Michael Thai Nguyen and I met when I got my Macbook... Funny cause every time I had a problem with my laptop I learned more and more about Apples employee! Not only was he tech smart, I learned his heart was in production and directing. Michael is very interested, so as he came over to greet me with a green tea - yums ;) - I asked if he wouldn't mind me asking him a few questions...
How did you know you wanted to live and breathe producing and directing?
1.) As a kid, I always loved the power of film and how conveying a good story could really change your life... This is what I live for, is a great storyteller. To be able to invent something in the infrastructure of your mind, and being able to convey that onto film to share with the world.
How did you get started?
2.) I actually started in theatre performance. In 2003, I played a prince in the Stratford Festival's "The King and I". During my 9 month run there, I became more interested in the production side of things, and was curious as to how things as grand as this could be put together. The people I worked with were my mentors, guiding me in the right direction for filmmaking... They were the ones who suggested that I attend Ryerson University for Radio and Television Arts (one of the hardest programs to get into in Canada)
Who do you look up to? Who inspired you?
3.) That's a tough question. So many people inspire me. I really look up to my father, who passed away when I was 18. Growing up, I watched as he provided for my family, and I could really see the come up. Every year we moved, but every year we moved into a bigger place. That was a result of my father's hard work, dedication, and determination. When my father came to Canada he was about 17 years old with nothing but the clothes on his back and maybe 15 cents. Fast forward to where my family is now is nothing short but amazing and I can't help but be inspired. Creatively, I am inspired by the works of foreign films. There's just this genuine vibe about them that's really lacking in North American films. Perhaps it's because I know the system here and how the game is played, but if I could perhaps bring the edginess of foreign films into the North American market, that would be ideal.
How did you go about building your own company?
4.) As a teenager, whenever I made a short little film I would claim it under "Fire Phoenix Films". After high school, I met Walter Herrera whom I had gone to high school with but never really knew. We both shared the same passion for film and began talking about collaborating. The idea of creating a company together seemed so ideal since I went to University and learned the business and technical side of things while he went to College and learned the creative and technical side of things. It just seemed like a good mix to have both sides join. He had always claimed his work under "Nexus Best Pictures" and so we merged the two names to form "Phoenexus Pictures". Often times people ask what it means: well, I had always believed the myth of the Phoenix was a powerful one. It basically means something coming from nothing so if you can sense the paradox between that and filmmaking, you'll see where I'm getting at. "Nexus" means a bridge from one universe to another and that's exactly what we want to do for our audiences, which is create a bridge from our universe to the universe in which we create.
What projects have you done? Any coming up?
5.)We've done a few small corporate things for places such as Apple and MTV, but our first hit was a short film called "Sophie's Clock". It tells the story of a girl who has the power to leap back in time to fix her mistakes, but of course, with great power comes great responsibility, and unfortunately, the character of Sophie doesn't manage it very well. The film was nominated for 4 Television and Radio Achievment Awards which landed us the gig of directing the award's video segments. Our next big project was announced a few months ago called "Apocalypse Please" and that takes place in 2071 after the world has ended. It's not really a sci-fi film or a drama, or a thriller... We've described it as "speculative fiction" meaning nothing is ever what it seems. The film has been in the making since May 2009, and was slated for principal photography January 2010, but was pushed until May 2010 as I will be flying down to Los Angeles for a few months to train with the talented team of Fox's "24". You can expect a release for late summer 2010.
http://vimeo.com/5418225 -- Demo reel
http://vimeo.com/7303933 -- A little teaser trailer of Michael’s film
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Phoenexus-Pictures/77702743324?ref=ts --- visit him on FB
...& for those who are wondering why I did this "interview" is because I find him very interested and his story inspired me to continue with my dream! Thank you and good luck! I wish you all the success you deserve - Don't forget me cause I know I will be having more cpu problems in the future lol
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