A no-strings-attached, one night hook-up turns into a morning after disaster for twentysomething New Yorkers Megan (Analeigh Tipton) and Alec (Miles Teller). When a paralyzing blizzard hits the city, trapping them in Alec’s cramped Brooklyn apartment, they are forced to get to know each other far beyond the confines of a typical one-night stand. Marking the directorial debut of Max Nichols, Two Night Stand is a romantic comedy about finding love in the digital age. The film, written by Mark Hammer, also features Jessica Szohr and Scott Mescudi. Yes, Max Nichols is the son of the legendary Mike Nichols, EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner and director of The Graduate among many other classic films. I spoke to Max about his first feature.
Danny Miller: My daughter just started at NYU. I called her and told her she had to see this film. Then I called her back and told her she was not allowed to see it under any circumstances!
Max Nichols: (Laughs.) It’s funny, I have three-year-old daughters and a couple of people have asked me, “So, at what age do you think it would be good for your girls to see the movie?” And I was like, “Well, maybe right after they graduate from college?”
I should say that despite all my fears of my daughter getting involved in something like this, the story literally happened to me! Long before the Internet was around, I met a woman who came to my house and was trapped there for three days because of a massive snowstorm in Chicago. We stayed together around three months and we’re still good friends today!
That’s so funny, I’m sure this kind of thing has happened way more than we realize, even in those pre-Internet days! I hope people reach out to me with these stories, they’re fascinating to hear. I think our little foibles of courtship are universal throughout the generations even if some of the window dressing has changed — the awkwardness and excitement of those first encounters, that’s just timeless!
I thought the actors did a great job playing very flawed people who are still likable.
Interesting that you put it that way. My favorite people in life and certainly the most interesting ones I know often could be generously described as flawed! I love that Megan and Alec are characters who carry a little bit of the dust and bruises that life tends to leaves on you, it’s a big part of what makes them real to me. The most challenging thing about casting this film was that I felt the audience needed to come away believing that Alec had never met a girl like this before and that he knew he couldn’t let her walk out of his door forever. That sets a pretty high standard! But when I first met Analeigh, the first thought I had was, “Wow, I’ve never met someone like this before!” Everything about her just felt fresh and unique. And then the first time we saw Analeigh and Miles together, it was just obvious that they were perfectly matched. But even then, I wasn’t prepared for the sparks and the chemistry and the fireworks we saw when we actually got to the set.
I’ve now seen Miles Teller in a bunch of films and I’m impressed by his range and appeal.
It’s always exciting to see a legitimately talented young actor who has done a lot of hard work getting this kind of recognition. To me one of the most exciting things about working with Miles, and I mean this in a very positive way, is that he almost seems like a throwback to a previous generation of movie stars — guys who are simultaneously an “everyman” but also every bit the leading man. I’m thinking of people like Tom Hanks and Bill Murray. You don’t find a lot of people who fit that bill these days.
Being trapped in someone’s apartment can obviously be very claustrophobic for the participants. Did you ever worry that audiences would feel the same way?
I probably should have been more worried about that than I was. I’m a really big fan of super-contained stories. Whenever I hear that something is set in one location, I’m immediately intrigued. It probably goes back to The Breakfast Club being one of my favorite films, especially since it arrived on the scene at a very formative time for me. So I wasn’t too concerned about it in this film. Of course I realized that each scene had to have its own flavor and vibe and that the rhythm had to be defined by something other than movement in time and place. But that seemed fun and exciting to figure out.
Forgive me for bringing up your father, but I have to since he directed what I would definitely call one of the greatest films ever made! I’ve seen people mention The Graduate in articles about your movie. Does that ever feel like a burden to you?
No, not really. I’m obviously a tremendous fan of his work in addition to being a tremendous fan of him as a dad! So I certainly can’t complain if mentions of The Graduate or any of the great films he directed occupy the same column as a mention of my film — to me that’s a very privileged place to be! I think possibly if I’d made my first feature when I was much younger, it might’ve felt a little bit more like a cross to bear, but my path to being a feature director has been a little bit roundabout. I worked in music for a long time and then I became a music video director for many years. When I finally decided to move into making a feature, I felt comfortable and confident enough to carve my own path.
Some kids can’t run away fast enough from their “family business.” In your case, watching your dad, did you always assume you’d end up doing that?
Not at all. I spent a lot of time as an A&R guy for record companies. That’s something I wanted to do from a very young age. As soon as I found out that there was a job where someone will pay you to hang out in nightclubs and listen to bands, I thought, “that’s for me!” Who wouldn’t want to live the rock-and-roll life without having to worry about that pesky requirement of actually being a talented musician? I thought I would do that forever but then life led me down some different paths. And now that I’ve ended up here I feel that this is what I was meant to be doing.
I know you had one pretty big acting gig. How did you end up in the great Milos Forman movie Ragtime?
I wish there was a better story behind it! Milos Forman was a family friend and he needed some young kids for this one scene in the film so he asked my folks. That’s how my sister Jenny and I ended up in the movie! But even at that age I thought it was a very cool experience.
And how many other people your age get to say they were in a movie with Jimmy Cagney?
Right, that’s exactly what I always tell people. “Well, you know, I acted with James Cagney in my first film and nothing else really compared after that!” So I wrapped up my acting career at the age of eight!