Jun 18, 2021 57 min read Podcast

012 - Kim Nieve

Kim Nieve Larrichio is an actress who currently resides in Albuquerque, NM. Roles include: Silvio's Wife [Sicario], AMC's In Plain Sight and ABC's, Killer Women. Kim has also shined in theatre and Lead role in "Living out Loud" and Luis Alfaro's play, Electricidad.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2484906/

Watch the full video interview at:
https://vimeo.com/509079535
https://youtu.be/_bFHElG2dKY

Transcript

Kim Nieve:0:18

Thank you for having me, I'm really excited. So I wear many different hats. And I hope to continue to do so. I've always felt creativity, whether it's makeup or fashion, acting, ever since I was in high school. So that is something that I've always, along with my political justice, I'm always very political, but I've always been very creative. So I like kind of, if I can mesh the two, somehow, that would be great. And that's what I'm hoping to do with upcoming projects as well.

Alex Velasquez:1:00

Awesome. Yeah, there's never been a better time to kind of pick where you want to go in life, pick a creative outlet for it. And kind of just create, I think that that's the best way to get your message out or get your whatever it is that you want to express. I mean, creating something that people can watch or see or, you know, consume or, or just reflect on is, is pretty cool.

Kim Nieve:1:26

reflection is huge, especially as an actor, reflecting on personal experiences. That is kind of that's a different journey. And that those are different ways to really hone in, in your craft as well.

Alex Velasquez:1:46

Yeah, so let's give like a short a short list of of the films that you've been in and acted in. And if you just or the highlights, just say, you know, a couple that people might recognize and

Kim Nieve:2:01

Okay. Um, yeah, I was thinking about this earlier. How did this all start ever since I was in college, I was, or even right after post high school, I was really obsessed with this director, Pedro Almodvar, who is a Spanish director. And he's refused to come to the United States. He does not want to live in LA, he abhors Hollywood, all of that. And his movies have always inspired me not only as an actor, but as a designer. He's very particular of the clothes, makeup, the characters, all of that. So I was always really engaged. And I thought I would love to be in one of his movies. So I would say in the late 90s, I ran into an old classmate. I was running down by the bosque down by Rio Grande, and Candelaria area. And I saw this woman, Liz Marshall, and Liz and I go back to freshman year in high school at Cibola High School on the West Side of Albuquerque. And she's like, 'Wow, you look great. Let's make you a movie star'. And I'm starting this agency and... So I thought, you know, why not? And I'll just start auditioning. And I started out with Applause Talent Agency. I've always felt really comfortable in front of the camera. This is different. This kind of being in front of a microphone is a lot different in front of the camera.

Alex Velasquez:3:40

How so? Because I feel like the the big leagues on a movie set...that's gonna be nerve racking just because there's so many more people involved.

Kim Nieve:3:47

I love it

mixed dialogue:3:49

easy, actually, more nerve? Really?

Kim Nieve:3:51

Yes, yes. I've been on another show a podcast. Well, I was like, many, many years ago, not as formal as this. And I said, this is completely different than being on set. On set for example, like on something like Sicario, you're just as an actor, you just block everything out and you're just so into your character. And so that's, I don't know, that's just my comfort zone. I feel better that way.

Alex Velasquez:4:18

That's interesting.

Kim Nieve:4:19

But with the microphone, you're like, Well, I have to make sure I deliver and like say everything. Like try to describe exactly what was going on.

Alex Velasquez:4:26

Right. Well, I guess it's, um, it does feel a little bit more like you're on a podium like yes, supposed to say the right thing and deliver it correctly. Right? It's, I mean, yeah, I'm, this is how I started and I just kind of, I, my style was like, let's just shoot the shit and it's not really super formal. So I kind of approached it from that. It's never really made me that nervous. But yeah, if it's like a photoshoot or something professional, like then I started getting nervous.

Kim Nieve:4:55

It's interesting how people yeah, they how they cope with different environments. But so then anyways, I just started, I definitely paid my dues and started doing a lot of extra work. A lot of independent films, and I have to say I feel that working with the College of Santa Fe, independent films, friends working on projects, I was able to take the time to really get into that character, whether whatever it may be, and really process all those different emotions. Because once you're on a set like Sicario, it's like, okay, you have a certain amount of time, and you have to nail it within this timeframe, right? working independently, you have a lot more freedom. So that's what I liked about it, too. So then I started, extra, and then featured extra, so featured extra, you get a lot more screen time. No lines,

Alex Velasquez:5:55

right..I guess just as a as a pause, like for people that don't know how the movie industry works. And if you want to be an actor, or however involved, it's very tedious, it's very difficult, right? And you either get lucky or you kind of like you said, pay your dues, but it's from my understanding, it's sort of you're off screen, you're in screen a little bit. And then as soon as you get a line, you have to have a SAG card is that a SAG card?

Kim Nieve:6:21

Yeah, so a little bit about the process just in a general way, when you're an extra. And so there's different types of casting. Also, there's extra castings, where you're there 12 to 14 hours a day, and there's no lines and you're background. And so when they say background, that's, you know, they'll instruct you and tell you what to do. And then featured extra, you're more camera time working with maybe the lead or principal actors. And so you really, it's constant auditioning, the more auditions, you go on. It's practice. It is - it can be luck. And I've had, I've seen women and men in the industry, some women where the casting couch does exist... And you can get a part like that, unfortunately. So I like to say that I've worked really hard. And that's an easy avenue to go down. But I just had too much integrity for the craft to do something like that. And so when you get a call back, and they say you nailed the part. It was it was exciting. It's always exciting.

Alex Velasquez:7:43

Cool. That's, I mean, that's so important too, like... knowing that you did it on plain terms on your own terms. Yeah, I mean, the dark side of your life, let's just say the Dark Side of Life is always there. Yeah. But it sounds like you know, you did it. You're doing it the right way. That's can be a grind, but it's you know

Kim Nieve:8:03

I even have somebody in my life, a family member who we've kind of reconnected again. But he so I was born in New Jersey, but raised in Colombia, South America. My mom is from Armenia, Colombia. My dad is Italian from New Jersey. And so I was raised binational bicultural. So I have a cousin who he's from New Jersey, and he ended up he is a big time executive producer in Hollywood. He started out working for T-Mobile in Jersey in the early 90s and met Kevin Spacey. And Kevin Spacey said, will you go to England with me and just be like my gopher boy kind of thing. And so pick up laundry, get coffee, all of that. Well, then they ended up creating. I forgot the name of the production company where they would have up and coming scripts, screenwriters, actors submit their work, trying to do it as as at a grassroots level. And so actually, right after my first divorce, I ended up going to LA and I said, Okay, well, this is my time now. And so I said, Dana, so I'm going to be going out to LA should I bring my headshot and, and he, he's like Kim, I don't believe in nepotism. So I could have easily I mean, he could have been an avenue where I could have had that forefront right there in Los Angeles, but it was pretty hardcore. So I really did really did this on my own. So just to get back to your question to about the starting out with independent films, and then I would say and that was something that we were talking about too, in the timeframe of 2007 two 2012 I feel like the New Mexico film industry was really, really booming and I was going on auditions, like, auditions twice a week. And then that's when I got the part on In plain Sight. Inhale.

Alex Velasquez:10:15

I'll put your IMDB page in the description. Yeah, people can follow the breadcrumbs. But it's. But yeah, that's awesome. That's Yeah, sounds like that's kind of when you know, oh, there's something here, I can follow this. And then you just make enough contacts. And I feel like at that point, it's inevitable, you keep putting in the work, right?

Kim Nieve:10:33

And also, at that time, that's when this whole I mean, Latinos have always been around, of course, but this whole Latinx Latino explosion in the film industry, and so that's when I had friends who are in LA, and they're like Latina, like Sofia Vergara, when she started going out there, you know, Jennifer Lopez, everybody in the early like, late 90s 2000, early 2000, that was happening. And so then I started auditioning for bilingual parts. And so there's not a lot of Spanish speaking bilingual actors here [Albuquerque, but] in LA, of course. So that's, you know, the originality of staying here and trying to have a successful acting career here.

