Nicole Holofcener on Following Your Voice, Character-Building, and Making Entertaining Ads

Can brands truly engage and entertain us in the same way as the best film and television? If anyone might know, it would be Nicole Holofcener. 

The celebrated filmmaker is best known for creating compelling characters and stories that are very real, often messy, but always relatable. From Lovely & Amazing to Friends with Money to Enough Said (perhaps her most well-known movie), so many of her films revolve around relationships. Her latest release, You Hurt My Feelings, is about the little white lies we tell our loved ones – which can often lead to mixed results.

A recurring theme across all of her work is finding comedy in awkward, vulnerable, or low-key tragic moments. There’s a universality, for example, to the feeling that your partner might secretly think your upcoming book is somewhat terrible - but is too polite to say it to your face. Nicole’s ability to find those human moments and build stories on top of them is something she applies in the commercial world, too, with entertaining ads for the likes of Yoplait and General Electric. 

To find out more about how to connect with people through storytelling in an attention economy, LBB’s Adam Bennett spoke with Nicole… 

LBB> Nicole, you’ve mentioned in previous interviews that a lot of your work is “semi-autobiographical”. Does that change the way you live your life, at all? Do you ever have a voice in your head saying ‘oh, that would make a good moment in a script’, for example?

Nicole> I can't say that it changes the way I live my life - but yes, I'm constantly saying to myself that certain things would make great scenes. I watch my friends and family and strangers, and all sorts of funny or interesting things pop into my head. 

Some things I can use, and some things I can't - at least not if I want to maintain friendships and good faith.

LBB> You’ve also spoken about how difficult it can be to get movies financed (You Hurt My Feelings being a good example!). Do you think this has gotten worse in recent years - and is there any way in which you could conceivably see it getting better in the future?

Nicole> Despite the fact that I can get movies made, it has become very difficult. But truthfully, it's always been difficult. Maybe a couple of my films were easier, where a studio says yes early on, finances it and distributes it. But that's not always the case. 

Movies are heavily cast-dependent (as always) and because I often like to cast to my own taste and not to who's "hot," I often get smaller budgets.

LBB> From the likes of Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott to James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, you’ve learned from or worked with some of the industry’s biggest names. If you were mentoring a young screenwriter or director, are there any pearls of wisdom that you’d be inclined to pass onto them today?

Nicole> Yes, I've worked with some amazing people. Although I never worked with Martin Scorsese - he was my film teacher for just a semester at Columbia.

As for pearls of wisdom, I would say what most people say: One should follow their own voice. Write about what's important to you, not what you think will sell. Or maybe a combination of both. And don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. If I listened to those people (and there have really only been a couple in my past), I would be a very unhappy person.

LBB> A lot of people have observed how your characters feel real and fleshed out, if not always entirely ‘likeable’. Does that happen on purpose!?

Nicole> I don't do anything on purpose. I write about characters that I find to be complex and interesting and unique, and if some people find them unlikeable that's okay. I like to think that the people who appreciate my movies can see all sides of these characters. People are never one thing.

LBB> In the world of advertising, it’s often said that modernity is shrinking the average person’s attention span, and you need to grip people immediately to have any hope of engaging them. Do you buy that idea - and is it ever something you think about with your own work?

Nicole> Well, I am aware when I'm writing something that it should be interesting early on! Yes, people's patience is diminishing. But when I'm working, I don't think about that. I can't, if I want my work to come from a creative or imaginative place. Later, when people start reading it, I'm open to notes and inevitably rewrite a fair amount. 

Regarding commercial work - it's a very different thing. If I have a minute to convey something, I better do it quickly and boldly.  

LBB> Finally, is it possible for brands to genuinely entertain people - or are they forever doomed to play the role of an interrupter?

Nicole> I absolutely believe ads can entertain people. Especially when they're funny, and reflect our world in a realistic or original way. Ads have made me cry and laugh. And buy stuff, I'm afraid to admit.