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ADAM BOWERS EXPLAINS “WHY FILMMAKERS DON’T NEED MONEY”
Over at IFP, filmmaker and comedian Adam Bowers has a hilarious new blog entry entitled “Why Filmmakers Don’t Need Money.” In the post, Bowers argues that poverty breeds creativity.
As he writes:
“Think about it: when do filmmakers make their best movies? When they’re at their most miserable and desperate. Raging Bull pulled Scorsese out of his biggest career slump, and Beethoven’s 4th saved David Mickey Evans after the disastrous Beethoven’s 3rd, which obviously suffered from too many studio notes (“Can we have him destroy FEWER dining rooms?” What idiots!). So, if you really want to help a filmmaker create their masterpiece, the least you could do is slash their tires. I’ve currently got a Kickstarter going to make that happen for myself.”
It’s a timely piece of satire, especially considering the industry focus on price tags amidst Sundance buying season. Towards the end of the piece, Bowers breaks his ironic tone to make a genuine (or somewhat less ironic) plea to his indie cohorts:
“It’s time that we, as a community, come together on this and say “No more.” We need to let the world know that we’re artists, and artists use a different currency than regular people. Our pennies are the looks of wonderment on audiences’ faces. Our nickels are theaters full of laughter. Our quarters are when someone is so caught up in a story that they’ll sit for two hours with a bladder full of Mountain Dew.”
Bowers, who took his no-budget comedy New Low to Sundance in 2010, is currently developing his sophomore project, We’re A Wasteland with Adele Romanski and Brad Petrigala. Read his full post over at IFP.
