Mike Nicoll is an award-winning filmmaker dedicated to revealing truth & power on screen. He has directed 3 feature films, best known for directing AT ALL COSTS - a feature documentary acquired by Netflix - which was praised by the LA Times as "a modern-day Hoop Dreams". In 2024, Mike's latest film, THE SPOILS: Selling the Future of American Basketball, premiered globally as an Official Selection at the NBA Summer League Film Festival, with Ken Burns hailing it as essential "for everyone who loves the game and is concerned about the future of the sport." 

Mike has spent over a decade working in the sports media world, directing projects for Nike, Facebook, 21st Century Fox, Netflix, CNBC, Eleven Sports Network, SLAM Magazine and BallisLife.com. He lives in Seattle with his wife and their two daughters.

Let’s start at the beginning, what inspired you to become a filmmaker?

MN: The origin story of my filmmaking career is actually born in the basketball world. In high school, back in like 2002 or 2003, my dad would film all my varsity games. For fun, I used to take the footage and cut together my own little Sportscenter highlight reels on iMovie. One day, my dad turned to me and said, “maybe you should take a film editing class to figure out whether you like filmmaking or if you just love watching yourself play basketball!” So I did...and I was off and running from there. 

On some level I think I always knew I had something to say, it was just a question of how I would decide to express it. As I continued my film studies in undergrad at Michigan and grad school at USC, I came to appreciate cinema as the greatest art form - because it fuses all the arts into one beautiful discipline.

How’d you end up at USC? Was it always your plan to attend the USC School of Cinematic Arts?

MN: Attending USC was NOT my initial plan. I’m born and raised in LA, which means I had an up-close look at how daunting the film industry can be. While I was at Michigan, I double majored in film and psychology. Had I not become a filmmaker, I would’ve probably gone into clinical psychology as a profession. That said, after undergrad, I hadn't built up the courage to chase my dreams quite yet...so I took a "safe" marketing job in Chicago. And I absolutely hated it! That experience convinced me that I could be miserable doing a meaningless job...so I might as well take the risk and pursue something meaningful. I knew that USC had the best film school in the world, so I applied, and thankfully got in. 

It’s been 15 years since that decision...and, having just launched The Spoils, and now directing my 4th feature film...I'm so thankful I pushed through the fear and jumped into the deep end of the pool.

Were there any professors, classes, or memories that stand out as particularly impactful from your time at SCA?

MN: Oh for sure. My first semester I took 507 with Todd Robinson. He is someone I just revere and still adore to this day. He’s such a brilliant and gentle professor. I had taken film classes at Michigan but SCA is obviously a totally different level. Todd had so much wisdom to share and he was incredibly generous with his time.

Beyond that, my 508 editing professor, Tom Miller, was a huge influence...and Mark Harris made a big impact on me as I was discovering documentary as a genre. Looking back on my time at SCA, it feels like everyone shows up to USC and wants to be the next Spielberg or George Lucas. Basically everyone wants to write & direct their own scripted stories. But I realized pretty early on that I didn’t like working with actors...I much preferred to work with real people (probably in part due to my interest in psychology). I just feel like real life is more interesting than fiction! Both Tom and Mark opened my eyes to documentary as a viable outlet for my creativity...and eventually it just clicked, like, “oh, this is my lane!”

Another big influence during my time at SCA was Dr. Todd Boyd. I was his research assistant for a year and a half. The Good Doctor is the self-proclaimed “documentary king”, so working alongside him was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot from the conversations we had in his office about cinema, sports and the media game in general.  

Since graduating from SCA, you've taken on various roles, but today you primarily identify as a writer and director. Do you have a favorite role, and what makes that position stand out to you? 

MN: It's really just my fundamental instinct for storytelling. To me, writer and director, particularly in the documentary space, are the same. I became a filmmaker because I have something to say, in my soul, that I want to migrate from my heart onto the screen in a meaningful way. I try to pour myself into stories that I believe I can tell better than anyone else. 

I also believe that in the documentary space, so much of the writing happens in the editing room. I love collaborating with my editors. In the editing room, I like to remind my team that I do not have a monopoly on good ideas. I empower them to try things out and challenge the way I'm thinking about a scene. 

What is your creative process?

MN: My creative process can best be described as: “complicated is easy, simple is hard”. Said another way - anyone can ramble at length about an idea in a complicated way...but can you distill it down to its universal essence? 

My creative process centers on locating the single, essential idea that I want to communicate. That clarity informs every phase of the project. Let’s use my film, The Spoils, as an example. My core thesis was that every level of the American basketball system has been radically professionalized. So, that single idea informs everything we shoot because I need to demonstrate that professionalization with the characters in our story. Once I have that buttoned up, then we can drill down on why, exactly, that core idea matters...which is where a Director's POV comes in. The "why it matters" part is what separates really good films. And, in this story, it was about revealing how the money avalanche has compromised the soul of the game itself...so everything is built on top of that foundational idea. If a scene is not advancing my core thesis then it does not belong in the movie! 

