When You Truly Love Something, You’re Willing to Give it Everything 

When You Truly Love Something, You’re Willing to Give it Everything Until You’ve Got Nothing Left by Filmmaker Nicki Legge

Nicki Legge:  I am an Arizona native. I grew up on the west side of town around the Peoria area when I was little and then the Goodyear area when I was in high school.

Film Courage:  What was life like at home?

Nicki:  I was a very happy child. I have two sisters and a mom and dad who always showered us with love. Everyone in my family is full of creativity and we are a wacky bunch. I can’t quite explain what it’s like when my family is all together, but it’s some sort of magic.

Film Courage:   Which of your parents do you resemble most?

Nicki:  I’m a pretty decent mix of both of my parents. I got my dad’s need to constantly keep moving and doing and dreaming. Unfortunately I also got the anxiety and sleepless nights that come with that. My absolute favorite part of me comes from my mom. My compassion. She is hands down the most selfless person I have ever met. She has always dedicated her life to others without ever asking or wanting for anything in return. Because of her I care about everyone I encounter and I can see the good in all people. I love with my whole heart and I feel so much. Some days I feel like I could burst because I love so much.

Film Courage:   Did your parents lend support toward creativity or encourage another type of career/focus?

Nicki:   My parents have always been incredibly supportive in whatever I feel passionate about. In fact, very recently I was stressed to the breaking point over completing a robot costume before Comicon. I had already build two, but the cruel AZ sun melted them apart, so I had to pull another one together (using better glue) before Comicon. My parents told me to bring the materials over and we would all work on it together. My mom and I cut out all of the pieces and then both of them leant extra hands to help shape them and glue them. At one point we had a system down where I would hold the piece, my dad would lay down the bead of glue, I would put the piece together, and hand it to my mom to hold together while it dried so I could move on to the next piece. That night not only saved my sanity, but it turned out to be one of the funnest nights I’ve had in a while. My 4 year old nephew and 1 year old niece were hanging out with us as we worked on this robot suit and we had a blast being goofy together. Part of that Legge family magic.

"I wanted to be a writer since I can remember, but when I graduated I specifically wanted to be a serious journalist. I went to ASU straight from high school. When you first start, they make you take this class called University 101 where you get together once a week with people from the same major (Journalism) and learn how to navigate the university. The first day of class we had to go around the room and state why we were majoring in journalism. No joke, as we went around the room, every woman said   “I want to be the next Katie Couric!” I changed my major after that semester. It just wasn’t for me." Nicki Legge

Film Courage:   What were your plans after high school?

Nicki:   I wanted to be a writer since I can remember, but when I graduated I specifically wanted to be a serious journalist. I went to ASU straight from high school. When you first start, they make you take this class called University 101 where you get together once a week with people from the same major (Journalism) and learn how to navigate the university. The first day of class we had to go around the room and state why we were majoring in journalism. No joke, as we went around the room, every woman said  

I changed my major after that semester. It just wasn’t for me.

Film Courage:   When did your writing ability emerge?

Nicki:   Birth. Haha. Well as early as I can remember I was writing stories. I remember one in particular about evil teddy bears over the fence in our backyard. I wrote a lot in high school and took a ton of creative writing classes in college. I didn’t learn to write scripts until we started Jump Ship in 2012. It’s a whole different animal because you have to do very different things with the imagery in a script. You have to imagine what the camera sees and figure out how to portray what the character is feeling through the camera. It’s a challenge that I enjoy.

Film Courage:   Did you keep a diary or journal at any time?

Nicki:  I’ve tried to keep journals, but I’ve never been really good at keeping up on it. I keep meaning to start one up again.

Nicki:   The Episode “When You Dish Upon a Star” of the Simpsons. I always loved this episode in particular when I was a kid because I thought the movie pitch was hilarious. My younger sister and I would quote it all the time, so when I started making movies, it only seems natural that it would pop into my head.

Film Courage: Have you seen every episode of The Simpsons?

Nicki:   Nope. I watched it religiously for many years, but I lost interest several years ago. I still watch an episode here and there, but there are a ton that I haven’t seen. Are The Simpsons fans going to love The Terminizer? Most definitely. Anyone with a sense of humor will love The Terminizer, but especially Simpsons fans. We have a lot of references thrown in there.

