Joe Sabia

12 Final Days - One Last Serve. A privilege to direct this with the great @asifkapadia1 . Coming to Amazon Prime June 20th. Get excited! @rogerfederer @primemovies @primevideosport @sportsonprime @primevideosport @amazonmgmstudios

Full episode streaming now on YouTube! Dr. Alan Walker shares the compelling and misunderstood world of Franz Liszt as man and musician. Dr. Walker’s massive three-volume biography of Liszt stands as a crowning achievement in the world of music and scholarship. Full episode linked in bio @living.the.creative.life #liszt #franzliszt #biography #classicalmusic #inspiration

40 days ago on 7/24/25, I became a dad and @marina_c became a mom. We went all the way to delivery not knowing it was a girl. But when we found out, there was only one name that matched this tiny, long-legged, furry, bath-loving, side-eyeing bundle of Leo-energy vivacity: “Viv”. Vivienne Eleanora Sabia’s middle name is a tribute to her grandma, Nora, who would have loved holding her as much as we do. Viv smiled for the first time this morning. My brain can’t fully grasp what milestones lie around the corner. But those who know say “just you wait”. Viv’s smile will turn into laughter at dad jokes, her cooing into exclamations of love, and by the grace of god, her unusually long fingers will show early signs of a talented pianist. But the joys that await come at the cost of never again seeing her this small and helpless. On Viv’s 41st day, I’ll just feel happy to have a second woman to love for the rest of my life and try my best to catch her pacifier before it falls to the floor.

In early June I completed a small dream by making videos with Cliburn piano competition finalists. The first was the “Difficultissimo Quiz”, where @aristosham @carterjohnsonpiano and Philipp Lynov were asked really hard questions about their piano repertoire. The second video had @evrenozelpiano @angelwang_piano and @starikovpiano react to previous interviews given to their moms. All pianists were not just virtuosi at the keyboard, but virtuosi of character and personality. And they made me laugh really hard. I’m excited to see how their careers flourish from here on out. You can watch the videos on the Cliburn YouTube page. Special thanks to @douglarsen1 editing genius on the quiz. And much thanks to @maggieestes7 and @jonathaneifert .

My friends @ajjacobsinc and @gregpliska made all of my dreams come true by having me as a guest on THE PUZZLER podcast. We talked puns, classical composers, and even 73 questions, where after almost precisely 8 years since my interview with @selenagomez , I finally made this confession. (After all, my license plate a decade ago was RIKROLL so what do you expect from me). Enjoy!

Went on Australia’s @morningshowon7 right before Christmas to talk about this year’s projects, to announce the end of 73 questions, to talk about marrying @marina_c , and to shout out her whole family! Thanks for having me back on @larryemdur and @kyliegillies ! And thanks to Emily Costello for making this happen

We still did our interview last year despite skipping a year of uploads. And now that this year’s video is out, it’s reaffirming to witness @billieeilish  getting happier and happier. Time Capsule Year 8 was released on Billie’s birthday yesterday. Everlasting thanks to @bakerpr , @vanityfair , Ella Ruffel, the rest of the production team (and as always, to @chrismortimer  for insisting Billie do this in 2017) A big thanks to the crew for making this happen: Director of Photography: Eric Brouse Lead Writer: Grace Lauson Editor: Estan Esparza Talent: Billie Eilish Producer: Funmi Sunmonu Line Producer: Romeeka Powell Associate Producer: Alexis Alzamora Production Manager: Andressa Pelachi Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes Talent Booker: Lauren Mendoza Camera Operator: Carlos Araujo Gaffer: David Djaco Sound Mixer: Lily van Leeuween Production Assistant: Karla Torres & Alex Mitchell Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen Assistant Editor: Billy Ward Shout out to @fabrika_tbilisi @fabrika.hostel !

Chris, your style was snark, wit, topicality, and activism. Your work had something to say. You always had the most successful and gorgeous portfolio, and listing those projects you were proud of was just as important as linking out the work of other creators at the bottom of it. Your full time job was side-projects, and you dabbled in the ad agency world. To this day, there is no proof of anything you’ve ever made for hire, and your best and most successful ideas were made the right way: for fun, by you and your friends, on your own terms, with your own time. You were the first person I ever knew who invested his own money into random projects that most certainly would never generate a penny in return. This of course was a practice subsidized by your penchant for “triple dipping” (for those who don't know, booking three $2k/day concurrent copywriting gigs.) Man, you had that figured out. I made videos. You made websites, games and apps. We studied each other from our respective corners of the internet, bound by our mutual love for conceptual experimentation. You understood me creatively like few people did. You adopted and added to our “Slot Theory” of viral internet culture. You hired me for ideas. I hired you for ideas. By our powers combined, each idea became 2x better or 2x stupider. In the rare times we weren’t talking about ideas, we talked about life. And I tried to lift you up when you seemed down. I tried to remind you of how unique, kind-hearted and special I thought you were. But the dark side of you was stubborn and unyielding. This is typical of artists so talented that their gift comes with a sensitivity so unmanageable it begins to wreak havoc. You came into my life full of ideas, you left still pitching them. And you vanished from this world in the same spirit as the project you were most proud to have created, “Lightyear.fm”: blasting off towards the universe’s great beyond, leaving in your wake a trail of art screaming to be treasured. I'll miss you, @ilikechrisbaker . Just don’t be upset I posted a longer version of this on linkedin

This is how democracy declines From interview with @anneapplebaum2000 on @samharrisorg podcast

A joy to be back in the studio with @billieeilish and @finneas to break down their song “Birds of a Feather” for episode 2 of STORY OF MY SONG for @americanexpress . This time with SHEET MUSIC!! Congrats to @gregtgordon @gracelauson @jessdunlap @douglarsen1 @mfentwin and rest of team for coming together around such a special musical experience. Special thanks to @joekillianimpresario and amex team for making it all happen! And to @nahresol for putting together the sheet music!

Happy to share with you my @tetragrammaton.now interview with the one and only @rickrubin . We chat about making the Roger Federer film, my career making strange digital projects, and most essentially, 30+ minutes are about classical music and piano!! ENJOY!

We had only a couple days notice, so I rushed to buy camera gear, hopped on the next flight, made it to Switzerland despite having lost all my luggage for days because of a missed layover. It was just @jessdunlap and I racing from one scene to the next, with @gregtgordon and @youdontnoam texting us from far away. This all was all meant to be home videos for Roger and his family, but as of June 20th we can all watch it on Amazon prime. Thank you to DP @jessdunlap , for being so reliable. @gregtgordon and @youdontnoam for the air traffic control. Guy Rahamim, for editing it into something else. @tgodsick88 for moving fast and greenlighting it. @santalbano14 and @dagooch16 for making me feel welcome. @marina_c for keeping me sane. @neuhaus for being smart. @malalegram for being enthusiastic. @mirkafederer , for your trust. @asifkapadia , for your care. @rogerfederer , for saying yes. (@besolomon for the 📸📸)