How did you initially get involved in the sports media industry? 

MN: After finishing my degree at USC, it's like, "what's next?" Having spent my life traveling through the American basketball system, I knew I had a lot to say about it...and felt like I could deliver a film that was original and unlike anything else that had been made before. So, I spent 3 years directing my first film, At All Costs, which did very well. Netflix acquired it, and that was a dream. 

I'll always be proud of At All Costs, but I look back on that film now in a similar way that I look back on my student films. It was my first professional feature and I was still figuring my voice out...but it jump-started my career, so I'll always treasure it for that reason. But it pigeon-holed me as the “sports documentary guy”. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t get sucked into the gravity of that. But you have to pay the bills, and it did open up several doors that were incredible to walk through and experience.

Do you have a favorite moment from some of those cool opportunities and open doors?

MN: I would say interviewing Scottie Pippen at his house in Chicago for this Nike docuseries I directed back in 2018. Growing up a Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan fan, that was definitely a landmark moment for me. Oh, and I directed a music video for Nipsey Hussle, who was my favorite rapper (God rest his soul). 

Honestly, the biggest highlights have happened this year! The coolest day ever? For me, it was the day The Spoils came out. To have Ken Burns, the documentary legend, post an endorsement of the movie was just surreal. I’ve had success with previous projects...reviews and awards are cool. But most of that stuff comes from critics, media or executives. For me, as a documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns is the greatest documentarian to ever DO IT. So his blessing meant the world to me.  

Beyond that, we were an official selection for the NBA’s first-ever Film Festival at Summer League this year, which was an unforgettable experience. Our film [The Spoils] is really honest, and some people think it’s controversial and pretty spicy. So for the NBA to embrace the film was extremely validating. When I found out, I was joking with my wife, like, “I’ve finally made the league!” I think it kind of speaks to the unique quality of 'The Spoils'; it’s been recognized in the documentary world and by the NBA.

Q8: Your film The Spoils is a decade-long journey following one of the premier AAU basketball leagues, the Compton Magic, as these young athletes are set up for professional success. How did you come up with this idea to follow the Compton Magic? And what did you find to be the biggest challenge? Did it pay off in the end? 

MN: I remember my SCA professors hammering the notion that casting is as important in documentaries as it is in scripted, if not more so. Most often when people think of casting, they think of Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, famous actors, etc. But casting in documentaries is incredibly important, too! For 'The Spoils', I wanted to tell a definitive story about the business mechanics of American basketball. That meant getting access to the major players and embedding our film inside the system. So, if I was going to deliver a story that had credibility, the access was crucial...and The Compton Magic is the cream of the crop in America. 

All that said, I’d have to say the biggest challenge of making The Spoils was the patience it required. We spent 11 years making this film - and those 11 years turned out to be the most transformational period in the history of American Basketball. As we were making it, the ground underneath us kept shifting. Things that used to be illegal were now legal. And story lines kept developing that compelled us to extend our timeline. More than anything I wanted to contribute something significant to the sports documentary genre. And to make a film the audience would find useful in their lives. The deeper we got into it...I began to appreciate that the breadth of time our story covers would be one of its greatest strengths. 

What advice would you give others who are interested in filmmaking?

MN: Love it or leave it. Truly, if you don’t have that “thing” inside of you that is going to get you up in the morning and be hungry to chase your dreams down, then go do something else. We get told 'No' so often in this industry...rejection is just part of the business. I don’t think there is another career path that has this much consistent rejection built into it...so you have to learn how to not take that personally. But that's easier said than done. 

It really just comes down to courage. The courage to push through the fear and rejection. And if you don't have that fire burning...this business will beat you down. 

What’s in store for you next? Anything exciting news or projects in the pipeline?

MN: I'm in post on my next feature, which will be out in the summer of 2025. The common thread that connects every film I make is the focus on power dynamics inside large systems. My next film is about Bitcoin’s emergence as a transformational asset class, specifically in the legacy sports industry. So it still has one foot in the sports world, but it's much more of a business story. The elevator pitch for this upcoming film was basically, “come for the basketball, stay for the Bitcoin.” I think over the next 5-10 years, Bitcoin will continue to penetrate every corner of the financial landscape. But, really, I'm just thrilled to be directing another film! 

THE SPOILS Synopsis: Designed as an origin story for modern-day NBA culture, The Spoils penetrates America's youth basketball industrial complex to deliver an honest, foundational portrait of the American basketball machine: a factory built to identify, anoint & monetize 'the Next LeBron." 

Links: 

THE SPOILS website: TheSpoilsMovie.com

THE SPOILS trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag4xmFsbdpE&t=4s

USC Premiere Sizzle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rUUbS-DQP8

Story by Emily Tutnick