Thanks, Ari. You have a knack for helping people REMEMBER… we have other fish to fry (or bikes to ride). I’m making a trilogy. Working on #2 now. it’s my first time really (and I mean really) asking people to support my work (and yeah… I’m talkin’ about money). Big learning. Big growth… no matter what comes of it. I’m here for it. Beginner’s mindset and all that jazz. Man, is it uncomfortable at times! A lot of deep breaths required along with faith/trust in myself. My deep KNOWING that… THIS is the sandbox I wanna play in. So, I’m IN it for the duration of my time in this dimension. :) Weeeeeeeeee! (Hands in the air. As the bike flies down the hill)
Great story Ari, and that night sounds like pure hell. You may have just inspired me to write about my own greatest failure. Not an artistic project really, but it did involve bicycling. It was all the way back in 1984 when the 27 year old me set out on a cross country bike ride to raise awareness for the Nuclear Freeze campaign along with another 15 or so riders. I got the backing of the national group, including a sagwagon, official sponsorship, and all that. Talked my troubled, drug addicted girlfriend into joining, thinking it would really cement our relationship. It all ended up in tears, as I was abandoned on the trail in the middle of Missouri by the organization over essentially creative differences, lost the girl, and had to crawl back home in disgrace. I've forgotten - or repressed - a lot of the details, but maybe I'll just let my imagination fill in the blanks.
Thanks for sharing. Long ago I read an E Book you wrote detailing your experiences trying to market Adventures of Power including the exorbitant cost for you to try and appear on one of the Late Night Talk Shows - 40K-60K if I recall correctly (expensive interview unless you could get Adrian Grenier to be on the show...) OK. So my latest project is the horror film WormWort directed by Thomas Farone whose last film starred Anthony Michael Hall, Tony Danza and the late Chris Penn. I star in his current film and it's at an audio post production facility is Upstate NY. Here's the IMDB link - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23147226/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_5_nm_3_in_0_q_wormwort - THE DIRECTOR NEEDS SOMEONE TO HELP GET IT TO THE FINISH LINE IMO!!! I believe he would go for 10% to whomever can do it. Maybe even cash instead... All the best!
oh we certainly never paid anything like that for PR, nor did we get onto a big talk show. But there were definitely people lurking around making weird offers like that… good luck getting your project to the finish line, keepa going!
Sundance is for the famous. They stopped trying to brake new filmmakers with new original film many moons ago. New outlets and new inlets are in need for a new generation of filmmakers not scared to tell their original stories.
We are trying to create a path at INDIKIN.online we been banging our heads! Think we got some parts that might help if we can solve a task or two to make it all go go
Very fine piece Ari. Well written and honest. I am making a three foot wing span monarch butterfly about of paper and cane that will be able to flap its wings. Can’t be rejected
Bravo on a tale well told... harrowing stuff! I appreciate your humor and candor, no sour grapes. It says a lot to contextualize it as a kind of spiritual growth, and offer perspective when the industry has such a narrow view of what is "worthy" through gatekeeping/status/awards. Please keep up your writing, creative works about your adventures to make art is a useful outlet in itself. A healthy dose against the cynicism rampant within capitalist systems designed to squeeze and crush artists! [ me: working outside + inside the system as best I can, with kindness & compassion, not taking anything too seriously! ]
thanks, believe me there are years of meditation .. or bashing my head against walls.. But yes I try to avoid sour grapes , although Wine sometimes works
Bummer! But if you're going to be at Sundance this year, check out Sam Green's film, "The Oldest Person in the World." I think Herb would have loved it. Barbara Green
This is one of my son's student films. He graduates college this May. His major is in film. He will be tickled to know you watched that. I enjoyed your story about Sundance that you shared. Love the Neil Peart reference! Long time RUSH fan here. Going to see Alex and Geddy this summer in Toronto and Detroit. I enjoy all of your films. Tell Ethan that 'The Song of Sway Lake' is just about my favorite movie soundtrack. Y'all always do fabulous work. I look forward to all of your future work as well. My son starts filming in March for his senior capstone project. Here is a Backstage link that has his information as well as a couple of videos toward the bottom of the page. Any words of advice you could offer to him and his crew would be truly amazing! Thank you!
