Australian comedy just got a whole lot more interesting, with a director turning a potential financial disaster into a hilarious fundraising opportunity.
After the recent Junkyard Artists management implosion, Luke J Smith is taking an unconventional approach to getting paid.
What happened to Junkyard Artists?
For those who haven’t been following the saga, a tonne of Australian comedians have recently called out their former management, Junkyard Artists.
The director of the company shut down Junkyard Artists, leaving a number of people claiming to be stranded with outstanding invoices.
Comedian Lewis Garnham shared his claims in a video, stating, “I’m not going to get the money from ticket sales for so many shows that I did this year. The whole of Edinburgh Fringe, Melbourne Fringe, another week of shows, and yeah, it’s brutal.”
As of now, Junkyard Artists has seemingly vanished from social media and their official website is non-existent. According to ABC News the company has gone into administration.
Junkyard is owned and directed by Craig Ivanoff’s production company, West Street Sports, who has reportedly appointed liquidator Andrew Spring from Jirsch Sutherland Insolvency Solutions to wind up both businesses.
A comedian trying to make his bag
Enter Luke J Smith, who isn’t just sitting back after the comedy management company supposedly went belly-up. Instead, he’s selling Redfern Electrical posters with a twist that’s kind of genius.
For those unfamiliar, Redfern Electrical is a mockumentary about John Cruckshank, a retired stand-up comedian turned electrical contractor. The film follows Cruckshank as he navigates the trials and tribulations of completing a job to secure funding for his own documentary about his electrical business. It’s become a cult hit — especially among skaters. Luke was the director and co-creator.
In his Instagram Post, Luke wrote: “Last week a comedy company I worked with a lot went bankrupt. Maybe you’ve read about it in the news. They owed me and my crew a bunch of money in unpaid invoices.”
Luke worked for Junkyard as a freelancer filming comedy specials and the like.
“To recoup what we’re owed I thought it might be time to sell some old Redfern Electrical posters I’ve had in storage.”
The first three posters were priced at $100 each and the final poster is priced at a whopping $19,000 — precisely the amount owed to him and his crew for three comedy specials, according to Luke.
“This is a rare opportunity for a devoted patron of the Australian arts to step in and help out a bunch of independent filmmakers get paid for their work (and acquire memorabilia from a film with a rare 9.9 rating on IMDB),” Luke added.
“If someone paid $6.2 million for a banana taped to a wall, surely someone out there will pay $19,000 for a Redfern poster.”
I mean, points were made.
He encouraged his followers to “send this post to your richest friend and help make a Christmas miracle happen”. He even tagged Russell Crowe, suggesting that the actor might want to hang one of these posters in his home.
The posters are available on eBay and it’s first in best dressed, so if you have a spare $19k lying around or are besties with Russell Crowe, hit him up!!
Lead image: Luke J Smith, Instagram / Canva
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