Michael is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and co-founder of Mixed Nuts Productions, based in South Jersey near Philadelphia. Over the years, he has directed several films, including the award-winning independent feature film ‘No Footing’ and the short films ‘First Snow’, ‘STILL’, and *Millie’s Care Free Day*. Additionally, Michael is the creator and producer of the retro-game comedy web series ‘Living in 8 Bits’. He has also produced music videos for artists such as Rich Cronin (LFO), Honah Lee, and MC Lars. In addition to producing his own films, he has collaborated with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cinevore Studios, and the team from *Mystery Science Theater 3000*. His short film, Millie’s Care Free Day, was recently screened at the FirstGlance Film Festival. We caught up to discuss the film, his career, and more.
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. For readers unfamiliar with you and your background, what drew you to a career in film? ( Note: please share your early experiences of schools, environments, or aspirations of working in the industry)
I was always kind of a geeky kid who enjoyed nerd culture and technology. I would grab my parent’s video camera and make my own sketches with toys and clay. They were silly, weird and a variety, like a can of mixed nuts which is where the name comes from. From there I branched out into all kinds of performing arts. I played 5 musical instruments including guitar and drums. I got involved in the school plays and became a part of the school television class. I was already a movie buff so the love of making movies just seemed to flow from there.
Who were your early influences and how did they impact your career?
My childhood idol has always been “Weird Al” Yankovic. Being kind of a geeky nerdy kid, it was sometimes isolating. But Weird Al made me realize that I could be creative while being a geek. He not only made music but acted, wrote, and directed his own films and music videos. So much of my sense of my sense of humor and writing comes from the irreverent style of Weird Al and The Simpsons. It really framed how I approach being creative whether it’s comedy or drama.
As many in my generation, my teenage and college years were also heavily influenced by Kevin Smith. As a fellow New Jersey filmmaker, his movies spoke to a generation the way others couldn’t. He could strike all tones from being vulgar to dramatic, absurd, silly, and dramatic altogether. And if you’ve ever met him, he’s such a down-to-earth person who genuinely encourages his fans to create. I was fortunate to be an extra in “Jersey Girl” and I learned more on that one day of shooting than I did anywhere else. You can actually see me for a couple seconds in the Sweeny Todd school play scene at the end of the movie during the wider “slow clap” scene.
Which three traits define you?
If there is one thing I want people to think about me, it’s that I’m a decent person. Maybe sometimes eccentric and possibly annoying, but mostly hard-working, skilled and decent.
Please tell us more about Mixed Nuts Productions and the type of films you produce.
We’re mostly known for nerd and geek humor. Our most popular venture was a web series called “Living in 8 Bits” that took the logic and tropes of retro video games and applied them to real-life situations in sketch comedy. There are over 60 episodes in the series. For several years, we had a moderate following on YouTube where we would be invited to conventions and make crossover videos with well-known YouTubers in the retro game community like our friend James Rolfe (The Angry Video Game Nerd).
But our main goal has always been filmmaking. Our indie feature “No Footing” has close to 600k views on YouTube and continues to find its audience. It’s a coming-of-age story about an artist fresh out of college trying to how to find a living while being an artist. It’s something that I and a lot of artists have gone through and it continues to find its audience.
Other short films of ours include “STILL,” a short monster thriller that had a pretty successful film festival run. Another fun one is “First Snow,” a parody of Hallmark Christmas movies. We also have music videos and have worked on other web series. I’d like to think our filmography is pretty eclectic.
Congratulations on featuring at the FirstGlance Film Festival in Philadelphia. Please tell us about your feature, Millie’s Care Free Day, and what audiences can expect.
Millie’s Care Free Day is a deeply personal film about overcoming anxiety, depression and grief. We collectively went through a traumatic experience in the year 2020 with the pandemic. On a personal level, I went through many life changes in a short period of time that included losing my dad in May of 2020. I made this film as a way of dealing with my grief not only from my loss but the collective loss we all felt with lost time and opportunity. It’s a film I hope resonates with everyone who has experienced difficult times and brings hope to those in need.
