Piper Meets a Psychopath Interview

On a cold, brisk evening this January, Hyperreal interviewer Justin Norris virtually chatted with Nicole Elliott, the co-director, star, and writer of Piper Meets a Psychopath. An actor since she was four, Nicole has spent time in Los Angeles getting roles on TV shows like The Affair, Adam Ruins Everything, and Switched at Birth, to name a few. 

Currently residing in Texas, Nicole sat down to get Hyperreal and talk about her plunge into screenwriting, the pitfalls of movies set in cars, and—perhaps most importantly—her stance on In-N-Out versus Whataburger. 

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Hyperreal Film Club (HFC): First things first, I want to say I enjoyed the script for Piper Meets a Psychopath—it's a very funny, fun idea! What was your inspiration? 

Nicole Elliott [NE]: A lot of it was personal tidbits from my own life. I lived in LA for almost 10 years, auditioning out there and doing that thing, and along the way, I was a pizza delivery girl for an incredible pizza place - Pizza Pie Eatery in Glendale – and that job had a really interesting dynamic. 

During the pandemic, I really wanted to make something that was my own perspective on the weird world that sometimes you can find yourself in whenever you're out in LA or in any position where you're trying to be very accommodating, and you're trying to have good energy and be positive and just go with the flow and say “yes.” Sometimes that can get you into weird situations.

HFC: What inspired the look of Piper?

NE: What I was trying to think with her look is basically, what would someone who was living out a 90s childhood fantasy look like? I think that Piper's super bubbly personality is all an act, and it's all kind of a coping mechanism. So I think for her, whenever she thinks of getting dressed up or being fancy – because she's kind of in this a broken spot in her life – I think she regresses to childhood. So off that, I was thinking a lot about the 90s and pink and butterflies and fluffy things and things that a 12-year-old in 1998 would want to spend $300 on if they could buy an outfit.

HFC: You point out the 90s inspiration, but some of the other characters were giving off a different era. Danny, the henchman, looked like a dude from the 80s. Was that intentional to create this film that’s “out of time” or “timeless?”

NE: Yeah! A lot of [the character design] has some backstory that is hinted on, but with a short, you just don’t have the time to explore everything. 

A lot of people in LA have these things that they're pursuing, and then they end up in weird situations. So, Danny was a physician, and he was pursuing music and so he's got this “80s rocker” look because to him, when he thinks about his childhood, he's thinking about rock stars in the 80s! That’s his idea of cool or whatever. 

Like Piper, he's in a similar spot where they're regressing because their childhood dreams and their hopes have been met with such brutal truth of reality that it's kind of broken the core of their being.

The cast and crew of Piper Meets a Psychopath.

HFC: What did your writing process look like?

NE: I have never written anything before so I had no idea how to go about it. But I've read a million scripts! So I was like, “Okay, I at least know the format,” and then I was just kind of playing each character and saying everything out loud. I would think of what would sound natural. 

That's how I wrote a lot of the dialogue – I started with plot points, like “Okay, this is gonna happen, and then this, and then this scene,” and from there, since the scenes were short, I just fleshed them out and tried to keep it as concise and straight to the point as possible. I think we ended up with about 10 pages. It was very intimidating to me, like, “How am I going to tell this full story in 10 pages?” But somehow it got there! [Laughs].

HFC: How long did it take to make this short?

NE: I started thinking about the idea around the start of the pandemic. January of 2023 is when I was like, “Okay, I want to be on set! I want to be in this energy again even if I have to just produce a film myself!” I just had an immediate need to be on set. 

That's when I really started talking to AJ (AJ Martinson lll, co-director and producer) about when we could get started. We shot it in August of 2023. We shot it over three days, and then edited on the fourth day and then it was completely done, which is wild! [Laughs]. AJ works like an absolute machine and he literally edited the entire thing in one swoop. So yeah, I guess it was about a year of actual production!

HFC: Looking at the credits, you wore three hats for this film: actress, writer, and co-director. Touching on those three, what was your favorite one to one to work in?

NE: The writing role is the one that surprised me the most just because I had all these inside jokes with myself. and seeing other people get them and be like, “Oh, wow!” – especially with the other actors – it was like, not only do they get the joke, they are making the jokes so much funnier! That was really, really cool to me. Seeing moments of improv, or moments where they really found it, I really enjoyed that. 

HFC: You mentioned this was your first time writing a script. Were there any surprises when it came to actually sitting down and writing?

NE: A big realization was that we just don't have time for everything! I did all these backstories, and I made all these plot points but it was like, “Sorry, we just don't have time.” 

