New York Nico Talks Directorial Debut 'Out of Order' Starring Kareem Rahma, and Being More Than an Influencer

Real ones know the stress that comes with being out and about and getting the sudden urge to desperately need the restroom. Nicolas Heller, widely known as New York Nico, is making his directorial debut with Out of Order—a short film that follows the journey of a 30-year-old named Ernie (Kareem Rahma) who is searching for a bathroom before heading to an important first date. During his journey, Ernie deals with a series of unfortunate events that make it impossible for him to find a viable toilet to use in NYC, lessening his chances of being on time to meet up with Julia, the first woman he has gone out with since his divorce.

The film is written and stars comedian Kareem Rahma. Heller and Rahma had been friends for years before they decided to combine their respective skills to make this project a reality. When he signed on to write the script, the comedian secretly hoped he would also be cast as the lead, and that’s exactly what happened. Rahma’s take on Ernie is endearing and hilarious, you hate to see him deal with all the madness he goes through but he also makes it pretty easy for viewers to find humor in his misfortunes.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you two, I know Kareem, you wrote it and Nico, you’re directing it. How did you guys get together on this project?

Nicolas Heller: Sure. Well, I’ve always wanted to make a narrative film, figured I had to make a short before I made a feature. the only problem with that is that I’m not much of a writer. I have really good ideas for stories, but I can’t fill in the middle part of that. So I went to Kareem and I told him that I had an idea that’s loosely based on a true story, about a guy who has to find a bathroom for a really important date and I also knew the ending already. So I revealed the ending to him, which I won’t reveal to your readers. I also knew that I wanted to incorporate all these incredible New Yorkers that you may have seen on my Instagram page who aren’t necessarily actors, but I felt confident that I would be able to bring out good performances from them. So Kareem took that and then filled everything out. Then we just went back and forth and tried to fine-tune things. It was very natural. Great collaboration.

Had you guys worked together before?

NH: We’ve been friends for probably like six or seven years. And we’ve talked about working in the past, but this was the first thing that we’ve worked on.

Kareem Rahma: When Nic hit me up with the premise, I was so in immediately. I didn’t have to think about it. He was just like, “I think that this would be a funny movie,” and I was like, “I 100% agree.” And then when he said that he wanted to cast it with his personalities and the people that he’s found throughout his years, it made writing the script so much easier because I was essentially writing scenes around the characters. I made a big list of characters from his page and was like, how about this person? How about this person? We whittled it down to 10 or so. And so for every scene, it was really easy to write a new scene for every character and keep the story moving with me as a vessel which the audience gets to experience everyone through.

Can you talk a little bit about the decision for you to star in the short?

KR: For me, it was something that I wanted to do from day one. I think that the movie’s so funny and to work with Nic, was a real pleasure. When it came down to it, I wrote it with me in mind. Nic did not know that fully. Then when it came down to casting, our first meeting in person, when we were going over the script, it was probably the 15th or 16th draft, he was kind of just like, “OK, so you’ll play the guy.” And I was secretly like, “Fuck yeah.”

NH: I knew that Kareem wanted to play the guy, but I also knew if we happened to find an A-list actor, he would be fine with us going that route.

Brad Pitt?

NH: Brad Pitt was the natural first pick.

KR: I would happily give it up for Brad.

NH: But I couldn’t picture doing it any other way. I think it’s so important, obviously, you can do it without doing this, but I feel like it makes things so much easier when your star also wrote it and produced it with you. Also, when you’re working with non-actors, it really helps to have someone like Kareem who really knows the story, really knows me and what I’m trying to do. It really helps to have him as the anchor.

You said it was based on a true story. Let me go back to that. Can you share whose story it was?

NH: It was my story. Based very, very loosely. Very loosely.

So when you were in that predicament: I feel like as a New Yorker, you have to have your go-to places. Where do you go?

NH: Well, I’m not going to give my secrets away. But some general places: Bars are good. Restaurants are good. Hotels are good. I would do that over Starbucks or McDonald’s because those lines are always so long and the bathrooms are so dirty, but a restaurant you just walk in and kind of act like you own the place.

KR: I want to go on the record to say that I would never poop in a bar, Nico. It’s weird that that was your first choice.

NH: Well, I’m talking about peeing, but-

But you see, guys can go anywhere when it comes to that.

KR: Yeah, but I actually have a fear of that because I got a public urination ticket and I have not peed outside since I got that ticket.

Why? You learned your lesson?

KR: No, I got the ticket. And then they made me go to a meeting. I had to go to a pee-ers anonymous meeting where the community board essentially just yelled at me for 30 minutes. And they were like, “Do you understand what it feels like to have piss in your neighborhood? And we wake up at 8:00 a.m. to walk our dogs and there’s piss all over the sidewalks? And it’s because of people like you?” I was really young at the time. And ever since that day, I made a vow and a pledge to never urinate in public, again, in exchange for them not being mad at me anymore.

So now for the movie, how did you get to that point where one of the characters tells your character, “Everywhere is your bathroom”?

