Tribeca 2024: Nuked | Interview with Deena Kashper

Laughter makes its way to the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival with Deena Kashper’s directorial feature film debut Nuked which had its world premiere in the Spotlight Narrative selection of the festival. The film stars Anna Camp as Gill Langer, an influencer and relationship podcaster, who loves and tends to overshare. Gill and her husband Jack (Justin Bartha) throw a 40th birthday party at a rented mansion. Together they invite their college friends for an unplugged cannabis-infused dinner party. While the high sets in, the group learns a bomb is headed towards them. Kashper definitely had a memorable time on set as she tells a quirky story with a comedic cast that also stars the likes of Natasha Leggero, Lucy Punch, Maulik Pancholy and many more. In our exclusive interview with Kashper, she discusses her favorite scene to film, working with Bartha and Camp, and praises how Leggero is a comedic genius.

Kristin Ciliberto: How did you come up with the concept for the film?

Deena Kashper: Nuked was inspired by the Hawaii bomb scare of 2018 when a gentleman who worked for the government of Hawaii sent out a text to the entire state saying that there was a ballistic missile headed right for Hawaii. It took another 38 minutes for him to send the next text that said, Nevermind. My bad. No, no bomb. That was the inspiration kind of. I thought that it was a great platform to explore relationships and our dependency on technology, and then it just kind of all blossomed from there.

KC: Justin Bartha and Anna Camp not only star in the film, but executive produced the film. What was it like working with them?

DK: Justin Bartha was an executive producer on the film and he was the first one to sign on to the film. He has been an amazing collaborator. He is very passionate about filmmaking, and Anna signed on a little after Justin. They had worked together before on a play. I felt like they had this chemistry coming into that. I was just really fortunate to benefit from Anna, who is one of my favorite people to work with. She is just an amazing, professional, wonderfully gifted actress. The two of them together I think are just a believable, heartfelt couple that a lot of people and couples can relate to. It was just an amazing experience working with them.

KC:  What films and artists inspired you to tell the story?

DK:  I love Lynn Shelton and Joe Swambergin in terms of improv-based filmmakers from like mumblecore and I love to incorporate improv. Those are filmmakers that I think have set such an amazing precedent in that way of filmmaking. Growing up I loved Tim Burton. I also grew up on John Hughes’ films and his honesty in writing is something which I pulled a lot from and relationships of how he always seems to get to this deep core of characters. I pull from a lot of different filmmakers and have a lot of different influences stemming from the 80s on up to current for Nuked specifically. I think you’ll probably see, hopefully in some of that location, little clues, some big chills, and there’s other ones, but those are the main ones.

KC: Without giving anything away, what was your favorite scene to film?

DK:  I think the scenes with all the actors together. I will say there’s a dinner scene and I don’t think that’s giving away too much because it’s a cannabis-infused dinner party and we shot it all in one day. It was crazy, very loud and we had all nine actors involved. It was really a very long day and so much fun! Natasha Leggero is a comedic genius. I think just being able to work with all nine of the actors at the same time in that beautiful room around food was just so much fun but a very long day. When you’re having fun, it feels like it goes super fast.

KC: What does it mean to you to have the film premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival?

DK: It’s everything! It’s like a dream come true! As a filmmaker, this is my first feature. We hoped we would premiere at a festival like Tribeca. It’s an amazing opportunity. One that every filmmaker really dreams of and hopes for because it’s the most amazing platform for your film. It’s been just a game-changer for us. We’re a very small film. All of our cast is showing up to support and promote the film which is also a dream come true. It’s still kind of surreal, to be honest. Like it doesn’t seem real. I’m just kind of like going through it, but I’m incredibly proud. I am very grateful the Festival Coordinator and all of the staff here at Tribeca who are just so generous with their time and warmth. I felt very welcome here and at all of the events. You meet such amazing creators and filmmakers and the energy of New York is contagious. It’s just everything to be here, it really is!

KC: Can you give three words to describe the film? Oh, dang. Take your time.

DK: I guess, funny, heart and relationships.

Deena Kashper’s passion and creativity shine through in Nuked, making it a standout debut that is sure to leave audiences both laughing and reflecting on the quirks of modern relationships. Explore our exclusive coverage of the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival here.