Sundance Film Festival 2011

Filmmaker Nick Paley found the simplicity of his newest venture "Andy and Zach" both a blessing and a curse. "From a producer's perspective, it was very straightforward compared with some of my previous projects. I shot the interior scenes myself, in my own apartment, with two close friends as the leads," says Paley. "From a director's perspective, it was the hardest movie I've made so far. Its success depended entirely on performance and story. The finished film has very little in the way of spectacle...unless you call Christmas lights spectacle, in which case this movie is your summer blockbuster." Paley, who cast his friends Zach Woods ("The Office") and Andy Kachor in the titular roles, grew up in Vermont but graduated from NYU and has been living his life as an NYC filmmaker since. "Andy and Zach" rides a fine line of being quite sweet without ever turning sappy, and the heartfelt film about friendship doesn't need a surplus of T&A Apatow-esque jokes to appeal to a male crowd. Up next for Paley? Both a feature script to shop around and a new short, "Open House," which takes place outside the walls of his apartment.