PUBLIC VERSION. Actress and now filmmaker Nicki Micheaux (LOWLIFE, THE SHIELD, LINCOLN HEIGHTS) returns to THE MOVIE CRYPT to discuss writing and directing her first feature film SUMMER OF VIOLENCE. From the pros and cons of casting remotely during the pandemic and trying to feel out an actor’s true chemistry through only pre-recorded auditions and zoom calls… to why she feels that every actor should go out and direct something and her choice to not cast herself anywhere in her own film… to the many years that she spent writing and having her work rejected before ever receiving the first feedback that players within the industry were actually into what she was doing… to explaining the exact process that she went through bringing her finished script for SUMMER OF VIOLENCE to life as a fully financed independent film… to why making a movie was “the hardest thing in the world”… to how she turned a time of real life violent culture and trauma that she lived through in Colorado in the 90’s into a backdrop for characters just trying to live their own regular lives… to the perils of shooting a period piece on an indie budget… to how taking screenwriting courses helped her embrace and excel at the rewriting process… Nicki candidly shares a crash course in first time filmmaking in the way that only someone as strong, talented, passionate, and humble as she can.

Dr. Arwen provides “Hollywood Therapy” for an artist who is about to begin reducing the hours spent at their day job and start making filmmaking their primary career, Adam shares a story about how his gut instinct helped him avoid working with an actor who would wind up committing one of the most brutal murders in Hollywood, and Nicki shares some personal news with the guys in the final few moments that leaves them rattled. (It’s a big episode, guys!)