can get the new studio stuff, you can get interesting indie fare and foreign flicks, and you can even get the smaller, micro-budget indie stuff like The Nursery.
A movie like ours you might not have even had a chance to ever see ten years ago outside of the film festival circuit. But The Nursery is being released across multiple digital platforms and will be available in tens of millions of homes or more all across North America… and then overseas through various foreign distributors! So, really, for a horror fan like me—not to mention as a horror filmmaker—it’s a really exciting time.
PopHorror: You’re so right! We’re lucky to live in a time like this. How did you get into filmmaking?
Jay Sapiro: Chris and I own a media firm, along with our third business partner, Glenn Chung. We’ve had that company, Visuality, for more than 2 decades. Over the years, the three of us talked quite a bit about creating a feature length film. We had the passion, the equipment, and the understanding required to get it done; however, time – and coming up with the perfect concept – always seemed to get in the way. That led to a number of starts and stops, but early on, so nothing really materialized. Then, at one point late 2015 or early 2016, we agreed that it was time to just make it happen. After that, things clicked for us. We made the film a priority. We scheduled regular meetings and set deadlines just as we would for any of the projects that we work on for our clients. That kept us highly organized, on track, and made it so that we couldn’t avoid getting it done.
Christopher A. Micklos: Technically, The Nursery is my first attempt at filmmaking in any substantive way, so I guess the simple answer is by deciding to make a movie and then just going for it! Like Jay, whom I knew in college, I studied Radio/TV/Film as an undergrad… but that was nearly thirty years ago. I went to college wanting to pursue filmmaking, but then developed other interests and things changed… I just got very excited about politics. So, I eventually pursued politics and media as a career.
And all along the way, I maintained an interest in movies, but even when you flirt a bit with the idea of re-engaging in a field like filmmaking, it’s easy to start to believe that it’s just too late. It starts to feel like something you have to be involved with continuously from an early age, or you’ll never really get to the point where you can actually make your own movie. But after carving out a successful career in media strategy and production, Jay and I, along with our third business partner, Glenn Chung, talked for years about making a movie, but we just never really plunged forward.
Then, as Jay said, about two years ago, things were changing a bit with our business, and we kind of decided: now is the time. If not now, when? Are we going to make our first feature film at age 65 or 70? So, now that we’ve gotten to the longer answer, I guess I—or we, for that matter—got into filmmaking by just deciding that we were going to do it. We said to each other that we were committed, we were going to spend the time necessary, and we were going to push each other through the rough patches and the things that might have previously stopped us…and we were just going to do it. And we did!
PopHorror: Has directing always been a passion?
Christopher A. Micklos: Again, at a younger age, I’d say yes. When I was younger and thinking about a career as a filmmaker, I fantasized about being a Spielberg or a Carpenter or someone like that. The visionary director, right? So, from that perspective, absolutely. But then I’d have to say that the idea of directing, once we actually set out to make a real movie, was less important than just the collaborative process of making the film.
I’d say that when push came to shove, I loved the process of directing, but I was far more passionate about the writing element of it and the overall idea of producing a horror film. That’s what really lit my fuse. But, as the screenwriter, you invest a lot of time and creativity and sweat equity into the process of writing the script—and then rewriting it, and rewriting it again, and over and over—so directing becomes sort of a natural extension of that. You want to fully realize and fulfil your vision! You want to raise your baby! As directing is a natural extension of the storytelling process of film, I’m very passionate about that. But overall, I’m much, much more passionate just about the idea of making the film and telling the story… and let the roles be whatever works for us!
Jay Sapiro: Directing has absolutely been a passion of mine for a long time. In fact, producing and directing is what I went to school for, and it’s what I’ve done all my professional life. That’s not separate from Chris, though, as we went to college together and we’ve been business partners for 20 years along Glenn Chung. And as anyone who knows us will tell you, Chris and I share a brain. We think alike, work extremely well together, and balance each other out when it comes to this type of work. So directing together was really an easy and obvious choice.
PopHorror: Where did the idea for The Nursery come from?