Nicely written Ari. I’ve gotten enough grants from Burning Man that some people (meaning some indeterminate percentage of the few people who would recognize my name) probably think of me as a “Burning Man Artist.” But I’ve been rejected by them more times than accepted, and the first few of those rejections were really hard to take, probably because I’d also begun to think of myself as that Burning Man Artist. I wasn’t really sure what to do with my creative energies if I wasn’t pointing them at Burning Man. But then that revealed itself as the exact question that needed answering… what to do with myself now? Although it hurt at first, it ended up being a gift because instead of pandering to what I thought or hoped would turn on this particular group of gatekeepers, I suddenly had to figure out what was important to me. Just me. Once the answer to that question starts to come into focus, and you get off your ass and start working, you are on your way to making art that has a shot at being meaningful. Opportunities come and go. Doing the work is the important part.
sundance is like burning man is like high school. what's important to your own soul is the most important thing, indeed, and so hard sometimes to remember that.
Loved reading this, Ari. Someone recently tried to pitch me a new live music platform and after I rejected the awful split deal they offered, they attempted to insult me by saying I don't know hard work and that I would never achieve superstardom. I was amused, because I've also heard "you'll never make it in this town" from another person incensed that I had any principles.
What these people don't realize is that yes, I'm an artist - but this is a business and I'm not trying to play into high school politics. All industries feature some of these same dynamics and it's much healthier to steer clear of folks who crave the glory, or in our business, the fame. I'm simply overjoyed being able to support myself as an artist while still being able to blend into the background and observe so my creativity can't ever be forced or tainted. I don't need to be sitting with the "cool kids" to know I've made it. Having a roof over my head and the freedom to choose projects that carry purpose for me is pretty sweet success to me!
yes and being a good person seems to be its own reward. man, people.... "you'll never make it" is the most kindergarten type of things to say. sorry people are so annoying! i bless the greats i admire, but the greatest ones we've never heard of, because they are in the woods and feel just fine.
Thanks for sharing this - so relatable. There have been many times I've felt like I don't "fit in" in this industry and decided to just do what I did as a kid and create whatever I wanted anyway. I'm releasing a short this year *fingers crossed* and am allowing myself to see where the film lands and those will be the spaces I'm meant to be in, and allowing myself to accept the idea that the universe will save me from spaces that are not meant for me and would therefore not feel so great. Who knows, it's a mindset thing, right?
yes the mindset is everything. the main thing is you are doing it! fingers crossed but have-fun is the most important part. because then the victory is already yours.
What a story. I didn't get in it but I also feel these are the stories that make us keep going. I played Coachella and nothing happened. I played BottleRock, and I got a private gig for $ 3,000 out of it, and that was sick. But the journey and the storytelling is what happened.
I got my music in an episodic at Egyptian Theatre and it was epic.
Ill be at Sundance and have a venue showing other filmmakers trailers and perfmring if you want to come or you see this!! MAIN STREET IS MAIN STREET
I wrote and directed my first short film last year, but I've been an indie film editor for a long time, so I was realistic about Sundance. I submitted, but I didn't expect to get in, and I didn't. Also, Sundance was not the first festival I applied to. I'd been doing the festival thing for months before that (Sundance shorts have no premiere requirement), so Sundance was far from the only egg in my festival basket. Honestly, there were other festival rejections that hurt more: Austin, Galway, Woodstock, etc.
I love “ if your work is play, then rejection.. is something to dance around” May we always continue to dance, but in the way the Dali Llama put it “dance like no one is watching” because that’s not just play. That’s joy. And when the music stops, and you’re out of breath, at least there’s a smile on your face. Keep dancing
Thanks, Ari. You have a knack for helping people REMEMBER… we have other fish to fry (or bikes to ride). I’m making a trilogy. Working on #2 now. it’s my first time really (and I mean really) asking people to support my work (and yeah… I’m talkin’ about money). Big learning. Big growth… no matter what comes of it. I’m here for it. Beginner’s mindset and all that jazz. Man, is it uncomfortable at times! A lot of deep breaths required along with faith/trust in myself. My deep KNOWING that… THIS is the sandbox I wanna play in. So, I’m IN it for the duration of my time in this dimension. :) Weeeeeeeeee! (Hands in the air. As the bike flies down the hill)
Great story Ari, and that night sounds like pure hell. You may have just inspired me to write about my own greatest failure. Not an artistic project really, but it did involve bicycling. It was all the way back in 1984 when the 27 year old me set out on a cross country bike ride to raise awareness for the Nuclear Freeze campaign along with another 15 or so riders. I got the backing of the national group, including a sagwagon, official sponsorship, and all that. Talked my troubled, drug addicted girlfriend into joining, thinking it would really cement our relationship. It all ended up in tears, as I was abandoned on the trail in the middle of Missouri by the organization over essentially creative differences, lost the girl, and had to crawl back home in disgrace. I've forgotten - or repressed - a lot of the details, but maybe I'll just let my imagination fill in the blanks.
