"Shamefully, I will admit by sending me the DVD of "Six Days in Roswell," you made me finally purchase a DVD player." I said in an email to Roger Nygard. Filmmakers usually send everything to me in VHS format.

      "Has anybody told you that it's the 21st century yet!? I can't even watch VHS any more. I love the picture and sound clarity of DVD. Now I'm eyeing a DVD burner. And what's next, movies on brainwave projectors?" Roger's response, he has a way with words.

      Roger Nygard spoke to me by email over the last week and a half. I found him to be very down to earth. After all, this guy is fairly well known, he did that great docu-comedy "Trekkies." Docu-comedy? Michael Moore may have helped pioneered it, but Roger Nygard and his pals have made it hip.

      The funny thing is that "Trekkies" is not how I found Roger. I was watching cable, the premium kind, one late night/early morning, as I often do after the Wife has fallen into deep sleep, and ran across a film called "Suckers." After about 10 minutes, I had to wake the Wife. She angrily demanded to know why I had disturbed her, but after 10 minutes, she too was hooked.

Rich Kronfeld, narrator in "Six Days in Roswell," sits next to the "out-house alien" for a coffee-cup momento of his trip to Roswell, New Mexico

      The very funny "Suckers" wasn't a perfect film, yet, was very accurate. You see, my Wife and I have some personal experience with the car sales racket and so did the makers of "Suckers." It almost seemed like a documentary on the subject--a training film for the public and salesman alike. I have recommended it to a client who is a GM at a local dealership.

      Documentary filmmaking is hard work. Although the excellent "Six Days in Roswell" flows smoothly, you would never have known that it was shot over two Roswell UFO Festivals and involved a mainly fictitious protagonist, Rich Kronfeld. Rich used his real name in the film, but couldn't have taken the kind of abuse he endures in "Six Days" in real life, could he? I really felt bad for the guy in places. Anyway, I highly recommend picking it up, especially on DVD (now, I have abandoned VHS as well, blame it on Roger). Check out the website at http://www.roswell6.com.

Mr. Nygard answered a few questions for us:

EInsiders.com: What does a UFO/Ostrich burger really taste like?

Roger Nygard: Tastes just like alien. And both taste like chicken! Actually, I can't tell the difference between beef and ostrich, other than it's less greasy.

"Six Days in Roswell" seems to be so much playful fun, but did you detect a bit of sadness in some of the true believers?

Roger Nygard with "Murder One's" Daniel Benzali on the set of "Suckers"

Not in those gathered in Roswell for the UFO festival. There was much more of a communal celebration in a shared belief at work in Roswell. There may be something more melancholy beneath the surface for some of the self-proclaimed abductees. That may come from the feeling of having experienced something outside their control, and that it may happen again, and not being sure what it was. That could throw anybody for a loop.

So, you believe in aliens and abductions?

I'll tell you this: I believe that some people really believe in aliens and abductions. But until I shake hands with a Gray myself, I'll have to wait and see.

"If you want to be a documentary purist, if you want hard, factual material, the closest you'll probably get is with an animal documentary, or candid camera. When people know a camera is around, they act differently than when they are alone." Roger Nygard on the documentary form of filmmaking.

Is belief in UFOs an American phenomenon or does it have an international following? "Six Days in Roswell" sure makes it appear that belief and interest in UFOs cuts across racial, gender, age, economic, and even religious barriers, how can you explain the fascination?

There are thousands of unexplained sightings all over the world every year. Just because they are unexplained doesn't mean they are aliens, but who knows... People have always been fascinated by the unknown. If everything was explained tomorrow, I have a feeling the fun would be over.

"It helps if you wash up and put on a nice shirt first. And don't make a lot of sideways, darting glances. Nobody invests in nervous people." Roger Nygard offers a few suggestions on fund-raising.

Tell us about the making of "Six Days in Roswell."

The genesis for SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL was in TREKKIES. In addition to being a Trek fan, Rich Kronfeld is also a UFO enthusiast, and while shooting TREKKIES, Rich mentioned that he was planning to make a pilgrimage to Roswell, New Mexico to attend the largest UFO convention in history, a celebration for the 50th Anniversary of the alleged crash of an alien space ship. 50,000 UFO buffs, abductees, and alien experts were scheduled to attend.

Tim Johnson, who was my second-unit director on TREKKIES, suggested we go to Roswell to gather more footage for TREKKIES. My response to the idea was, "I'm sure there will be a lot of Trekkies in Roswell, but I'll bet that subject could be a whole film in itself." Johnson agreed, and set out to raise the seed money to finance an initial shoot. Johnson called all the rich people he knew (a total of about three), pitched the idea, and raised just enough to cover the trip. With that money in place, I was able to raise the additional funding to complete the film.

I've had good luck talking investors out of their money. It helps if you wash up and put on a nice shirt first. And don't make a lot of sideways, darting glances. Nobody invests in nervous people. About 49 out of 50 "committed" investors will back out prior to writing a check. It's a numbers game. We lucked into an investor who was a fan of TREKKIES. Plus we kept our budget very low, or, as low as possible yet still shot on super 16mm.