Alex Velasquez:11:18

Is it? So I remember, like the tax incentives back, like you said that period 2007 to 2012. I mean, there's still incentives. But I think those incentives, what kind of got it started? Was it because New Mexico, I guess, didn't really have a film industry before that. Was it like a good spot to be in still is because it's sort of small league compared to like LA, New York, like the bigger areas or ave those actors started coming n here, because it's cheaper to roduce and

Kim Nieve:11:50

a little bit of everything. And that's actually why I had reconnected with my cousin after all of these years is that he came to Albuquerque and filmed Fanboys. And that was part of the tax credit here. So that's what drew a lot of these major productions here in New Mexico.

Alex Velasquez:12:11

And I guess Breaking Bad was around that time, because I didn't see I didn't watch it live. I watched it like years after it was already done. Oddly enough, I think it was just too close to home.

Kim Nieve:12:24

I was trying to get on that show. I literally had 20 auditions and callbacks. And just and I just for 'FBI agent', you know, not a meth head. But the FBI route on the one. And and I just couldn't get it. So.

Alex Velasquez:12:40

Damn, yeah. And and I guess you could speak more into how competitive This is, like one of the most competitive industries ever, I mean, trying to be

Kim Nieve:12:49

it's super competitive, and especially for women. And that's who, you know, I was just having this discussion the other night with a good friend of mine, Diego Dean, who he's actually from Utah, but he's lived binationally in Colombia, and is working as a successful actor/model in Mexico City. And we were talking about how the whole this whole industry like what's, what's happening now? And how, what were what was the thing that we were just talking about? Like,

Alex Velasquez:13:28

I brought up the tax credits, the tax credit, how it started.

Kim Nieve:13:32

Yeah, yeah. So that's what he was saying was that right now we are not, hopefully, what they're anticipating. And with all these articles, and news coming out about New Mexico film industry, and with Michelle Lujan, hopefully in the summer that could pick up again, but right now, it's actually very, very slow. There's one production that actually closed down, actually two that I know due to COVID. So we'll see, we don't know what's going to happen with the virus. We don't know what's gonna happen with that.

Alex Velasquez:14:06

Yeah, I know. I don't know many people in the film industry, but I know somebody that does, like a set craft, so they built sets, and he was working. I think Black Panther 2 there was something that was here. And then of course, that got rearranged for many reasons. But um, so he was back at work for a brief period of time. I think he's still working now. And then another random contact. I know of somebody that was here filming and they had a crazy strict you know, contract of if somebody on the side gets COVID then they have to stop for two weeks and then the money just stops and then the investors and it's just like a whole, crazy situation at the moment.

Kim Nieve:14:57

Yeah, that's where I'm where I get a lot of that in. information from two is a really good makeup artists friend of mine who we worked at Mac together now she's super successful on sets. Ashlynne Pedilla she was telling me a little bit about what was happening and how Roswell that was one of the productions

mixed dialogue:15:21

Roswell the show? Roswell series. Or like the actual in the actual in Roswell. Okay.

Kim Nieve:15:27

Yeah. And so because I was she was asking me if I had been on like what's going on with my auditions? I audition. Everything now is self taped. So as an actor that's we don't I miss going into an audition like going to [name] casting office and going in there and having that interaction. I've done a couple eco casting live auditions. And it's really a bizarre experience. You enter into a casting virtual casting room in a waiting room. And then they'll let you know when your time is up. And so then I remember I was like, angling like trying to get my iPhone in a certain way. And she's like, do you think you can look down? Because your eyeline and so I'm literally like, looking at the desk doing this audition. So that's why I was asking you about that one, the camera that my friend was talking about, too. It's a whole new journey. Now, in terms of auditioning,

Alex Velasquez:16:33

Man there's that's just strikes me is it's one thing to like, take a school class over zoom. Where obviously, it's not going to be as good, but for the most part, you're going to get the syllabus, you can get the information, right. But acting and auditioning, especially that's got to be so personal. and body language does not come through on video very well, unless you're like a very, very good at setting up a set and angles. And you're crazy good. Yeah, maybe. But it's, I mean, so much of it's lost.

Kim Nieve:17:06

And that was that was the thing, what Sicario because that was actually the first audition. When I went for the callback. My agent was like, you're gonna go to the callback, and the director is going to be there. And so I had heard everything about Denis and I was like, Oh, my God!

Alex Velasquez:17:19

actually, I'm a fanboy, too. Because if Yeah, for people that don't know, Villeneuve, he is phenomenal. And Blade Runner 2049 is like one of my favorite movies of all time. He's a phenomenal director. And so talk more about that, that experience because I think

Kim Nieve:17:37

yes, so when I remember going into that audition, and sometimes as an actor, you go in and you're like, I frickin nailed that. Like I did great. And then I don't get a callback, and there's nothing I'm like, What the heck happened? Other times, I feel like that was half assed I could have. I should have made this choice, or I should have looked over here, you know, and then I'll get the part where I'll be completely surprised when I did the audition for Silvio's wife. Or I'm sorry, Silvio's wife, Jesus is my child in Sicario, so when I did the audition for Silvio's wife, I really, for me, even though it was two minutes, it was like an out of body experience. And I remember, everyone was like, That was fantastic. Like, that was super. So then my agent Carissa, I'm with Mitchell and Associates, she called me 'she's like, you have the callback'. And so she said, they're all going to be there. And I felt really, really confident. I just knew it. So I went in, and Denis was there. And some other assistant, I would say, for that callback. There were about 10 Studio people in there. And I just I blocked it out

Alex Velasquez:18:58

I that normal? To have that many...

Kim Nieve:19:00

No, it's normally just two at the most or three

Alex Velasquez:19:04

Is it usually like the casting director and like somebody else?

Kim Nieve:19:06

Yes. Okay. So it's no producers..yeah, so he was in there. So he that's what made me realize he was super involved from the beginning of Sicario with the whole casting. So I did my, my audition, and he's like, I want you. He's like, we're gonna bring Jesus, your son in. And I want to see you guys together. And I was like, perfect. And I said, if it's going this far, I know I have like, they're [they just want to make sure] it's Yeah, they just want to make sure [that's so cool]. So they brought Jesus in and we just like gelled. I mean, it was just, it was a really, really good experience. And Denis I could just tell the way he was smiling and he was probably the most gracious director I've ever worked with. very down to earth, but super professional.

Alex Velasquez:19:57

That's that's cool to hear. It's I mean, his those movies are masterpieces, I mean Arrival, they all have like very that's like that they have a tone on the whole thing is, it's so fits neatly together. And I think maybe what I'm hearing from you is that if the team and the crew are all on the same page and they really trust everybody involve everybody instead of just segmenting every part of the film, then it just - the work comes out better because everyone, you know, just feels better.

Kim Nieve:20:30

It feels better. And you know, that was one of the those experiences which I wish I could have seen. The final cut, you know, different endings of Sicario, different things that we worked with that Denis wanted to see me and more of a vulnerable position. Those didn't make the cut, obviously.

Alex Velasquez:20:57

And for people that don't know, I mean, when you when they film a movie, there's like hundreds of hours of raw, even 1000 hours,

Kim Nieve:21:04

I was exhausted. I remember filming that day. And like I was saying the DP with his obsession on lighting and everything. It was just

Alex Velasquez:21:13

Roger Deakins. Yes, Roger Deakins. I'm familiar with his work. I had to go look up exactly what he's done. Oh, my god, that's such a crazy list of... he works with the Coen Brothers all the time. Yeah. And he's, yeah, he's ridiculous. But

Kim Nieve:21:27

it was just the three of us in that room. And I'm just like, mourning my husband, because my husband has been killed by the, the narcos. And so I to have that time, just to be in myself. And in this great, awesome production. I felt like I really thrived as an actor, you know, and hoping that can happen again soon, you know?

Alex Velasquez:21:56

Yeah. So what's it like doing? Because I think we, you know, we touched on the, the part that you had in the movie, it's, it's like at the very end, and it's, it's maybe 15-20 seconds.

