The opinions and comments expressed in this article belong to the author and do not reflect the views and opinions of April Showers or its production team.

I love the Internet. I do. Not because it’s a convenient way to get information, stay up to date with the latest news, sports etc. I don’t like it because I can tweet or pseudo spy on celebrities going from the grocery store to their car with a bucket of Haagen Dazs. Nope. Those things are nice, but I have to say I love the Internet because it has given a voice to those who otherwise wouldn’t have one, for better and for worse. Case in point, April Showers, a film that you seemingly love or hate with very little in between.

Many have written in to this website sharing your thoughts, comments and general praise about the film and I truly appreciate and am humbled by it. Some of you have taken it a step further and visited some of our other sites, be a social networking site or podcast, and done the same thing. It is an awesome sight because ten years ago or more the types of comments I’m able to see and/or read would’ve been foreign to me for they would’ve been shared in the privacy of your home or office etc. So, before I go any further allow me to say thank you and extend my most sincere gratitude to all of you for your continued support.

On the flip side there are those who do not share your views or second your well wishes. Before anyone gets up in arms over this I want to say thank you to those who believe I or the film have in someway missed the mark because it gives me something to work on and pushes me harder to be better. I know I have a lot to learn and things can and will only get better from here but I appreciate that while April Showers may not have been the film for you; you still took time out of your schedule to share your constructive criticism(s).

However, there is a third class of individuals out there who, because of the Internet, have been given a voice to say anything and everything about April Showers (or any film, product, service etc for that matter). I won’t lie I’ve been blasted in some forums for being a hack, or for making a film that is too commercial given the subject matter or that I should be shot or at the very least died along with my friends in order to spare oneself the atrocity of having to watch April Showers. Truthfully, I expected this and I am okay with it for this is the power and the privilege the Internet provides all people; the ability to aimlessly vent one’s aggression, frustration or general disdain upon another anonymously. It’s like winning a fight where no one gets physically hurt. Hell, no one but the person picking the fight actually showed up. So good on you, Champ. But I digress.

What intrigues me most is how rampant this mentality of being able and wanting to anonymously attack strangers who are simply going about their livelihood has become. Getting away from April Showers for a moment, this phenomenon can be observed in sports, politics, video games etc, for seemingly nothing can escape our collective attentions. What fascinates me is that the majority of these individuals have no idea what it means and/or takes to be an NFL head coach or game developer. Furthermore, it seems, the more successful one becomes in their respected field the more animosity he or she can expect to endure. Now, my Mother (yes, I’m going there) always said that these types of attacks are acts of jealousy. Yeah, okay, though I’m certain no one writing them views them that way and I don’t want to overlook a growing trend with simple motherly advice. Sorry Mom.

Since I have no idea what it takes to coach an NFL team let alone a little league team I’ll stick to my area of so-called expertise, which is film. I recently received a message from a person who repeatedly called me a “no talent hack” among other things and went on to say how the film could’ve been so much better in the hands of a more talented director. I thought to myself, they’re right, the film might have been different or even better in the hands of another director but then again it wouldn’t have been April Showers. The truth of the matter is you can’t simply replace what you don’t like and have everything else remain the same and/or be better. Film, like football, is a team effort and the audience is watching the combined efforts of a host of people working in concert with one another towards an ultimate goal. A goal usually laid out by the director, however, you replace the director and perhaps the goal changes, which means the crew changes, the actors change and so on and so forth. It’s also strange how someone can say they hate me as a director yet love the look of the film, the performances by the actors and the score all in the same sentence. I’m not taking sole credit for any of those achievements but I would like to think each of those components was not operating independently from what I wanted.

However, I defend these people and their comments though am disappointed at the same time because I don’t think they understand or appreciate the gift the Internet has given them. I don’t care if you don’t like April Showers, for film is 100 percent subjective, but when people read these posts you, the author, have their undivided attention for however long you have it and to offer nothing more than the same contrived phrases and pseudo criticism is an opportunity wasted. Which is similar to what you accuse me of doing in making this film, for all you wanted, is what I wanted; to make something that people see and react to. We are the same in a way. Some people will inevitably enjoy the sharp tongue of “luv2score617” (I made that user name up though I’m sure it’s taken) and may even chime in just as those who love April Showers have done. Guess the silver lining in all of this is, love the film or hate it, in most cases, you still saw the film which means we did something right.

