We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nathan Ellis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nathan, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?
I’m very grateful to have a manager at one of the most notable talent companies in the world, LBI Entertainment, who also represent many of the most well-know creatives in the industry. This was an opportunity that crossed my path years ago, after I’d just received an MFA in film and television production from USC and was looking for a way “in” in terms of the industry.
As most of us understand, a great manager or agent can be a strong advocate for you within the industry itself, but landing one isn’t all that easy. I knew the quality of my work and level of exposure was the key to opening this door, so I focused on writing several screenplays that were both very different in genre and style (one a heartfelt military drama, the other a new take on the post-apocalyptic, zombie genre), but that also represented my voice as a writer and vision as a director. Screenwriting was something I’ve been successful with in the past and also something I could do on my own for free. It was sort of a no-brainer.
While working as a Production Assistant and military consultant (uncredited) on a military movie called, “The Wall,” directed by Doug Liman, I met fellow aviator and military veteran, Steve Stafford, who was generous enough to offer me a part-time pilot gig with his movie aviation company Studio Wings, which not only allowed me the time, space and energy I needed to write to the best of my abilities, but to expand my network within the industry itself. In fact, a talented filmmaker himself, Steve became a mentor of sorts and was a creative collaborator on one of my projects. Once I felt my screenplays were ready for exposure (after many notes and re-writes), I submitted them to the best festivals I knew of — not all the festivals I knew of, but the ones I felt were the most notable and offered the highest caliber of exposure. Also, because I couldn’t afford to submit to every festival I heard of.
I was fortunate enough to have one of the screenplays land a top-fifty spot in the Academy Nicholl Fellowships, out of several thousand entries that year, and land in the top 2% of all 15,000 plus scripts on Coverfly, an online screenwriting database. This achievement led to a series of phone-calls from interested studios, production companies and talent agencies. An old friend of mine, who was in the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC at the same time I was a film student and whom I’d collaborated with in the past, had also shared another screenplay of mine with a colleague of his at LBI Entertainment — my future manager.
At the time, my manager wasn’t a manager. He was an assistant to an established manager. He shared my screenplay with one of the managers at LBI and, strangely enough, that manager had also received a phone call from a producer at Mandalay Pictures about my Nicholl Fellowships screenplay. After reading both scripts, they reached out and asked, “what else do you have?” Luckily, I had a few other projects as well, which they ended up liking just as much. I had a strong sense that both the manager and his assistant (my future manager) really cared about preserving the integrity of my work — they were going to stick it out with me for the long run and for all the right reasons.
Fast-forward years later and my manager and I are great friends. He’s helped me land many meetings at production companies and studios, vastly expanding my network. In addition to a number of indie passion projects being made, I was hired to develop and write a movie about one of my worst days in Afghanistan as an Army helicopter pilot, which is now being packaged, in addition to another project of mine currently on the brink of being made and with a top-notch team and cast attached. I’m eight years into my journey now and the old saying, “It takes ten years to become an overnight success” is true — especially in this town. Getting a film into production is a long road filled with many ups and downs — it takes years — not to mention having to survive things like a global pandemic and industry strikes — but, my manager and extended team have always been behind me. I’d say my biggest take-away from all of this is that staying true to yourself and your work and not being afraid to put yourself out there are integral components to finding success in this industry. I’ve always imagined the industry, flaws and all, like the Olympics of filmmaking and constantly ask myself, “Is this the best I can do? If not, how can I make it better?” — but then have the courage to know when it’s good enough to go out into world. I’ve also learned that work that feels like play, yields the best results. After all, if you’re not having fun… what’s the point?
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a former Army Captain, military aviator and combat veteran who believes my experiences in service have played an important role in my development as an artist. I received an MFA in production from USC, am an Academy Nicholl Fellowships top 50 semifinalist and award-winning writer/director with a passion for character-driven stories about relevant and meaningful subject matter.
People often ask how I went from being a military pilot to a filmmaker, but it’s actually the other way around — filmmaking has always been the closest medium to my creative interests, but I’ve always had an interest in aviation and felt becoming a military pilot first would 1.) accelerate my maturity and boost my overall life experience, 2.) give me an intense goal to keep me focused while in school and 3.) help me hold up a mirror to myself as I matured that would allow me to constantly assess where I might be making excuses for any short-comings I experienced (the military is an excellent resource for individual self-assessment).
Some might find it surprising, but I’m not very patriotic, nor do I want war (most people in the military don’t). My decision to serve was based on the belief that I would be surrounded by selfless people who possessed strong integrity and the challenges that come with military service would help me become the best version of myself. After fulfilling my seven-year service obligation, including one, year-long combat deployment to Afghanistan, I’m happy to say I found just that and have grown immensely through those experiences.
