Nine Inch Nails fans will have to wait a bit longer for the future. The industrial rock band’s much-anticipated Future Ruins film-and-music festival – originally slated for Nov. 8 in Los Angeles – has been abruptly called off just weeks before showtime. Organizers delivered the bad news in a frank statement: “Unfortunately Future Ruins will not move forward this year… The reality is, due to a number of logistical challenges and complications, we feel we cannot provide the experience that’s defined what this event was always intended to be.” Rather than compromise their vision, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – NIN’s founders and the festival’s curators – have chosen to cancel the event and rethink it for the future.
The inaugural Future Ruins was shaping up to be a one-of-a-kind spectacle blending live music and cinema. Co-curated by Reznor and Ross (who have each won Academy Awards for their film scores), the star-studded lineup was set to include fellow composers and artists from across genres. Horror maestro John Carpenter, pop polymath Questlove, soundtrack legend Danny Elfman, Devo frontman-turned-composer Mark Mothersbaugh, and Oscar-winning Joker composer Hildur Guðnadóttir were among the marquee names scheduled to perform and showcase their film music in an unorthodox live setting. The Live Nation-produced event at the L.A. Equestrian Center was billed as an immersive journey through soundtracks and visuals – a true creative playground for artists and fans.
News of the cancellation has disappointed many who were eager to attend, especially after NIN’s recent sold-out “Peel It Back” tour. Still, most fans applaud Reznor and Ross for choosing integrity over a potentially compromised show. Ticket holders are being refunded, and organizers hinted that Future Ruins may resurface once they can execute it to its full ambitious intent. In the meantime, Nine Inch Nails will forge ahead with other projects (including a side gig as “Nine Inch Noize” at Coachella next year) as they plan how to eventually bring Future Ruins back from the ashes.
