I don’t really show it a whole lot here, but I am a HUGE wrestling fan. I’ve been one for years and that will never change. Whether it be puroresu, independent, lucha libre, WWE, or any other form of wrestling, I enjoy it to death. Death however is rather appropriate when discussing my enjoyment of wrestling, as while I enjoy pure wrestling a whole lot, I have an equally deep affection for deathmatch and hardcore wrestling. That style in general is pretty much responsible for making me a fan, it doing so with the combo of ECW, CZW, FMW, and BJW. Any wrestler who competes in these hard hitting matches will always hold my respect, as it takes a lot to voluntarily do what they do.
Now you all should know by now that every ramble has a meaning when it opens a post here. Rather obviously we’ll be discussing wrestling today. I brought up deathmatch wrestling because the subject of this post is related to that style and is a man who holds a lot of my respect. He is one of the men responsible for bringing me into this great circus of wrasslin, and even though he doesn’t do it anymore, he still has me as a fan for his movement into film, something you all know I love dearly.
Really I’m excited a whole lot for this one, so I think we need to just get to it. So ladies and gentlemen I present to you an interview with filmmaker and CZW legend Matthew Burns A.K.A. “Sick” Nick Mondo!
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Since your retirement from wrestling in 2003 you’ve been pursuing a career in film making. What made you want to take up film making?
I actually started going to film school full time in 2001. It was really challenging, balancing college with a pro-wrestling career! But I've always enjoyed entertaining people, and I've always appreciated good storytelling. Film making is the perfect opportunity for me to (safely, haha) do what I love most.
Did you make any homemade movies as a kid and teenager?
That's what I spent most of my time doing, actually. Right now I'm going through a box of over 100 Hi8 video tapes of footage I filmed as a teen. I'll be using some of my childhood footage in my new film, The Trade.
At one point you were working on a film called Fighting the Still Life with Ken Anderson. But it appears as if it never was released. What exactly happened to it?
That was one of my senior projects in film school. I finished it in late 2006, and was looking for distribution. Ken Anderson put me in touch with Paul Heyman, who gave me some really good advice. See, I admitted to Mr. Heyman that I wasn't really happy with the finished film. He then suggested to me that I consider not releasing it, if that's the case. It sounded insane to me at the time, but in the long run I'm glad I handled it that way. I'm capable of much more as a filmmaker now, and I simply consider Fighting the Still Life part of my training/education.
Your current project is called The Trade. From the looks of the pictures you’ve been posting on Facebook it looks like it’ll be about wrestling, specifically about you and the Nick Mondo persona/character. How did the idea for the movie come up?
The idea for The Trade was birthed entirely out of my return for Rory "Little" Mondo's final match at CZW's Cage of Death 15. After that night, I realized that I have a story to tell. Rory is a big part of that story. The Trade is a look at the "why" behind what I did as a death-match wrestler, and it's also an examination of the impact (sometimes negative) I've had on a younger generation. You can see the trailer for The Trade here.
With it looking to be a film about your experience as a wrestler (it coming off as you going up against the Mondo character), would you say that it could be treated as a sort of biography such as the one you made shortly after your retirement? Or is it a piece showing off accepting and moving on from the past?
The Trade is an autobiographical look at my career as Nick Mondo, yes. I've had some time to reflect and I'm now able to talk about what I've been through with a deeper perspective than I had shortly after my retirement. But you're right, it's very much about accepting and moving on from my experiences as Nick Mondo.
How far along in production is The Trade?
Editing is well underway for The Trade, and I will finish this project before the end of 2015. If all goes well, I will release it in early 2016.
Will the movie see release on DVD and Blu-ray or a release on the internet?
I'll be selling The Trade for distribution (rather than distributing it myself), and I will do my best to make it available in as many formats and in as many countries around the world as possible.
During you wrestling career you wrestled for Big Japan Pro Wrestling on a tour with other CZW talent. What was it like being a still relatively young performer and going from wrestling in small venues in the states to much larger ones in Japan where wrestling is held in very high regard?
Getting to wrestle in Japan at age 20 was one of the most exciting experiences of my life at the time! It was a tremendous honor. I clearly remember the reality sinking in as I sat on the plane, crossing the Pacific Ocean. I also fell in love with the country and people of Japan during that tour. It impacted me so dramatically that I never stopped thinking about Japan. Finally I found a way to work as a filmmaker in Tokyo, and that's where I've been living for over 3 1/2 years now.
To my knowledge, the only footage of you being in any match in Big Japan is in your documentary Unscarred, whereas multiple matches with other CZW talents like Zandig, the Backseat Boyz, Wifebeater, Mad Man Pondo, and others have been released on a few different DVDs and tapes. Have any show you were on in Japan been taped and if so have your match/es been released?
I know they taped quite a few of the shows I was on, and some of them aired on Japanese TV. Whether or not they're available on DVD, I'm not sure. I do have just about all of my matches from that tour still, as I had people film them for me on my camcorder. I was relatively young as a wrestler, though, and I don't consider my BJW matches among my best work as Nick Mondo.
Who would have been the one person on the Big Japan roster back then that you would have wanted to have a match with (personally I love the idea of you versus Kasai)?
