It was a few years back now during a camping trip with his sons that director Nick Lyon, while driving down a one way road into the campsite, started imagining a wildfire all around him.
This was during a period when wildfires were all over the news, with emergencies broadcasting in from as far as Australia and as close as California. So, Lyon let his imagination take him into those dangers, and into wondering what it would feel like to experience them.
“What if there were a forest fire? How in the heck would they get out of here?” Nick Lyon wondered.
It was all this that provided the spark for Lyon’s new film On Fire (with Lyon as co-writer and co-director). In the movie Dave Laughlin is a father striving to give his family the best life that he can while dealing with the realities of limited finances, a new baby on the way, and an ailing father. But when a roaring wildfire switches course and is suddenly on the way to their home, his only priority becomes helping his family survive.
Nick Lyon’s career holds a track record for disaster-genre filmmaking. So in creating the story of outrunning a fire he was able to pull on a lot of what he knew from before. But, in particular this time, he was most interested in centering the Laughlin family as the film’s emotional core. This was to create a stronger story, but also to impress upon audiences a lesson around a very important issue.
“Maybe by understanding what an average family would go through, what they would lose— maybe if we watch it and see it we might be reminded, ‘Hey you know what, maybe it’s not such a good idea to light this forest fire,” Lyon said.
Lyon explains that the evidence clearly shows how, in the real world, forest fires are increasing, and that climate change is playing a role in that. But, he points out, what’s unique about this kind of natural disaster is that, because most forest fires are human caused, they can be potentially prevented with a little more human precaution. And so, he hopes, by creating a film like this which makes the danger feel more personal, it can encourage people to not light dangerous fireworks in the woods, to not throw cigarettes out carelessly, and to not engage in the other common mistakes leading to these sorts of disasters. Perhaps it can even push power companies to keep their infrastructures up to date and avoid all too common accidents.
“One thing that we can do that you can’t do with other natural disasters is we can help mitigate the problem. Because around 85%, let’s say, of all forest fires are actually human caused,” Lyon said.
Lead actor Peter Facinelli, who also serves as co-director and co-producer, is invested in the impact behind the film as well. This is particularly because he too had been watching all the news coverage of real world fires, but felt frustrated with the lack of action around them.
“A lot of times on the news you see people on there being interviewed, and it’s horrific, and your heart goes out to them. And then the next day life goes on, and people go back to their jobs, and drink their chai lattes, and nothing’s happening to actually solve this problem,” Peter Facinelli said.
(Note that SAG-AFTRA has approved an interim agreement for this film, allowing union-member talent to work on this project without violating the strike order).
So, like Lyon, Facinelli found the film’s ability to provide a personal view into the tragedy a great way to spur some action.
On the other side of this, Facinelli also emphasizes how the film puts a spotlight on the people who are always active and working to help when a situation like this breaks out: 911 operators, firefighters, and other first responders. Facinelli describes how the film dives into the arc of a 911 operator who is struggling amid disaster, but finds a way to make an impact and save lives in the end.
Of course another added challenge for this film, given how committed the filmmakers were to preventing fires in the real world, was being careful not to cause any unwieldy fires while filming. And so, the team had to get creative with smoke, visual effects, and other techniques to realistically bring the disaster to life, especially on a limited budget.
This also meant that, for the actors on set, their imaginations had to pull more of the weight.
“You’re running from a burning building but it’s not burning, you know? You’re looking up into the trees and you’re supposed to be seeing embers, but there are no embers there. So it requires an immense focus and a lot of imagination,” Facinelli said.
Facinelli, who had to step in to keep production moving as co-director when Lyon was diagnosed with Covid-19, credits his co-stars for staying committed to selling the reality on screen. And he and Lyon both credit the rigorous preparation and collaboration of the entire team in bringing this project to life.
The story here is not only doom and warnings though. The film is also meant to inspire, to celebrate the power of family, of perseverance, all in the effort of not only showing audiences the real world problem at hand, but demonstrating to them that it is surmountable.
“You know you look back on that film and you think— well I wouldn’t ever want to go through that with my family. And I wouldn’t want you to go through it with yours. So how can we figure out how to curb these fires that are all too prevalent?” said Facinelli.
On Fire is now playing in theaters. The film stars Peter Facinelli, Asher Angel, and Fiona Dourif and is co-directed by Nick Lyon and Peter Facinelli.
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