Please tell us more about the origins of this short and the filming schedule
While coming out of the ashes of the pandemic and the loss of my dad, I was having a difficult time getting myself motivated to create. Making movies was my form of therapy and being locked inside isolated for over a year took its toll on all of us. I had this idea of a short film about overcoming anxiety at this lake location for a while but never moved on it. I’m the kind of guy who writes fan letters to artists I admire and has written one to Lin-Manuel Miranda. I received back a handwritten response that said: “Admidst all the uncertainty, maybe you can use this time to make art and take deep breaths and fill the world with more love.” I started writing Millie that day.
By the fall of 2022, I was finally in the right headspace to take a shot at making the movie. Our team is a pretty tight knit crew who have worked together many times before. Rachel Keefe (Leah) was tapped from the beginning. I’ve cast her in several of my films before including “STILL” and was always one of my favourite actors to work with. Kathryn Miller (Millie) was new to us. We had never met prior to Millie. While “STILL” was in its festival run, I had seen multiple films that Kathryn had starred in. Then I found out she had a musical theatre background that could sing and dance. It made her the perfect choice for Millie. On the advice of fellow filmmakers, I reached out and am so glad I did. She did a phenomenal job and as a filmmaker couldn’t ask for a better actor.
Sarah Braun (Producer/AD) and Chris Potako (Sound) were no-brainers to come onto the crew. We shot over a 2 day period in mid-November 2022 mostly in chronological order and it was relatively smooth with little issues. We shot all through the dance sequence on the first day and then all of the dialogue from when Leah shows up the second day. Mother nature actually worked to the film’s aesthetic. On the second day, we knew we were chasing rain around sunset. The sky went from sunny to overcast to dark and gloomy and it worked simultaneously with Millie’s character feeling darker. In the final scene, you can see the rain falling on the lake which was a happy accident to be like Millie’s anxieties were being washed away.
Kevin Stahl (Score) is a composer we’ve worked with many times before and was tapped from the beginning. He composed a score that was chilling and unnerving yet hopeful and uplifting. The biggest obstacle was that we knew there was a pop song for the dance sequence in the middle of the film. I was originally inspired by an indie artist and always envisioned this sequence to one of their songs that really helped me through my grief. Unfortunately, we were unable to license the song which left us with a large hole in the middle of the film.
It was then that Kevin recommended one of his former music students, Spencer Camacho (“This Time” Composer/Performer). It was not easy to write a new song from scratch that had to match the tempo and visuals of the sequence. Spencer is a gifted songwriter and what he came up with blew us away. It fits the movie’s narrative so much better and gives us all ownership over the film. However, the most brilliant suggestion by Spencer was for Millie’s voice to sing the reprise at the end of the film. Kathryn is a wonderful singer. She recorded the vocals and it gives me chills every time I hear it.
The film premiered at the Phoenixville Film Festival in Phoenixville, PA in September of 2023. What made that special was that the film is dedicated in my dad’s memory and the Phoenixville area is where he grew up. It just felt right. We had a nice festival run for the next year and now the film is available for all to see on YouTube. I just hope that the film continues to find an audience out there and resonates with those who may be feeling the same kind of complex feelings of hopelessness and loss as Millie and can be inspired to find a path forward.
What other projects are in the pipeline?
As of now, there’s nothing’s nothing much in the pipeline. I’ve spent most of the past 2 years focusing on Millie. As a group, we’ve had several writers brainstorm meetings and have ideas. The best way to stay up to date is to follow us at MixedNutsProductions.com and on YouTube @MixedNutsProductions.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
https://www.mixednutsproductions.com/
http://youtube.com/MixedNutsProductions
https://www.facebook.com/MixedNutsProductions/
https://www.instagram.com/livingin8bits/
https://www.instagram.com/mlicisyncreates
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