Film Courage:  Now that you have been developing this idea for 2 years, do you regret taking on such an ambitious project?

Nicki:   This project has been an absolute roller coaster. I personally have gone through a lot during the process. We had trouble finding help in the beginning so I took on a lot of responsibility myself, doing things that I had no clue how to do. Like the pie masks. I had to take a nine class course to learn how to do it, and I’m still learning ways to improve the process every time I make a new mask. I also had no idea how to build a robot suit and there are no classes for this (that I know of) so it was a lot of trial and error. It took me a long time to complete the first two enough that we could put them in the Kickstarter video, and then they ended up melting apart in the sun because the hot glue I used was multi-temp instead of high-temp. That was a pretty devastating blow. That anxiety that mentioned earlier did not help throughout the process. I went through some hard times, but I got through it. I persevered and rose above it. So no, I don’t regret one minute of working on this film. It’s been a hard road for me (JP was made for this stuff, so he’s always cool as a cucumber), but I have learned so much and made some incredible relationships along the way. I wouldn’t give up this experience for anything and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.

Nicki:   JP, Jon (one of our producers and friend), and I have poured about $7,000 into the project from our own pockets to get to this point. We want to transport our viewers to a different world full of fantastical things and that requires a budget that we just can’t supply on our own. In addition to that, most people think of crowdfunding as just a way to raise money, but it’s much more than that. Crowdfunding campaigns raise awareness, which is a powerful thing. We have had so many people approach us and ask to be a part of the project because they see what we are doing through our Kickstarter campaign. When we go to events, we try to pitch the project, but everyone there already knows about it.

Film Courage: One thing we love about your campaign is that you aren’t afraid to show that you have already invested over $7000 into making this movie, how important was it for you to be personally invested?

Nicki:  When you truly love something, you are willing to give it everything you have until you’ve got nothing left. That is what we have done, what we are doing, for this project. This concept is crazy and ridiculous, but we wanted to take it seriously. We had to invest in it to get it to a point where we could show it to people and they could understand that this is a serious idea and we can do it right.

Film Courage:   What are your plans once the film is finished?

Nicki:   VACATION! I have dedicated all four weeks of the paid vacation I am allotted from my day job to work on this film. Once we are completely done, I’ll be into the next fiscal year at work which means more vacation days. It might have to be a small one because we are probably going to be broke, but as long as we can relax and take a rest, I don’t care what we do. Once we’ve done that, on to the next project!

Film Courage:   How long did it take you to begin writing once you thought of the idea? How long did it take you to write the script?

Nicki:  JP and I are firm believers in completing a full paradigm and knowing our characters before we ever start writing a script. After I pitched the idea to him, we got to work the very next day talking about who the characters would be. I wrote a character Bio for Blue and he wrote a character bio for 426. Then we pulled out our handy dandy paradigm worksheet from screenwriting class and we got to work plotting out all of the major turning points. This process took us about two weeks because we were working on it off and on in our spare time. Then we got to work on the script. We originally just decided to write the script for fun as a way to keep our writing skills fresh, so we emailed pages back and forth and worked on it when we could. It took us about 6 months to finish the first half. Then we put it down for some time while we worked on other projects. We decided one day that we wanted to tackle it as a serious project, so we picked it back up again and finished the rest in about two weeks. All in all the whole process took about a year.

Film Courage:   What was your process for developing the killer robot driving instructor? What makes the robot relatable?

Nicki:   I’m going to let JP answer this one because he wrote 426’s bio.

  I thought of the evolution Robots and how they could one day be able to roam the streets like human beings. I started with the ASIMO Robot and built a fictitious timeline that leads up to the release of VIN# LJPCPCBLCZ1000426 or 426 for short. 426 starts killing people almost right away. We wanted it to seem humorous instead of mortifying. Or maybe a little of both. We also wanted to show that 426, while a bruting robot, has a soft interior. We\'ve included elements that derail him in a way that I think the audience will get but we wanted it to be something only a Robot could struggle with. I also wanted to give small things to 426 that would humanize him. For instance, he plugs himself in with a USB cable. We could have fabricated a foreign charging device. Although, it\'s save to assume that anyone interested in the film will know what a USB cable is and can relate to him on a smaller level because at the end of the day they\'ll need to charge their phone.

Film Courage:   What time periods will we see in the finished film?