The minimum you can get by on, and get to a film print, is around $120,000. On that budget, everybody works for free. The costs mainly go to the things you can't get for free: film, developing, equipment, food, hotels, travel, etc. We shot for six days at two UFO conventions, over two years, 1997-8, 12 days in all. We shot another 10 days back in Minnesota, interviewing Rich Kronfeld and his pals. The rest of the time was spent in research, preparation, editing, post, and film festival submissions.

"The character is simply an exaggeration of who Rich really is. For example, Rich really is into Sci-Fi, and he truly does own a filmstrip projector collection (he has around 40 antique filmstrip projectors), and he really collects all the models he displays, and on and on." Roger Nygard on "Six Days in Roswell," the Docu-Comedy.

The DVD of "Six Days in Roswell" is great, especially, the extras. What made you include your childhood productions "The Chase (1978)" and "The Practical Joker's Last Joke (1977)?"

I love putting my old movies on the DVDs just for laughs. I've been making films since I was 9 years old, since I discovered my dad's camera, so I have a box full of old 8mm films. My parents were late-night television movie buffs. My dad liked horror and sci-fi, and my mother introduced me to Hitchcock films.

Documentary vs. Fiction Feature filmmaking? Jerry Springer vs. Reality-based programming?

Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary defines a documentary as "giving factual material in an artistic form." Filmmaking is an art, and as such, is subject to artistic interpretation. If you want to be a documentary purist, if you want hard, factual material, the closest you'll probably get is with an animal documentary, or candid camera. When people know a camera is around, they act differently than when they are alone. When you document something, you change it. The documentarian's goal is to capture the essence of the truth, which is what Errol Morris does so well, and it's what I hope we have accomplished as well. SIX DAYS IN ROSWELL is a docu-comedy. All the people profiled in Roswell are as real as it gets. But there is an element of fiction, or managed reality, as I like to call it. We helped Rich develop a character with a back story to create a framework within which to draw out the most humor from our subject matter. The character is simply an exaggeration of who Rich really is. For example, Rich really is into Sci-Fi, and he truly does own a filmstrip projector collection (he has around 40 antique filmstrip projectors), and he really collects all the models he displays, and on and on.

"Suckers" could have been better and, certainly, more original than "The Sopranos," what happened?

SUCKERS is 95% dramatized factual material. I co-wrote the film with Joe Yannetty, a friend of mine who sold cars for two years and we based nearly everything in the film on his experiences or other research we did. We set out to give people a peak behind the curtain at what really goes on at a new car dealership. It may not be a pretty picture, but it's close to the reality for some of the dealerships out there. I'm flattered at the Sopranos comparison. If we had their budget, and could use our film as a pilot, we could certainly tailor a product specifically for a cable series.

Do you buy new cars or used ones? Where is the best place to go?

Both. We cover this in great detail in the bonus material on the SUCKERS DVD which is being released May 29, 2001. (For details check in with he company releasing the film: http://www.creativelightworldwide.com/ ) But in short, do your homework. Go to www.Edmund.com and get the facts on what the car with all the extras you want costs the dealer. Once you know the dealer's cost, the rest should be easy.

What's next for you?

I'm currently directing and editing for an HBO series called "The Mind Of The Married Man." It will be premiering in August.

The star/narrator, Richard Kronfeld, in "Six Days in Roswell" is a real find. He was able to naively one up Michael Moore at his own game. How was he ever able to keep a straight face during shooting?

He didn't always keep a straight face. The moments where he lost it ended up on the cutting room floor. But...we dug out some of these takes and put them in the bonus material on the DVD.

You were fortunate with the music in "Six Days." Isn't "Roswell--The Musical" a terrific idea? It could outrun "Cats" don't you think? Seriously, there is something there. Wouldn't it would be more interesting to a younger "Playstation Generation" than the theft of a loaf of bread? Is that a bad thing?

I would bet that "Roswell--The Musical" would be a camp hit if they took it off-Broadway. We were really lucky to have captured the show's premiere on film. It's one of the events that drew us to Roswell for our second trip in 1998.

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" or "2001?"

I was dragged to see "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" by Jim Thomton, a Trekkie friend of mine. I really had no interest in seeing it. But I loved it. And it's probably my favorite ST film (with a nod to #2 for the great action pacing). Because of that evening at the cinema, Jim is the person who in part inspired me to make Trekkies. When Denise Crosby pitched me the idea, I could immediately envision the interesting people we could interview--mainly because of how interesting I knew Jim is. (And I plan to try to talk him into appearing in "Trekkies 2.") The reason I loved ST: TMP is because it followed the form of good science fiction: big questions are asked, and answers are posited. That's also why I liked "Contact," and even "Mission To Mars" believe it or not. Both films had flaws, but they were true to the sci-fi form. And they all owe a great debt to "2001: A Space Odyssey" (especially "Mission To Mars," which rips off shots from "2001" wholesale). And Kubrick didn't just hand you the answers, you had to work to get there. All these films deal with the issue of the Creator. Just who is our creator? That's the biggest question there is, and thus, the most interesting to ask.

Thanks for talking with us Roger and inspiring me to buy a much needed DVD player (I was beginning to get ridiculed by my friends). One question I can't figure out though: Why does IMDB recommend an old western called "Cheyenne Wildcat" if you liked "Six Days in Roswell?" Some mysteries don't need to be unraveled.

Jonathan W. Hickman