Director Roger Nygard

Filmmaker Roger Nygard is no stranger to strange types. His film "Trekkies" and its sequel explored the subculture of people who wear pointy ears, Starfleet uniforms, and pretend they live and serve alongside Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Nygard's latest film, "The Nature of Existence," goes a little deeper, exploring the various theories and dogma surrounding the origin of life on Earth and belief structures around the world and how they relate to what humans really are meant to do on this planet, if there are intentions at all.

Of course, he also interacts with people who may be, shall we say, less than all there.

Nygard spoke to The Yap about his film, what is normal, and Trekkies who are bedroom roleplaying as Denise Crosby. The Yap: So what is the origin of the universe and the meaning of life?

RN: (laughs) You know, I get that question a lot. Everyone wants to know..."What is the answer?" The problem with that is once you have the answer, it's all over. Why would anyone want this journey to end? Once the journey ends you have to get off the stage. Being on stage is where the fun is. The journey is where the enjoyment is. But people are looking for this complex answer in the sky. But the answer is probably so simple, that's why it's hard for us to see it. And coupled with that, you really can't give somebody else a purpose. They have to choose it or arrive at it themselves. But what you can do is give them some help, some information, some clues, and that's what this film does, I think. It gives them a lot of clues, and you can draw an answer, but you have to do the work yourself.

The Yap: Can you talk about what got you to this project? What drew you to it?

RN: Yeah, I wanted to know what the answer was! (laughs) I was in the same place. And even to expand a little more on that, that answer really has more to do with creation. The universe was created somehow, and as part of the universe our purpose is to continue to create.

I had my first existential crisis at the age of seven when I realized I probably wasn't permanent. As a child you're this being that says "I'm here, and of course I'll always be here." Then one day you have an epiphany, your first existential crisis when you realize you're not going to be here forever. Throughout my life I've wrestled with that, and finally as a filmmaker realized I could make a film about this particular existential crisis.

The Yap: So how did you go about trying to find that answer in the film?

RN: If you watch the film, there are a lot of people who say they have the answer. But often times their answers are contradictory to other peoples' answers. So then the question becomes "What is truth?" How do we find truth? Is there an objective truth out there?" So searching for truth becomes the next chapter or layer in my search. And each layer becomes this infinite existential onion. Under the surface layer there's another layer.

Some people like to stay in that surface layer and say, "well, I've got the answer. I'm done." But the problem is, if you already have the answer, new information is a threat.

The Yap: "The Nature of Existence" shares a lot of themes with Bill Maher's film "Religulous." Did his film have anything to do with yours?

RN: I actually started filming before Bill Maher, and finished after he did. That's partly because I didn't have the resources of someone financing me, so I had to work for awhile, then shoot, then work, then shoot with just one partner. My process began began in 2003 on this film.

The Yap: What are your thoughts on "Religulous"? Of course there are parallels, but your film is less cynical than his, and yours is skewed a little differently.

RN: I really enjoyed watching "Religulous." To me, "Religulous" is one person's point of view for 100 minutes. "The Nature of Existence" is the world's opinion for 90 minutes. You get to see what the rest of the world thinks about an afterlife, defining God, what is prayer, what is morality, et cetera. I sought out representatives of all the major religions and belief systems on the planet, and ask them all to explain what they believe on these topics. It's not just comparative religion, it's comparative religion, philosophy, belief, lack of belief, science, et cetera.

At the end I'm not going to pontificate or preach. At the end of "Religulous" Bill Maher gets on his soapbox and preaches for about 7 or 8 minutes and gives his opinion. So he does the exact same thing he indicts other people for. That's not my approach to filmmaking.

The Yap: Well, what are your beliefs, in terms of religion? Are you a religious person? What's your affiliation?

RN: Well, it's pretty hard to answer those questions. That's what I tried to do in the movie, to define God, define religion. But if someone asks you "do you believe in God?" you can't even answer until you know which God you're referring to, and they might not know themselves, or haven't thought about the fact that there might be different definitions.

Ghandi said there are as many religions on the planet as there are people. How can you answer someone when they ask if you're religious? Do they define which religion you mean? People say they watch baseball religiously. That's different than saying "I have an invisible friend on my shoulder. Do you believe in my invisible friend on my shoulder?" If someone said that to you you'd probably think they're crazy.

So for me the more interesting question is if we believe in things that defy logic. For me, I was raised Episcopalian, but I've never been satisfied with "you just have to have faith, you don't have to understand." So I've always had questions. And generally people are not afraid of questions unless they're insecure about their beliefs.

The Yap: Was there anyone who surprised you as to what their answers were and how they responded to you?

RN: I was constantly surprised. I tried not to have any preconceived notions about anyone because they were invariably wrong. With Orson Scott Card, I knew nothing about him. I had no idea he was a Mormon. We interviewed him and he actually gave us perspectives as a mormon as well as a science fiction writer.

The Yap: Going in the other direction, did you find anyone who was just really unhinged or unbalanced?

RN: Well, what's your definition of "unhinged"? You know, one definition of "delusional" is believing in things that aren't there, which is kind of a requirement of religion. You're supposed to have faith, and believe in things that can't be proven. But we all accept that as normal. We wouldn't call that unhinged. I don't even know what it means to be normal. The biggest criticism I got from "Trekkies" was that I didn't show any "normal" Star Trek fans. My answer was "I don't know what 'normal' is." So when I did "Trekkies 2," I asked everyone to define "normal" for me.

The Yap: Speaking of "Trekkies," I wanted to ask about the dentist, when he and his wife were talking about how they act out Star Trek fantasies in the bedroom, and she dresses up like various characters, and she said to Denise Crosby "but we haven't gotten to you yet." The look on Crosby's face was priceless.

RN: Well, even more than that, she said "we do dress up like you" but it was the husband who dressed up like her. That's even doubly why Denise was taken aback.

The Yap: How did Denise Crosby end up on the project?

RN: Oh, it was her idea. She pitched it to me. She had been cast in my first feature called "High Strung," and we'd stayed in touch, and she pitched the idea to me. I said I couldn't believe no one had done this, so of course I said yes.

The Yap: Okay, so between "Star Trek" and "The Office," two of my favorite shows ever. You directed an episode of "The Office," right?

RN: Yeah, an episode called "Grief Counseling." The episode that ended in the bird's funeral, and Michael is obsessed over death. Those are some of my favorite themes, death and the afterlife. You'll see those films throughout my work. Maybe there's something too about the idea that the more serious a topic gets, the funnier it gets. As long as it's not happening to you.

The Yap: Can you talk about your experience working with the cast and being in that environment?

RN: Yeah, it's TV, so it's definitely scripted-a little bit of improv, but mostly strictly scripted, and the actors are all fantastic. They know their characters better than you do, because they're there every week. I didn't presume to be more of an expert than them. The way I see a television directing role is that a TV director is more of a catalyst. The actors know what to do, but they need that catalyst, because without it nothing happens. So I go in, create that environment, and do my best to stay out of the way of their creativity. Especially with someone like Steve Carell, who is so good, and he has such great dedication. He's there going over his lines between takes, so you want to leave him alone to do that. And he's really receptive to direction, and they all are.