Nickolas Perry (born December 3, 1967) is an American film director, writer, editor, photographer, and film instructor who began his career working as a camera assistant and assistant director on independent films in San Francisco before becoming Francis Ford Coppola's editing assistant on Bram Stoker's Dracula. In 1995, Perry wrote and directed Must Be the Music, a short film starring Milo Ventimiglia and Michael Saucedo as gay teens on a Friday night out in Los Angeles. The film premiered at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival and was later distributed as part of Strand Releasing's Boys Life 2. The film got the attention of director Gus Van Sant, who would executive produce Perry's first feature film, Speedway Junky. Perry wrote and directed Speedway Junky in 1999. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and starred Daryl Hannah, Jesse Bradford, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. In 2004, Perry co-wrote, co-directed, and edited ()