Adventures of Power Postcards from the Set: How I Made an Epic Indie Film

by Ari Gold

POSTCARDS FROM THE HOW I MADE AN EPIC INDIE FILM tells the story of the making of the cult comedy ADVENTURES OF POWER, an all-star movie about a mine worker who discovers an underground subculture of air-drummers that has the power to change the world. "One of the funniest films in recent years" - New York Magazine. "The best rock movie in many a year" - Neil Peart (drummer, RUSH).In POSTCARDS FROM THE SET, writer-director-actor Ari Gold makes public the hilarious and heartbreaking letters and photos he sent to his circle of friends during the making of his cult movie. We get the inside scoop about dealing with celebrities and egotistical agents, fighting mining conglomerates for the right to shoot, and hard days and nights facing lightning, giant rats, and broken bones on the way to Sundance and beyond.Gold's 4-year journey to finance, shoot, and distribute a movie on a fraction of a Hollywood budget takes him across Utah, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, and California, and eventually as far afield as Guatemala, the Czech Republic, and Thailand. Along the way, Gold encounters haters and Hollywood executives who don't understand the film's spirit—but also collects a dedicated core of 100,000 fans, friends, and volunteers who champion the film and its underlying message of hope.

127 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2011

About the author

Ari Gold is a film director, poet, musician, & founder/president of Grack Films. His movies have screened at Sundance, Telluride, Karlovy-Vary, & hundreds of other festivals, & he has won over fifty prizes, including best film at SXSW (twice), the Student Oscar, and Best Director at the American Cinematheque / ARPA.

Ari is currently in post-production on his third & fourth feature films. Helicopter expands on his student-Oscar-winning short film about his mother’s death, & features legendary director Alejandro Jodorowsky. Brother Verses Brother, a musical odyssey from the streets of San Francisco, is a companion to Ari’s first book of poetry (Father Verses Sons, Rare Bird Lit, 2024).

Previously, he directed a romantic drama called The Song of Sway Lake which played 52 international film festivals, winning Best Feature at over a dozen of these. It features Rory Culkin, Robert Sheehan (Umbrella Academy), & Mary Beth Peil. His first feature film, air-drum cult comedy Adventures of Power, was called "One of the funniest films in recent years" by NY Magazine, and features Jane Lynch, Michael McKean, Nick Kroll, and Adrian Grenier.

Ari has a dozen other film & TV projects in various stages of development, and also hosts a podcast about drumming called HotSticks, featuring some of the biggest rock stars on the planet. Ari’s most unusual distinctions include a High Times Magazine "Stoner of the Year" award (for his performance as a drug dealer in the rave film Groove), and a Guinness World Record for commanding the largest air-drum ensemble on earth.

Reviews

[Lindsay Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is ideal for anyone with a curiosity about the film industry or attempting to make a film. It helps if you watch the movie first. I have the upmost respect for Ari and the films of which he has made. I have followed his work for a while now; however, I was not aware of this book until I found it on Goodreads. I went looking for him assuming I would find some poems. This was a gem of a find for me. The Live Instagrams that I have watched, fuelled the fire I had inside of me, to begin my own writing journey. Ari appears to be a very caring human being. I think right now the world needs more of that. In a world of sadness, we should celebrate the good ones that we have on this planet. I think his caring nature transpires in his creativity, which includes his written form.

I have watched Adventures of Power the movie. It is a funny feel good film with an important message behind it, that it’s ok to be different as that’s what makes you.. you and to always follow your dreams. This book details how he went about making that film in the form of Postcards. It also notes the challenges he faced. Ari has an amazing sense of humour. You will undoubtedly laugh along the way. If you are wanting to break into Hollywood or have a curiosity about how a movie comes to life on the big screen then this book is for you. If you like comedy books or movies this is also for you. Finally if you want a Netflix recommendation for this weekend.. you guessed it Adventures of Power.

Movie Synopsis:
A comedy music movie about a mineworker named Power whose love of drums and lack of musical skill has turned him into the ridiculed air drummer of his small town.

Cast:
Ari Gold - Stars as the main character who sets about following his dreams.

Michael McKean - Personally I know him from Short Circuit and Casper but he is probably more commonly known for This is spinal tap.

Jane Lynch - Starred in the musical comedy Glee. Spoiler Alert: I love the lunch meeting that they had, whereby she checked Ari’s astrological chart to ensure he was not some type of Axe Murderer 😂 Thats definitely how I would like to do business. Mine is cancer. Apparently rare for us to go on to become serial killers so perhaps one day I will get to work with Jane Lynch too!

Adrian Grenier - Who you will most likely know from The Devil Wears Prada or Clickbait. I still obsess over that grilled cheese 😂 Adrian recently got married and also cares passionately about the planet. Check out @earthspeed on Instagram.