many thanks and the truth

So lately we've been experiencing a large volume of traffic due to postings on torrent sites and blogs. All I can say is thanks! It's nice to see the film get out there, and the idea behind the free download finally come to some fruition. If this thing we call the internet is a community, and this crazy sub culture called "Indie" is real; then the way things are happening for EGTTR is exactly as it should be. I can't say thanks enough...feel free to drop me a line with feedback...always love to hear it.

That leads me to the truth part. I spent this past weekend with friends outside of Syracuse. (The previous post was from this trip and a stab at humor...drunk, late night humor.) We ate, drank, and had an overall merry time. However. This friend of mine pointed out that I am incredibly negative sometimes and affected by other people almost to a fault. She's right. My wife also confronted me about me having a drinking problem. She's right. When you spend a large chunk of time couped up in a terrible climate, drinking to be social, and obsessing about a script that describes how the death of everything might go down...you get a bit blindsided. The best thing to do is just be honest with yourself and admit that the problems exist. Previous posts have seen me screaming about the "posers" of the indie world. Previous months have seen me drink to be happy, despite the amount and level of work I'm constantly trying to produce. I will not dwell on this, nor will I make the bold assumption that I will ever completely quit drinking. I will not fool myself into thinking I will one day never find a "poser" completely annoying and uncalled for. I can, however, promise to always be truthful to myself, my friends, and my family. I will always take steps to move in a positive, forward direction in what ever endeavor I chose. I will always, eventually, shut out the idiots and focus on the wonderful people that still do exist in this world. The worse thing I could ever do is ever start thinking I have it completely figured out.

I should also never forget that I'm part Noreen Yost, and part John E. Yost Jr. and I will forever be the most optimistic realist in the room...
or the most layed back person to ever plan every moment of everyday...
or the person who hates talking on the phone so much, it takes 10 minutes to say goodbye to friends.


In The Brave and the Kind News...we're making a movie. Shooting is this June/July. I need to cast two people asap. Things are going to get out of hand. Check here for updates...wish I could say more, but we're all trying to stay real secretive...you know...for fun, it's fun to be secretive.

If you have a chance, check out my wife's (our in house marketing web designer) latest fun website...toonces TV...I know...a site about our cat...we really do enjoy her that much.;-)

Cheers
John

God Bless America

Honing my craft since the age of 19

Lately I've been reading lots of blogs and newspaper articles on independent artists, filmmakers, and photographers. (local and national) I have to say it seems that I've started way too late. Most of these people, according to their bios and interviews, have been "Honing their crafts since the age of 3". Wow, I am way behind the curve. Who would have thought that the camera little Colin got when he was 8 would lead to all this. How could we have conceived that little Erin's brush with brushes at the age of three would lead to this illustrious career as a painter. I'm here to tell you that's a load of horse shit. EVERYONE WAS EXPOSED TO THE ARTS AS A KID! Everyone had someone in their life (especially if your a middle class white kid from upstate NY) that exposed them to some form of art. Hell any musician could say that, "ever since they heard their first song on the radio at the age of 2 months they've been a budding musician". Don't believe everything you read, that young artist ideal is just a way for artists and newspapers to sell you what they're doing. As if by some miracle you're going to be so much more impressed with the persons talents because they've been doing it since before they could walk. I believe anything done before the age of 20 was a write off, an experiment in adolescence and social interaction. Sure some of what you do early on become the building blocks of your personality and character later in life. But any serious artist does not start making important work until they've been properly trained and have gone through years of rigorous rejection and almost ignorant persistence. Picking up a camera at the age of 5 doesn't mean you know anything about photography. Copying comic book characters in middle school does not give you the right to call yourself an artist...your work does. Perhaps that's why I don't consider myself an artist yet...I got started way to late.

Cheers
John

Speaking the truth

I just saw Into the Wild last night. The new film by Sean Penn that tells the tale of Chris McCandless's jouney to Alaska to find truth. The story itself was great, but the film and it's editing left something to be desired. The one thing that stuck with me was when he quoted Thoreau, "Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth." It has been a long few weeks writing my own truth into the new film I'm making, and I find myself "spicing it up" from time to time with nuggets of fiction. I do this simply because I know that an audience (as with films) don't often want the truth, they want the fantastical. But I must stick to my guns, so I'm keeping it as close to home as possible; bending truths to be what might happen, instead of what has happened. It's funny what begins inside of you when you do this. You're not as close to the story any longer. There are pieces of you in it, but you can work on it without knowing you're completely invested in it...body and soul. I think that's what's happening to our world. It's too hard to bear having the truth so close. It's too much to be reminded daily of what's wrong and what changes need to be made. It's easier to omit a few truths and keep it at a distance, than it is to embrace the mess and deal with it.

Recently the French actress Marion Cotillard was lambasted by the US media for saying that 9/11 might not have happened exactly as we think it did. I'm no conspiracy theorist myself, but I've seen enough of what this administration has done to know I'm not getting the whole truth. I'm pretty sure there was more to the story than we'll ever know...OR really want to know. Isn't that the reason that those who lost family in the tragedy were calling for her head. Isn't it funny that when it's so close to us we cannot even seek the truth...let alone see it. I saw Marion's speech on Oscar night and I'm sure she wasn't as crass as the papers made her out to be. I'm also sure it's quite hard to have a family member lost in the 9/11 tragedy. I'm not, nor would I ever, downplay their loss or any other useless loss of human life. However, we need to stop being so offended at the thought that our government isn't telling the truth and perhaps start asking questions. We need to rally together, mourn our losses, and demand answers.

All of this reminds me of the song by Immortal Technique with Mos Def. It's a bit harsh, but there is a message in it. Thanks Chris for turning me on to it.
This one's for you Marion.