Nicki:   This film takes place in 2015, however it is a 2015 from a timeline that is stuck in the 80s. Think back to the future II. They are in 2015, but it’s a 2015 that was imagined in the 80s.

Film Courage:   How did the film’s budget impact the writing process?

Nicki:  Since we started writing the film more as an exercise, we didn’t take budget into mind initially. After we decided to pursue the project seriously, we went through to make it more budget friendly, but we decided if we were going to do it, we had to do it right which is why we turned to crowdfunding.

Film Courage:   You mentioned Jump Ship Productions whittling down to two members and the decision you and JP made to continue. Before the others made their exit, did you feel their interests waning?

Nicki:   Jump Ship Productions kind of started as a ragtag gang of misfits. We took (in my opinion) the best half of one company and the best half of another company, and we made what I call a magical love baby. In the beginning we were all so excited to start something new and have our opinions heard. All of us felt like we had no voice in our previous companies, so we worked really hard on communication and honesty. We had regular meetings where we all talked about our feelings and desires. Unfortunately some of us thought we wanted one thing when we really wanted something else. Everyone said that they wanted to take film seriously and eventually do it for a living, but as time went on and the films we made became bigger and more labor intensive, it became very clear that certain people just weren’t that interested in creating films at this capacity. It became very difficult to get everyone together for meetings, and even when we did, most of the team was more interested in getting through the business stuff as quickly as possible so we could get to the hanging out part. The final straw was paying taxes. Jump Ship is an LLC. We wanted to legitimize the production company when we started so we made it a business. JP and I were perfectly happy paying to file taxes for our company, but the rest of the team was not so they left.

Film Courage:   On those days where you were close to shutting down Jump Ship Productions, what has kept you pushing forward?

Nicki:   JP and I both love film. I truly believe that he was made for it, and I just love the creative outlet. When everything was falling apart, he and I even talked about writing some scripts just for us to produce on our own to keep our addiction at bay while we tried to wrangle Jump Ship together. As the rest of the team wilted away, there was no question that we would continue the company no matter what happened.

Film Courage:   What advice can you provide other creatives about committing to projects with little or no pay?

Nicki:   I’m going to let JP answer this one. He has more experience with this.

JP:  If you\'re agreeing to little too no pay then still give 110%. There are so many times when I hear people talk about how they don\'t care as much or work as hard when they don\'t get paid. If that\'s the case then don\'t work for free. If you show up to a Jump Ship set and complain there is no pay or slack off, what incentive do I have to pay you on the next set? If you\'re trying to produce something and you want to know how to approach people for working for little to nothing, you just have to be upfront. I usually see if I like a person before offering them a position and after I offer it to them I usually follow up with, I can\'t pay you. That way they know what they are getting themselves into. I\'ve heard of producers telling talent and crew there is pay, then they never pay them. That\'s never a good way to kickoff or end a production, however you want to look at it.

Film Courage:   Looking back would either you or JP change anything about forming Jump Ship?

Nicki:   Nope. I treasure every experience we’ve had just the way they are.

Film Courage:   Where do you develop your best ideas?

Nicki:   I am often inspired by music. My dad is a musician who has played in symphonies and a number of interesting bands from a harmonica quartet to a rockabilly band that he’s in right now. I grew up listening to all of this amazing eclectic music and it has instilled in me a great love for it. I find myself inspired often on my commute from work when a song hits me just the right way. I have a voice record app on my phone if I need to get the idea out right away, but usually I just make a mental note of the song name and artist and listen to it over and over at home. I marinade in the feeling that it gave me while I think about the story.

Film Courage:   From a director POV, what excites you most about The Terminizer? How is directing this movie going to differ from your previous ones? What new challenges are you looking forward to going after?

Nicki:   This film is absolutely crazy. It involves a lot of special and visual effects which I have pretty much no experience with, so I am excited to dive into that. The characters are unique and insanely loveable, so I’m excited to breathe new life into them. The crew we have pulled together is AMAZING. We have brought together so many talented people and I am so excited to work and bond with them and build our happy family. I’m fairly new to directing; I really only have one other project under my belt, so all of this is new and exciting to me.

Film Courage:   Please tell us your process for designing the blueberry pie (which will be played by your partner JP Frydrych).  How did you even know where to begin? How much work and time have you put into creating this character?How much fun has it been?

