Nicholas Shumaker is nearly thirty and excited to go gray. He enjoys eating good food and drinking rum. He has been working as a producer for the last nine years, spending four combing thru the bureaucracies of Cuba.

He currently works in NYC with projects that vary from feature films to documentaries. At the moment he has two in post-production-AMERICAN MYSTIC and LAUGHTER, and is in production on a documentary about gender discrimination in the Olympics tentatively titled FIGHTING GRAVITY.  He is about to start shooting a feature called ANOTHER EARTH which he is producing with Paul Mezey and Hunter Gray, and their terrific non-profit Artists Public Domain.

How and why you got involved in film making?

I needed a job out of university and played a rarified game of tennis professionally. Realizing that that might not be the best path for me, I assisted for Mike Cerre, a producer from Nightline, and then headed off to Cuba on grant for three plus years, where I did a doc called BOXERS AND BALLERINAS . I then headed back to the States, met a terrific fellow named Jack Turner at a bar who was starting a company, and the rest has been history. I love documentaries and find people to be so inexplicably interesting. I find their stories to be so valuable on so many different levels, and feel blessed to be able to scratch by making a living on this.

What inspires you?

Werner Herzog, the directors I work with--specifically Alex Mar, Neil Davenport, and Mike Cahill. But that's who. What inspires me.... Human stories on a variety of level. And the Ear Inn and Pao (http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/po00/). David Wain and his good friend Jim Stansel

Favorite Projects you have worked on so far?

I love all the projects I'm working on right now, but am particularly amped with the three I have in production. Very excited about FIGHTING GRAVITY, as it exposes an a reprehensible case of gender discrimination levied by the International Olympic Committee towards Female Ski Jumpers.

• AMERICAN MYSTIC will be beautiful and will reconfigure our outlook on fringe religions.

• ANOTHER EARTH will be surreal and trippy.

Favorite directors?

Werner Herzog.

He's a maverick and can consistently discover some of the more interesting stories and people. Similarly Errol Morris. Also a big fan of the absurdest comedy of David Wain, Michael Showalter, and Michael Ian-Black.

What would be a dream project for you?

I would work on any Herzog film--even as an intern or PA.

Favorite websites?

• I'm addicted to indiewire.com.

• Sadly. Also love politico.com and truthdig.com

• and some sites that i'd rather not mention as my Grandmother, who is quite internet savvy, might stumble on this site and find them quite distasteful.

FIGHTING GRAVITY, tell us more...

We're shooting FIGHTING GRAVITY right now, and you can see the trailer on youtube or join our facebook page. I think it's a compelling story, and these girls--who have dedicated their lives to the original extreme winter sport--have been continually shot down by an old guard of the Olympic Committee who, in the past, have held the sport back for reasons that deal with reproduction. As if hockey or gymnastics doesn't offer risks, for men or for women!

Sign the petition to include Women in the Olympics for Ski Jumping.

http://www.wsj2010.com/