#cinqque5tion Interview with writer, director, and producer Nick Gregorio
#cinqque5tion Interview with writer, director, and producer Nick Gregorio
1. What made you pursue filmmaking?
Hey I’m Nick Gregorio, writer, director, and producer of the new indie sci-fi thriller Old Strangers. I was born and raised in an Italian-American neighborhood in south Philadelphia. I graduated from Drexel University with a bachelors of arts and sciences majoring in Digital Media and minoring in Film and Video Production. I grew up as a huge fan of comics, anime, video games, and, of course, movies.
I had a fine arts background but was fascinated by how digital media was transforming traditional art forms. I was always drawn to visual storytelling but screen writing is where my passion for the industry started. Screenwriting, and it’s visually motivated structure, clicked for me.
2. Do you have any tips or advice for new independent filmmakers?
I wish someone told me that filmmaking is more of an industry than an art form. You need to understand the business of the industry and I don’t mean the dramatized, Entourage version of it. I mean the day-to-day “How the heck am I gonna’ make ends meet?” version of the industry.
Find a marketable trade like editing, cinematography, sound design, etc. to help break-in and make a living while you are trying to get your career off of the ground.
There may be a day when you lose your passion for the industry and that is okay. If you can do anything else, do it… you’ll be much happier.
3. Can you tell us about your latest film, Old Strangers?
Old Strangers is a story about reconnecting with people from our past. Set against the backdrop of a post-pandemic world, Sarah, Michael, and Danny try to rekindle the spark of their youth only to be confronted with the harsh realities of their relationships. Just beyond their reunion, in the deep woods, there is something otherworldly growing and feeding on their pain.
4. How did you come up with the idea for your film Old Strangers?
I wanted to tell a story that captured the current world we are living in; not just the pandemic but the effects of the pandemic. I also think sci-fi is a great genre for social commentary.
5. Which filmmaker has influenced you the most and why?
Martin Scorsese, in my opinion the greatest living director. I’m in awe of how he makes films so fearlessly. How is it possible to have that level of artistic integrity and still appeal to a mass audience?
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