Kim Nieve:22:10

Well, I have three major scenes throughout the okay. Yeah. So the end scene as they call it, the money. Everyone remembers that and ending with that, that, like, boosted my career. That was really, really great. There are two other scenes prior to that. And that's with my family. Oh, right. Cuz Yeah,

Alex Velasquez:22:30

it's very it's been a while since movie, but uh,

Kim Nieve:22:33

it's okay. That's why I posted I have that fan and Iraq or Turkey. And he want he's upset. He's like, we're obsessed with Sicario out here. And they didn't really care too much for the second one. They really, because that's another director. I don't know who the director. Yeah, I

Alex Velasquez:22:49

I'm the same way like I thought it was gonna be. But it wasn't.

Kim Nieve:22:53

Yeah, yeah. So that scene that I posted, that's in the kitchen, and I'm dealing with my husband, who is never at home. He's an alcoholic, he's drunk. He's a corrupt cop and drug running, and all of that so and Jesus, who he plays my son. He that was his first time on set. And he was and that's what Denis loved it. He was a natural. He was really, really great. Took direction really well.

Alex Velasquez:23:26

It's hard to do for child actors. You're either with it or

Kim Nieve:23:30

nine or 10 at the time.

Alex Velasquez:23:32

Mm hmm.

Kim Nieve:23:33

So it was comfortable. It was great.

Alex Velasquez:23:36

Yeah. So and I guess, as a, what was your role on that film? specifically? Were they did you have speaking roles that they that like parts where it was right off the bat, you were gonna just kind of fill this role in with lines.

Kim Nieve:23:50

It was all in Spanish. And mainly the dialogue was with my son and with my husband.

Alex Velasquez:23:58

Yeah, so that's, I mean,

Kim Nieve:23:59

so it's a real intimate, and that's why, I guess, memorable in that movie. Because, aside from Benicio, and, you know, all the other stuff that's happening on the border, they would cut away to these really intimate scenes with the family, and what this family was going through,

Alex Velasquez:24:22

right, that's gotta be Yeah, it's gotta be such a good experience with a nice tight knit. So it's such a high level. Yeah. So what's, uh, what? What do you take from that? And where, where do you what do you want to do with that? And how do you want to craft your own sort of experience? And

Kim Nieve:24:40

well, I think with these discussions I've been having not only with you but other actors in my age range. Right now is the time to just create my own. I want to do my own film. And so that leads me to, you know, I've been doing a lot of reflecting on the last 10 years, I would say of my life and like starting, you know, starting as an extra and where I'm at now and, you know, we are still the industry is still very sexist is still very ageist Oh, that's what I was gonna say about my friend Diego is that even though we're around the same age, and he's getting auditions parts left and right, it's very different for males. for females, yes, I can look young for my age. But if I'm going into an audition with 20, and 30 year olds, it's theirs, the 20 & 30 year olds are always going to get the part. It depends. I do audition now for roles in my 40s. But it's, it's just different. So I thought, what I'm going to do is, I've been obsessing over this woman here. And she was part of my thesis project when I was in graduate school. So I got my master's in Latin American Studies, and Spanish and so and contemporary art history. So what I wanted to do was kind of like, in the vein of a Frida biography. Work with this artist, but before I talk about her, I would say in 2005, because I not only have film experience, I did work in theater, too. That's why I had my daughter,

Alex Velasquez:26:30

right. That's probably the stuff that I don't remember, I've known. I've known you for a long time. You've known me since I was probably a small child. My parents had a retail store. And yes, I'd love. So that's how you came into my orbit, just Yes. But there's so much now that you know, going back and having to learn about your career as a whole. And only recently have I started kind of following actor's careers and getting more interested in the whole filmmaking industry. So it's, it's really cool to hear the backstory. And yes, just all of the experience that you've had

Kim Nieve:27:06

the experience of theater, definitely different animal and that's something if I could, I would love to be in theater over film, just because, you know, when you're filming you have you deliver your line and you nailed this part, whether it's a recurring role, whatever it is a theater, you can really just like, relish in that role, like, just really get in there and take your time with it. And it's unpredictable. It changes every night. You don't know how your character is, you don't know what's going to happen. So after actually, after I met your parents, I was cast as the lead Ana for a play called 'living out'. And so this was on Soul Arts On Central Avenue. And it was my first time auditioning and I just felt like I connected with this woman who was from El Salvador, and living in Los Angeles. And it's actually based off a Lisa Loomer play. And so it was my first experience doing rehearsals Monday through Friday, and then performing on weekends. I was exhausted, but I loved it. This is before children, you know. So it was it was unbelievable. So anyways, I remember one night after I think it was our final. I don't know if it was the opening or if it was towards the end. I met this woman and her name is Sabina Zuniga Varela. And we always talk about this when I'm looking at this Mi Vida Loca because she's definitely she's one of my best friends right now. She's been mi hermana for many years now. But she's she is very, you know, ingrained in the whole theater. She's an amazing actress out of LA and New York, and she's been on Madame Secretary and she has a lot of notches under her belt or she's done the Shakespeare plays in Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival. So but before all that, she said I needed to go I needed to meet you. And she said, I want to see who is this bitch who's getting the lead parts for you know, these plays because she's like the queen. She's a queen bee here in Albuquerque for that. And so we just hit it off. And when I met her, I just looked at her and I was like you are on Ana Mendieta. And Ana Mendieta is one of my favorite art. Of course, I've loved Frida forever and I love Frida before. I'm one of those who don't like I love Frida for... you know, I went to the Casa Azul when I was, I don't know I was like 19 years old. So I've always been obsessed with Frida, but Ana is a completely different she's more of a performance artists, visual artists, a sculptor. And I came across her in graduate school and, you know, with feminist theory, Latin American art. And she was just this crazy radical like Cuban young artists who actually under I think it was like 1963 1964 under operation Pedro Pan. Her father was very anti Castro. So what happened is they had this operation where they would have all they would bring the children over to the United States. So she came as an orphan, so she had to leave her parents behind. So she came with her sister to 'Dobuque' Iowa. And that's why it's called Dubuque

Alex Velasquez:30:55

driven through there.

Kim Nieve:30:56

And she, as a Latina, completely stood out of course. Yeah. And so this is where her journey, and that's why I always say the personal is political. And I have a lot of people on the right that disagree with that, and I don't care. But the personal is political. And when she arrives in Iowa, she experienced racism. It was just her and her sister. She's an orphan

Alex Velasquez:31:22

that's got Yeah, what, what year, just for context, I think, approximately what decade would that have been

Kim Nieve:31:28

in the late 60s? Okay, yeah. Yeah, that's

Alex Velasquez:31:31

late 40s, early

Kim Nieve:31:32

70s. She grew up in Iowa. And so she, but she was always really driven to go to school, like she knew that she wanted to go to graduate school, she knew she wanted to do this. And so then that's where her journey began, was this, her heart was torn from her homeland. So that's where she started dabbling in performance art, and land art. And using the land. That was the only thing that Iowa and Cuba had in common was the actual dirt, right, and that land, and so she ended up making so many different series. She's very obsessive. She's like your dad, like constantly working and working and working. Yeah, she would do a silhouette, a series silhouette series, where she would imprint her body, and she was naked all the time. And print her body in the land, do all these different performance arts, she would film herself, photography, she's just multi level talented. So I just became obsessed with her. And when I have an obsession like that, and even in my daily life, like I don't stop think I think that's something with my creative side, too, because I'm just always talking about it. And I'm thinking about it. And then I'll like, I'll write things down, or now I'll put it on my iPhone and, and so when I was in graduate school, I replicated one of her for my thesis, one of her performance journeys. And what she did was she did a silhouette that in the sand or in the land wherever she was, and she just had her whole imprint there. And then she would get out and then she would just light it. And so it was like this a burning silhouette that she really, really longed for her homeland. Like, she just missed it so much. So after that, she ended up moving to New York City, and she knew New York City was the way that's where the art was, you know, just like if you're in any kind of creative industries like LA New York, you know, what are you going to do? So she goes to New York City and gets into this really this feminist collective there, starts you know, having gallery shows, she got a [...] to go to Italy and started doing all of her land art there. I was fortunate when I had an internship at the Smithsonian in DC. And I went to the Hirshhorn Museum, and, and I saw her work there. Oh, and I just cried. This was in 2002. Right after I finished right after I got my graduate degree, I guess, right in between that time, and I saw all of her work, and it was like, This is so real. This is just amazing. Unfortunately, and so the reason why I'm talking about her is because when I first met Sabina, and I will show you a picture so you can see and then you can like post it later, whatever. Yeah, I'm Sabina. I mean, she explores the body, the face everything. Yeah. So that's her. Okay, um, Sabina looks exactly like her.

