Nick Taylor: Paradise East
Interview by Todd Simmons
Nick Taylor
has a new film, Paradise East, which is getting attention at festivals around the world.
IFQ: Tell us about your film.
Nick Taylor: It’s set in Jersey and deals with issues of the lower working class.
IFQ: I saw the film. I think there’s a little more to it than that.
NT: Well, without giving the plot away, let’s say it deals with dysfunctional families struggling to survive in an environment of hate and guilt.
IFQ: Better. I’ll say this; I’ve never seen juicier characters. I’ll bet your actors had a ball.
NT: Actually, they hated working with me but endured because the parts were irresistible.
IFQ: I couldn’t stop laughing, yet some of it was so dark. I could feel the air being sucked from the theater. Does that mean you were an unhappy child who enjoyed laughing?
NT: Probably.
IFQ: And women?
NT: Probably.
IFQ: Your movie is very erotic, but tasteful. I’m not sure I can say that about your previous film.
NT: The clown film? You saw it?
IFQ: Yes.
NT: You and twelve others.
IFQ: I liked it, but Paradise East is a different kind of movie.
NT: Yeah, more for kids.
IFQ: Right. Your cast is terrific and probably as obscure as you are.
NT: Yeah, nobody knows who we are, but maybe that’s a good thing.
IFQ: I suspect that’s about to change.
NT: We’ll see.
IFQ: Your themes are very religious, both in Paradise East and A Clown in Babylon.
NT: My mother was a Quaker.
IFQ: Right. I’m told you’ll do as many as twenty takes.
NT: If need be. We move on when it’s right.
IFQ: Any instances where you weren’t satisfied with a scene?
NT: Probably not. On occasion I’d leave a scene then revisit when my actors were less stoned on glue.
IFQ: You have an interesting way with words.
NT: My mother was a Quaker.
IFQ: Is it true you’re a Freemason?
NT: Third generation.
IFQ: Is it true you guys are bent on world domination?
NT: No comment.
IFQ: Back to Paradise East. You have quite a few four letter words in the picture. I lost count at 515.
NT: Yeah, my players are all deviants. I wrote very few of those bad words.
IFQ: Right.
NT: Serious.
IFQ: And the nudity?
NT: All scripted. And I don’t think overdone.
IFQ: Not at all. And I love the split-screen.
NT: Thanks.
IFQ: And the jumpy camera.
NT: Thanks.
IFQ: Who are your influences?
NT: Actors: Bill Frawley, Bill Demerest, Brando, The Stooges. Directors: Woody Allen, Alan Parker, Hitchcock, David Lynch.
IFQ: All great and I love your score.
NT: Thanks. I had lots of ideas. Then, in post, we refined them and it became what we have now.
IFQ: Cool. What would you tell a young director just starting out?
NT: Trust what you got.
IFQ: Sounds like good advice.
NT: I think so.
IFQ: Nick, thank you.
NT: Thank you. http://www.eaststreetfilms.com