While Grandma's Boy remains his only feature to date, director Nicholaus Goossen hasn't exactly slacked off in the 2 years since the cult favorite's release. Utilizing a new and eager internet fanbase, the prolific filmmaker has published an impressive number of music videos and comedy skits on sites such as YouTube and Funny Or Die. Many even starring Adam Sandler and Nick Swardson. Goossen was kind enough to take time out if his schedule to discuss his love of Biggie and Tupac, directing Adam Sandler's dog, and his upcoming film The Shortcut!
You might be best known, so far, for directing Grandma's Boy, which has become a cult favorite. Was there ever any thought to doing either a sequel or another feature film with the Happy Madison crew?
Yeah, "Grandma's Boy" is definitely my calling card at this point. I wish more people
would've known about it when we were in the theaters, but I'm happy with the way its been
discovered on DVD. We haven't really considered a straight up sequel, but Swardson has a
good idea for a movie that we're developing that would serve as a kind of companion piece.
How did you meet Adam Sandler? You've worked with him quite a bit on various projects from his video "Secret" to a short about his dog called "A Day with the Meatball".
I met Sandler on the set of "The Wedding Singer". I was a camera intern and on the
first day of shooting Adam approached me about playing basketball at lunch. That's how
our friendship began. He's taught me so much about filmmaking and the business in
general...and he's a pretty good hoop player too.
We had a lot of fun making those Meatball videos. That dog would make me laugh so hard
when we were shooting. He was the best. And the "Secret" video was shot during the making
of "The Longest Yard". Most of it in Santa Fe.
Are you a big fan of hip hop? You've directed a number of videos for Dyslexic
Speedreaders (Dirt Nasty, Mickey, and Andre Legacy) and also a video for Evidence. If so, who are some of your favorite artists and what music videos have influenced you the most?
I do love hip hop. I feel I grew up during the golden age listening to Snoop, Biggie,
and Tupac in high school. I was getting really burnt on some of the newer stuff that's
been coming out, but as soon as I heard Mickey Avalon and the Dyslexic Speedreaders stuff
I felt like I was hearing something fresh again. I had never heard people say some of the
things that they do in a song before. Their stuff is full of humor and very visual, so I
was attracted to it immediately.
I've always been a fan of the videos that told a little bit of a story. Loved David
Fincher's "Janie's Got A Gun" by Aerosmith. Obviously Ice Cube's "Today Was A Good Day"
was a huge influence on the Evidence video I made. If I could any band to make a video
for it would probably be Radiohead.
Who are some of your favorite filmmakers? Those who most inform you?
I obviously worship the guys like Spielberg, Zemeckis, Coppola, The Coen Brothers, and
Scorsese. But my favorite new school directors are Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher,
Wes Anderson, and Tarantino. Those guys have great storytelling skills on top of a really
strong visual style.
In this digital age where means of production are more readily available to the
masses, how do you think sites like YouTube and Funny Or Die are going to change the future of filmmaking?
The internet is making it easier and easier to market and distribute your own stuff.
All you need is a camera and a computer and you can make things that people will actually
see. I love doing stuff for the web, its a lot of fun.
Can you talk at all about your next project "The Shortcut" coming out next year?
"The Shortcut" is going to be the first movie from Adam Sandler's new production label
"Scary Madison". Its a PG-13 thriller that we shot up in Canada this past July. I'm
psyched about the cast we had and the way its all turning out. It was an extremely tight
and challenging schedule, but it was a ton of fun making it and I think they plan to
release it sometime early next year. We're early in the post production process so you'll
be hearing more about it soon.
BY WALTER ORSINI
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