Alex Velasquez:34:52

So you just saw

Kim Nieve:34:53

her I was like, she's Ana Mendieta. So we've been having these discussions and Sabina's ageless as well. And I said, you're going to be Ana, and I'm going to direct. And so this is one of the things that I want to do. Hopefully soon. I would love to tackle this project. It does have a tragic ending. She was married to a sculptor, Carl Andre, who did these really minimalist type of sculptures. And they had a very tumultuous, volatile relationship. He was an alcoholic. And the reason why, why her work and why her story is so important is because there was a lot of debate in the 70s about how she died and what happened to her. I believe that he did push her out the window. So there's a book a biography called naked by the window. This act, however, it happens split up this 1970s, early 80s, feminist art community up because half of the feminists were like, she didn't she she was drunk, and she fell out like, the other half was like, No, he did it. And so it was really interesting to go back and read and see what people were thinking at that time. Either way, it was just completely tragic. There's just so much that she has to offer I mean, she was just gone too soon.

Alex Velasquez:36:33

So I didn't know. I mean, I knew nothing about her before we sat down today. Sounds like a pioneer. Yes. And one of the most difficult times to be a pioneer.

Kim Nieve:36:44

Exactly. A woman of color living in New York City. Yeah, at that same.

Alex Velasquez:36:51

That's a very interesting project. I I think we'll we'll do a little intermission right now. I'm gonna get some more coffee and stuff. But we'll come back and we'll come back to this because I think it's got some it's got a I can see the thread in there. It's, now's a perfect time to do it. Okay, that sounds good. We'll do a little break.

mixed dialogue:37:13

How's it going? so far? Good. Okay, good.

Alex Velasquez:37:24

All right. little coffee break.

Kim Nieve:37:25

Yes. Coffee is delicious, by the way.

Alex Velasquez:37:28

Thanks. Yes it's Cutbow Coffee.

Kim Nieve:37:30

I wouldn't expect anything less from the Velasquez family. Yeah.

Alex Velasquez:37:35

I think we have that same artistic obsession. You know, right. Whenever I get into something, I typically go down the rabbit hole.

Kim Nieve:37:44

Well, I think that's why i gel so well with your family too, because they're coffee snobs and design snobs and all of that. So I love it. Because Yeah, I just really admire them.

Alex Velasquez:37:54

Yeah. Cool. That's, yeah, it runs and runs in your blood.

Kim Nieve:37:58

Yes. Yes.

Alex Velasquez:38:02

So we left off. You just described this very exciting project. Yes, we want to read something from

Kim Nieve:38:10

Yeah, from Ana Mendieta. So not only was she very successful in her land, our and her silhouette, this series, she loves self portraits, whether photograph, performance, video, all of that. And so this is one of her thesis statements. So "this thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of Iowa." So this is before she goes to New York. "...hair has always fascinated me, the way it grows, where it grows and the significance past civilizations placed on it. The Egyptian priests shave their heads as a sign of celibacy and sexual abstinence. As a symbol of self castration. Samson lost his strength by having his hair cut. The American Cheyenne Indians sculpt enemies to prove their bravery and manhood. Catholic priests wear a [...] as a symbol of celibacy, even after death, hair grows and does not decay." [Mendieta] And then she goes on to talk about why she decided to do the self portrait that she does. This was her very first self portrait, "what I did was to transfer her friend's beard to her face. By transfer, I mean, take an object from one place and put it onto another. I like the idea of transferring hair from one person to another because I think it gives that person's strength." It's really interesting when she talks about that, and I would read that over and over because, again, I go back to why the personal is political, and identity and especially now when we are living in a world of bipoc, and people of color, and binary and transgender gender issues. All of that now, everyone has a voice. Well, you know, we're trying, we're trying to get there and have that voice. But definitely more so now than when I was in graduate school in 2002. So I thought that was really interesting. When we're talking about strength and power, "...after looking at myself in a mirror, the beard became real. It did not look like a disguise, it became part of myself, and not at all unnatural to my appearance. So for my thesis, I submit three self portraits, self portrait with beard, regular self portrait and self portrait with mustache." And as you can see some of the pictures that you saw of her photographs. She loves, because she's a very attractive woman. But she loves manipulating her face and like, you know, putting glass against her face, and you know, contorting her face into all these different styles and images and twists and look. She's just amazing. So the other reason why so not only when I met Sabina, after the show, we went to this after party, and she was sitting on her boyfriend's lap, and we were all drinking wine. And she's sitting on his lap, she has her legs crossed, and she has one glass of wine here. And then she has a cigarette here and she's like this. And there is a picture of Ana in that same exact pose. In Italy, when she was doing her fellowship, by eating a bowl. She loved pasta Arrabiata. It's a very spicy Italian dish. It's like in Italy, they don't use a lot of red sauce, but it's a red sauce. And it has like hot pepper in it. It's very, very spicy. Okay. And so she loved that was her favorite dish, her body position. The angle, everything was Sabina that night, and I was just looking at her was like, this is Ana Mendieta. Like she's just being herself. And it's like she's captured this woman's essence, it was really fascinating.

Alex Velasquez:42:24

So that's an I'll just pause just for a second because that's, that's something that's kind of surreal, as if you're if you're an artist of whatever medium you have these moments where something just stops you in your tracks, right.

Kim Nieve:42:40

And so that's cool, too. And you remember that they're ingrained in your brain. And here I am 20 years later, and I'm 15 years and I'm like, I remember that exact pose.

Alex Velasquez:42:52

That's, that's I find that really fascinating because there's, there's like weird deflections in everyone's career. But sometimes it's it's so cool to me when you can pinpoint something that just deflected you onto like a different path. So that's

Kim Nieve:43:08

Yes. And so what I think about and how this all ties in and why I'm bringing my other favorite actor, I mean, just juxtaposing This is it's a very high contrast, but not really, because we're still it's still the underlying thread of women and feminism and our place in society as an artist, as a performance artists, visual artists, an actor, director, whatever it may be.

Alex Velasquez:43:36

Mother, Mother, yeah, the big one. That's

Kim Nieve:43:38

Yeah, that's like huge that. Yes, that is definitely a huge, a huge role. Definitely. It really does. motherhood, parenthood changes your life, for sure. And being a single parent on top of that is a that's a whole other world. And I think that's also well, I know why I have always been drawn to this other director, Allison Anders. And so you probably know her from Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life). I first saw this in the early 90s. I'm right when it came out and just fell in love with the rawness the realness. There are two professionally trained actors in this movie. The rest are just from Echo Park LA. And as you can see here, it says mother's warrior sisters survivors. Alison is another person. What I would like to do for my movie is kind of with my own inspiration merge Allison Anders Pedro Almodvar for this movie. So Alison, and Pedro really mirror each other because they're all about that voyeuristic type of angles when they're filming. And just last night, because I knew I was coming here I watched Volver again, with Penelope Cruz, who's my other favorite actress. So he always starts out his films. In the common thread throughout the film, will the camera is outside of the window or a door. And so it's giving you that feeling of you're looking into this person's home. But it's not just a regular window. Pedro doesn't work that way. Neither does Allison. The curtains are a certain color. He's an absolute obsessive perfectionist. I've read and combed through all his interviews about, for example, here like a coffee cup, you know, the placeholder color coordination, or maybe no coordination. Like everything has intent. And so she's adopted like, this is her own style to Allison Anders and I, you're just as a viewer, you're just drawn in. You're sucked at what is going on with this family? What's happening? Why did this person what what is the backstory? That is great filmmaking,

Alex Velasquez:46:13

huh? I guess, let me pause. There's something there. I want to, I'm sure you'll fill me in more. But I've heard the phrase every frame of painting. So if you're a psychopath, and you want to watch a movie frame by frame, you know, just load it up just one frame one frame.