Christopher A. Micklos: I would love to say that it was through some magical moment of inspiration or a dream that haunted me for years or some such sexy story that will live on in legend. But the truth of the matter is, the three of us developed the idea through hours and hours of brainstorming and bad jokes, and then trying to separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were. Basically, we’d get into these brainstorming sessions and we’d throw thoughts and fragments and images and half-formed ideas at each other, and eventually something sparks something else… and it all begins to lead you down a path towards a story.
That said, early on in the process of developing The Nursery, I was still a pretty new father, with a little girl who still slept in a crib in the nursery in our house. And especially late at night, when I’d go in there to change diapers and feed her and then rock her back to sleep, I’d be sitting there in the near darkness with this blue-ish light from a toy, musical turtle night light dancing on the walls… and the whole thing was very serene and sweet, but it’s not all that long a journey over to creepy and sinister, either! Actually, we used that little blue-light turtle—my daughter’s actual toy—as a practical lighting source in the nursery of the film, and I think it really worked to great effect.
Jay Sapiro: Exactly. After Chris, Glenn and I made the decision that we absolutely were going to make a feature length film, we scheduled regular meetings for us to kick around concepts a fun, 1980-style horror flick. For my part, I would sit at my place and think about what we could produce on a micro-budget that would have the same impact as a feature film with deeper pockets. I have large windows where I live, so I’d grab an erasable marker and just write idea after idea right on my windows. I’d then take those ideas to Glenn and Chris. We’d kick my concepts around along with all the ones that they brought to the table. In that crazy, collaborative process, the idea for The Nursery was born.
Christopher A. Micklos: I’d just add, going back a bit, that there’s also this really amazing tradition of kids in horror movies and horror literature, right? From the creepy kids in The Turn of the Screw or The Omen to youthful victims like the little village girl in Frankenstein or that little crying baby that Dracula feeds to his starving brides in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In talking about our movie, recently, I’ve come back to that one a lot, because it’s just such a powerful, horrible moment. You have this completely helpless, vulnerable little innocent thing, and it’s completely at the mercy of these dark, evil forces. Forget victim! That poor thing is dinner! And, of course, a baby in its crib in a nursery is about the most vulnerable thing that you can possibly imagine. So, the juxtaposition of that against something dangerous and corrupt and unnatural is amazingly ripe for horror. And that’s a little bit of what we were after or trying to tap into with The Nursery.
PopHorror: What was working on your first major film like?
Jay Sapiro: It was a bit surreal and absolutely wonderful. I have enjoyed every minute of it. Even now, as the reviews come in and Uncork’d Entertainment, our distributor, keeps us updated on outlets and where the film will be seen when it’s released on June 5th, it’s pure joy. That’s not to say that everything was flawless and stress free. Not at all. We had a micro-budget for The Nursery, so that meant that the three of us wore many hats. In addition to producing, writing, directing, and editing the film, we were the casting directors, script supervisors, schedulers, caterers, set decorators, and so on!
The budget really went to hiring the very best crew possible. Daniel Andera was our DP, and we worked with him to assemble the amazing crew that helped make The Nursery look like a big budget feature film. I also have to note that working with our cast was fantastic. And I say that as someone who has cast and worked with countless actors over his career. Their dedication and desire to make a great film made for a wonderful environment while on set, and their collective talent is undeniable on the screen.
Christopher A. Micklos: This was the most amazing, exhilarating thing I’ve ever done. Hands down. And other than my wedding day or the birth of my daughter, I’d be hard-pressed to come up with life-moments that have rivalled the highs that came at various stages of making The Nursery. And that’s in no small part, because it really is a dream come true: the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition. So, once we really got into the process and we were confident that we were actually going to be making the movie, every moment was really a moment to savour. From casting to the first day of production to some of the more complex elements of the shoot to the time when you sit down and try to assemble and make sense of everything that you have: it’s all just so exciting and so amazing. And every moment you’re just thinking: I’m actually doing this. I’m actually making a real, feature-length horror movie of my own. It’s pretty awesome.
PopHorror: What was the hardest part of making it?
