Producer Nira Park: Nothing is better than finding a way to make the impossible possible
We’re dedicating the month of March — off the back of International Women’s Day on Sunday 8 March — to highlighting the careers and achievements of women working in front of and behind the camera. #WomensMarch
One of the most recognisable names in producing, Nira Park has forged a formidable career on both big and small screens, from the influential TV series Spaced and Black Books, to Film4-backed genre-blending gems Sightseers and Attack The Block, to a fruitful career-long collaboration with director Edgar Wright, including the upcoming Last Night in Soho.
What led you to becoming a producer? Was that sort of role ever a goal or did it sneak up on you?
When I was a little kid I used to day dream that I ran my own theatre company. In my imagination I’d sit at a big desk going through paperwork and then come down a metal spiral staircase in the middle of the building to meet people in reception. I was always wearing a pale blue silk trouser suit with enormous shoulder pads. The dream changed over time (the pale blue suit definitely evolved into something else!) but I always wanted to run a company doing something creative.
After finishing A-Levels I went to college to continue my dance training, but one year in I had a car accident and wasn’t able to finish the course. The head suggested that since I wasn’t able to dance I should come back to the college and start a touring company. I took their advice and quickly realised that I was far more excited by putting on shows than by being in them.
At that time I had a friend who was working as a runner for a production company in Soho, which sounded like the dream job. I borrowed a copy of The Knowledge and wrote over fifty letters — all of which I hand delivered. One of the companies — a producer of commercials — responded to say they needed a runner to start the following week. I happily made tea and coffee there for a year before the company closed just after my 21st birthday.
My favourite show back then was The Comic Strip Presents (I was so passionate about it that I once came home early from a holiday because I wanted to watch their new episode go out live). I decided I had to work there. I wrote to them every week for months on end before I got a response. The first time I walked into their office on Berwick Street, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders were in reception. It was like a dream come true. I started out doing a few odd jobs for them as a runner and six years later I was producing and managing all of the company’s affairs.
I was only 27 when Keith Allen suggested we set up a company together. I had no idea what that would really entail, but given that it had always been my dream to have a company, I said yes. We rented one room on Great Titchfield Street and Keith built at six-foot bar! I persuaded my best friend to come and join us, and the company was formed of three people, one shared computer, one desk, some cushions on the floor, and a fax machine. Our idea was that likeminded creative people would come and hang out and from that productions would be spawned. We had no money and no formal plan, but we were incredibly determined.
When I look back I can’t believe how proactive and productive we were. I’d never take no for an answer and very quickly we were in production with documentaries, comedy dramas, radio shows, music videos, and everything in-between. We just threw ourselves into everything. It was such a great time. The six-foot bar was always buzzing and Keith was right — hanging out and having fun definitely was the very best foundation for creative relationships that grew and grew from that point on.
There seems to be as many types of producer as there are producers. What sort of producer are you?
I’m a very hands-on producer, which is how I learned to be in my time at The Comic Strip Presents and the early days of Big Talk. When we were making the first series of Spaced, we had the tiniest of budgets. Edgar Wright wanted some stock footage of a tarantula. We couldn’t afford it, but I knew someone who had a stuffed one. I took the stuffed tarantula to Soho Square and photographed it on the grass.
I was convinced I could persuade Edgar that it was real footage from BBC Natural History’s archive. I failed. But it epitomised a beg, borrow, and steal approach that still gets me excited. Nothing is better than finding a way to make the impossible possible. Even on bigger budget productions I try to keep the mentality I developed when making things on a shoestring.
What’s the most common misconception about the role of the producer?
Either that all producers do is find the money. Or that producers are directors.
Over your career you have had continued success collaborating multiple times with filmmakers such as Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. How does that collaboration play out, and how do you know that, when working with someone, you’re onto a keeper?
Edgar and I have been friends and collaborators for over 22 years. We have very different personalities but in many ways we are alike and work in a very similar way. I think we both knew from the very first time we worked together that we just clicked. After all this time we have an amazing shorthand — I can look at him and know from just the raise of an eyebrow what he is thinking and what he needs. If we watch casting tapes we always choose the same people without comparing notes. We are like brother and big sister, which means we definitely have arguments and I can get cross but it never ever affects our relationship. If anything it reassures us because I think we both know that the communication we have with each other always resolves in things moving forwards.
My relationship with Joe is very different but equally rewarding. We both loved making Attack the Block together but our relationship really grew when we were developing and making The Kid Who Would be King. As with Edgar, Joe and I have very similar tastes and we are nearly always on the same page about things. He also makes me laugh so much and I love how his brain works.
With Edgar, Joe, and Ben Wheatley (who I have now made two films with) I constantly feel inspired and want to work even harder to make sure they have everything they need to make the best possible films. I much prefer working with directors who know much more than me and who do something I could never do. I want to be the very best sidekick — to support and make everything possible for them.
What are the key skills required to be a good producer?
That’s a very difficult question to answer because I think that different producers have different skills, and not all directors require the same type of producer. Sometimes the best productions are ones where there are great producing partnerships in which different producers take different roles. One might look after the day-to-day detail of the production, and one might manage the relationship with the financier and drive the marketing plan forward. Being attuned to what is required of you for each project is essential.
You tend to move between film and TV projects — and now with Rebecca, streaming is in the mix as well. Does the job change when the platform does?
In my experience, production is no different across different mediums. Small budgets, big budgets, TV and film. The ups-and-downs of production are always the same, the personalities, the politics. The difference is in how you market and get your production out into the world.
You founded Big Talk and shepherded it through major success and growth over 20 years before moving on. What excited you about striking out on your own again?
Returning to my roots. I craved the small office — the small team of likeminded people all striving to make the same type of content. I have never been someone who is driven by the commercial side of our business. I genuinely love the actual making of the production — the collaboration with brilliant creative people. I needed to be in an environment where that was important above all else.
What was the last…
…book you read?
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
…film you saw?
Knives Out. Again. For the third time.
…TV show you watched?
Documentary, Tell Me Who I Am on Netflix.
…podcast you listened to?
Not a podcast but I re-listened to Nick Frost reading his autobiography. He’s been abroad and very much on my mind and I wanted to hear his voice… And before I knew it I had listened to the whole thing again. It’s utterly brilliant. The section about him living on a Kibbutz in his teens is amazing.
