Industry professional interviews - Nick Taussig.

My second interview blog is with Nick Taussig – now working at Embankment films.

Nick Taussig is the author of four novels: Love and Mayhem, Don Don, Gorilla Guerrilla and The Distinguished Assassin. He has also written for a number of publications including The Guardian, The Independent and The Huffington Post.

He is also a film producer. His recent credits include producer of the BAFTA-winning Killing Escobar (dir. David Whitney), Stardust (dir. Gabriel Range), Audrey (dir. Helena Coan), the double BAFTA-nominated McQueen (dir. Ian Bonhote & Peter Ettedgui), Churchill (dir. Jonathan Teplitzky), and Lek and the Dogs (dir. Andrew Kotting).

Nick recently directed, with Riccardo Servini, A Space in Time, a feature documentary response to the diagnosis of his two sons, Theo and Oskar, with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal muscle wasting disease. Supported by the BFI, it was released theatrically by Bohemia Media, and Grierson nominated for Best Single Documentary. His latest documentary in production is Violent Men, a study of male violence.

Before his career in book and film, Nick studied literature and philosophy at Durham University, where he obtained a First, then went on to acquire a Master’s in Russian literature from the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies.

He is also co-founder of Mtaala Foundation, an education partnership and sponsorship programme to create and support a school for vulnerable children and at-risk youth in Uganda; and a trustee of Harrison's Fund, which fights Duchenne muscular dystrophy, getting as much money as possible into the hands of the world's best researchers, who are working to find a cure for this fatal genetic disease.

Q: What’s your background and why did you get involved with film?

A: After a master’s degree in Russian literature, it was academia or something in the creative industries, and I loved movies

Q: What is your least favourite part about being a producer?

A: Managing everything

Q: What makes a successful producer?

A: Someone committed to telling good stories, and stories they care about

Q: What sources of film funding do you seek for scripted and unscripted?

A: All… be it pre-sales, equity or soft funding, whatever’s out there and will enable the film to get made

Q: If a British feature film production company wants to be very successful, is hooking up with American production companies essential/inevitable?

A: No, though it helps to have a US studio or streamer for distribution

Q: What makes a film project interesting and worth investing time and money in?

A: Good people on it, and a project with something new and different to say

Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a film producer?

A: Do it for the right reasons

Q: Is friction between directors and producers a problem for some productions?

A: Oh yes, there will always be a tension between producer and director, the inevitable push and pull of commerce vs creativity

Q: Can hiring stars to try to create an ROI be a problem because they sometimes have too much influence, and tend to use it?

A: Definitely

Q: Do you think HMRC does enough to support the film industry and indeed, should the government do anything to support scripted and unscripted films?

A: The tax credit is vital, and unsure how much more they could contribute

Q: Which genre of film offers the best chance of a return on an investment in film?

A: Still horror, I suspect

Q: Why do you think some films make a profit while others fail to do so?

A: Serendipity

Q: Is it getting harder to makes feature or documentary film and if so, why?

A: Studios and streamers consolidating, after realising there’s too much content out there

Q: How important are attachments to the investability of a film script?

A: Crucial

Q: Does a distribution deal help films to find investment and get green lit?

A: Yes, as provides market validation

Q: Can you see a day soon when cinemas no longer exist, and all productions are intended for streaming?

A: No, will always be a place for cinema and the shared experience

Q: Is the inconsistent quality of film scripts a problem for the profitability of feature films?

A: Yes and no, as sometimes IP and cast are all that matters – look at Marvel fare

Q: Do you love films, and do you watch a lot of them?

A: Yes

Thank you so much for your time, Nick!