Meet Frankie Campisano | Writer, Comedian & Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Frankie Campisano and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Frankie, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I have pursued a creative career because there’s nothing I’m more passionate about than creating art with likeminded collaborators. Partnering with people whose visions I admire or whose senses of humor resonate with my own is a great framework for making something bigger, bolder, and funnier than we could have created on our own.

I have always been a natural storyteller and entertainer, and my heart has always belonged to comedy. Actions speak louder than words, and after ten years of paying my dues in the studio system, I was eager to prove that I could walk the walk, not just talk the talk. So I went all-in as the lead creative + face of my creative collective, Nice Hog! Productions.

Nice Hog! is a group in the mold of collectives like Odd Future, or The Lonely Island, or Broken Lizard, or Radio Silence. We believe the rising tide lifts all ships and we want to foster a community where creatives can come together to take big swings towards the silly, surreal, or scary.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We started Nice Hog! Productions as students way back in 2014, and we’ve spent the past decade working across the entertainment industry, leveling up our skills and honing our craft. In taking Nice Hog! to the next level, we’ve developed a ‘creative pyramid’ that helps us produce high quality work and continue growing our brand.

Our ultimate goal is to produce and sell feature film, television and streaming projects, and to that end we have a robust development slate of polished, award-winning scripts to shop to the right homes. These are ambitious projects that we could not do justice to without significant support and resources to bring to life.

We have a growing line-up of high quality short films aimed at the film festival circuit. SECRET MENU BEAUTY PAGEANT (2023) and THE ADVENTURES OF GRIP GAFFER (2022) are currently playing in festivals worldwide, and we have GOOD BOY (2023), MILK BOY (2023), COOKIE X-CHANGE (2024) and DEATH’S DICE (2024) in various stages of post-production. These short films are projects that take significant investment in time, budget, craft and resources, but demonstrate what we’re capable of on our own.

And at the bottom of our creative pyramid is the most ephemeral “content” – video game streams, comedy sketches, virtual events, stand-up shows, and more. These are smaller scale projects with minimal budget / production, designed to grow our audience and get folks interested in the more ambitious projects we have in the pipeline.

There’s a saying that if you’re good enough, long enough, the industry will pay attention. As we level up with each new Nice Hog! project, we look forward to expanding our networks and collaborating with other up-and-coming creatives.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
“Can we not do this question?” -Amir, Seven Years Old, Nathan For You – Season One, Episode One

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shout out my closest friend and collaborator, STEVE AUTORE. As one of the co-founders of Nice Hog!, Steve is a writer, comedian and filmmaker whom I’ve had the privilege of working with for over ten years now. In that time, I have seen Steve grow and develop as a writer, a performer, a director and a leader. His personal journey has been deeply inspiring and a powerful motivator to seize the day. Over the years, we have refined our process of creative collaboration, and I’m confident that our most recent project, the dark comedy holiday short film COOKIE X-CHANGE, is a delicious sampling of what we can create together. Steve directed COOKIE X-CHANGE from a script we co-wrote together, and I can’t wait to share the finished film.

I’d also like to shout out EVAN BURDETT. Evan is a writer, director, animator and editor who has been working with Nice Hog! since our earliest days. He’s currently championing his latest short film, THE ADVENTURES OF GRIP GAFFER, which is rounding out its inaugural festival run. As one of the Executive Producers on GRIP GAFFER, I couldn’t be more proud of the final product. GRIP is a slickly produced, polished high concept comedy sample that will delight film buffs and comic book fans alike.

Website: https://nice-hog.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/nicehogstagram

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/frankiecampisano

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicehogtweets

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@nicehog

Other: tiktok.com/@nice.hog

The Nice Hog! Newsletter – nicehog.substack.com

Image Credits
Images Copyright Nice Hog! Productions 2024