I was having lunch with my friend and colleague, cinematographer Wolfgang Held (who shot Tango Octogenario), and I told him I was thinking about making a documentary. Wolfgang’s background is in documentary film, so naturally he wanted to hear more. I pitched him two ideas. The first was a film about cover bands–not the casual kind, but the hardcore cover bands, the groups that think they actually are U2 or Led Zeppelin. He liked this idea.
Then I told him about A Life’s Work and his ears perked up a bit more. He recognized that this would be a very personal film and that excited him. He has that European cinematic sensibility. He asked me if I had subjects in mind. I told him I did. When I told him about Paolo Soleri and Arcosanti, he told me I needed to make this film and he’d be interested in shooting it. Wolfgang’s belief in the idea meant a great deal to me. Shortly after our conversation, I decided to proceed.
I sent an e-mail to a nameless Arcosanti e-mail address and received the following reply:
David,
Please give me a call any time this week to discuss your proposed film–or better yet e-mail me a brief description of what you’re hoping to do, so I can be educated before we speak.
Looking forward to speaking with you.
Stefan
I e-mailed and he replied that he’d discuss the idea with Soleri and get back to me. Stefan called a week later. “Hi, David. I’m putting Paolo on the line.”
I didn’t have time to be terrified. I told Soleri the premise and he liked the idea. “Perhaps you’ll come visit the Grand Canyon and maybe stop by here too without your camera?”
I told Soleri I’d like that very much. I met with him in Arcosanti in August, and we arranged an October shoot. Simple, right?
A thousand and one thanks to Stefan Grace for making the Arcosanti shoot smooth smooth smooth.
By the way, before you decide to run with the cover band idea, you should be aware of two things. 1. Getting the music rights will make you pull out all your hair, and 2. A documentary on the subject has already been made, Tribute. It received good reviews and lots of airplay on one of the premium cable stations. I’ve never seen it, but would like to.