Ashley Greg Avildsen (born November 5, 1981) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and the founder and CEO of

Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.John G. Avildsen John Guilbert Avildsen (December 21, 1935 – June 16, 2017) was an American film director. He is perhaps best known for directing ''Rocky'' (1976), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director, and the first three ''The Karate Kid'' fil ...

, he wrote and directed the films ''

What Now ''What Now'' is a New Zealand children's television programme that premiered on Saturday 9 May 1981. It is currently filmed before a live audience at a different school in New Zealand, which is selected every week. The show airs every Sunday at ...

'' (2015) and '' American Satan'' (2017). Ash Avildsen also played a lead role in ''What Now'' and is responsible for numerous nationwide tours such as Summer Slaughter, All Stars Tour, Thrash and Burn, and more.

Sumerian Records

Sumerian Records Sumerian Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen.The Faceless The Faceless are an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. They released their debut album, ''Akeldama'', in November 2006, and a follow-up, ''Planetary Duality'', in November 2008. The band's third a ...

and Stick To Your Guns. Sumerian has since released over 100 albums, expanded their roster to feature a diverse collective of over 40 artists, and in 2016 celebrated their 10-year anniversary as a successful independent label.

Piracy controversy

On March 22, 2011, Avildsen released a video in which he argued against

music piracy Music piracy is the copying and distributing of recordings of a piece of music for which the rights owners (composer, recording artist, or copyright-holding record company) did not give consent. In the contemporary legal environment, it is a form ...

. This led to some controversy as the video was perceived to be an ad for Born of Osiris' then new record '' The Discovery''. A second point was made of the fact that during the 1990s, Avildsen was active in the software piracy

warez scene The Warez scene, often referred to as The Scene, is a worldwide, underground, organized network of pirate groups specializing in obtaining and illegally releasing digital media for free before their official sale date. The Scene distributes all fo ...

. He went by the nickname The Krazy Little Punk and from 1995 lead the games release group Release on Rampage (ROR), having gained infamy for repackaging a beta release of '' Quake'' and passing it off as the final retail release in a failed attempt to claim as being the first to illegally release the game. Jason Fisher of the heavy metal blog ''The Gauntlet'', and during the 1990s also a member of ROR, responded to the video, claiming that "Ash alone has easily cost companies millions of dollars." He lamented Avildsen's lack of disclosure on the matter.

Filmography

*''

'' (2015) - Released Digitally / VOD *'' American Satan'' (2017) *''

Paradise City "Paradise City" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). Released as a single in January 1989, it is the only song on the album to feature a synthesizer. The song pea ...

'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Avildsen, Ash American chief executives in the media industry American film directors American screenwriters American film producers American people of Norwegian descent 1981 births Living people