Last night we had a dream about a newsletter. This newsletter. It was arriving surreptitiously in someone’s inbox. Your inbox. This is your newsletter. This is your moment. This is your dream. Why would you ever want to wake up?
News & Announcements
Our fearless leader Frankie Campisano sat down with Jon Spurling of the Write in the Head Podcast to talk about finding your voice as a screenwriter. Whether you’re an emerging writer or a seasoned pro, there’s something for everyone in this wide-ranging discussion.
Frankie was also interviewed by Voyage LA for their Daily Inspiration series. There are some fun photos in there, too - including this photo of esteemed European fashion designer Cisco Linguini that snuck in there somehow.
THE DIRTY DOUBLE, the comedy pilot written by Frankie Campisano & Sam Hayden, was recently praised by an industry reader for the 2024 Slamdance Screenplay Competition. Here’s what they had to say:
“The premise is entertaining. It’s a familiar fish-out-of-water story but with an interesting twist. The ending comes as a surprise and leaves the audience dying to learn more.”
Two Nice Hog! shorts are entering production in July! Joseph Genua is helming the Coen Brothers-esque thriller DEATH’S DICE and Steve Autore is directing COOKIE X-CHANGE, a dark comedy co-written by Nice Hog! co-founders Steve Autore & Frankie Campisano.
Anyone who donates $25 to each campaign (totaling $50 minimum donation) will qualify for THE NICE HOG! COMBO PACK, including private digital downloads of 5 award-winning (or soon to be award-winning) Nice Hog! Shorts:
DEATH’S DICE*
COOKIE X-CHANGE*
GOOD BOY*
THE ADVENTURES OF GRIP GAFFER
SECRET MENU BEAUTY PAGEANT
*Delivered upon completion of final cut.
Casting is currently underway for both DEATH’S DICE and COOKIE X-CHANGE! Interested actors are invited to submit to our postings, available on Backstage.
If you’re interested in getting involved behind the scenes on these or other Nice Hog! productions, please reach out to us at info@nice-hog.com!
Screenings & Shows
Thank you to everyone who showed up to the CREEPS, INC. table read at The Inkwell Tavern last weekend. What a fantastic turnout. Collaboration and community building is at the very foundation of Nice Hog! and we were grateful to be a part of such a talented line-up of writers and performers.
If you’re interested in checking out the CREEPS, INC. pilot script and pitch deck, drop us at line at info@nice-hog.com with the subject line CREEPS.
Your final weekly reminder that SECRET MENU BEAUTY PAGEANT will be screening at the Wyoming International Film Festival in Cheyenne, WY next Thursday, July 11th, 2024 as part of the Absurd! block. Tickets are available now!
In this week’s livestream replay VOD, Frankie and Steve play some Halo Infinite, and at one point one of the pair refers to something as “the dumbest fucking shit ever”. What was it? Who said it? You’ll have to watch the replay (not the dumbest fucking shit ever, but damn close) to find out!
This Week at the Movies
Holy fucking shit, y’all… KILL is the real deal. Nikhil Bhat’s high octane action thriller been described as “BULLET TRAIN with knives” but it’s so much more than that. If you’re looking for a spiritual successor to THE RAID franchise and you’re think the JOHN WICK films have gone too Hollywood… let KILL take you on a thrill ride. We love a fashionably late title card (looking at you, BELUGA…) but KILL might have the most effective one in recent memory. This film is not for the faint of heart - heart-wrenching drama, gut-wrenching violence… don’t be fooled by the first half.
Ti West’s X trilogy comes to a climactic finish with MAXXXINE. Mia Goth is said to be an absolute delight in this one, even if harsher critics have suggested the film forgets it’s supposed to be a horror flick. But hey, if you’re someone who skipped X and PEARL because of the graphic violence and torture, maybe that’s a good thing.
[Editor’s Note: A “climactic finish”? Get over yourself. Talk about a tautology.]
If the idea of seeing a bunch of jaw-droppingly brutal murders on a high-speed train or vibing out to an 80s horror pastiche isn’t sparking joy for you, there’s always DESPICABLE ME 4. Diminishing returns, maybe, but that’s critically speaking. The Minions will do just fine at the box office. They always do.
From the Desk of Frankie Campisano…
I’d like to share an anecdote with you all, if you’d be so kind as to indulge me further in my own self-indulgent newsletter…
Last Sunday night, members of Nice Hog! and friends gathered at The Inkwell Tavern in Burbank for our live debut - a table read performance of our animated horror/comedy pilot CREEPS, INC. You know all this already, you saw the picture and everything in the newsletter. Just scroll back up.