Kim Nieve:46:30

I guess I'm a psychopath.

Alex Velasquez:46:32

I've done it too. So

Kim Nieve:46:35

I have literally pause. Pedro's, I said that is a piece of art. Yeah, I would print that and hang that up. Every moment. That's,

Alex Velasquez:46:43

I love the I mean, you're the perfect person to talk about this with cuz I read that. I don't know where I read that. But ever since then. When you watch things you realize like, okay, and here's my main frame when I'm, if I'm in cinema, whether it's TV or film, the fact that you're watching it means that somebody or team and the team people had to put what's on the screen there. So very, very little is by accident. I mean, there's different, obviously, like documentaries and stuff, different story. But nothing's there by accident in films like these, and so I totally get it's like every little detail. If it's just right, it's so you could watch it frame by frame and you're like, Oh my god, this is beautiful.

Kim Nieve:47:30

Yeah. And that's why when I was watching that film last night, I said he pays such. I mean, I wonder how long? I need to research that again, like how long it took him to film Volver. How many hours because Well, I mean, he's a professional expert now. Right? Does it record time, but there's a scene where Penelope is coming in with her daughter and the aunt. And there's these beautiful because this is filmed in southern Spain. I think it was in Galicia, I'm not really sure. But these beautiful, like, ornate wooden doors. And so we see the outside and we see them going in. And then the camera as soon as they're coming in. He's the level I don't know exactly all the terms either. But the camera is panned below. And as soon as Penelope is making her way. Now we see her. It's very flattering. It's it just draws you in. Like he knows where the viewer is going to look. Because right now what we're looking at, we're just discovering that Penelope's mom is still alive. So right now we're looking at Penelope. We're looking at everything that she's doing, like how is she dealing with this? Because she thought her mother was to I mean, I don't know if you've seen bunk bed, but

mixed dialogue:48:49

I'll put spoiler alert. Yeah, exactly. We're alert for him.

Kim Nieve:48:54

But his angles, everything. And that's the other thing that I want to say about Pedro before I forget and talk about Allison. He incorporates all the elements. So just how we have the Santa is at the Santa Ana winds and Southern California. Santa Monica, Santa Ana, nothing. So it's this high degree of temperature where it's like all these winds and it usually happens once a year. I think it's during Indian summer as they call it like towards the end of the summer. Well in Spain, they have that too. So he incorporated the wind one of those elements. And there are fires so there's like wind and fire. So do you see the theme like Ana Mendieta, like wind and fire? Those are earth elements that he juxtaposed with what's going on in Penelope's...and her name is Raimunda in the film with her life and I think it's just so beautifully done. Like, people - that's why I say the films that come out. There's nothing like That anymore. I missed that I missed the art of but I've always loved foreign films. I've always loved French films. I've always loved Spanish films. Allison, is from the United States. And the reason why I was drawn to her is because and this will be, well, you know, it'll come out anyways. But there has been personal trauma in my own life. And Allison is a director that a lot of women can connect to. It's hard to watch. You know, not necessarily, Mi Vida Loca, I'm talking more about her. One of her first films is called Things Behind the Sun. And she grew up in Florida, and she was gang raped in Florida. This woman decided to change her life around and she went back to the house, where she was raped in the room where she was gang raped, and film Things Behind the Sun. And it is. It's heavy, it's heavy, it's real. It's raw. And she talks about when she was walking out, she was at that time when that happened to her, I think she was maybe 14 or 15. And she said, I was forever broken.

Alex Velasquez:51:24

Yeah, that's, yeah.

Kim Nieve:51:26

So she, that takes a lot at that. You know, we always talk about behavioral health and therapy. And I know this year, I think a lot more people are in therapy services right now. And I support that 1,000% talk about somebody who really confronted her issues, her battles her history, to go back there and film that I just thought that was just amazing. And then I believe Mi Vida Loca was after that movie. And that's

Alex Velasquez:52:00

just I guess from a technical standpoint, I've heard that exposure therapy is absolutely key to getting over. debilitating, whatever it is, you're dealing with, like, exposing it like confronting it head on. Yes. Because usually, if you, if you forever fear, whatever it was, it'll control you forever. Absolutely. So that's like amazing that she was able to confront it head on. It didn't

Kim Nieve:52:26

have to be graphic, it didn't have to show

Alex Velasquez:52:29

you, you could feel the weight. You know,

Kim Nieve:52:32

what's happening behind the closed doors on Things Behind the Sun, you know, what's happening in that room, and you don't have to see it. And it was more about the output the emotion of what this little girl what she went through.

Alex Velasquez:52:45

You know, that's like the, that's what I love about good films that were there's something that you

Kim Nieve:52:51

The 90s are where it's at.

Alex Velasquez:52:54

Yeah, when they, when they hit you really hard with the connects and you connect with something, it's that's what I really appreciate about movies, I think, you know, too often, that's just kind of written off as entertainment, just just, you know, killing time. But there's so much that goes into good films that it oftentimes gets underappreciated or overlooked. Or maybe people just don't really know the full backstory. I mean, I think that's what I really love about on DVDs, you know, they used to have the extras and the menu where you go,

Kim Nieve:53:27

where it's like bonus feature audio commentary with the director.

Alex Velasquez:53:30

Oh my god, those are so valuable. If you really like a movie, I highly suggest and iTunes does a good job of like if you buy it or rent it, or actually think you've to buy it to get the iTunes extras, which it's the same extra content and some of it's on YouTube, but you learn so much more about the stories and the work and all the effort that goes into a movie

Kim Nieve:53:51

I love it. And what I learned about her and why her and I I am destined to meet her or work with her in some capacity is so the backstory of Mi Vida Loca You know, my take on it. I mean, it's a love story. I don't know if you've seen it, but [I haven't no]. So it takes place in Echo Park in Los Angeles, which now Echo Park, everything is completely gentrified in Los Angeles. So but it's mainly at that time all Latino Spanish speaking population. And so I'll just read this part here it says "gang members Sad Girl and Mousie wants best friends are now enemies as they have both become pregnant by the same man Ernesto a local drug dealer. But when Ernesto is murdered by a rival gang leader, the balance of power on the street brutally changes and it's time to take sides as Echo Park Boys deal with Ernesto's murder by searching for revenge. The Echo Park girls arm themselves for another kind of struggle, the struggle to survive." and what's really interesting about this is that so Jesse Borrego is in it. And he's one of my all time and Danny Trejo is in it too Jesse Borrego is one of my favorite Chicano actors. And he is from the rival gang. And his name is El Duran. Well, it turns out listening to this commentary, Allison Anders is a huge Duran Duran fan. And so am I from the 80's. And I'm like, this is brilliant. It's beautiful. Not only that, she got john Taylor from Duran Duran to do to compose the score for Mi Vida Loca and I, so it's like, every time I just fall in love with the movie, over and over and over again, because I'm all about music, too. That's, that's like a whole other project, like, what music? Am I going to score for my project you know

Alex Velasquez:55:56

I've been getting interested interested in that as well. Because I mean, just doing a podcast, just learning about audio. And then watching things that have really good audio editing and sound. or all of that is, I don't want to say it's, that's like, 70% Yeah, I mean, it's like the iceberg thing where you're only if you just put it on mute. You're watching 10% of the total film, but the sound and the all that stuff is sort of subconscious but it's it makes it I mean, that's what really

Kim Nieve:56:29

well, and to circle back to Sicario, listen to the sound. When Sicario came out. What do you hear now? Anything I watch on Netflix, it's that. I don't know how you would describe that sound. It's a haunting kind of intense. My daughter Denali is like, that sounds like Sicario? Yeah, that's Sicario music. And they've adapted that for different movies. I've seen that a lot. It's heard it a lot.

