Natalie Metzger Of Vanishing Angle: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker
Interview with Guernslye Honorés
Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is not something to be avoided, but rather is a requirement of success. Try things out and experiment. Not everything will work, but that is part of the process.
As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Natalie Metzger.
Natalie Metzger is a Spirit Award nominated producer who has produced 15 features and over 25 shorts. Her most notable films are SXSW Grand Jury Award winner THUNDER ROAD, Yogi Berra documentary IT AIN’T OVER (Sony Pictures Classics), horror comedy WEREWOLVES WITHIN (IFC), Sundance darling GREENER GRASS (IFC), Jim Cummings’ THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW (MGM/Orion), erotic thriller THE BETA TEST (IFC), comedy short POOF (Cannes), single-take short THE ROBBERY (Sundance), and Alden Ehrenreich’s SHADOW BROTHER SUNDAY (Tribeca). Metzger is also an award-winning writer/director whose credits include feature documentary ALONE IN THE GAME (AFI Docs, Outfest), Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween short SLEEP STUDY (Best Horror — Indy Shorts), sci-fi short IMMORTAL (Best Narrative Short — Eastern Oregon Film Festival), feature documentary SPECIAL BLOOD (Dolores Huerta Award for Best Director), domestic abuse PSA “TOPLESS WOMEN TALK NFL” (featured in the Washington Post and Vice), and Camp Kesem commercial “DEAR MOM” (Telly Award, Aurora Award — Platinum Best of Show). Metzger holds an MFA from CalArts and is a Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Emory University, where she received the Sudler Award in the Arts and the Pioneer Award.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
I grew up in south Florida. I was always into the arts, but I didn’t discover filmmaking until later in life. I went to college at Emory University where I double majored in Theater and Dance and minored in English and then did grad school at CalArts where I got my MFA in Dance/Choreography. My plan was to start my own dance theater company. But while I was at CalArts, I stumbled into the filmmaking world and very quickly became obsessed.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
In grad school, I was getting frustrated with the limitations of the stage. I wanted to find something that was more permanent and that could be shared more widely than just people within a 20 mile radius of a theater. I started filming my choreography in locations that interested me. I edited the footage into short dance films that I submitted to festivals, where they got some awards and attention. At the same time, I was helping my film school friends out with their films (choreographing, dancing, etc). The more that I was on set, the more that I became addicted to filmmaking. I wanted to help out in whatever ways I could. I would fill in the gaps wherever I saw them. “You need a costume designer? I know a great one.” “You’re looking for this type of location? I know a place.” Not realizing that I was starting to produce. I also joined Women In Film and learned the world of commercials and having clients and being on set with much bigger crews. All of these things converged where my friends started recommending me to their friends to produce. Pretty soon I was being paid to do the work that I was having so much fun doing, and it snowballed from there. I had been teaching at CalArts and Pierce College after grad school, but I soon had to quit teaching since the film work was coming in so steadily. Years later, I was at a film festival where I met the Vanishing Angle team. I then started producing for them, and I knew that I had found my creative home. The projects became so back-to-back that they brought me on full-time and became the VP of Production & Development.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
One of the things that I love about what I do is how many fascinating people I get to work with and collaborate with. I’m genre agnostic when it comes to the films that I produce, so sometimes I’m on set where my face hurts from laughing so much at the hilarious actors that are riffing off one another, and other times, I’m left teary-eyed after watching an incredibly moving performance. I’m also constantly blown away by how talented and creative the director and crew are. This job always keeps me on my toes with all of the interesting creatives that I get to be around.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
After I had made a few short films, I decided that I wanted to make a feature documentary about a rare disease that was important to me. I approached Lisa France, a friend who had just finished producing her own documentary, and I asked her to produce it. She was slammed at the time and didn’t have the bandwidth to take on an additional project, but when I asked her if she knew of another doc producer that would be open to the project, she gave me really great advice. She said that I was completely capable of producing the film myself. She gave me some pointers on how to get everything set up and then sent me on my way. It was the best advice that she could have given me. She empowered me to trust myself.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My father always told me two life lesson quotes that I have used often in my life.
- “How do you eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time.”
Producing film can be overwhelming. There is always an insane number of tasks and often they are super time sensitive. But this is a helpful reminder to just put one foot in front of the other and work your way through your list. Tasks will get added as others get completed, and sometimes fires will come up that will double or triple your task list, but I find that I can keep my head above water by just continuing to power through my tasks one by one.
2. “Worry is paying a debt not yet owed.”
This one is harder for me to follow, but I think it is incredibly important.
I am very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Diversity helps bring new stories, experiences, and perspectives to what we consume in the media. This can help amplify voices and causes that might not get a lot of attention, it can expose people to cultures and lifestyles that might be different from their own, which can help increase empathy and understanding, and it can make people feel like they matter if they see someone like themselves on screen and in the media. Mattering is one of the most important elements to leading a happy and purpose-filled life. Diversity in media can help everyone feel like they matter, which will have exponential positive effects on our society.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I’ve got lots of irons in the fire at the moment.
