Nicole Gomez Fisher – Sleeping with the Fishes

Q) Talk about the evolution of creating your film Sleeping with the Fishes to now it being considered by HBO and participating in festivals.

A) The start of this came from years of being a struggling actress and a standup comic. It was realizing that I was better off in the writing department. I had written a script coming off a very low period in my life and I did not expect the response to be what it was just on the script alone. After going through some dramatic moments, I decided it was time for me to take control and try to raise the money. A lot of producers were interested, but nobody would put the dollars behind the work. It got kind of frustrating so I decided to do a campaign amongst family and friends. Slowly, but surely, I got some investors and it was like a whirlwind. I started in April 2012 and we started shooting in June 2012. It was a labor of love because it wasn’t just money from family and friends, but it was also the story itself (which is loosely based on my family). It was just a little difficult with the writing because I wanted to protect my family on some level, but also be truthful to the audience. Here we are, two years since wrapping on the film, and it has gotten so many outlets of exposure from film festivals to blogs and reviews. It’s an interesting topic because people are categorizing it as a Latino film, yet that is not how I actually viewed. The demographic that is drawn to it too is universal. It’s not just one or the other. Of course, women tend to connect with it more than men because it is about a mother and daughter trying to find your own identity without having to live through others and appease others. Across the board it was a labor of love because I wore about fifteen different hats between writing, directing, producers and acting alongside my actors. Besides working out a deal with HBO, we are working with Amazon and we’re going to know about Redbox and Walmart. I’ve been working as my own boss and it’s been a very sharp learning curve, but a fun one!

Q) What were the challenges you faced balancing all those different hats?

A) Honestly, a lot of it was getting past my fear of the unknown. I’m one of those people who wants to be 100% sure of myself before going into something. This was really impromptu. I’m sick and tired of people saying they’ll help and then no one does. So, I had to take control. Of course, most people will say when it comes to independent, it is the financing. You think of a certain number and you think that the number definitely has a cushion in it for you. Then, you wake up one day and realize you are in debt and have loans to pay off. I think that is the hardest thing and what I found really interesting was the people I reached out to that I felt would be a shoe-in to help me out financially were not. I ended up just getting a bunch of random people who loved the concept and the story. They just wanted to support the arts and they came on board. Wearing all the hats was the hardest thing for me. If I get the opportunity to do another film, as far as directing, I would really prefer to just focus on the directing and not worrying about finances, dealing with SAG and dealing with insurance. There is so much to do that I almost lost sight of what I wanted to do, which was focusing on my actors.

Q) How did the casting for the film come together?

A) The casting director and I used to work together and we hadn’t talked in about five years. It happened to be a leap year and when I reached out to him I told him I was taking a leap of faith hoping he had the time to read the script and maybe jump on board and cast. That happened within forty-eight hours and he jumped on board to cast. The one person that I was dead set on having was Priscilla Lopez and that was because I followed her career and saw her on Broadway many times. I did searches and searches for other Latina women that I thought might fit the bill, but I didn’t want anybody, but her. At the end of the day, she read the script and was the first person on board. When she came on board, I didn’t know which actress I should choose for the lead role and Priscilla suggested Gina [Rodriguez] because she had just come off of Filly Brown and was like the next it-girl out of Sundance in 2012. She came to New York and we met and it was like instant chemistry. She was so vibrant and so eager. She was willing to do anything. She didn’t care about low budget, but she wanted to do work that she was proud of. Ana [Ortiz] was an offer only. She loved the script, but she was just enamored of Priscilla and always wanted to work with her so this was her opportunity. So, of course, having these incredible Latina women was a plus. Having Steven Strait, who I loved in City Island, was a little more difficult because he is with CAA and it was hard to convince them to even take a meeting with me. Steven finally agreed to meet with me and we just had that whole New York connection. That worked out from there!

Q) What were some of your more surreal moments from filming?

A) There were so many! I had never been on this pony ride before. Everything was surreal! I remember on the first day we were filming in my tenant’s apartment and we used that as Gina’s Los Angeles apartment. The shots were ready and we were in frame when my PT said, “You have to say ‘action.'” I was like, “What?” He said, “We can’t start until you say, ‘action.'” I was like, “Oh yeah! That’s right! I’m the director.” There were so many moments that were surreal. Even being in my parents’ house, where we shot for nine days. Having them watch me and having this sense of accomplishment was incredibly surreal. Another moment was when Steven Strait showed up on set. He’s just dreamy and he shows up on set, puts his hands on my shoulders and says, “Have I given you what you wanted?” Of course, I misinterpreted it and almost fainted. He was someone that I had admired from watching “Magic City” and City Island and it was weird that I was now the person in control. Also, the first time we did a rehearsal with Priscilla, Gina and Ana was a big moment for me. I had done staged readings of the scripts before, but it was the first time it felt like it was coming to life. I was hearing the words the way I had envisioned them for years when I was writing the script. Just to be in this moment, it was surreal. Hearing your words coming to life and exactly the way you have played it over and over in  your head – the whole thing has been a fantastic ride. I hope it continues. I hope people enjoy the film, attach themselves and relate to the film and understand that it is just a slice of life more than anything.

Q) What was it about partnering with HBO that made them such a good fit to air the movie?

A) I had met with a couple people there originally before we had started talking about the film itself. I had some ties with some of the people in acquisitions. So, when it came time to it, my sales team and co-rep helped us out with this. They said we should reach out to HBO and that they knew HBO loved Gina. Gina was representing a couple things for them and plus I had done an HBO short for them called Habla Again back in 2004. We gave it to them and at first they were hesitant. Then, we sat down with them and talked about subtitling it or possibly dubbing it. It just sort of grew and I think it had a lot to do not just with the film itself, but the relationship blossomed because everyone wanted to be a part of the next big thing. And I’ll give Gina a lot of credit for that. It was because she was just blossoming into what seems to be the next best thing and they wanted to parlay that. Also, for the Latino division, it was a big deal because it wasn’t your typical stereotypical Latino film. I think that is what Hollywood is trying to expand on, not having stereotypes and having their lead actors just be who they are. They just happen to have Latin blood. The whole connection of branching out into the film world and going out to see other kinds of identities for Latinos on film is what really drove them to pick it up.

Q) Has social media been an asset with the promotion of the film?

A) Yes! I’m trying my best to use it and I have had such much support through college friends and my family in Israel and Puerto Rico. I’m getting it from every end and we literally went from being ranked on Amazon at 71,000 to 30,000 over night. We’re still making our way, but I’m hoping that with the exposure we get from this that it ricochets. And as I said before, I hope the response is positive. It’s a film that Latinos can absolutely relate to, but there are people getting used it to not being the stereotypical Latin film. Some people scream and shout that they want to see it and other people don’t relate to it.

Q) Is there anything else you would like to share about Sleeping with the Fishes or upcoming projects?

A) I have two original pilots that are out now. I’m shooting a music video for a song that is in my film called “Getting Out of My Own Way” and it is by Jennifer Vasquez. I’m shooting another short in the middle of November. My big, big project that I’m so hoping to get off the ground is an action comedy called Good Egg. That one I feel has so much potential to hit a good market. I have to shop it around and hopefully get the funds to direct it. As I said earlier about Sleeping with the Fishes, it is a slice of life and from a different point of view because of the mixed interfaith religion. At the end of the day though, it’s just about a girl who is looking to find herself and it just happens to be in a world that is blended with culture humor. That’s one thing that I really strive for in my scripts, heart and humor. I really want it to be universal, no matter what ethnicity or race it is.