Jay Sapiro: I think not knowing exactly what we’d end up with was the hardest part of making The Nursery. I’ve produced and directed TV ads, videos, etc. all my professional life, and that gave me some insight, but I wasn’t quite able to tell what the final product would look like when we started this process. Other than that, I wouldn’t really describe this journey as anything other than fantastic. I will say that it was pretty painless, and I never dreaded going to work on the film. I loved every minute of it and would do it again in a heartbeat. Wait… we are doing it again.
As far as the challenges go, when you don’t have a large budget, you don’t have a lot of folks around to help you get things done. So, again, that meant that the three of us wore many hats and had to take on extra responsibilities. People joke about our names appearing over and over in the credits, but that’s what happens when you bootstrap a movie and work on a micro-budget. We had to be hyper-organized – which is no small task – and we all felt the pressure to do a great job. I know that when I was editing the film, I would second guess myself all the time. Good thing Chris was there most of the time to tell me to snap out of it! If folks are interested in hearing, in detail, about the making of The Nursery, they are certainly welcome to listen to our podcast. It’s called Indie Horror Rising: The Nursery and it can be found on iTunes and Soundcloud.
Christopher A. Micklos: That’s a good question. I think, personally, there are two things that were the most challenging. First and foremost, there is the sheer volume of stuff that you have to manage and be aware of and try to coordinate and shape into an interesting and compelling hour and a half or so. As Jay was getting at earlier, we were a micro-budget feature, so we didn’t have a huge crew, really just a director of photography, a sound guy, our makeup and practical effects person, and then usually one gaffer or PA each day. Sometimes Judy Denny, our makeup guru, had her daughter, Anna, along as an assistant, and on about half our production days, my niece, Zoe Flynn, was around doing still photography.
But beyond that, Jay, Glenn, and I pretty much had to be responsible for everything else ourselves. There was no script supervisor. No continuity person. No assistant director. No stunt coordinator. And on and on. So, you might be going back and forth between working with the DP to set up a shot and then working with the actors to make sure they are approaching the scene the way you want them to, and at the same time, you might have to be figuring out: were those couch pillows set up like that the last time we shot in here? And when the camera starts to roll, you’re watching the shot in the monitor and listening in your headphones, but you’re also having to make sure that the actors are hitting their lines right and that physically they are doing the same thing they did when we shot from the other angle, so we can cut it all together.
And then, of course, someone had to make sure that dinner was on its way! So, it was just sort of overwhelming how much you had to keep your arms around throughout the process. The other thing that is hard about a horror film is simply trying to figure out what’s scary. What images will impact the audience? What’s going to be effective in terms of building suspense? How much is too much, in either case? I have to admit that I underestimated what a tricky balancing act that might end up being. It’s just very, very hard to judge on set. There were a couple of instances in which we shot something, and afterwards I confessed to Jay that I just didn’t know if we got it or not. If, when push came to shove, it would be scary. But as reviews have come out on the movie and we’ve had the chance to screen in front of some live audiences, some of the shots and sequences that I was the least confident in have been the ones that people have been noting as being the most effective. So, that’s very gratifying.
PopHorror: Did I hear you say you were working on something else?
Christopher A. Micklos: Well, in the real short-term, we’re pretty focused on the North American release of The Nursery. Thanks to the outstanding work of our distributor, Uncork’d Entertainment, we are going to be available much more widely than we ever imagined was possible, from iTunes to Amazon to Googleplay and Xbox, Dish, iNDEMAND, and a whole host of other outlets, so we are really excited about that and working very hard on the marketing end to make sure that our fans and potential fans know that The Nursery is finally available! And we’re also starting the process now, again through Uncork’d, of securing foreign distributors in countries around the world, so—again—that’s something that just sort of mind-boggling for the three of us, considering where we started with all this! But through that process, we’re also starting the development phase of our next film, as well.
Jay Sapiro: We had a feeling that we’d want to continue making feature length films, so the three of us started a new company called Three Tortured Minds. The Nursey is that entity’s first movie. All of our future film-related work will fly under that banner as well. We are working on our next film right now, and the concept, in my opinion, is a great one. If we can stay on schedule, we’ll start principal photography late summer/early fall this year.
We can’t wait! Thanks so much to Christopher Micklos and Jay Sapiro for taking the time to chat with us. Are you planning to see The Nursery once it becomes available? Let us know in the comments!