As a filmmaker, I care deeply about “getting real” with my characters and stories, although I don’t seek to express military-centric perspectives. Instead, I prefer to delve into the “human experience” of life as I’ve seen and experienced it through both myself and others. For example, my wife, Kim, a former teacher and school counselor who was recently featured here, comes from a very tumultuous background and has overcome so much in her life — I love to weave in heartfelt aspects of her character into fictional characters to help reinforce grounded and relatable subject matter that ultimately connects with people. I also love female protagonists — I think it’s because I grew up watching Ellen Ripley (Aliens Franchise) and loved the idea that she used her intellect and survival skills to defeat the aliens, instead of brute force (for the most part).
At the time of writing this, two of my screenplays are in development / pre-production — one is about the first Asian-American woman to enter US military service and the other a semi-autobiographical thriller about my worst day in Afghanistan — these have taken years to assemble and were fortunate enough to survive the pandemic and industry strikes. I also have a science-fiction “animated” series, “OVERCLOCKED,” which I made during the pandemic just for fun, which has gone viral and has been a fun way for me to “create without boundaries.” We’ll see where that goes, but it’s been fun so far. I also have a few independent short films which have won some awards, been featured in festivals, on online platforms such as Amazon. I’m currently about to release a horror short film / proof-of-concept for another feature length screenplay, which we’re about to start shopping around town.
At the end of the day, I simply want to make a living doing what I love — creating and supporting artistic projects which both entertain and enlighten people all around the world. No matter how much effort I put into my projects on any given day, I always wake up the next day with a full-tank of creativity ready to go. The tricky part is knowing when and where to invest that energy.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
The film industry, by nature, is a business first and is out to make as much money as possible. Over the last decade or so, with the tech industry bringing streaming services to the forefront and the boom of franchise / nostalgia products, independent filmmaking / stories / voices have been drowned out more than ever before. The innovation and talent that exists out there (and there is plenty of it) is struggling to find an opportunity to show the world new and meaningful content, because everything has become so formulaic, controlled and politicized. The industry doesn’t take risks anymore and independent film has become unrecognizable — littered with A-list talent with budgets in the tens of millions.
We need more folks willing to donate and invest in new voices and content they want to see. To afford someone with strong creative talent and potential the ability to create something that represents their vision, is an extremely powerful thing. For example, I just finished making a short film / proof of concept for a feature film horror screenplay I’ve already developed, which will help me illustrate the marketability and vision for my project to investors — the short film, which only cost $2300 to make, wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of a friend who believes in the project too.
If you’re someone who understands the importance and power of filmmaking — regardless of genre, style or scope — investing in an artist or idea you believe in (and, ideally, who understands how the business works) — could yield something far more meaningful that just money in the bank.
I will caveat by saying that investing in films is always a risky business, but just a few thousand dollars on the right idea or person can go a long, long way.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
As challenging and uncertain as this path can be, both my wife (also an artist) and I embrace every day with excitement and purpose, knowing that we’re fulfilling this deep, lifelong urge to express ourselves in this way.
Both of us have experience as working professionals in the past, me in the military and her as a teacher and school counselor — and the life experience gained from those paths has undoubtedly been invaluable on our continued journey as creatives — but society is not structured to support and encourage people like us now.
In a way, it feels like we’re living outside the lines and, on one hand, it’s very enlightening and inspiring, but on the other, it feels like we’re often playing life by ear. We trade stability and traditional wealth for freedom and the ability to fully express ourselves.
I always say, being a filmmaker (or actor or artist, etc.) is a lifestyle, not a career. There are no rules. There is no ladder to climb. There is no guarantee that, even if you’ve proven yourself and have demonstrated talent, that you’ll get every opportunity you’re seeking (most of the time, you won’t) — if you wake up everyday, no matter how difficult things might seem, with the fire and excitement in your heart to keep going — to persevere with a sense of purpose and fulfillment that you’re expressing yourself to the fullest, then you’re being successful.
Because of this path we’ve chosen, my wife and I have become extremely close — both romantically, but also as colleagues and peers in this world. We’ve come to appreciate the simple things — the best things in life — and we feel a profound sense of purpose and meaning in what we’re doing, because deep down in our hearts we know that it’s who we really are.
And when we share our work and art with the world and people out there are inspired and excited and moved by it, we feel like we’ve made the world a better place. What could be better than that?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm5668424?ref_=hm_nv_usr_profile
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natescottellis/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathan.ellis.96/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-ellis-366b0154/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnd7MsEihoOUNSfq42zJtnQ
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@Reso-Nate
