Meet The Makers, Alumni Edition: Nicole Delaney

By
Ijaaz Noohu
November 05, 2017

“Do not, under any circumstances, refer to me as a ‘triple-threat.”

 

Nicole Delaney

Nicole Delaney ‘14 is a triple-threat. That much is self-evident. In the three years since Nicole graduated from the School of the Arts Film program, with a producing focus, she has already distinguished herself an astute storyteller with a talent for all aspects of production. She produced two short films - Tobacco Burn and Sina Forma - both of which received Faculty Selects at the Columbia University Film Festival. After she graduated she directed another short - YOYO - which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, before going on to work as a staff writer on shows like Big Mouth and Search Party. She also sold a pilot she wrote to TBS, which she is currently developing with Dan Harmon (of Rick and Morty and Community). So she’s a producer, a writer, and a director—if I can’t call her a triple-threat, I’m just going to go with ‘badass.’

Nicole grew up in Los Angeles. Her mom was an agent in the Hollywood scene, but Nicole left to NYU for her undergraduate studies, where she designed her own major—‘The Art of Storytelling’—which combined Art History, film, and a broad liberal arts education.   

After graduating from NYU in 2008, Nicole landed a position as a floater at Gersh in NYC, where she got her first taste of directing by helping put together casting tapes. From there, she had a variety of entertainment-related jobs, among them, she produced events at the burlesque club, The Box, and worked at Drew Barrymore’s production company, Flower Films. All the while, she had larger aspirations in the back of her mind.

Nicole applied to Columbia University’s graduate program. She says she was drawn by the program’s prestigious roster of female filmmakers—people like Nicole Holofcener ‘88 and Lisa Cholodenko ‘19—and the way the program would allow her to hone both her writing and producing skills. That decision paid off. She used her time at Columbia to tackle every discipline by directing an acclaimed 8-12, producing two Faculty Selected thesis films, and writing two animated and fantasy features scripts. (Again, a word springs to mind to describe her ability to tackle three fields with verve and gusto?).

From Columbia, Nicole went to work for Marta Kauffman (Friends) on Grace + Frankie. She describes her time there as a “crash-course in showrunning.” In her spare time, she developed Yoyo, which she shot over Labor Day weekend. It premiered at Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year.

Shortly thereafter, she linked up with Elizabeth Olsen and landed an agent at CAA. The two developed Are You My Boyfriend? —an animated adaption of the book of the same name—which was recently given a pilot order at TBS. The series aims to fill a void in the market, that of the female-driven animated comedy. It’s an ambitious, raunchy, weird, and personal passion project that “just wants to get made,” according to Nicole. The pilot found a production home at Starburns Industries (Rick & MortyAnimalsAnomalisa) where Dan Harmon is helping to guide the project.

When asked to reflect on her time at Columbia, Nicole says, “The best advice I can give current students is to encourage them to make the most authentic version of what it is they want to make. Anything else is a waste of time.”

The arc of Nicole’s career demonstrates her ability to take her own advice and create personal work driven by wit, passion, and an unmistakable heart.

But do not, under any circumstances, call her a triple-threat.