Oh the hero's moment! Face down in the coliseum, as it were.... I'm glad you made it home! That sounds brutal.
Thanks for sharing. Long ago I read an E Book you wrote detailing your experiences trying to market Adventures of Power including the exorbitant cost for you to try and appear on one of the Late Night Talk Shows - 40K-60K if I recall correctly (expensive interview unless you could get Adrian Grenier to be on the show...) OK. So my latest project is the horror film WormWort directed by Thomas Farone whose last film starred Anthony Michael Hall, Tony Danza and the late Chris Penn. I star in his current film and it's at an audio post production facility is Upstate NY. Here's the IMDB link - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23147226/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_5_nm_3_in_0_q_wormwort - THE DIRECTOR NEEDS SOMEONE TO HELP GET IT TO THE FINISH LINE IMO!!! I believe he would go for 10% to whomever can do it. Maybe even cash instead... All the best!
oh we certainly never paid anything like that for PR, nor did we get onto a big talk show. But there were definitely people lurking around making weird offers like that… good luck getting your project to the finish line, keepa going!
Sundance is for the famous. They stopped trying to brake new filmmakers with new original film many moons ago. New outlets and new inlets are in need for a new generation of filmmakers not scared to tell their original stories.
Agreed! All of us in the NonDe world are trying to figure out the paths....
We are trying to create a path at INDIKIN.online we been banging our heads! Think we got some parts that might help if we can solve a task or two to make it all go go
Very fine piece Ari. Well written and honest. I am making a three foot wing span monarch butterfly about of paper and cane that will be able to flap its wings. Can’t be rejected
that sounds gorgeous.
Bravo on a tale well told... harrowing stuff! I appreciate your humor and candor, no sour grapes. It says a lot to contextualize it as a kind of spiritual growth, and offer perspective when the industry has such a narrow view of what is "worthy" through gatekeeping/status/awards. Please keep up your writing, creative works about your adventures to make art is a useful outlet in itself. A healthy dose against the cynicism rampant within capitalist systems designed to squeeze and crush artists! [ me: working outside + inside the system as best I can, with kindness & compassion, not taking anything too seriously! ]
thanks, believe me there are years of meditation .. or bashing my head against walls.. But yes I try to avoid sour grapes , although Wine sometimes works
Bummer! But if you're going to be at Sundance this year, check out Sam Green's film, "The Oldest Person in the World." I think Herb would have loved it. Barbara Green
I hope it goes great, and I'd love to see it! Indeed my dad would have loved it (and could have been it)....
Here's a short film that I hope will put a smile on your face and perhaps a chuckle or two.
https://youtu.be/tKmKeNQS480?si=noJqcOVmbfLcrL0w
earl is knee-dip in liquor and tang. i dig it
This is one of my son's student films. He graduates college this May. His major is in film. He will be tickled to know you watched that. I enjoyed your story about Sundance that you shared. Love the Neil Peart reference! Long time RUSH fan here. Going to see Alex and Geddy this summer in Toronto and Detroit. I enjoy all of your films. Tell Ethan that 'The Song of Sway Lake' is just about my favorite movie soundtrack. Y'all always do fabulous work. I look forward to all of your future work as well. My son starts filming in March for his senior capstone project. Here is a Backstage link that has his information as well as a couple of videos toward the bottom of the page. Any words of advice you could offer to him and his crew would be truly amazing! Thank you!
