Nicholaus James has been methodical in building up to his film company. First, he had Romantic Reels, a videography company that films weddings. Then he started Yellobrick Studios. Yes, it’s homage to his Kansas home and the ability to dream and vision in creative ways for corporate clients. Now, he has Puma Pictures. This burgeoning film company under James’ watch has started a full length movie. However, he didn’t begin with a full length feature in mind.
“I had the concept for a short film, but then it grew some and wasn’t quite long enough for a feature,” James says. In the process to make a film, he decided on a crowdfunding concept and put up the idea on Indie Gogo. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to just ask for funds. “I created three shorts to demonstrate what I could do and to tease the movie. While the crowdfunding didn’t bring about as much money as I wanted, it was a great way to share what I can do and what the fine cast and crew can do too.”
Found Wandering Lost is a cinematic drama that asks that follows the lives of two different men: Ben and Trent. Set in the beautiful Flint Hills of Kansas, the audience follows the paths of Ben and Trent through their discovery of each other and themselves. Ben is described as a wandering nomad who relies on routine and repetition to find meaning and purpose in life. Trent, on the contrary, takes a more aggressive approach to shaping his life by taking risks that carry either huge rewards or costly consequences. Along the way, other characters enter the journey and the audience gets to decide who is bad and good and what outcomes occur from these decisions.
James understands how decisions can impact lives. Of course, he was 14 years old when he moved from California to the metropolitan area so that decision to move was a little outside of his realm. However, three years before, at the age of 11, James knew he had to be involved in film. “I first thought about being a storyteller/writer, then I discovered HBO First Looks and I was absolutely mesmerized by the lights, monitors, actors and more. In seeing a movie, I would look at the camera and that filter into a magical world and knew I wanted to be part of that. I think it was with James Cameron’s Terminator 2 and the spectacle that hooked me.”
Then his step-father made the decision to show a young James films by noteworthy filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. “I was probably 12 or 13 when I saw these films that were so much more. After all, cinema is the culmination of all the arts. I looked at costumes, sets, the action in the background … I listened to well-crafted dialogue.”
Initially James was interested in theater, but he found the skills he needed on his own. “The three companies I have all require that I have a camera to my eye and I am telling a story.” The story continues with Puma Pictures, a name based on the decision to honor his biological father, Guy Puma. “He got to read the script to Found Wandering Lost before he passed away. That’s important to me.”
As a California native, James spent time in the ocean, climbing mountains or visiting deserts. When he took his first trip through the Flint Hills, he couldn’t believe his eyes that he was still in Kansas. “It was a canvas similar to Sir David Lean’s view of the desert in Lawrence of Arabia. I knew that I had to make my first film in the Flint Hills.”
So the next decision came to make a “road film.” “In many ways, the idea for the film came from Parenthood, the 1989 film, where the grandmother tells Steve Martin and Mary Steenburgen’s characters about the peaks and valleys on the rollercoaster. I wanted to look at the two types of lives … those that like the rollercoaster and those that like the merry-go-round.”
The process to make this film has been organic, James says. “So the path was first to make a short film and that conversation started in 2010. By 2012, I met actor and director Chris Bylsma and knew he had to play Trent. He then acted as a sort of casting director and found Jeffrey Staab to be Ben.” Soon after that, the rest of the cast materialized with Brian Paulette, Davis DeRock, Christie Noel Courville and Jennifer Seward-DeRock. “The crowdfunding effort was humbling as we all put our blood, sweat and soul into the experience. I put my skills and those of the cast and crew on display as we filmed those three scenes. These vignettes, I hoped would answer the reason to support my efforts. I didn’t want to have supporters and audiences make a leap of faith. I wanted to show the talent in town.”
While the crowdfunding efforts didn’t materialize the support James wanted, the desire to make the film is still strong. So in many ways, James is back in a sort of pre-production mode and promises the three vignettes will be added to the film, thus contributing to the organic process. Due to conflicts in schedules, filming won’t move forward until next spring, probably during the spring burning season in the Flint Hills. “It’s another organic step,” he says. “I suspect I will have the film edited and ready for the 2015 fall festival season.”
As for the future, James’ biggest dream is to see Found Wandering Lost play at South by Southwest (SXSW), the annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival held in Austin. He also plans to enter the film in several film festivals around the area. “I know the film will be a big success when I get the filmmaking community to give me a nod of approval to this project.”
His personal goal is to have only the one plate spinning with the film division Puma Pictures. “That’s the 10-year plan. Right now, I know I am going back to commercial work and shorts. There’s a second feature bubbling inside, plus I enjoy the collaborative spirit around here. I want to make myself available to other filmmakers. Then of course, as my skills grow, I want to be one of those filmmakers known for keeping my roots. I see filmmakers who honor their home town, why not celebrate our city? It is up to us as filmmakers.”
James believes he has entered the Kansas City film community at the right time. “With the Film Commission reopening and the KC Film Connect group meeting, it just seems like all these groups are on track to help propel our art form on to that national stage. With all the excitement in the arts here, it’s pretty fertile ground.”