I’m in pre-production on a new coming of age dramedy called Under The Lights about a young boy with epilepsy that desperately wants to go to prom even though he knows the lights might cause a seizure. The writer/director Miles Levin has epilepsy, and we’re working on creating a blueprint for filmmakers with disabilities so that they aren’t held back from making their films because of things like long shooting hours, etc.
We’re also prepping a new horror comedy called Queens of the Dead by Tina Romero, daughter of George Romero, about a group of drag queens that attempt to escape Bushwick on the night of the zombie apocalypse. Tina wants to continue the Romero legacy by making it fresh, contemporary, and queer. George signed off on the film before he passed.
We’re also getting the final financing together for a Southern environmental thriller called Witches of the American Southeast about three generations of women from the Florida swamp who join together to violently defend their ancestral land from real estate developers, with witchcraft if necessary.
I’m also excited about working with Alden Eherenreich on his next project. He’s in the middle of writing a feature.
And I’m also working with Margaret Miller, the director of Poof, the short that premiered in the official competition at Cannes earlier this year, on developing a longer version of that story.
Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?
I often say that being a producer is like being a midwife. I’m helping the director give birth to their creative baby. Each director has their own “birth plan” with their own style and vision, and my job is to help them achieve that in the best way possible. Something might come up that makes one of the elements of their plan not doable or safe anymore, and then it’s my job to help creatively problem-solve with them to figure out other options that can still remain true to their vision. It’s a tough job, but super rewarding. I get to make movies with my friends and the people that I love the most. That is pretty special. My favorite moment of any given project is the premiere, when we all get to sit in the theater together and experience what we created with an audience for the first time. It’s absolutely magical. That is the moment when the baby is out in the world.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why.
- Make your own path.
When I was younger, I used to think that everything followed a clear, linear path and that was how you achieved success. I liked the idea of a straightforward ladder that you slowly worked your way up, but as I moved up each rung, I found that the achievement of the next rung wasn’t giving me the meaning or satisfaction that I craved. When I decided to jump off the ladder and forge my own path, I was terrified, but it was the best decision I ever made. It might not be as straightforward, and there might be twists and turns and loopbacks, but forging your own pathway allows you to make your career and life individualized to your interests and passions and what brings you meaning.
2. Put yourself out there.
It can sometimes be hard to identify what steps need to be taken to get you to where you want to go. Don’t be afraid to voice your goals. You never know who might be able to help you.
3. Be willing to take risks.
The name Vanishing Angle comes from a sailing term. When you are sailing, the water causes friction against your boat and can slow you down. In order to go as fast as possible, you can keel your boat out of the water, but there is a limit to how far you can go before capsizing. The perfect “vanishing angle” is when you are keeled just enough to go as fast as possible without tipping over. Highest risk; highest reward.
4. Don’t be afraid to fail.
Failure is not something to be avoided, but rather is a requirement of success. Try things out and experiment. Not everything will work, but that is part of the process.
5. Always be learning.
There is always more to learn. Never think that you know it all. You will stagnate if you do. Ask questions, learn new workflows, embrace new technology. The library is an amazing resource.. Read as much as you can.
When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?
I would say that it’s my collaborators. The joy of filmmaking is that it is so collaborative. It requires the expertise of so many different people in order to achieve something great. And often times, it’s creative ideas from those key collaborators that help combine to elevate the film to something really special.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I think one of the most tragic things in our world is how often we lose the elderly to old age and age-related diseases. Every day 100,000 people die from old age. It’s the biggest killer in the history of the world.So much wisdom is being lost and so much unnecessary grief and loss is happening with elderly people dying too young. I would love for more funds and effort to go towards extending life and healthspan.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)
Alex Garland. Grounded sci-fi is my favorite genre, and he has such a bold, unique approach and style within that genre. I would love to pick his brain, especially since we have a project in development called Immortal in that genre.
How can our readers further follow you online?
My instagram is @nataliemetzger
My twitter is @metzart
My facebook is @natmetz
My website is www.nataliemetz.com
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About the interviewer: Guernslye Honoré, affectionately known as “Gee-Gee”, is an amalgamation of creativity, vision, and endless enthusiasm. She has elegantly twined the worlds of writing, acting, and digital marketing into an inspiring tapestry of achievement. As the creative genius at the heart of Esma Marketing & Publishing, she leads her team to unprecedented heights with her comprehensive understanding of the industry and her innate flair for innovation. Her boundless passion and sense of purpose radiate from every endeavor she undertakes, turning ideas into reality and creating a realm of infinite possibilities. A true dynamo, Gee-Gee’s name has become synonymous with inspirational leadership and the art of creating success.
