My brother and I recorded Fight Club to VHS off of the USA or TNT network. So I didn’t actually watch the authentic version until much later in life. It had such a formative impact on my thematic taste. We watched that movie over and over and over. That turned me on to the work of Chuck Palahniuk (don’t ask me how to pronounce that last name). He has written some of the darkest books I’ve read - Survivor, Damned, and most notably, Fight Club. I’m certainly not suggesting these books are for everyone. In fact, they are often uncomfortable to read. They are full of deeply flawed and emotionally complex scenes, something I rarely see in the movies nowadays.

Big production houses are ready to feed us the next Ant Man, Ironman 6, or Fast and Furious ∞. Most of the American audience seems to flock to their screens to see the same story told slightly differently time and time again. We only occasionally get a gem like The Joker or Dark Knight from larger production houses. You wanna know why we get the same film repeatedly? The audience isn't demanding it. It’s because they know they will see a return on the $50, 100, or 200 million they spent. They've thought this through. Movies are not their priority, making money is, and taking chances on complex stories isn’t a sure thing.

In an interview, Chuck Palahniuk revealed he ripped off all of his baffling stories and sequences from real people he knows.

1) that’s alarming if you read any of his books

2) that means movies like Fight Club, as crazy as they are, have a seed of reality. Something telling about the human condition. Something we can all relate to.

Documentaries on platforms like Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Prime are becoming increasingly popular. People want genuine stories. Complex and messy stories.

The biggest issue I hear from painters, musicians, and filmmakers is they just don’t have enough money to do the work they want. We all want to paint larger, get more studio time, or shoot with the fanciest camera gear. Sure, money is nice, but do we ever stop and ask why? Who is that fancy camera for? Will the average audience know we shot it on an Alexa 65? Does the average audience even know that’s a camera? No. They don’t care. As long as it’s not a distraction, all they care about is the end product. Does it make them feel something? Can they see the humanity? How often do they think about it after listening, viewing, or reading it?

This is our greatest asset as independent DIY bootstrappers. We are more connected to the heartbeat of society than any large production house throwing millions at movies with plots that look like Swiss cheese.

When Paramount spent $290,000,000 on the new Mission Impossible, half of that money went to advertising. No wonder it’s a hit. I believe we could make a movie about a pet rock a hit if we spent $1.45 million on marketing it. Surely someone would watch Dwayne Johnson as a pet.

They make money because they manipulate the markets, just like Elon and his once-beloved Dogecoin.

The year I got into filmmaking, I realized, “Oh, big-budget filmmaking is just money laundering or a tax haven.” Some things cost a lot - cranes, helicopters, and enormous sets. I’ll give you that. It can get spendy, but you have to admit there’s some fishy business going on.

We’ve all been told good cinema typically comes with a huge budget. That’s a crock of shit. We have stories all around us that are 10x better than whatever the latest Marvel movie is. I mean, just go talk to your grandma about life in her 20s and tell me there isn’t a good story somewhere in there.

I believe we can create an audience that eagerly awaits the next release. The only problem is artists don’t want to put in the work to build an audience that cares about the work they are creating. We’re too focused on trying to follow the path laid out before us. Start small, somehow get noticed by a big label, and boom insta fame. Fame fades, but relationships linger.

There is no longer a need to wait for gatekeepers. The only gatekeeper we need to get past is our own notions of what is possible. We're concerned about distribution, but we won't use the tools we already have: email, social media, and free streaming platforms.

Make good work. Put it out there. Talk about it. Repeat.

Artist math looks like: 2 + 2 = 1. It is non-linear free thought. We get to share the way we see the world with others, the topsy-turvy, spirited away versions of society. Whether it’s 10 people or 300,000, it doesn’t matter. Our innate nature to create causes us to experience a constant and intense agony when we don't. We must. We need.

I love connection. Growing up, we moved all the time. Once for my grandma’s cancer diagnosis, but all the rest were wrongful conviction related. I long to facilitate and experience connection at every turn because that was often lacking in my life.

At the end of the day, I want people to really understand my motives and point of view. Every word. Every shot. Every musical choice. They are all doing their part to share a larger idea.

Whether it’s Fight Club, No Country For Old Men, or Wilco, it’s all about understanding perspective and walking in someone else’s tattered shoes. It’s about the connectedness of us all.

Understanding and empathy. That, is good cinema.

Be well, do good work, stay disciplined