We recently connected with Sam Lukowski and have shared our conversation below.
Sam , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Ha! You’re option is give up – or keep trying.
That’s it.
If you give up – you are guaranteed to fail.
If you try – at least you got a chance at success.
Whatever that means.
Truth is – with digital automation and shit like A.I. and Deepfake technology and all this CGI, digital simulation – I don’t really know what the future will hold for artists and the recorded arts but I do know that now is the time to create. Create now before Big Brother decides it’s too late.
If you give up now – you guaranteed your own failure – and then I got no sympathy for you.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about work?
Support Indie-Films! Really – that’s it.
Show Hollywood and Legacy Media and all the new Streaming Platforms out there that Indie-Productions are legitimate competition!
And to be fair – the Horror Fan Community out there has really always been the most supportive Audience over the years to New Artists. And when I say that, I really do mean supportive – like long before the advent of so-called ‘New Media’ and ‘Social Media Platforms’ on-line.
So yeah – my gratitude to all the Indie-Horror-Movie-Fans out there who have always been in our corner – who’ve always said: “You know what? Show us what you got – even if you’re a nobody. Even if you got no money, and you have no connections. Even if you’re from nowhere! Scare us – just show us something good!”
That kind of support matters to me!
So a big thank you has to go out to all them!
And future Artists out there reading this bullshit, always remember – an Artist is nothing without their Audience.
An Artist works for a paying Audience – not a Studio or Producer.
Producers are great – but an Audience is greater.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Take care of your Audience. Never be late.
Never give up.
Be ready to improvise.
And remember that you are part of a team – a crew – we need all parts to succeed – not just some diva.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Well, they’re two separate things, really – so, I guess I’ll have to answer them both separately. The biggest ‘obstacle’ to Artists right now is A.I. and Digital Automation. And the truth is, I don’t really know how we fight that. All we can do is ask Audiences to support Artists and not Simulation. So, a good rule of thumb right now is something like: if a new Movie’s got a lot of CGI in its Trailer – it probably screws over a lot of Performing Artists, (and ironically, it probably also screws over a lot of Programmers and Digital Effects Artists, too). Now, that’s not always true but right now it’s about as good a rule as any.
But the biggest ‘challenge’ for Artists right now is the same as it’s always been – how do you get Producers to invest in your next Production? How do you convince people to invest – to gamble their money – on a product that does not exist yet? The answer is the same as it’s always been for the past 3000 years: give Audiences what they want!
The problem right now in the modern business world is that what a paying Audience wants might be counter to what investors want.
And I’m too stupid to tell you how to figure that one out – all I can do is point it out.
Ultimately, the paying Audience makes all the rules – everything else is just rich elites making guesses.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4033051/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samlukowski/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LukowskiSam/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamLukowski
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjpoDgV-0Sc
Image Credits
Robert Israel Herbert Mann