Steve Autore, Evan Burdett and I have been working on CREEPS in one form or another for almost a decade. Our lives have changed in unpredictable ways since we were students. We got jobs, moved across the country, fell in and out of love, lost family members, made friends. But we never gave up.
Earlier that week, during our virtual table read rehearsal, my incredibly talented cast members got to know each other and tossed ice breaker questions around to get comfortable. They quickly discovered how they’d each been introduced to me via mutual friends, or in Henry’s case, cold outreach on LinkedIn. They were effusive in their praise, which I found both humbling and embarrassing. I have not always been as privileged as I am today, to have nurtured so many genuine and meaningful connections in an industry and a city that is often derided for being phony.
At least for a few more months, Steve is still based in Connecticut. As my best friend, fellow co-founder, closest collaborator, not to mention co-writer of CREEPS and the originator of the lead role, J.W. Bones, recasting Steve was one of the biggest challenges to staging this performance. Reaching out to talented friends and collaborators, I was thrilled when writer, director and stand-up comedian Henry Campbell was interested in playing J.W. for the table read.
I’ve made more legitimate friendships via LinkedIn than I’d like to admit. LinkedIn is corny and humiliating and generally a place that perpetuates bootlicking and misery. But you do what you’ve gotta do, and as we fight to break into the most competitive part of the most competitive industry in the world, why sit on the sidelines? My friendship with Henry Campbell was no different; he reached out to me on LinkedIn in December 2023 because of my cover photo, immortalizing the time I shared the stage with the one-and-only Nathan Fielder.
We chatted a bit online, and when Henry and his girlfriend made the big move from Georgia to Los Angeles in February 2024, we met up for coffee. By that point, we had checked out each other’s short film work and it was safe to say our comedic sensibilities were well-aligned.
When the opportunity to put up a live table read of CREEPS, INC. at The Inkwell came up, Henry was on my shortlist of folks who I knew believed in the material, and I was thrilled when he accepted my invitation Of my four cast members, Henry was not only the newest to Los Angeles but had the least exposure to the script. Not a big deal, but his primary scene partner was editor extraordinaire Evan Burdett, who has read nearly every iteration of this script for over a decade. Big shoes to fill!
Four pilots were performed by talented writers and cast, and CREEPS was up second. Before the first group went on, Henry took me aside to show me something. He collects baseball cards, and for moments like this, brings a card in his pocket for good luck. I smiled and showed Henry I had also pocketed a card for good luck - a spare copy of my mom’s memorial service prayer card. I hadn’t told anyone I had tucked it into my suit jacket pocket, and I wasn’t planning on it. But in that moment, our friendship was truly solidified. Henry absolutely knocked it out of the park - as did Nina Dicker, Ronnie Toone and the aforementioned editor extraordinaire Evan Burdett.
It’s very easy to get discouraged in an industry paved with rejection. My mom was my biggest supporter and knowing that I can no longer call her with good news, or turn to her when I’m struggling, can be isolating. It’s been about a year-and-a-half since her passing, and in that time I’ve thrown myself completely into trying to build the life I’ve always wanted - and doing it on my own terms.
All that to say, I wanted to take time in this week’s newsletter to say thank you. Thank you to every person who has watched a Nice Hog! project, read any part of our newsletters, tuned into a stream, supported us at live events or donated to our crowdfunding campaigns. Thank you to all of the wonderful friends who have enriched my life with their presence and generosity. We’re already making our dreams come true.
Mixtape
“Why is there always crying and quarreling filtering through the malaise? I can hear someone running their mouth and the neighbors will call thе police…”
MIXTAPE #012 - Waking Up After a Storm
Curated by Dope Francis
Here’s hoping the clouds over your life part sooner rather than later.
“Lithonia” - Childish Gambino
“That Life” - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
“He Loves Me Yeah!” - Faye Webster
“27” - Fall Out Boy
“Freelance” - Toro y Moi
“Hollywood Baby” - 100 gecs
“Hello Goodbye” - Charli XCX
“Date Night” - Father John Misty
“Thunderstorms” - Empty Houses
“Candlelight (feat. OHHYUK)” - Sunset Rollercoaster
Submit your own 10 track mixtapes to mixtapes@nice-hog.com for a chance to be featured in a future newsletter.
Comicz Corner
Roamin’ with Jordan Roman
This week, Friend of the Hog Jordan Roman wants you to know the 5 best ways to advance your narrative film career. We try to level up with every new Nice Hog! project, and we hope you’re always striving to improve your craft, too.
Socials
Follow us on social media for all your Nice Hog! needs.
We’ll see you next Friday. Until then, may all your hogs be nice.