But I feel like a lot of those things that we didn't quite get to elaborate on were still kind of there. These little things added an underlayer of like, “Okay, there is a little bit more going on,” so I don't think it was completely for nothing. But it was surprising learning that the backstory is not always the most important part. Sometimes you have to further the story.

HFC: What was it like writing the scripts, while also having that experience as an actress? Do you think that helps you color the process more with this knowledge already in hand?

NE: I definitely think it helped a lot just knowing that I didn't need to overexplain, because I trusted that the actors would be able to get that. Sometimes I'll read scripts and it's helpful to have a lot of thoughts and inflection written in, but with this one, I knew from the beginning that I really wanted to let them do their own thing with it. 

Actors are smart, and they're intuitive. There were a lot of lines that I wanted to be read a certain way, and that I could have written to be a certain way, but watching the actors find it on their own was more fun and interesting. I think it came from a more authentic place.

HFC: In general, what was your favorite scene to write? 

NE: Writing the very last scene was the most fun because when I figured out how it could all come together, that was really exciting! I also think the scenes with Danny – especially his monologue – just seeing him bring that to life on the day was so fun and one of the best filming experiences ever. That's the one where it was literally just sitting back and being like, “You know, do your thing, man,” which is really cool. 

HFC: What were some lessons you learned from this movie as an actor, as a director, and as a writer?

NE: As a writer, a big lesson was: nothing in a car! When I was thinking of the writing, I was really thinking about what locations we would be able to get. And I thought, “Oh, the inside of a car, that's so easy!” But that's a lot more complicated than that sounds! Like being able to set the camera up in there, and then sound and all of that. 

As an actor, it was an exercise being present and playing off of the other actors and trusting my prep work and trusting my backstory. 

As far as production, one of the hurdles that we faced in this was that we had a hurricane in LA, which has never happened before. On our last day of filming, we almost had to cancel the entire shoot. A lot of people were like, “It's gonna end the world! It's gonna be the worst storm ever,” and we just really didn't know what to do. What I learned in that moment is that some things are just out of your control. You can plan and you can prepare and you can have everything all set up and then a hurricane can hit LA for the first time in 50 years, and you might have to move your shoot. So yeah, I think that was a huge lesson. Sometimes if it's meant to be, it'll happen! [Chuckles].

HFC: What inspired you to try your hand at writing? 

NE: I've always written for myself for my own personal release. It was always something I never thought I was good enough at to do anything with. And then, years and years of reading the scripts that are for shows that were pretty up there and had a lot of time and money invested, sometimes these scripts were very bad! [Laughs]. From that it was like, if they can do it, why can't I? 

It took me a really long time to feel like I had anything to really say. I just didn't have the confidence. But it got to a point of like, there's a lot of people out here that are trying and making art and doing their thing and it doesn't connect with me, and you know what, maybe if I put myself out there, I can find people to connect with my stuff? But I realized that the trying aspect of it is doable. It's not impossible. It's not something that should be frowned upon, like, “Oh, you're not a seasoned writer, you can't write a movie like!” Well, who says? [Laughs].

HFC: What one piece of advice would you have for aspiring writers, aspiring actors, and aspiring filmmakers?

NE: I was just thinking about this the other day, because I was talking to an actress that's like 22 or 23, and I wish so badly if there was one thing that I knew at that time, it was to make stuff with your friends and make things on your own. You don't have to sit around and wait for somebody to bring you the opportunities. 

It can be so paralyzing to only audition or be in the “talking phase” of film. Getting to be on set is a whole different thing, and I think the more time that you spend on set, the happier and more fulfilled you'll feel as a creative. I think the easiest way to get from point A to point B is to turn to your circle and who's around you and build out from there. I think that would apply to any filmmaker, actor, writer, gaffer, or costumer. Whatever you want to do on film, look to your local scene, they have so much to offer! [Laughs].

HFC: Now that you’re back in Texas I wanted to get your take: Are you Team In N Out or Team Whataburger?

NE: Whataburger, 100%. That’s not even a question! [Laughs].

HFC: What’s your go-to order there?

NE: Number 13. Chicken strips meal with a sweet tea. My parents actually used to mail me the spicy ketchup when I was living in California because I was addicted!

HFC: Wrapping down here, what's next for Nicole Elliott? Whether that’s in terms of acting, writing, or filmmaking, any projects that you have in the pipeline you can talk about? 

NE: I just worked on a short film called Jeff, which is how I met a lot of the people associated with Hyperreal, so that led to me learning more about the club itself.  So yeah, I've got Jeff coming out. I just got casted for another short film today, so I'm going to be doing some more Austin shorts and try to stay connected to the people here and hopefully work on my own stuff. With that, I’m just waiting for something to pull me in!