Nicki:   Once we dove into development on the script, JP started by finding people to build the robot and pie; we can’t make a film if we don’t have the main characters. This proved to be difficult. We had several instances where someone said they were interested, and we worked with them for weeks, even months, then they disappeared as soon as we needed to start making some progress. We even had instances where someone told us that making a pie for us would be too expensive for our budget without us even telling them what our budget was, they just assumed. We experienced one let down after another, so finally I just decided to do it myself. November of last year, JP found David Ayres on Facebook. David holds several different classes out of his studio teaching Monster Makeup, and he had a class specifically on making latex masks. We met with him and were so impressed that I started the class the following week. I went to 9 classes at his studio where he taught me how to make a head cast, sculpt my idea onto the head cast, make a mold out of the sculpture, make a mask out of the mold, and then apply the mask to JP’s head. It was an amazing experience. David is not only full of knowledge, ha has some amazing stories about his experiences in the field and he is a genuinely good person. Even though times were chaotic and I was doing so many things at once, going to that class was like going to a stress free oasis for a night. I would recommend it to anyone. Once we had the mask, we needed to find a makeup artist to apply it on set. Sara Lemaster came over to our apartment and we did several tests with her and Kelsey McLaughlin, who is another talented makeup artist We tweaked small things here and there like the shape of his lips, the placement of his eyebrows, adding freckles, until Blue Berry Crunch emerged. This has been my favorite part of this project so far. Blue is such a sweet character and it was amazing to see him go from the page to a living breathing being in front of me.

Film Courage:   Tell us about your partnership with Team Fox? Who approached whom?

Nicki:   I will let JP answer this because he forged the relationship with Team Fox.

JP:  Team Fox is a great organization. Whenever we try to raise money for a film I like to try and give back. I joined Team Fox and started Team Jump! At our public events we take donations that go into our Team Jump portfolio. We joined just before the Kickstarter and we\'ve only had one event so far, but we are planning more and we are hoping to raise some money for Parkinson\'s research.

Film Courage:   If you could have been one fictional film or literary character, who is it and why?

Nicki:   This is a lame answer, but I have a hard time with these “who would you be” questions. I am getting to an age where I’m really finding myself, and right now I just want to be me.

"I am often inspired by music. My dad is a musician who has played in symphonies and a number of interesting bands from a harmonica quartet to a rockabilly band that he’s in right now. I grew up listening to all of this amazing eclectic music and it has instilled in me a great love for it. I find myself inspired often on my commute from work when a song hits me just the right way. "

Nicki:   In the beginning of Jump Ship, Rob Garcia was my mentor. He taught me how a camera works and how to make basic directing decisions. Then I went to SCC for a few classes to fill in some of the technical gaps and I learned how to edit at SCC. I’ve picked up everything else along the way from all of the talented people I’ve worked with. Mike Rea has been a HUGE influence on me. He is one of the hardest working people I know in this industry and he is a wealth of knowledge.

Film Courage:   Biggest supporter in your life and why?

Nicki:   Hands down, this would be my wonderful mother. She taught me how to be a decent human being and always encouraged me to grow and flourish.

Nicki:   We have a new concept already outlined that is going to knock off some socks. I can’t go into detail yet, but you’re going to want to watch out for this one. We’re going darker. Much darker.

Nicki Legge was born with a pen in her hand; as soon as she could compose sentences on paper, she began writing stories about evil teddy bears and trains to nowhere. In 2011, a good friend invited Nicki to be an extra on his film set. She gladly offered to help, not realizing that this experience would change her life. Nicki loved the magic of being on set so much that she came back for their next project, eager to learn. She soon became a member of their team, Missing Link Pictures and became a sort of apprentice to the team’s Cinematographer and Director, Rob Garcia, who taught her everything he knew about the craft. In 2012, she cofounded Jump Ship Productions and went on to create several award winning short films with her team. Most recently, Nicki has been honing her skills as a Cinematographer, Director, and Editor, while still keeping that pen in her hand as one of the two writers for Jump Ship Productions. Nicki’s life has been forever transformed by the craft of filmmaking; she can’t imagine ever doing anything else.

A killer robot driving instructor who travels back in time for some reason. His best friend is a talking pie.

TENTACLE 8 has its New York theatrical premiere screenings at the renowned ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES

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