When Nicolette Norgaard, Tim Hoffmann and Patrick Meaney were holed up in isolation during the pandemic, thoughts began to percolate about a pop duo that goes into hiding mysteriously after one of their tracks unexpectedly becomes a huge hit, thanks to a viral performance clip and some choice endorsements on social media. However, whereas Lena and James had grown uncomfortable going out into public, the opposite proved true for the actors Norgaard and Hoffmann who eventually got to play them, all too ready to get back out into the open where they could once again feel a sense of community on a film production.
“Everyone who was on set felt their creativity was so pent up,” Norgaard recalls. “And the crew was mostly made up of our friends…”
“It was really a moving experience,” added Hoffmann, finishing her thought. “And after such a long time of not seeing them, not only all get to see each other, but to make something together, that’s the reason why we do what we do, so that was just a real gift.”
That energy becomes a driving force in “The Brink Of,” which charts Lena and James’ rise to stardom when the two are compelled to look back during a radio interview intended to restart their career after enough time passed following their disappearance from the stage for the public to lose interest. The two need some time themselves to become interested in one another one again, facing an issue unlike most singing/songwriting duos of opposite sexes on screen before when their purely platonic relationship prevents them from being completely in sync when both are in and out of relationships at different times, complicating their harmonies for the worse than for the better. Friends since middle school, their relationship is changed even further by instant fame and as their breakout single “Sunny” rises, the two have to reevaluate everything including their feelings towards one another.
While the scenario reminds of the bright shining moment of The Civil Wars, clearly an inspiration for the narrative given some of the social media shoutouts Luna and Jax receive, writer/director Meaney and Norgaard and Hoffmann, who not only star as the pop act but write all their original songs, remix the narrative when the two attempt a reconciliation and perspective has a way of finally putting them in tune. Norgaard and Hoffmann had such a good time together that they have already started taking their act out on the road, but even if they haven’t stopped in a city near you on their tour, “The Brink Of” is bringing them into living rooms nationwide as it debuts on streaming and digital platforms this week and the two spoke about getting to duet in front of the camera and behind the scenes for the musical drama, how the film inspired their live show and a fun final day of filming.
How did this come about?
Tim Hoffmann: We met Patrick Meaney, the writer/director, and he had this idea for a low budget film. Nico and I have actually known each other since college and it was so funny, we literally had an assignment in class on our first day at UCLA where we had to write a song together. and then we’d been friends for all of college, [so during the pandemic] industry turmoil when work was hard to come by, we got together with Patrick and decided to make the film that we’d always wanted to be in.
Nicolette Norgaard: Patrick wrote the first draft, and then from there, we started working on the music, figuring out where we were going to place the songs and the music and the script started to inform each other. All of the music was written in the context of the characters and their lives and perspectives and that was a great acting exercise because we knew the characters so well before we started filming. We created backstories for them for things that aren’t even in the script that songs were based on, so that was really cool.
Tim Hoffmann: Yeah, the three of us worked really, really closely. Our fingerprints are all over the script and Patrick’s are on the songs too and it was really was a big effort between the three of us.
From what I understand, the momentum behind this to get it made might have felt similar to the rise of the musical duo in the film. What was it like to see come together?
Nicolette Norgaard: It definitely felt like life started to mirror the film in some ways as time began to go on. After we shot it, we started performing as a real band and things started getting very meta as time went on.
Tim Hoffmann: Even before the film, we decided to include some scenes that were based on conflict that we were having as artists trying to make the film, like the scene where they’re arguing about if they should incorporate new elements in the music or keep doing what they’re doing? Those are based on real arguments the two of us had about what we wanted the music to sound like, so it all blended and fed into each other.
Was it interesting to think of music in a narrative way when you hear some of the songs evolve over the course of the film?
Nicolette Norgaard: Yeah, I feel like the song that’s featured most in the film is “Sunny,” nd we actually got a really great note from one of our producers Jonathan McHugh, who said when he watched the first cut of the film, “This is the ‘focus song,’ so we need to keep hearing it throughout the film,” and we found more and more ways to incorporate it. For example, when James is showing his college friend the song in the dorm room, and then when he hears it on the radio after the party, that was an added scene after the first cut, so [we thought about] new ways to create an ear candy for the audience and hook them more into the song.
You’re able to create a sense of scale with that opening musical montage where you’re singing in so many locations. What was that like to actually shoot?
Tim Hoffmann: We shot a lot of the montages that are in the film on our very last day of shooting. We didn’t even use sound. It was basically just the three of us and a few of the core team driving around L.A. with a camera. We went to shopping malls and the beach and it was really the perfect way to end the film. We were all just really grateful that we were getting to do this and spend time together and a lot of that joy you see in those montage scenes is real. That day was such an adventure just to drive around and it didn’t feel like work at all.
You bring up something that I don’t always realize myself, which is that for a lot of the music, you actually have to add the sound in later. Is that tricky as a performer?
Tim Hoffmann: The nice thing with the music is that we actually recorded a lot of the music live — definitely “See You in My Dreams” and “Never,” those two songs we recorded live on the day because we really wanted to have that experience because it’s so much about their dynamic and their relationship that it wouldn’t be the same [to prerecord them]. It’s almost like musical theater where it has to be live so we can react and play off each other. But “Sunny” in the beginning is pre-recorded, and to get to do some of the songs live was tough, but a really fulfilling exercise.
Something else that looked tough was the party scene that unfolded in one very long take. What was that like to pull off?
Nicolette Norgaard: That was definitely the hardest day of filming, but also ended up being my favorite day. It was a 10-minute one-er, which is crazy and basically all of the extras in that scene were our friends. And [again] because of the nature of the shot, nobody could make any noise, so even though we’re partying, what Patrick would do, which is such a genius directorial [move] is we would do the scene once with music blasting and people talking to get that energy of the party up and it felt authentic and then we do the scene again with no music and it turned out so great.
And did I hear right, you’re actually performing live now as a real act?
Tim Hoffmann: Yeah, and it’s been cool because we did a show in New York where we had a projector behind us and we’d have like moments from the film playing while we’re playing the music and in between, we’d have the lights come down and we’d be able to intro the next song with a scene from the movie, so it’s a lot of fun. It’s great to give the audience something to latch onto other than just the music. To give them context and narrative behind it creates a different relationship between you and the audience.
What’s it like getting the film out into the world?
Nicolette Norgaard: I’m really excited for it for all the people who’ve been asking me, what have you been working on? And there was a scene where my character plays a solo song in the cabin, and it had to be cut, which was definitely the right move because it wasn’t moving the plot forward, but that song will be on the soundtrack as a bonus track, so I’m excited to have that song out there, even though it didn’t make it into the movie.
Tim Hoffmann: And it’s definitely a little nerve wracking for sure. You know, it’s like something that you have in your head and then it’s a film that you have out in the world on people’s TVs and in their homes, so it’s definitely scary to think about this, but also incredibly exciting. And to see all the hard work pay off and the fact that you can get it on Amazon or Apple TV, that’s really exciting for us. It’s all we ever wanted.
“The Brink Of” is now available to stream on AppleTV.