Instagram @LordCheddarPepper
i’ll tell him!
and hope your son’s film goes ggreat
https://www.backstage.com/casting/wayward-3031425/?utm_source=social_share&utm_medium=navigator_share_api&utm_campaign=casting_call&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAb21jcAPU8bNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAafgd5D1Cqu4LiFXVWzDXMr7Hh8rlFFxdfJdwKQkdcM50k_W-3SRDeFF_P80jQ_aem_ztorH4hmLAHlAOJwLOEHyg
Nicely written Ari. I’ve gotten enough grants from Burning Man that some people (meaning some indeterminate percentage of the few people who would recognize my name) probably think of me as a “Burning Man Artist.” But I’ve been rejected by them more times than accepted, and the first few of those rejections were really hard to take, probably because I’d also begun to think of myself as that Burning Man Artist. I wasn’t really sure what to do with my creative energies if I wasn’t pointing them at Burning Man. But then that revealed itself as the exact question that needed answering… what to do with myself now? Although it hurt at first, it ended up being a gift because instead of pandering to what I thought or hoped would turn on this particular group of gatekeepers, I suddenly had to figure out what was important to me. Just me. Once the answer to that question starts to come into focus, and you get off your ass and start working, you are on your way to making art that has a shot at being meaningful. Opportunities come and go. Doing the work is the important part.
sundance is like burning man is like high school. what's important to your own soul is the most important thing, indeed, and so hard sometimes to remember that.
Loved reading this, Ari. Someone recently tried to pitch me a new live music platform and after I rejected the awful split deal they offered, they attempted to insult me by saying I don't know hard work and that I would never achieve superstardom. I was amused, because I've also heard "you'll never make it in this town" from another person incensed that I had any principles.
What these people don't realize is that yes, I'm an artist - but this is a business and I'm not trying to play into high school politics. All industries feature some of these same dynamics and it's much healthier to steer clear of folks who crave the glory, or in our business, the fame. I'm simply overjoyed being able to support myself as an artist while still being able to blend into the background and observe so my creativity can't ever be forced or tainted. I don't need to be sitting with the "cool kids" to know I've made it. Having a roof over my head and the freedom to choose projects that carry purpose for me is pretty sweet success to me!
yes and being a good person seems to be its own reward. man, people.... "you'll never make it" is the most kindergarten type of things to say. sorry people are so annoying! i bless the greats i admire, but the greatest ones we've never heard of, because they are in the woods and feel just fine.
Thanks for sharing this - so relatable. There have been many times I've felt like I don't "fit in" in this industry and decided to just do what I did as a kid and create whatever I wanted anyway. I'm releasing a short this year *fingers crossed* and am allowing myself to see where the film lands and those will be the spaces I'm meant to be in, and allowing myself to accept the idea that the universe will save me from spaces that are not meant for me and would therefore not feel so great. Who knows, it's a mindset thing, right?
yes the mindset is everything. the main thing is you are doing it! fingers crossed but have-fun is the most important part. because then the victory is already yours.
SO good! This piece is amazing and beautifully written. Thank you for it!
you are most welcome - may your day be creative and good.
What a story. I didn't get in it but I also feel these are the stories that make us keep going. I played Coachella and nothing happened. I played BottleRock, and I got a private gig for $ 3,000 out of it, and that was sick. But the journey and the storytelling is what happened.
I got my music in an episodic at Egyptian Theatre and it was epic.
Ill be at Sundance and have a venue showing other filmmakers trailers and perfmring if you want to come or you see this!! MAIN STREET IS MAIN STREET
the journey is the whole point it seems.
I wrote and directed my first short film last year, but I've been an indie film editor for a long time, so I was realistic about Sundance. I submitted, but I didn't expect to get in, and I didn't. Also, Sundance was not the first festival I applied to. I'd been doing the festival thing for months before that (Sundance shorts have no premiere requirement), so Sundance was far from the only egg in my festival basket. Honestly, there were other festival rejections that hurt more: Austin, Galway, Woodstock, etc.
yes rejection is never fun. but... keep on.
I love “ if your work is play, then rejection.. is something to dance around” May we always continue to dance, but in the way the Dali Llama put it “dance like no one is watching” because that’s not just play. That’s joy. And when the music stops, and you’re out of breath, at least there’s a smile on your face. Keep dancing
may your pelican fly, max!
Wings and a beak, PlopPlop.. might turn into lyrics! 🤣
Did anything ever succeed without a slammed door? As my late father said "Rejection makes me randy." Keep going, son!
randy and a dandy.