Alex Velasquez:56:57

Yeah, it's just and that's like Villenueve style of like that kind of droning sort of atmospheric. And, you know, Blade Runner has a lot of that Arrival has a lot of that. I mean, that's, and those are like those kind of nuanced things where, I mean, it's so good that you're, you're thinking about that this far ahead. I can already tell. Yeah. There's so many things that have to come together that you have to basically get ahead of it now. And like plan it. Right. And yeah, there's, you know, it's it sounds like from what you've told me, there's so many threads here that you're so that you love so much, then it'll come together.

Kim Nieve:57:33

Yeah. It hopefully, hopefully soon. It will I need a budget I need to submit.

Alex Velasquez:57:39

Well, now that it's, it's, it's set in stone in this podcast, so it's out there. So it's, you know, the wheels are in motion?

Kim Nieve:57:46

Yes they are. Yes, definitely.

Alex Velasquez:57:49

What is? So what's the timeline on that? If you if you had to think about it, like okay to produce a movie, let's just say, okay, a year to film six months, what would that look like?

Kim Nieve:58:01

I'm thinking between both of our schedules. About a year. I know, Sabina is here in New Mexico right now. So we will hammer out a script, that is something and now doing this podcast that helps me that helps, you know, motivates me to to really get going on this

Alex Velasquez:58:27

that's a kind of that I'm trying to think now like if it's such a large to produce something. And film, as we were talking earlier about how much goes into the film industry, and you know, you watch a movie. So over, it's entertaining, it's good. It's technically well done. Great. But once you I think, even just me getting into the cinematography, and the say the score, yes, but then there's makeup, there's hair, and talk about that, because that's like, the area that I haven't even, you know, costumes, I haven't even delved into all those.

Kim Nieve:59:06

Exactly. I mean, there is so much behind the film, and it's something that I do not take for granted. So not only as an actor, you know, showing up and your lines and getting into character and all of that. But the way I looked in Sicario, I had one of the best makeup artists hair, costume, everything that they're constantly looking, you have to look the same. Every single day that you're shooting, you have to look exactly the same. So your photograph is taken, you know? So that is one thing. My daughter and I just went through last week, and we were watching Erin Brockovich. And I said, well, let's watch something you know, from the 2000s or something like that. And you know, Academy Award winning film Julia Roberts, everyone can have mixed feelings about her but I still like Julia Roberts So but she she nailed the part, she nailed it, we can see why she got the Oscar, whatever. So anyways, we're watching the My daughter is now where she's used to watching the credits with me. I don't just sit there, it's not just a Netflix, we're gonna watch it and then like, turn it off. I want to see the locations. And she'll ask me to Oh, where was that filmed? Oh, that looks like it's California. An example that just sets that's in the back of my mind is Sex in the City. In the movie, they are supposed to be in Mexico, it was actually filmed in Malibu. And so I tell her that when you're watching something on film, these are all the tricks. This is what's really going on behind the scenes. So we're watching because she wanted to know the soundtrack. And so we watch the credits. And there, she said, look at all of those people. Yeah, look at all of those people, just for Julia Roberts hair and makeup, which is completely separate. And then the hair and makeup team here. And then costume assistant craft service. I mean, that is like one of the big, you know, the craft crafty, having food on set and coffee. Like there's all these little things that people who are viewers at home, they don't understand. It's not just this like pie in the sky thing like, Oh, my God, you're so lucky. You go you get to act in this. It's hard work, right? Whether it's a comedy, or it's a rape scene, or whatever it can be. It's long, long, long hours, and everyone is involved.

Alex Velasquez:1:01:32

All right, it's, you know, it sounds like it's the resources and the people of a small town, literally, like descending upon, it's a location,

Kim Nieve:1:01:42

you form those bonds and friendships and trust in people.

Alex Velasquez:1:01:46

Yeah, that's gotta be hard in that in the industry. But I guess that's, you know, like you said, Now is sort of the time where you've got to do your own thing. And you've got to really take if you have a good idea what you do have it just, you just gotta run with it and assemble your own team and trust your own people. And I could totally see that's like, it's, it makes so much more sense.

Kim Nieve:1:02:11

It does make sense because I feel like the longer and I love my agent, but I feel that I am typecast. I'm either a nurse or FBI agent or a prostitute, right? There's more roles for women than that. Yeah, you know, you can be Latina, anything, Italian, anything, you don't have to be a nurse all the time. And so this hopefully, is something I mean, when you have it, I just saw Halle Berry is she's in the process of being a director as well. This is where women who are getting older, and I encourage women of any age, start directing, that is your power. If you can be behind the camera, and you direct that, that that's invigorating to me, I think there's a lot in instead of going to an audition, well, I'm going to do you know, two lines. While I appreciate the work, I have more to offer than just two lines, right at this point in my life.

Alex Velasquez:1:03:11

I totally agree. It's, I think, just in general, I'm typically a contrarian and then you realize like, you could play the game like everybody else, but then you have to compete with everybody else the same way. And it's really, it's really about just playing with the boundaries that you think are there that might not be there. Yeah, right.

Kim Nieve:1:03:31

Exactly.

Alex Velasquez:1:03:32

I don't know why this popped in my head, but like A Star Is Born was... I love that movie. And I haven't gone back and watched the originals. Or the previous ones, but it was cool to see Lady Gaga. Oh, yeah. The Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper,

Kim Nieve:1:03:48

Bradley Cooper. Yeah

Alex Velasquez:1:03:49

come from totally out of left field into like that sort of film roll like she she's always done music videos, and she's very

Kim Nieve:1:03:58

impressed with her. But yeah, I was really hesitant to watch that I. I said no, she needs to stay in her lane. Artist, as a musician. And Sabina says She's like, you have to see it. She's like, she's forced me to watch it. She's like, she is amazing. You're gonna love it. And sure enough, I was Lady Gaga. Really, really impressed me.

Alex Velasquez:1:04:20

Yeah. And she's always been such a tour de force artists like all around but then just to see her walk onto a film set. Yeah. And that's like the part that never really saw. I just, I don't know, I just thought of that. Because it was sort of she, I don't know if she wanted to do film or if she just happened to be in the right place the right time. Or they're like, well, we need someone that could sing something and great. And it's like, she just came in the unconventional way. Right? And it totally worked.

Kim Nieve:1:04:49

Yeah, it did work that she did.

Alex Velasquez:1:04:53

Hmm. Yeah. So you got my head spinning now about like, there's so many elements to creative control and doing your own project.

Kim Nieve:1:05:02

Mm hmm.

Alex Velasquez:1:05:03

What would you mean? What would you like it to be all said and done? Like, let's let's look into the future. You've got your team. You have it written as you're filming, you're producing it. What do you what like lasting impression? Would you like it to me? Because I think projects that I've done that have really meant something to me, typically end up, they just come out better. And I'm not really, I guess I'm kind of rambling here. Like, it's just it's so interesting to think about. Yeah, what is it long term? What is it?

Kim Nieve:1:05:37

Gosh? Oh, that's, that's a heavy question. In a sense. Well, I think it's two or three fold. I mean, I, you know, as a mother, like, a role model for my daughter, that she can, she can do whatever she wants to do. If this comes off successful, she can see that it's not. I don't know if she wants to go into acting. I know. She likes singing and everything. And she is very creative. And she is with my agent, actually. But you don't have to submit to certain kind of roles and be stereotyped like that there are other avenues for women in this industry. I'm also talking about a phenomenal artists like we don't hear we still don't hear everyone knows about Frida okay? Yes. I love Frida, we appreciate Frida. But there are other women another artists off the top of my head is that Remedios Varo. Like there's so many different women that have contributed and have provided so much cultural, you know, positivity in our lives, and we just don't hear about it.

Alex Velasquez:1:06:49

That's actually that's a good point that um, you know, the phrase standing on the shoulders of giants is often thrown out there. And often those shoulders are made up of hundreds of people. It's not just you know, you just there's one one person leapfrogging in an industry, it's there's hundreds that Yeah, fall by the wayside, whether they were successful or not. That is interesting to go back and really examine all the people behind the scenes that made up a certain niche industry or something.

