---
title: EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT – NICHOLAS SCHMALZ
description: After three years at Mills James, Creative Director Nicholas Schmalz always finds the heart at the center of every project.
image: https://blog.millsjames.com/hubfs/NicholasSchmalz_Hubspot.jpg
---

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 Oct 30, 2025, 7:00:02 AM

# EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT – NICHOLAS SCHMALZ

[Mills James](https://blog.millsjames.com/employee-spotlight-blogs/author/mills-james)

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EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT – NICHOLAS SCHMALZ

5:48

 

It seems that Nicholas Schmalz was always meant to be a storyteller.

From chance encounters with Robert De Niro to closing high-stakes deals that once seemed impossible, his creative curiosity has taken him to some unbelievable places. Now, in his three years at Mills James, this LA-based Creative Director always finds the human heart at the center of every project. Shaped from an early age by poetry, nature, people, and professional wrestling (of course), Nicholas’ storytelling spirit influences everything he does, and makes him the standout collaborator and creative force that he is known to be. Whether it’s chasing an idea or an unexpected adventure, he somehow always finds the story worth telling.

Read on for Nicholas’ remarkable journeys and the things that continue to inspire his work:

**![NicholasSchmalz_Hubspot](https://blog.millsjames.com/hs-fs/hubfs/NicholasSchmalz_Hubspot.jpg?width=505&height=286&name=NicholasSchmalz_Hubspot.jpg)  
How long have you been at Mills James?**

*Three years.*

What did your life look like before MJ?

*I was running my own production company, something I started in my late twenties. Some projects soared and others unwillingly taught me patience. But I learned more from that period than almost anything else. A lot of what I do at Mills James now comes directly from those years of trial, error, and occasional miracles. *

**What led you to a career in this industry?**

*I grew up with my mother and sister. We moved constantly. My mom wrote poetry, and we were always surrounded by nature.*

*All of that shaped how I learned to see the world. At every new school, everyone already knew each other, so I naturally became an observer, watching people and moments from the outside in.*

*At home, I’d listen to my mother write and read her poems aloud. One of them has always stayed with me. I still remember it by heart:*

*Glorious  
As I walked among the trees  
I found myself upon my knees  
Earth’s sanctuary I had entered  
The birds sang praises to the sky  
And I, seeing no passerby, joined in  
I was then present  
For the birth  
Of a brand new day  
Upon the earth  
And I called it, Glorious*

*When I wasn’t listening to poetry, I was outside hunting for deer bones. Looking back, all of that helped develop creativity.*

*By eleven, I liked professional wrestling, WWF, WWE. My friends and I would film ourselves doing wrestling moves, and eventually, I started writing scripts for our matches. Full choreography, fake rivalries, props, table smashes, everything.*

*Around that same time, I became interested in how movies were made. I remember wondering how scenes were stitched together. I didn’t even know what editing was, so we’d just shoot films in order on a camcorder: one shot, press stop, next shot, press record. It was clunky, chaotic, and completely thrilling.*

*Long story short, it started early. Really early.    *

**What is a project that you have worked on that sticks out to you? **

*What comes to mind is the time the COO, Scott Lanum, and a few senior leaders, Holly Berger, Florian Butterhoff, and Marsha Barrett, gave me 24 hours’ notice and sent me to a conference in Los Angeles with the purpose of securing a deal with a distributor for a very high-stakes project. I didn’t know a single person at the event.*

*It felt like Mission: Impossible.*

*Scott said something like, “This isn’t for fun. You’re going to find a distributor and make it happen."*

*The next morning, I was in the back of an Uber heading to Universal Studios, holding a coffee, thinking,* This is completely impossible. What am I doing?

*Somehow, I bumped into the right person, said the right thing, and we closed the deal.  *

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

* Real people. Art, design, film, nature, music, sound. Kind people. Simple things. Beautiful things.*

**Tell us about a professional success story that you're proud of.**

*This isn’t the typical “corporate proud” story, but it’s one I’ll never forget.*

*In 2009, I was a production coordinator for the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center Honors were coming up, and I was asked to attend the pre-event brunch as someone’s companion. When I got there, I found myself seated at the head of a table with Robert De Niro sitting a few seats away.*

*I was twenty-four and trying to act cool. After the event ended, De Niro stood up, walked straight to me, and said, “Who are you?"*

*I panicked. “I’m Nicholas,” I said. Then he got pulled away by people before I could say another word. I’ve replayed that moment for years, thinking of all the things I should have said, like, “I’m an actor! Put me in your next film!"*

*I always wished I had another chance...*

*Then it happened.*

*In 2011, I was working at the Doha Film Institute in Qatar during the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, a partnership between Tribeca and DFI. I was producing cool promos and running a live “couch interview” setup where filmmakers were interviewed.*

*My boss told me, “Robert De Niro is coming to do a couch interview.”*

*I asked, “Can I interview him?”*

*“No,” I could not. I was not a presenter or a host of the program.*

*But my boss said, “You can meet him outside and escort him into the building.”   *

*So, I waited in the desert heat. When he arrived in a golf cart with his wife, I walked up and said I’d be his contact. Fifteen seconds later, I blurted out, “I was with you at the Kennedy Center Honors!"*

*He just looked at me and nodded. No recognition. But his lovely wife smiled and said, “I thought you looked familiar."*

*He did the interview, told me, “Good job, kid,” and waited for me to do something, which, apparently, was escort him out. I didn’t realize that part. I just let him go, and once again, he was surrounded by people.  *

*Maybe I’ll get one more chance. *

**Describe an interesting hobby or pastime that you have.**

*Making independent films.*

**What are you looking forward to in the future?**

*Surprises.*

 

[Spotlight](https://blog.millsjames.com/employee-spotlight-blogs/tag/spotlight)

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