Now, I titled this post Art vs Commerce and a Little Thing We Call the Internet for a reason. Another phenomenon that is becoming more and more prevalent these days are those who feel that the moment an “artist” makes money with their “art” they have ceased to be artists and have become sell-outs. I get accused of selling-out all the time for April Showers looks and feels like a larger budget film than it actually is. A lot of people, not the majority, do blast me and the film for its slick style, rapid editing and attractive cast as the act of a filmmaker not interested in art but only in commerce. To that I say, thank you? I’m not sure how making something then being able to earn a living off of said thing constitutes selling out for isn’t that what we all want to do in life; make a living doing what we love. Since when did earning a living as a result of being creative become such a stigma? This attitude is especially prevalent in the independent world, be it movies or music. I guess in some small way there are those who view independent artists as people like them and they kind of always want those individuals to remain like them. I just don’t get it personally. I agree that some people who come from humble beginnings who then find or earn their success take it a bit far and become shadows of their former selves but for the most part I don’t think this is the case.

Case in point, a few years back I went to see a well-established, successful artist play at a local club here in LA. I arrived way to early which is somewhat a sin in LA and subsequently was one of nine people in the audience for the opening act.  The opening act happened to be this little band called The Killers. The Killers played for us nine people and it was very entertaining. Before they ended their set a friend of mine happened to show up and took quite a liking to The Killers and even bought their self made CD from them out of the trunk of their car. Within days everyone around the office was listening and falling in love with The Killers. Fast-forward about six months from that first encounter and I was in my local Target store and heard The Killers come over the speaker system. Personally, I was kind of excited because here was a band that less than a year ago I had listened to them perform for a handful of people and now they’re on Target radio. That’s awesome. I went to work the next day and told some of my co-workers this story, knowing that many of these same people had become Killers fans, to learn that they had stopped liking the band because they sold-out. It’s not like they weren’t The Killers anymore, hell, the same single we were singing in our cars was the same song being played on Target radio. They didn’t all of a sudden suck, it was the same song, yet they sold-out?

By this logic they sold out the moment my friend bought their album at the show. Furthermore, if this is the standard we hold “artists” to why do we not apply it across the board? Whether you’re a filmmaker, songwriter, sculptor, photographer, poet etc what you do, however artistic it may be, is your job. You have chosen to earn a living performing a craft much in the same way an accountant does or the manager of a local restaurant, yet no one is asking them to work for free or accusing them of selling out. If your local restaurant is booked and you can’t get a table one often says ‘wow, this place is popular, it must be good.’ Where by Michael Bay sells 200 million dollars worth of movie tickets in an opening weekend and he’s a hack, no talent sell out. I’m not defending Mr. Bay or suggesting you have to like his films, but I find it curious that the same level of respect for a job well done isn’t universally applied. 

I’ll conclude this bit of editorial with one final story I’d like to share for I feel it’s perfect given the topic. When I was in high school, before the tragedy at Columbine ever took place, I was a projectionist at a movie theater. Part of my duties as projectionist was to hang the posters in the lobby for the upcoming films. Inevitably, I’d hang a poster for a film that I personally thought was going to be terrible and shoot my mouth off about it to the world. I guess I did this a lot. Hey, I didn’t have the Internet so I had to speak loudly. One day I happened to be putting up the poster for the film Air Bud 3 and immediately shot off into one of my rants about the how’s and why’s films like Air Bud get made; and why that’s a bad thing. It wasn’t pretty and I’m not proud of it but it’s something we’ve all done at one point or another. However, this time was different, because my manager, Jeff, was within earshot and apparently he’d had enough. I remember vividly what he said to this very day.

“At least they’re in the game,” he said.

I remember spinning around and thinking to myself, you’re defending this piece of garbage?

But he cut me off with “if you think you can do better than do better, but until then why don’t you shut your mouth because at least they’re in the game.”

Jeff was right.