KR: The film is pretty slapstick, but there is an emotional undertone to it. It’s obviously about this guy who desperately needs to get to this date to prove something to himself and to get over the divorce. He wears his wedding ring, even though he’s divorced. And he’s kind of just coming out of this depression and the baby scene is kind of like “the world is your oyster.” Obviously, the metaphor is that everything’s a toilet, everything’s a bathroom, but like, the world is your oyster. Don’t let anyone stand in your way.

With the cameos, how did you convince them to be in the film and how was the whole process with them being on set?

NH: It didn’t take any convincing for anyone. I’m actually trying to think if there’s anyone we asked who said no, and I don’t believe there was. They’re all playing exaggerated versions of themselves. So it wasn’t such a stretch in terms of acting as another character. But for a lot of the characters, we just had them improv, which was more natural for them. Some talent took a little bit longer than others to nail it. But at the end of the day, they all got to where they needed to go.

How were you able to capture that magic and energy that New York City has in the movie?

NH: Well, I think that stuff kind of just comes naturally to me because it’s what I do. If you’re familiar with my Instagram, you see that I kind of have like an eye for that stuff. And New York is all I really know. I’ve lived here my whole. So it comes through in all of my work. And these specific characters are people who I’ve met and featured on my page because they’re like one-of-a-kind New Yorkers. The film wouldn’t have been what it is had we cast all of those roles with professional actors.

It would’ve lost some of its authenticity.

KR: Of course. And you know how some days you walk out your door and you drop your iced coffee, and then you miss a train, and then your shoe gets stuck in the grate, and then you step in dog poop, and then it just keeps getting worse and worse? That is the energy of the film. It’s just like, “what else could go wrong?”

And you have those days in the city that are unavoidable and maybe they only happen like once or twice a year where you just feel like the whole fucking place is turning against you. And you’re like, “I should move to LA.” That’s the energy of the film is, you really want to stay and that’s what makes it so fun. The conflict makes it fun to live here and exciting to live here. I think the way that Nic directed the film, I think it moves so quickly for that reason. He is an embodiment of several New Yorkers. I think he was able to capture that energy really, really easily. I think it comes naturally to him. I certainly couldn’t have directed it like that.

There’s also a lot of conversation around what New York is right now. Especially because of the pandemic and a lot of people left, they moved everywhere else. Do you hope that the movie kind of reminds people that New York is still very much alive?

NH: Absolutely. Yeah. The pandemic for, it wasn’t just me, but for everybody, it was just so depressing. But especially for me as someone who thrives off of like going outside and meeting people, it was very, very depressing. And there was a period at the beginning where I was like, “Are we ever going to get back to that?” But I feel like this film, obviously you’ll see a couple masks on the train scene, but for the most part, it’s a movie that could have taken place before the pandemic.

You have such a massive following on Instagram and in other publications, they’ve called you an “influencer.” But now you’re a director. Was this always the goal for you? You’ve always been into filmmaking, but now that you have this under your belt, where do you hope to take it in the future?

NH: Yeah, I went to school for film. I always wanted to direct out of college. I was directing commercials and music videos and documentaries. And then the Instagram thing kind of took over for a bit. And because people ultimately knew me as an Instagrammer and not a filmmaker, I kind of got lumped into the whole influencer community role. I’m hoping that this film kind of sets me on the path to being a respected filmmaker instead of just an influencer. And this is what I want to do. This is always what I’ve wanted to do is make movies. So I feel like this is kind of a great way to enter that world.

Kareem, what does it feel like to have this premiere at Tribeca?

KR: I mean it’s an absolute dream come true for me. I moved to the city 10 years ago with very different ambitions, but big ambitions nonetheless. And so from the moment Nic mentioned that he was even interested in doing this. I literally took it as seriously as I would a Hollywood studio. I knew that this was one of those moments that could change a lot of things. And I just took it seriously. And literally with the kind of energy of being like, “We’re taking this thing to Tribeca, we’re taking this thing to the Oscars. We’re going to make it as good as possible.” For me, it’s the best outcome ever, and something that has felt like a dream ever since we started working on the film, it’s been the best time of my life.

I’m just having so much fun with it. I’m—humble brag—getting stopped on the street and being asked if I’m in the guy from Nico’s movie, which feels good. “Are you the guy from Nico’s movie?” I’m like, “That is me.” So, it’s awesome, and it’s really exciting. We have such a great team. Every person on the crew was such a pleasure to work with the VP, the editor, the producers, the musicians: It was just awesome. It solidified my decision to also want to do this for a living.

What do you guys hope that people get out of the movie? What would you say is the message overall?

KR: I think at the end of the day it’s okay to laugh. This is a very silly, dumb, fun movie. It almost feels like a return to form in some sense, when it comes to comedy, at least. It’s just a very funny movie. There’s not really a serious message in it. And then I think it really shows that New York is the most exciting dynamic and interesting place in the world. I think that’s the message. This big city feels like a little town. The more and more you get to know people and the more and more you spend time outside, you can really develop a small-town feel in this place.

You really open your mind and allow it to take you in. I’ve been so fortunate to feel that ever since moving here 10 years ago. I feel like a New Yorker. I feel like I belong here, and it’s because everyone’s so different and everyone’s so inspired and everyone’s so weird. So I think it’s a little, love letter to the city and the people in it and that, it’s okay to laugh. It’s okay to have fun. Let’s do the damn thing.