Adam Sigal: How Transitioning From Private Investigator to Filmmaker Fueled Unique Storytelling

As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Adam Sigal.

As a kid, Adam Sigal always wanted to be a sci-fi and fantasy novelist. His dad introduced him very young to stuff like Lord of the Rings, Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, and his interest grew from there. In fact, he published a sci-fi novel when he was 18-years-old.

Shortly after graduating from high school in 2000, Adam moved out to Los Angeles to pursue a Hollywood career as a writer/director/producer. Like so many others following the same dream, he took a “survival job,” as a private investigator, which he did for almost 12 years. The experience allowed him to see so many sides of society, and influenced his writing and worldview.

Adam’s first real film as a writer and director was in 2015 with When the Starlight Ends, a comedy/drama about a writer who goes through a terrible breakup and decides to rewrite his life the way he wanted it to go. His second feature film as a writer and director came in 2019 with Stakeout, a mostly autobiographical account of his experiences as a private investigator working in Los Angeles.

Most recently, Adam wrapped his third feature film, The Chariot, a sci-fi drama starring John Malkovich, Thomas Mann and Rosa Salazar. The movie — which also stars Shane West, Scout Taylor Compton, Vernon Davis, Chris Mullinax and Joseph Baena-Schwarzenegger — tells the story of a corporation and doctor (Malkovich) that oversees the process of reincarnation, and a young man (Mann) who becomes a glitch in the system when he encounters a woman (Salazar) he loved in a previous life.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?

I grew up moving around a lot! I was born in New Hampshire, then was in Virginia, then Florida, then Northern California, then Florida again, and I made my way to Los Angeles permanently at age 20. I grew up middle class with amazing parents who did their best to give me a great life. So I have no idea why my writing is so weird and dark, because I had a pretty trauma-free upbringing, for the most part. Unless I’m just repressing things…

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

READING. I’ve been an avid reader since I was very young. My dad introduced me to stuff like Lord of the Rings, Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, and it was all over from there. As a child, I always thought I would grow up to be a novelist. In fact, I published a sci-fi novel when he was 18-years-old. When I moved out to Los Angeles, obviously the film industry was everywhere, and one day an actress friend showed me a script that she was auditioning for, asking for my help. I read it and it was absolutely awful and I thought, THIS is a movie script?! I could write something better than this in my sleep.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?

For the first 10 years or so of my career as a filmmaker, I was also working a semi full-time job as a private investigator in Los Angeles. I did surveillance on people, investigating worker’s compensation fraud (and the occasional cheating husband or wife). One day I got a case file on my desk and the name was immediately familiar…this was a film producer who I not only knew, but with whom I’d been speaking regularly about financing one of my upcoming films! In fact, I actually had a meeting scheduled to get coffee with him for later that week! I read the case and he was under investigations for defrauding a company he had worked for, claiming he could not even leave his house because of how traumatized he was by his experience there.

I called my partner and told him what was going on and I said, “If you’re trying to track down XXXXXXXX, I can make it easy for you. I’m meeting him at the Starbucks on Ventura Blvd on Thursday at 2PM.” My partner showed up, parked across the street and did surveillance on our entire meeting (conveniently keeping me off camera haha), and submitted the evidence that this guy was definitely not so traumatized that he could not leave his house. Needless to say, that producer did not end up financing any of my films.

Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

I feel like the film industry is full of interesting people! I’ve worked with some legendary actors thus far. Sam Heughan, star of the show Outlander, is a really sweet and genuine person, and was a joy to work with. Tom Berenger was really passionate and fun to work with — he had so many stories of the good old days working on movies like Platoon and Major League. Recently, I did a film with John Malkovich, who has become a friend, and he is an incredibly interesting man! We have the same peculiar sense of humor, and his stories of working on the classic films he’s been a part of are absolutely hysterical and bizarre.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

One thing I discovered early on is that there really are very few truly kind and helpful people in the film industry. There are a lot who pretend to be, but really want something in return. An exception for me was the actor Sam Heughan. Sam was the lead in my first real feature film, and heading into production, some major changes came about, which easily could have torpedoed the film. To be clear: the producers not only cut Sam’s pay for the film by like 90%, but they wanted me to break the news to him, with the warning that if he was out, there was no movie. So I called Sam, certain that it was all over, but rather than walking, Sam just said that he’s doing the movie no matter what, and that his fee would at least almost cover his travel and living expenses during production. This level of kindness and loyalty was entirely unwarranted and completely unexpected, and I will never, ever forget it.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Probably the age-old saying that “life is what happens while you’re making plans.” It’s so hard for me sometimes to stop and look around at what is happening to me now and be grateful for it. I’m just an absolute maniac always striving for something more/better.

I am very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

Well, I’m just your average white guy, so I’m probably not the most qualified to speak on this subject. But I can say, after almost 15 years now in this industry, talent and competence know no color. If you for any reason pigeonhole yourself to preferring a person of a specific race for any role in front of or behind the camera, you are making a huge mistake. There are incredibly talented people of every race, and discrimination should have no place in this (or any) industry. Additionally, at least from the perspective of a writer/director, you have to realize that people enjoy watching people on camera who look like them, or have had a similar life journey to them, so if you gravitate only toward a specific race within your own art, you are inherently alienating large portions of society, and I have no idea why you would possibly want to do that.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’m in post-production on my latest feature film, The Chariot, a sci-fi reincarnation drama starring John Malkovich, Thomas Mann and Rosa Salazar. Over five years in the making, with some added precautions due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the movie tells the story of a corporation and doctor (Malkovich) that oversees the process of reincarnation, and a young man (Mann) who becomes a glitch in the system when he encounters a woman (Salazar) he loved in a previous life. It’s dark and bizarre, and also stars Shane West, Scout Taylor Compton, Vernon Davis, Chris Mullinax and Joseph Baena-Schwarzenegger.

I’m also in early development on my next feature, a true story about a talking Mongoose.

I’m also producing a number of films over the next year.

Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?

I think what makes me most proud is that I’m making movies that I believe are unique. I’m not making typical genre fare, I’m trying not to go the route of making safe films that are necessarily commercially viable. I’m trying to blaze my own path and create things that are different from what is out there…and it has definitely not been an easy route! I could have been making horror or thrillers or faith-based movies, and probably be very rich by now.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Do your own research! Don’t rely on people who say they know how something works, because they probably don’t.

Do not be patient! If you don’t hear from someone reasonably quickly, they are not interested.

The people in this industry are, in the end, people. Connecting with someone on a personal level is way more important than talking about money/scripts/projects. Everyone has a script they are pitching or an idea or a film fund, but people remember you when you talk to them about the things that are actually important in their lives.

Let everyone do their own job on set! The biggest problem you ever face on a film set is when departments start doing the job of other departments.

DO NOT HIRE YOUR FRIENDS BECAUSE THEY ARE YOUR FRIENDS. Or for any other reason than that, they are the most talented and perfect person for that specific position.

When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?

Hmm, this is a tough question. I could care less what critics think, but I do care about the viewers and my investors! But in the end, I do stick pretty hard to my creative vision as much as possible.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would love to start a movement toward more originality in Hollywood, less concepts that are just slight twists on existing concepts, or spin-offs, or reboots, or remakes, or remakes of remakes, or re-takes on a specific genre. I don’t know if this would do much good for anyone, but it would sure make me happy!

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)

Ha…I would love to meet David Lynch. He is my idol, as far as filmmaking and storytelling are concerned, and I would love to pick his brain regarding how he creates the incredible stories he does.

How can our readers further follow you online?

I’m most active on Instagram, @soaringsigal, although I do just post a lot of pictures of my kids and bad memes on there.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!