Actor, Writer, Producer, Director Nick McCallum fills Find her with classic noir elements from star movies like LA Confidential. With cinematography from Emmy-winning director of photography Evan Zissimopulos by his side, the filmmaker is in good company.
Filmed in Louisiana and Florida, the story follows an ex-cop (McCallum from… The Stairs, Messiah, 2 Broke Girls), arriving in a small town. He searches for answers to a murdered rancher and his missing daughter. Plot twists follow and it gradually becomes clear that the agent has his own agenda to uncover the truth.
Alongside McCallum, Stelio Savante (Infidel, the chosen one), Anais Lilit (The Walking Dead: Red Machete), Richard Gunn (Clemency, Hemlock Grove), and John James (My son Hunter, Dynasty). The cast also includes G. Andrew Ahrens, Rebecca Lines, Sydney Bullock, Brandon Stacy, Randal Gonzalez and Mary Drew Ahrens.
“You’ll see here the tribute to classic noir films, which I don’t think Hollywood is making enough of anymore,” McCallum said. “I hope people see how it goes,” you know, that’s really… Chinatown right there. Or that is very bad angel heart. Those kind of things. As a movie buff, I always like to see that. I love being taken on a ride and the filmmaker credits films from the past that got them there.”
Understanding the allure of Noir
However you spin it, it’s been a small selection when it comes to noir films for the past ten years. When you discover a film that can offer a great mix of mystery, intrigue, good acting and the gloomy mood of a city and its people, it stands out. That’s what McCallum had in mind to go into Find her.
“When great noir is done right, you almost feel like you’re in a horror movie done right,” he said. “It gives you a world that is a bit removed from your everyday life. And if you have the right anti-heroes, you end up enjoying the bad guy running the place.”
That would be McCallum’s character in the film, Isaiah Slade, the steely ex-cop who searches for answers in a sweltering rural environment.
“Good noir is like an escape,” the filmmaker added. “With noir, people are drawn into the fantasy. But that dark tone feels more real to the world we’re in now. That’s for sure.”
The 18-day shoot took place mainly in Basile, Louisiana – rural and spacious, yet an ideal place for a mystery with its mysterious streams and woodsy landscapes.
All indie filmmakers face challenges, be they financial, cast-related, or beyond. Prior to shooting, McCallum’s line producer had to cancel the day before shooting due to health issues, but the filmmaker persevered.
“I woke up in the morning, got the call sheets ready, put ink in the printer, and it kind of became a missionary thing for me,” McCallum noted. “There’s just too much work to do. And you just kind of go through it.”
However, he had a lot of experience in filmmaking and at one point financed a movie on credit cards – his first feature film came out eight years ago.
“There was a lot to take care of, especially if you also write the script,” he said. “I stuck to the atmosphere of the story and kept the sound in my head, and the score. I hope the public feels that. I just like noir in general. Chinatown was a unique movie. I can always have it in the background. I loved Double compensation. I was inspired by those classics. I am drawn to those worlds. I guess you could call them pretty moody worlds.
Is Find Her part of a franchise?
What is interesting to note about McCallum and? Find heris that he originally set his sights on several projects with similar themes.
“I actually have five different stories that fall under the Find her title,” he said, noting how he launched Find Her Films. “This movie was the second I came up with. They all have a version of searching: for a missing woman, a sister, a girlfriend. That kind of tone. With this film I had a sketch for it. Then I met my partner, Garrett Andrew Aarons, who plays Garrett Warner in the film, and we worked together.”
The small-town friendliness was also evident during the shoot. McCallum spoke to the local police, who gave him a point woman he could text whenever he needed scenes that required police cars.
“It wasn’t like shooting in Los Angeles, was it?” he said. “It was unbelievable that the police helped you. That scene in the trailer where the police cars fly by to commit a murder case – it was all thanks to the local police. In a place like Los Angeles, that would have been a big budget, when … we just had these great people with that great small-town mentality – helping each other out.’
McCallum grew up in Pleasanton, Texas, a small town itself. He said the intimate atmosphere influenced his work.
“It was refreshing to shoot the film and know that everyone in town was happy that we were making a film there,” he admitted. “I think that camaraderie really came across. It’s funny when you make a movie with a darker tone, but you’re still able to get the movie gods together and get everyone around you in the spirit.”
He said his biggest hope is that the public will walk away intrigued and feel like they are going along for an unforgettable ride.
“I tried to make it along the lines of classic detective shows,” McCallum noted. “I’ve taken a lot of elements from BBC shows. The goal was to introduce the mystery and allow people to follow that mystery and an interesting anti-hero.”
Find her will be available October 1 on most major streaming and cable platforms in the US.