I thank you all for listening and for taking the time to follow our progress. I hope the journey has been as rewarding and exciting for you as it has been for us. I thank all of you who continue to write in and/or spread the word about April Showers for it means the world to me and everyone involved with the film. Take care everyone and as always stay tuned…

Keywords: Art vs Commerce and a Little Thing We Call the Internet, Andrew Robinson, April Showers, Air Bud, Michael Bay, The Killers, Independent, Haagen Dazs, Columbine High School, Celebrities, 

1. danmcclure Says:
   July 17th, 2009 at 3:28 pm

   The internet,which has changed our world for better for worse, is only as good as we in the so called civilized world make it. We can use it to destroy ourselves or reach higher plateaus yet to imagine. I sometimes get disgusted when the crumb bums and poor excuses for people out there taking pot shots at others to relieve their own miserable lifestyles by spewing out their vile through viruses, hate mail, terrorism and other forms of despicable criminal behavior. Fortunately, however, I found April Showers. If it weren’t for the generosity and skills of my son Bryan I would not even have access to the internet. Since he set me up with it and introduced me to the world of Andrew Robinson’s new film,” April Showers”, and before that,” Shimmer”, I have spent countless hours on their website enjoying the stories and exercising my option to make comments regarding posts on the site, maybe you have noticed? I even was privileged to be an extra in the film at the beginning, middle and end of production. I seen first hand what these super indie artists were working on and thanks to the wonderful,” April Showers”, website I was able to follow the inner workings of how it all came to be. If anyone should maim or attack this film in a slanderous way as opposed to giving it respectful criticism, it just shows your stupidity. You weren’t there and you don’t know. You don’t know the long hours of hard work these people put together on a shoestring budget to bring about a heart tugging story related to one of our most tragic American horrors all of which the director personally lived through. It was not done as much for the purpose of capital gain as it was for telling part of the story, not publicly focused on after the initial massacre, regarding the effects suffered by the survivors. It was a difficult and painful story to bring to the surface but one I believe needed to be told. If anyone doubts it’s credibility dig deeper into the,” April Showers”, website and see the countless individuals including Columbine survivors, major national networks and news publications, parents, students, teachers and fans who heralded Andrew’s work. He had the most wonderful cast and crew and it was put together with the utmost professionalism, integrity, artistic quality and major human networking. The whole experience from top to bottom was a microcosm of great people working together to tell a very emotional story. It was done in a super way with very little resources. You may find faults but it in no way deserves to be desecrated. To do so just shows unbelievable ignorance. Nothing has captured my attention more than this film process during the last year. It has changed me as a person and brought world wide attention to what we all should be looking at and that is violence in our schools and communities. If that isn’t a novel cause I don’t know what is. Then to hint that he is selling out, well that’s a major flaw in some bodies thinking. I can only think of the words so familiarly spoken by Mr.T, “I pity the fools”! As far as commercialism goes who in this American culture isn’t affected by it. If it weren’t for commerce we wouldn’t be exchanging these ideas on the internet. Whoa what are some people thinking? If anything, Andrew his cast & crew were not compensated nearly enough for all they endured. And what do the nay sayers think those artists are suppose to live on while they are spending all that time putting together the film? I guess they should all where signs around saying, “We will work for beer”! I know there are those thinking right this moment that isn’t such a bad idea. Well, anyway, now I stoop to lower levels.

   In closing I will say once again that it was and continues to be an experience of a lifetime. I am thrilled that I was able to get to see this production inside and out. It is a pleasure to know there are good productive people out in the world doing something valuable. Through April Showers I have gone on to learn more about film making through Cindy Freeman’s Film-Making Podcasts and look forward to the new Robinson film coming out, “Dancing Carl”. It continues to be a real pleasure seeing how these artists work!

   Dan

2. admin Says:
   July 17th, 2009 at 5:39 pm

   Dan (and everyone reading this),

   Once again I and everyone involved with the film thank you for your support. If I may make a point of clarification regarding the issue of “selling out.” I’m not stating this as a sort of ‘poor me’ for I do everything I do for this film willingly and without regret, but I have not received any compensation for making this film be it pre production, production or post. I signed over my salary to the production so that we could afford to pay for a few more crew members, some more camera equipment as well as affording us the ability to have one of my dearest friends (and a damn fine actor) star in the film. Like I said, I don’t care if a viewer doesn’t like the film or it simply isn’t their cup of tea for that is to be expected. I just encourage everyone surfing the net with an opinion to take a moment to formulate their thoughts so they can maximize their effectiveness for others. Thanks again for the comment and support and I look forward to sharing more about April Showers and Dancing Carl with all of you.

   Andrew

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