Kim Nieve:1:07:21

And the other thing, why I did want to talk about this, and what it brought it up was like, I feel like coming into this second, I'm going to be half a century soon, the second phase in my life. Coming up, I feel more focused now. And I have to redirect that to my own personal like exercise journey to and, and as you see, I have my personal trainer, and then I have my Pilates instructor. Combined, they both say things to me, at separate times that I take with me in my heart where it's like don't like if you're doing a certain rep, don't cheat yourself. The other day, Kelly, my Pilates teacher, she said to the class, don't cheat it when you're holding a pose. That is not just about working out. That is like a personal thing as well, because I went home that night, and I was thinking I can't cheat myself out of being a director or a character. Like being real and being raw and being vulnerable. That's where you see all of that. And I think it helps you develop like you feel it does get those endorphins going and everything and it makes you I think during this pandemic, I'm always thinking about art and creativity. And that in concert with leading a healthy lifestyle. It's so so important right now.

Alex Velasquez:1:08:59

That's excellent points. And I agree with you on the exercise thing. There's a lot of carryover, especially when it's like, you know, your own health and well being is mostly in your own hands. I mean, and you have to sort of value it as that

Kim Nieve:1:09:19

because before I think when I was younger, like right after I had Denali, right before, it's like I worked out and stayed skinny for the camera, right just for looks right now it's like I mean yeah, I want to look good, I want to look fit and everything. But now it's it's different. I know that I'm getting older, and I need to have stronger bones I need to be I just need to be stronger and healthier. As you get older, I mean those are just things that you think about, you know,

Alex Velasquez:1:09:50

yeah, no, I I'm trying to think like when I was in college, I was lifting weights like a lot. And you know, of course because I was I was just full testosterone. I wanted it you know But when you exercise and you work out, your body just stores more water stores more glycogen. That's just like a good cushion to have like, yeah, you have more energy, you know? And that translates I think I'm a believer that that translates directly into your work. Yes. And it does. So what? I'm curious, what do you think is your fitness journey because most people always have a journey, right? They either start here, start here, whatever, but

Kim Nieve:1:10:29

Well, my fitness journey right now, and I talked to both my trainer and my Pilates instructor about it, it's something reasonable. I, you know, it's it's hard as a woman still, you know, and not just being in the industry. But, you know, as you're aging, your metabolism is different, everything changes, everything is different. And so it's, it's really having a commitment to eating well, and working out and having your cheat days and all of that. But I do I want to by the time I'm 50, I do want to have a very, super awesome physique, like Jennifer Lopez, I do, like, I'm not gonna lie about it. Like

Alex Velasquez:1:11:15

she's got that special sauce from A-Rod, right. She's getting

mixed dialogue:1:11:23

oh right, exactly. But yeah, she does put in

Kim Nieve:1:11:26

good genes help as well. My parents look really young for their age, but um, it's not Italian Colombian. But I, you know, those are different kinds of goals that I have throughout my life and, and you just feel better too feel better.

Alex Velasquez:1:11:43

Definitely day to day. It's funny, you notice when you feel better, but when you feel a little worse, you can sort of like, yeah, sweep it under the rug for a while before you realize oh, shit, I feel like actually rundown. You know, whatever it is.

mixed dialogue:1:11:57

Exactly. Hmm. It gets you move in for sure.

Alex Velasquez:1:12:01

Yeah. Yep. Cool. What? Man, we're like an hour and 20. What, what else Haven't we touched on, that we could possibly explore, within, you know, what we've talked about already, and, because there's so many different directions here. And you're, I'll just say you're a very diverse person. And I love that, that there's so many creative outlets, functional, you know, just with strength and fitness and, and diet, like, I like people that tend to think about all these things. And I have like, a couple long term visions, of course of for creative projects, but it's just cool to see people that decide to not focus on what's going on out there. Because there's like a shit show going on out there right now. But if you can kind of ignore it, just enough to focus on what you really want to do. It's just, it's cool to see when people really just sink their teeth into something.

Kim Nieve:1:13:05

Which brings me it's the pros and cons of social media, because you can definitely connect yourself out there with following people or being inspired by people that bring this positivity to your life. Or it could be very negative. Yeah. And, and so I think those are the things that I miss about the 90s you know, I didn't have a cell phone. I didn't, you know, I've found out about movies, like just reading, you know, things are just now I sound like old things. Back in the 90s. Yeah. But things were different. You know, when I remember watching, Mi Vida Loca and there was nothing virtual we all went to somebody's house and hung out and drank and watched the movie. And you know, now of course, with the pandemic, everything is different. Hopefully this year, I mean, we'll see what happens.

mixed dialogue:1:14:10

Yeah, definitely. You know,

Alex Velasquez:1:14:14

what are some of your favorite movies that you haven't mentioned? So I'll go through some of mine just weird, but Moneyball I don't know why I love that movie. When I was a teenager Transformers really it's like girls cars I just robots are just so for teenage boy. And I know it's like you know Michael Bay's such a it's just like watching you know, someone do cocaine and then just spit out a bunch of crazy shit. But then, you know, there's I've been getting into more like independent films and Netflix as Netflix has a ton of really good stuff. If you kind of dig take the time to watch something that might Not Be good might be good, actually. So, Pieces of a Woman? Yes. We were talking about that. That was like a good,

Kim Nieve:1:15:09

that was really good

Alex Velasquez:1:15:10

good for many reasons, but I'm actually the first thing I noticed about that was the camera work. It was that very long scenes going through doorways. I mean, yeah, those are the types of things where as a as a director and as a DP, like, you want your film to look a certain way in that film.

mixed dialogue:1:15:32

You're literally following and as a viewer, you're sucked in right into that

Alex Velasquez:1:15:38

for me, and so yeah, what what are some of your favorite films from like, the perspective of they're well done, but they have a little extra magic in them.

Kim Nieve:1:15:48

So I, since I'm an 80s girl, I really grew up with John Hughes. That era, there's a lot of great movies in the 80s that 80s and 90s again, I really love Sixteen Candles. I love Molly Ringwald. I

Alex Velasquez:1:16:06

don't know if you haven't seen it. I know she is I haven't seen it. I know of the movie.

Kim Nieve:1:16:12

John Cusack is still one of my favorite actors. Anything that he would say anything What's he been in recently

Alex Velasquez:1:16:19

because I saw Serendipity. But

Kim Nieve:1:16:21

oh, yeah, right. Isn't serendipity? Uh huh. with Kate. I want to say Kate Bosworth. It's not to know, Beckindale?

Alex Velasquez:1:16:28

Beckinsale. She's another one. She's, she looks.

Kim Nieve:1:16:33

Yeah, she's ageless. Yeah. So then going into the 90s. I remember going to the theater and watching Boyz n the Hood. I always John Singleton. He was one of my favorite directors as well. So then that's when I got exposed to Larry Fishburne, John Singleton really has some great films. I love films that have to do with real life and what's going on in in cities. The backstory, why are there single parents and Boyz n the Hood, for me as a woman, mixed race woman. It was, it was really intense. That is a movie I can keep watching and also the soundtrack. I can keep watching that every month, and I never get sick of it. Because there are movies like that there are directors like John Singleton, where every time you watch it, there's something different. And I love that. So now moving for so another thing that's funny, a lot of people they might know this about me, but so I do like Keanu Reeves. And I think one of my favorite movies is Point Break, and that was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and she's another great director.

Alex Velasquez:1:17:53

So I saw The Hurt Locker and that's what

Kim Nieve:1:17:54

Yes, got an Oscar for that. Yeah, that was

Alex Velasquez:1:17:57

okay. I didn't know she did Point Break.

Kim Nieve:1:17:59

She did Point Break. And that chase scene is excellent. To this day, people still there are directors that still try to mimic a chasing like that when Keanu is I have you seen it?

