INDIE SPOTLIGHT: Interview with Natural Disaster Film ‘On Fire’ Filmmaker Nick Lyon

Inspired by true and harrowing events, On Fire tells the story of an ordinary man (Peter Facinelli) that finds his world suddenly torn apart as devastating wildfires rip through the surrounding countryside. With precious moments ticking by, he must flee with his son (Asher Angel) and pregnant wife (Fiona Dourif) if they have any hope of surviving the rapid forces of mother nature.

An incredibly important and topical subject matter, fires have become a global natural disaster. And there's certainly nothing more frightening than one happening in your backyard. What would you do? What would happen? This is all explored in Nick Lyon's latest feature, On Fire, where we witness a family go through this emotional and traumatic experience as well through the eyes of a first responder. 

Co-director and co-writer Nick Lyon spoke with Script about how the germ of the idea came to him while camping, why he makes films, and his creative collaboration with both co-writer Ron Peer and co-director and star Peter Facinelli.

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Sadie: How did you land on this story idea with the of element man versus nature and centering this around an All-American family?

Nick Lyon: I was actually just camping with my sons. And I was like, ‘There's one road out of here. Oh, boy, if there was a fire that sparks down the hill, what do I do?’ I do a lot of disaster films and a lot of them aren't that grounded. That's not satisfying because I started filming because I wanted to do something to try to help the world. And I just thought it was a horrifying notion of being stuck. And I was writing a treatment and it's like, you'll not get that done unless you have like $20 million, or 30 million. But I've done a lot of lower-budget disaster action films. So, I kind of knew how to create the movie magic and incorporate visual effects and all that. So that was the start of that, ‘OK, I think I can pull this off on a budget to actually do a forest fire film with a family stuck in a forest fire having to flee it.’And it is like any other thing, the forest fire is the monster and that's what they have to escape.

The story is a combination between me and Ron Peer, who wrote it - I wrote the initial treatment, and then I pitched it, and it was like, ‘Yeah, we could do this. How quickly can you get the script?’ I'm like, ‘OK, I'm in pre-production on this right now. Hey, Ron? Can you write the first draft in two weeks?’ I'm a writer, but he's like a real writer in the sense that he enjoys it. I enjoy it. But for him, writing is like taking a bath. That's his escapism - sitting down and writing. Mine is more purpose-driven. I write because I need to create something to say something. If you get into the flow, it's pretty fun. So, Ron was perfect. He wrote the first draft based on my treatment. And then I took over and I rewrote it. And we just bounced back and forth.

As a writer, I like to collaborate because it's such a lonely sport. It's not really very fun to play baseball alone or to go to the playground when you're a kid to play alone. I like coming up with ideas, and the structure, and then I like bouncing off with a partner, because it's just more fun.

Sadie: One element that I really enjoyed was not only are we following the emotional turmoil of this family but also the dispatcher and what she’s going through as she’s tracking this monster, as you say, on the map.

Nick: That was our, let's say, homage to all first responders, our salute to them…because we're playing on a lower budget, I don't want to have massive crews with fire trucks and real fire, and we've seen that with other films following the firefighters. But the side that I haven't seen is the lonely job of the 911 operator, and how isolated you are. And it was her first forest fire, she's a new young operator that's there, and she has to go through the emotions as well, because she's living through a traumatic experience on her end by talking to these people. And then if you can't help people, and you've just talked to them, and you hear them perish, that's a traumatic experience. And so that was a side that really needed to, I think, be told and Ron, and me both agreed on that and brought that into the story. That wasn't in the original treatment.

It also gave us an opportunity to show how fires spread and to bring information about fires. The person going through it wouldn't know how far away the fire is. And they wouldn't know that if a tinder blows and lands a quarter mile from their house or if there's a tree blocking a road and they can't get first responders in or if the area has been evacuated. So, it's an important side.

Sadie: Did you do any additional research, like talking to those who have been through forest fires, maybe some dispatchers or firemen?

Nick: I personally know seven people who have lost their homes to forest fires. I've talked to people who have escaped fires. First responders. I've talked to a lot of people who have had to leave their homes for fires. We did a lot of research, also, in documentary news, interviews, all that stuff, because that's at your fingertips. The story itself is a true story, because it's basically a repeating story…it's a very common story among forest fire survivors.

I wanted it to just feel very real. This is really what happens. And there's enough drama and enough tension in that to make a movie about it. And to understand the people that are going through it, if you don't understand who they are, and you don't feel for them, then you're not going to care. And that was a nice build-up in the story…start it mellow, introduce it, and it's like a ticking time bomb, you're just waiting for it to happen. And then it happens.

Sadie: What was the directing collaboration like with Peter Facinelli and working with him as an actor as well

Nick: It's always a collaboration with film, I like to collaborate. He's the head of his own department. He's the head of Dave Laughlin. And he's a very talented filmmaker. So, we were always discussing where can we make this film better? Where can we emotionally, because you're the head of your department, where's your character gonna go? And so these ideas come collaboratively and we're able to adjust to those. At one point, I did get COVID. And I couldn't be on set. I was in the hotel room and sulking. [laughs] But everything was pretty well prepared. And Peter was able to step in as a director…for the days where I was gone, which was great, because we wouldn't been able to finish the film otherwise. We were butting up against Thanksgiving, and break.

And then it went into post. And as collaborators, you end up talking to each other, and you end up creatively going, ‘Hey, what do you think?’ You get different opinions on things. And that makes for a better film, I believe, because you have more minds working together.

Sadie: There's definitely a nice harmony and tonal consistency in this movie, even though there's two different writers and two different directors.

Nick: That speaks to the script, I would say. The script is the blueprint to follow…you have a script, that's the first film. Second film was production. Third film is in the edit. And there's a lot of things that go into all of those. 

SAG-AFTRA has approved an interim agreement for On Fire since the film is being released by Cineverse, an independent, non-AMPTP affiliated distributor. Under the terms, members “may work on these productions without being in violation of the strike order,” per the guild. The entire team of On Fire expresses their gratitude to SAG-AFTRA for allowing the cast to promote On Fire during this challenging time for the industry.

On Fire is available only in Theaters on September 29, 2023.