Abdullah Kobayashi. I don't watch much wrestling anymore, but I've seen him perform recently in Japan and his character is a joy to watch. I always liked wrestling bigger guys with contrasting styles, and I think we would match up really well. Kobayashi is one of the most beloved death-match guys in Japan right now, and he's earned it! Kasai is of course obviously at the very top of the death-match world, as well. I did actually have several matches with him and he was always good to work with. But it was the same case, where both of us were very young when we met in the ring, and we both lacked experience.
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| Abdullah Kobayashi (Left) and Jun Kasai (Right) |
You’ve actually been living in Japan for a couple of years now. When did you move there and what prompted it?
I was hired as a documentary filmmaker following the earthquake and disaster of 2011. I worked for a disaster relief organization, and frequently traveled to the disaster zone to film stories of hope and recovery. That led to more film work, and it's what I'm still doing today in Tokyo.
Do you have any plans to move back to the states or to another country?
I'd really like to get better connected in the film industry in Los Angeles, and maybe move there some time in 2016. Ideally, I'd stay connected both in the U.S. and Japan, and continue to do film work in both countries. Maybe I'll have an apartment in both places? Not sure.
What’s the one thing you miss about America?
What do I miss from America? Chipotle! Haha, that and good sandwiches. Seriously. What I wouldn't do for a Sheetz or a Wawa (those living on the East Coast U.S. know what I'm talking about). And of course my friends and family. I love Tokyo, but I'm still very much an American and I return every chance I get.
Do you still follow wrestling regardless if it’s puroresu, American, lucha, or from any other country?
No. I watch UFC, but that's about it!
Have you gone to any shows in Japan?
I went to a couple BJW shows to reconnect with people, and to visit the CZW guys who were touring Japan. I also went to a NJPW show to scout talent for future film projects.
When The Trade is finished and released do you have any other films you’d like to make or are working on?
I'm working on multiple other projects, but the main one is called 2 Criminals. It's based on the story of a hit man and a thief for the yakuza (Japanese mafia) who we found doing volunteer work following the big tsunami. We've already filmed documentary material and have done a lot of pre-production, but the movie we plan to make is narrative (with actors). If all goes well, we will shoot that movie in 2016. Here's a trailer for 2 Criminals.
While you’ve gone on record saying you rejected the original idea for the infamous roof spot (which would have featured the table and light tubes being on fire), has there ever been any other spot/s you didn’t want to do?
That's the only one I can think of! Usually it was the other way around - with people in the back telling me that my ideas were too dangerous.
With your appearance back at Cage of Death XV is it possible we could see you make special appearances at future CZW events?
You know, just a few months prior to my Cage of Death appearance, I called in during an interview with Rory "Little" Mondo. I said during that interview that there was no way I'd ever return to the ring. That experience taught me to never say never. I have no plans to ever appear in character again at CZW, but I've learned to not rule out the possibility.
Who do you consider your favorite filmmaker?
Currently, I'd say David Fincher. He is getting so smooth with his style and vision. His remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, plus his work on House of Cards is incredible. He knows exactly where to put the camera, always.
What do you consider your favorite film?
Fight Club. Every element of that film is razor sharp. The script (based on a fantastic book), the sound design and score, the casting and the acting, the color palette, the surprise ending that NOBODY saw coming and that so many films have mimicked since. It's all top notch. Plus, the internal, tormenting struggle between the two mindsets of Tyler Durden is something I can relate very well to. When Tyler puts a gun in his mouth at the end of the story, I often times think of they way I felt when I agreed to take the fall off the roof at Tournament of Death 2. I did not want to kill myself, but I wanted to kill something awful that was inside of me. ...also with Fight Club, I could relate when men who participated in the underground fighting tried to keep it a secret in the "real" world. I was attending film school during my CZW days, but almost nobody at my college knew about my life as Nick Mondo. Often times I made up ridiculous lies about the cuts or the black eyes I walked into class with. "Uhhh, I fell in broken glass in a parking lot when I was roller blading." And everybody just looks at me like, "yeah right." True story.
What would you consider your dream film to make?
To tell the truth, I'm extremely excited about both The Trade and 2 Criminals. I have many more projects I'd like to make, but I'm enjoying what I'm working on right now immensely.
If you didn’t take up film making what do you think you’d be doing?
I enjoy many art forms, so I could list quite a few other artistic careers I'd like to pursue. But if it wasn't something in the arts, I think I'd like to be a firefighter. I'd like to be somebody who flies out to fight the big, dreadful forest fires. Either that, or a journalist who reports from places in world where wars or natural disasters are unfolding. Regardless, a major bucket list goal of mine is to one day see a tornado in person. It will happen!
Finally something I’ve been curious about for a long time: where did the name Nick Mondo come from?
Haha, I grew up with a kid named Nick Mondo. I didn't know him that well, but I always thought he had a cool name. One day I asked him if I could use his name for my wrestling character. He was like, "uhhh, okay." The "Sick" part of my name, however, was something the CZW fans came up with after I had been with the company for a few months.Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me.
Do you have any final words for your fans out there?
Thank you so much for the continued interest in my pursuits. It's really encouraging! Keep in touch on Facebook. Matthew T. Burns is my account name.
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Once more thank you very much to Mr. Burns for taking the time to do this interview with him (I've certainly thanked him enough in our messaging back and forth, one more time wouldn't hurt). Hopefully this interview will help generate some interest in The Trade and his other projects as well as possibly providing answers to some questions his longtime wrestling fans may have. Either way I think this is a total win of an article.
This concludes another interview on the blog. Who will be next? When will the next one be? Only time will tell. Until then take care.
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