Nasty Gal's new short gets the Tank treatment with director Tracy Antonopoulos at the helm and Blood Orange on decks
TANK Productions' new film for Nasty Gal, The Lonely Hearts Club, riffs on the archetypal creative loner-girl with a Blood Orange soundtrack to boot. Directed and co-directed by New Yorkers Tracy Antonopoulos and Asli Baykal respectively, the short film puts a surreal spin on the funny side of being alone in a skit on this fantasy support group for outsiders. Antonopoulos, whose track record includes working with Gia Coppola for Opening Ceremony, shooting for Kim Gordon's old label X-Girl and one half of Cable, caught up with us about the new film.
What inspired the concept of this new film?
Tracy Antonopoulos: It started with Asli and I playing around with the idea of being a loner. We wanted to portray girls who don’t depend on anyone, and come up with creative, whacky ways to occupy their time. We're also both attracted to idiosyncratic characters, and wanted to show girls who are naturally inclined to march to the beat of their own drum. The title of the film is a play on this running joke we have about being single, which we say makes you the president of The Lonely Hearts Club. I don’t think being alone necessarily has to be a sad thing, so we wanted to show the humor in loneliness.
You’ve worked with lots of cool brands including Opening Ceremony and A.P.C. Why did Nasty Gal feel like a good match for your work?
Tracy Antonopoulos: I was really excited to work with a company centered on girls in this very, real modern way. When I saw the Nasty Gal clothes, I could immediately picture them in a 2014 update on a John Hughes-type of movie. Also, Sophia is one of my role models - I can’t wait to read #GIRLBOSS. Working with a company like Nasty Gal is amazing for Asli and I as we just started our own production company, TANK. I grew up having mostly male role models, purely because of the lack of females in powerful positions in the entertainment world. It’s exciting for me to see a woman like Sophia achieving career success in a way that inspires me so much.
You’re also in a band and you sometimes model, too. How do you fit it all in? Share a Tracy Antonopoulos lifehack?
Tracy Antonopoulos: I think they all inform each other, especially music and film. It’s all about figuring out what you want to say, and then figuring out the medium that you want to say it with. Modeling is nice because it’s a job that allows me to get out into the world and out of my head, and just to be around people. In terms of balancing everything in my life, I recently learned the importance of a day planner (thanks to Asli for gifting one to me.) When in doubt, write it out!