A large part of his identity growing up was centered around playing basketball. Nick Westfall had dreams of being an NBA Star. Unfortunately, he was under five feet tall and weighed less than one hundred pounds until his Senior year of High School. He was a pretty good Point Guard, but when he was cut from the team his Senior year he started to search for other identities. He got into counter-culture punk, and rock/death metal. He wasn’t really popular and never went to parties. He really liked learning about other people’s lives; he wanted to help them.
Six years ago, he thought Actors made up their own lines. He had no idea there was a Screenwriter/Director behind all the movie magic.” As soon as I learned about screenwriting I became addicted right away.”
He made his first movie, “Finding Home.” The story centers around a man who has to find a home for a young boy. Philosophically, Westfall wanted to make a caricature of familial values with each house they visited. Before shooting “Finding Home”, he never thought he’d direct it. He knew nothing about directing. It was Amber the Assistant Director and EP of Finding Home and his wife that encouraged him to move into directing. He then read every book on acting and directing. He went to acting classes to learn how to talk to Actors and make performance adjustments. But, the main thing he learned about directing, he learned from Amber Adams Westfall. She said, “Let them do their job.” Basically, hire great Actors and allow them to do their work. “Any time an Actor asked me a question, I literally fired back the same response every time – “What do you think?” says, Westfall.
His recent film, “8 Slices” is about a new hire that joins a small town pizza restaurant just as the business fails and its employees question the “American Dream.” “8 Slices” came together because John Patrone Jr. (owner of Patronies Pizza) made a joke to Westfall about making a pizza movie in his restaurant.”I didn’t know he was joking, so I started writing. Once we got going, we knew we were going to make a PG movie about careerism vs. being a good person. I knew the pizza shop was going to be a place where the boss financially rewards his employees for reading very dense, philosophical books.”
“After I had the restaurant, I went searching for a character to represent pure gumption/careerism; a person who has sacrificed everything they have to achieve their dream. That’s when I came across the famous YouTubers: Nicole Arbour and Logan Paul – who became famous for being provocateurs all in the name of comedy.”
“There’s a line Justin Smith (who plays the boss) says to the YouTuber, “When you get to be my age, you’ll start to realize that everybody used to be something. You just make sure this is the something you want.” When I think about Nicole Arbour and Logan Paul, I think about what their future looks like after their fame fades away. What kind of reputation will they carry with them? That’s kinda the message of the movie you know?”
Currently, Westall if working on his first documentary, “Webster Hall.” Webster Hall is a beloved nightclub in New York’s Lower East Side who has a very long and rich history. For the documentary, he interviewed everyone from Richie Ramone to Action Bronson to Skrillex.
Westfall is also attached to direct a Burlesque musical next year and a health and fitness reality show. “I’m also producing a cooking show with my Business Partner, Jake Camp with Lineage Pictures. And Amber and I are raising funds for a few movies over the next couple of years. I’m really excited about getting Amber’s directorial debut off the ground soon too!”
Instinct Culture 