Gone In 60 Seconds
An RTC Hit And Run Interview With Nick Gomez

Sure, we've been known to harass a celebrity by sneaking into the dressing rooms at Fred Segal to get Top 5 lists, but never has a name director been willing to sit down and let us grill them over the monkey-marinated spit.

Nick Gomez is that man. And if you haven't seen his films Laws Of Gravity, New Jersey Drive & Illtown, then there's no point in continuing until you go to the video store and rent all 3.

Now.

Okay, now that you know where the man has been. Take a peek at where he's going with his "comedie de la morte", Drowning Mona and go see it in theatres March 3.

Twice.

RTC: You graduated from Suny-Purchase in 1988. Now, twelve years later, quite a number of your colleagues are also making movies. To what do you attribute the high number of talented people from that school from that time?

GOMEZ: Swamp gas

RTC: You had a great cast for Laws of Gravity. How did you gather this group and did you know that Edie Falco was going to become America's Cable TV sweetheart?

GOMEZ: I wrote the movie for most of the cast, because I knew they were all broke & willing to work for nothing. J. Gandolfini was slated to play Jimmy, but we couldn't give him the jaundiced look that Peter Greene seemed to have naturally.

RTC: Best convenient store beverage - Icee or Slurpee?

GOMEZ: What goes better with Tequila?

RTC: ADVICE FOR YOUNG FILMMAKERS: Who do you have to keep your eye on in Hollywood?

GOMEZ: E! (Entertainment Television)

RTC: Spike Lee produced New Jersey Drive. What's up with that?

GOMEZ: We all make horrible, tragic, life shortening mistakes. Working with Spike was one of them.

RTC: YOUR WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE QUESTION: What does a swing gang do on a movie?

GOMEZ: I believe they have something to do with the horn section.

RTC: Don Was once said about the advent of CDs that they changed the way records were produced. Back in the days of vinyl, producers would put the hit singles as the first song on side 1 and the first side on song 2. Now that DVDs are working on wrestling away viewership from tape rentals, do you see there being any significant changes in the way that film stories are told?

GOMEZ: A thing of the past, coherence, I mean, is, well - who needs it?

RTC: How long do you think it will be before shooting features with digital video becomes mainstream? How long before you would shoot an entire picture on digital video?

GOMEZ: If they call me for Blair Witch III, I'm so there.

RTC: Can you step outside your directorial shoes and just enjoy watching a movie as a fan?

GOMEZ: I don't enjoy anything barefoot.

RTC: What movie would you re-make if you could?

GOMEZ: Let's Scare Jessica to Death.

Check out the Drowning Mona site at www.destinationfilms.com. And don't miss the Top 5 Movie List that Nick Gomez was nice enough to provide for us.