American Hardcore
Director Paul Rachman
Career Highlights
- Began film career making underground hardcore punk films and music videos
- Became one of the industry’s top music video directors at Propaganda Films in Los Angeles
- Worked with such artists as Alice in Chains, Roger Waters, Joan Jett and Kiss
- One of the founding filmmakers of the Slamdance Film Festival
- Made his feature film directorial debut in 2000 with Four Dogs Playing Poker starting Forrest Whittaker, Tim Curry and Olivia Williams
- Studied International Relations at Boston University
While studying International Relations at Boston University, Paul Rachman started his film career making films and music videos for underground hardcore punk bands. He then began working for Propaganda Films in LA where he became one of the industry’s top music video directors, working with artists such as Joan Jett and Kiss.
Rachman also created award-winning short films and made his feature film debut in 2000 with Four Dogs Playing Poker starring Forrest Whittaker, Tim Curry and Olivia Williams. In 2006 his documentary about the early punk music scene, American Hardcore, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. Rachman is also credited with being one of the founding filmmakers of the Slamdance Film Festival, an edgier alternative to the Sundance Film Festival, which has been named by Vanity Fair as one of the top 10 film festivals in the world today.
Career Highlights
- Former punk show promoter in Washington DC
- Wrote for Interview, Village Voice, Spin and The Times of London
- Currently serves as contributing music editor at Paper Magazine
- Founded Seconds Magazine in 1996, published until 2000
Steven Blush is an author, publisher, and promoter. In his early days in the punk rock scene he promoted shows in Washington, DC and served as a tour manager throughout the early 80s.
He has written three books on the subject of rock: American Hardcore, 2001, a history of the early-80s Hardcore Punk scene; .45 Dangerous Minds, 2005, a collection of interviews with Pop Culture's most notorious; and American Hair Metal, 2006, a visual tribute to big-haired rockers. His writings have appeared in over 25 publications including Spin and The Village Voice. Blush also published the cult magazine Seconds and now serves as contributing editor at Paper.
Paul and Steven join ThinkTalk host Zack Sherwood to discuss their work on the fil American Hardcore, which profiles the early days of the hardcore music scene in Los Angeles, Washington DC, and New York City in the early 1980s. Paul fields questions from students on the craft of directing, while Steve offers career advice for aspiring writers.