Alex Velasquez:1:18:12

I have seen parts you need to watch it so I have to Yeah,

Kim Nieve:1:18:15

it's really good. So it reminds me have a video game. Hmm. You know, that's who I was talking to my friend Diego from Mexico City about it. You know, the pitbull is getting thrown in the face of the runner. It's like this just this great, awesome chase scene. So that's really good. So I remember watching Point Break a lot. And then around that time in the early 90s, where I was really sucked into French films, and Pedro Almodvar. I mean, all of Pedro's I mean, he's definitely Those are my top 10 movies. Anything that he's done. I love a lot.

mixed dialogue:1:18:56

Keanu's also ageless. Yeah, I know. Yeah,

Kim Nieve:1:19:02

um, but then I definitely have like my girly side to where I love. I love Selena. I thought she I thought Jennifer Lopez did a great, great job with Selena. And I know that she's been heavily criticized because of her accent or whatever. But she was great. I was actually one of one of her featured doubles as well when she Bordertown here.

mixed dialogue:1:19:25

Oh, cool. Yeah.

Kim Nieve:1:19:26

So that was pretty exciting. I was like, in the dream sequence. I was. I played her mom. So it was like a 70s like dream sequence. Oh, cool. Yeah.

Alex Velasquez:1:19:37

Nice. The other double that you did was The Spirit for Eva Mendes,

Kim Nieve:1:19:43

yes. Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. We were talking about that. Um, so that was a project right before my daughter was born. I was just with Sabina actually. This is a fun story. So Sabina got cast to play Frida and A theater in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. And I went down as her makeup artist. And so we lived there for, it seemed like we were there for a couple months. I can't really remember. We had a really good time. And so when I came back, my agent said, you know, this isn't a speaking part or anything, but it's a really good featured, not even a featured extra photo double for Mr. Mendez. And I knew it was a very competitive spot. And so that was filming. I have to remember the director, who was the director for the spirit. Was it I can't remember who it was, but look it up. Um, that was my first time working at the studios in a green room. like doing all green screen.

Alex Velasquez:1:20:56

If you're not familiar with The Spirit, it's like a kind of a comic book.

Kim Nieve:1:21:00

Miller. It's Frank Miller

Alex Velasquez:1:21:02

cuz uh, Frank Miller did Watchmen, which is also a graphic novel. The spirit is a graphic novel, right? Yeah,

mixed dialogue:1:21:06

it's a graphic. Yeah, they

Alex Velasquez:1:21:07

translated to film. So that's, you know, it looks pretty crazy.

Kim Nieve:1:21:10

It's like a film noir, kind of, like really, mostly black and white, black and white. Yeah. And so, for two to three months, I worked with her every day, got to know her really well and worked as her stand in her photo double wearing Dolce and Gabbana, like, we had everything the same. So and she was really awesome. She was great. I learned a lot being on there too, just observing. And those were long days, those were 14-15 hour days, because I had to be there even while she wasn't there, you know. And so and that was one of my experiences. One day, she couldn't come to set and I knew all her lines and everything. And so they said, Well, Eva's not here. And the directors like we'll have Kim read lines with Scarlett Johansson and Samuel Jackson. And so that was, that was so much fun. That was so great, because they were really nice, really down to earth. And I do remember now that I'm talking about Samuel Jackson's entourage. He had like five people just for his wardrobe there. But he was very friendly, even though he is down to earth, though. And it was fun. So those were all really, really good experiences. And now to this day, Eva, she still remembers me. It's been years and I'll comment on she had a dog, her dog who was on set passed away. And so we were talking about that. She's really nice. Really nice.

Alex Velasquez:1:22:42

That's cool to see that. That that happens. I think it's easy to become cynical about you know the way things are and in an industry, but it's cool. Just to hear the stories of like, yeah, you know, there's definitely down to earth people. And yes, now that I'm thinking about it isn't Sam Jackson, like the most like highest earning actor of all time that's still alive, something like that. I believe that if it's not current, it was like maybe five or 10 years ago, especially now, the Avengers, but so it's cool that he's, you know, you'd expect like, it could go either way. Right. So it's cool that someone can kind of keep it together. Yeah. And yeah, not let them go

Kim Nieve:1:23:22

And still be a real person. Yeah.

Alex Velasquez:1:23:24

Because and actually, that's one thing that I don't think we've talked about is like the money aspect of, I mean, films are the cost a lot to make they pay for the popular films, they pay the top cast, you know, you always see the headline, that's millions of dollars, and everyone thinks that it's just

Kim Nieve:1:23:42

15 million, right? Well, that was what in the 90s or 2000s, for Julia Roberts now I'm sure she would demand way more way more

Alex Velasquez:1:23:51

so as, and that's such a tricky thing. Because if you're trying to produce something, according to your vision, you obviously want you know, you want to do it, right. And sometimes it's gonna cost what it costs.

Kim Nieve:1:24:02

I need someone to believe in me, I need someone to take a chance and know that this, how it happens. And the final result will be amazing,

Alex Velasquez:1:24:12

right? And there's, well, there's so many, like relevant pieces of it. It's not just a film, it's there's ties to, you know, artists, and there's a historical element to it. So I think, you know, just looking at it from a financial perspective, they wouldn't be that, like, it's not that far fetched to approach somebody, as you know, that's gonna produce it and invest in it, because it has so much more to it. But I know it's sometimes it's hard when you're trying to make it as an actor, solely, because it's hit or miss. It's your step to put on all the work of auditioning. And you're not sure if you can get a part and even if you get a part, you're not really sure how much it pays. Right? Is it

Kim Nieve:1:24:57

Yeah, and that was the thing. I mean, that's how I mean How children change your life too now that my daughter's older things are definitely different, like I can see myself doing theater and going to rehearsal and doing that, you know, five days a week, you know, seven days a week. That's definitely different. Before I had her, I was constantly like doing different workshops, and audition technique workshops, working on your portfolio, working on a reel, doing things of that nature. And yeah, you don't know what's going to happen. And that was around the time when I met your parents are right before I was working. That's the great thing about actors wear many many very, you know, different hats. So I was doing makeup, I was working at the Hyatt doing banquet serving, you have to find jobs that are going to pay well, that are flexible. And that can understand if you you know, you need to leave for an audition or you get called whatever it may be. So those jobs, I mean, not right now. But those jobs are out there.

Alex Velasquez:1:26:10

cool. Any any other advice? Let's, that was actually pretty good time. We'll, we'll pause, or we'll end today's conversation. But I think there's so much more that we could keep talking about It's always fascinating, just hearing.

Kim Nieve:1:26:26

And I'm sure I'll think of things

Alex Velasquez:1:26:30

Yeah, you have any advice? Before we go? Any advice for people that want to get into acting or who are currently in the industry that, you know, they want to make it? Well, I

Kim Nieve:1:26:40

think now, because we don't know how long this pandemic and the virus we we can't really anticipate what's happening. I think now is a good time to invest in a what is it, the Osmo or a camera. So you can do yourself tape auditions, really getting comfortable, whether you're doing it in your house, or wherever it is. Because things are different now. So you're not going to pull up into an audition and you know, hopefully, maybe next year, but I'm really being familiar with that. I think also, keep watching films, follow directors and actors. If there's a reason why you like a movie, you need to look at the director and the writer and see what it is about that movie. Why were you so drawn to it? And that's what happened with Mi Vida Loca. So when I said Who is this woman like, What is her story? That's what drew me and like, Oh, I see she has this whole backstory of what she's doing. You know?

Alex Velasquez:1:27:43

Yeah, sort of just follow the thread. Like if someone pulled you in Yeah, like that. Just follow the thread. And I mean,

Kim Nieve:1:27:49

see why someone inspires you.

Alex Velasquez:1:27:51

Yeah. Cool. That's a that's that's a perfect, perfect ending note. Just follow thread. Yeah. All right, Kim. Thank you.

Kim Nieve:1:28:00

Yes, that was so great. So much fun.

Alex Velasquez:1:28:02

I appreciate just be sharing the all of your career and your knowledge and your experiences and I can't wait to see what you're gonna do. I know.

Kim Nieve:1:28:13

Hopefully soon. Yes. Thank you.