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ARTS ACTION ALERT

Californians for the Arts is thrilled to report that Assembly Bill 580, the new legislative bill that would increase appropriations for the California Arts Council (CAC) from $1M to $75M, will be formally introduced to the state assembly this Tuesday, April 9 at 9 a.m.

This bill's passage would have an enormous impact on the performing arts community and communities throughout the state. The funds from AB 580 would bring California's per-capita arts spending up to 12th in the nation, or roughly $2.00 per person. The CAC is currently doing strategic planning to determine which of its programs would be revived if the bill passes.

In the meantime, it is vital that you join Californians for the Arts, California Arts Advocates and the California Theatre Network in making known your support of this bill and the tremendous impact its passage will have on the quality of life in the state of California.

Please feel free to use the template below to craft a letter to the author of the bill, Assembly Member Adrin Nazarian. You can also find a copy of the template here. It is crucial that your letter be 1) on your organization's letterhead, 2) signed, and 3) either faxed or emailed as an attached PDF (not in the body of the email). Then, circulate this letter to your own networks.

SonomaArts.Com

Welcome...

Sonoma County Artist Award winner for the Performing Arts in 2009, John Harden, a very busy and innovative filmmaker and Santa Rosa native, is now in the process of raising funding for his new project, enigmatically named "NEW". Winners of the Sonoma awards are eligible, through partnership between the Arts Council and United States Artists, to raise funds nationally aimed at funders who look to the different disciplines to invest in Artists. Of course, the public may donate, much like Kickstarter etc. So click the graphic to the left and help John reach his goal!!!!

The idea for NEW was sparked by an article in the New York Times Magazine about people who pay thousands of dollars to have their bodies cryonically preserved (stored in liquid nitrogen) after death, in the hope that future medical technology will restore them to life. It was a fascinating look into people’s beliefs about mortality and identity, their attitudes about their current lives, and their plans to live another.

There are rules to life, the first of which may be "one to a customer." But imagine if technology were to change that rule, restoring youth and re-defining death. In NEW, this comes to pass. It poses some challenges for our main characters.

NEW will run roughly 12 minutes. The short film will stand alone as a story, but also serve as proof-of-concept for a feature film I'm writing now. NEW is ambitious, with multiple locations and some elaborate special effects. We plan a 7-day shoot, on cinema-resolution video gear (Arri Alexa or RED camera). Actors and crew will be paid a small daily wage, as we push for pro-level production values on every front. Your contribution will also help pay for costumes, props, some set construction, original music, special effects, and post-production (edit, color correction and sound mix).

In writing NEW, I feel I've managed to hit a sweet spot between the visionary science fiction that fired my imagination as a kid, and the character-driven storytelling that makes sense to me now. I'm thrilled to be making this film and feel it will be unlike anything I've done before.