Ryan Richmond, a D.C.-born filmmaker celebrated the release of his debut film, Money Matters, at the E Street Cinema in Northwest last Thursday.
Ryan Richmond is a Washing, D.C. born filmmakerRichmond, 32, was able to entice noted actress Aunjanue L. Ellis into the project which lent considerable heft to his fledgling endeavor. Ellis, 42, has been acting since the mid-'90s and has appeared in films and TV shows including Men of Honor, Cover, Girls Town, Undercover Brother, Ray, E Ring and The Mentalist.
"I play Pamela Matters, mother of Money, played by Terri Abney," Ellis said of her role. "She is a woman trying to find herself a little and a lot. She is parent and mother and trying to square both at the same time. We see what happens when she tries to balance both."
Richmond said the movie is a coming-of-age story of a young girl who through the course of the film begins to get a better sense of self, and she also discovers by accident the identity of her father.
Ellis, who was born in San Francisco and now lives in McComb, Miss., said she was attracted to this role because of the words.
"I try to befriend the role, look for something in common," she said softly. "I try to ask a lot of questions of the character. I think I'm kind of annoying in method. You try to live it someway but I didn't have to live this one because I know someone like her. I appropriate different pieces of characters of people I know. It's such a blessing to be able to do that."
"It was getting to know D.C. and getting steeped in this culture. Actors are always creative immigrants, and every movie and show they do is a new culture they're exploring. I want to acclimate myself, get steeped; that's what I like. I like not being myself for a while."
Despite its humble beginnings, Money Matters has made quite a splash.
It was the first short film to be nominated for the Independent Feature Project's Gordon Parks Award in 2001; the screenplay won the UrbanWorld Film Festival's HBO Screenplay Competition; it was selected by the Tribeca Film Festival's All-Access Program and it won the Audience Favorite Award at Roxbury International Film Festival. Closer to home, the movie got a standing ovation at the Congressional Black Caucus's Annual Legislative Conference film festival in September.
Richmond hopes for commercial success as well, and with his film "in the can," he said he's finally ready to take on Hollywood. He leaves for the West Coast at the end of this year.
At the premiere, during a Q&A after the movie, Richmond broke down as he spoke about the work he put into making his creation a reality.
"I wanted to show a very rough environment through young eyes," he said. "... I wanted it to be authentic, relevant. The key was to make it timeless."
"Today is a very big day. This is the day you envision when you come up with the idea. It's important for me to think that so many of you in this room made this possible. People devoted their talent, sweat and blood. It was important to share this day. I hope I did you proud. I hope it's something you're proud of."
Michelle Wright, whose voice can be heard on WKYS 93.9 FM, played a concerned teacher in the film. She was at the premiere, as were radio and TV legend Donnie Simpson, arts maven Peggy Cooper Cafritz, and former University of Maryland and NBA player Laron Profit.
Despite their pride at their contributions to this project, Ellis and Richmond acknowledged the challenges they face as they ply their craft. One issue discussed was the issue of rappers and other non-theatre personalities who are hired in the place of thespians who have studied and worked hard at the craft.
"It doesn't bother me about how people come into what they do," Ellis said. "Barbara Streisand, Diana Ross and Ethel Waters, there are countless examples of people who weren't actors. What bothers me is people getting jobs because of who they are. I have seen actors lose jobs to someone more famous. It has happened to me. People getting roles because of celebrity, that's a problem for me."
Ellis said she's "still figuring out her expectations versus Hollywood's."
"I've always been on a slow burn," said the Brown University graduate. "I got on, dropped off and got back on. It's never been steady but somehow, I've been able to pay the bills. There are a few women around getting a chance to do some great stuff. I say good for them. For me, those roles are sparse."
"There are women with high-profile careers like Salma Hayek who said she doesn't get the roles (she desires). The difficulty is that there are not a lot of roles and fewer people deciding who should get roles. People are very myopic about what sells and what appeals to their tastes. So I have started writing with an eye to where Ryan is. It took a lot of endurance and courage for him to do what he did."
Richmond, who said his immersion into the world of acting and film began when he was 11, agrees.
"The filmmaking art require[s] money. It's a huge hurdle ... across the board, it's difficult to make films. It's twice as hard for us. It's kind of a weird place. There is an increase of opportunities now because of technology and interest across the board."
He cited local radio personality Russ Parr and Tyler Perry as black filmmakers who are on the forefront of producing films.
"They are great examples, and consistently in films," said Richmond.
Ellis paused briefly to consider the state of the industry for herself and others like her.
"I don't know what my dream was. I'm not sure it was particularly articulated," she said. "I wish it wasn't so hard. Some actors have stability financially and in terms of location. I don't know if I anticipated the degree of difficulty."
But Ellis – who recently wrapped up a television movie in Europe with Ashley Judd – says she loves what she does and continues to seek out roles that fulfill the creative part of her being.
"It depends on the role. I don't go into some good Hollywood things because the roles aren't interesting," she explained. "But I am with Ryan so I can lose myself and try to make it work."
Richmond sounded excited about the prospect of beginning a new chapter of his filmmaking life. Given what he's done so far, Hollywood had better watch out for this rising star.
Ryan Richmond, a D.C.-born filmmaker celebrated the release of his debut film, Money Matters, at the E Street Cinema in Northwest last Thursday.
Family, friends and well-wishers packed the theatre on November 10, to watch a movie that was about five years in the making. Richmond admits that while he’s not a part of Hollywood, he’s always enjoyed telling stories.
As a cinematographer, Richmond has shot more than 60 music videos and films, and while cinematography allowed him to tell stories up to a point, he said he wanted more.
“Something was tugging on the other side. I wanted to create. It was a tough, long process,” said Richmond during lunch at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Northwest. “The idea came while I was at film school. It was a feature screenplay which was shown at several festivals.”
Richmond, a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, said as he tried to get backing for his project, some production companies said his movie wasn’t commercial enough, while PBS suggested that it was too commercial.
“Since production was my home, I decided to do it myself,” he said.
Richmond, 32, was able to entice noted actress Aunjanue L. Ellis into the project which lent considerable heft to his fledgling endeavor. Ellis, 42, has been acting since the mid-‘90s and has appeared in films and TV shows including Men of Honor, Cover, Girls Town, Undercover Brother, Ray, E Ring and The Mentalist.
“I play Pamela Matters, mother of Money, played by Terri Abney,” Ellis said of her role. “She is a woman trying to find herself a little and a lot. She is parent and mother and trying to square both at the same time. We see what happens when she tries to balance both.”
Richmond said the movie is a coming-of-age story of a young girl who through the course of the film begins to get a better sense of self, and she also discovers by accident the identity of her father.
Ellis, who was born in San Francisco and now lives in McComb, Miss., said she was attracted to this role because of the words.
“I try to befriend the role, look for something in common,” she said softly. “I try to ask a lot of questions of the character. I think I’m kind of annoying in method. You try to live it someway but I didn’t have to live this one because I know someone like her. I appropriate different pieces of characters of people I know. It’s such a blessing to be able to do that.”
“It was getting to know D.C. and getting steeped in this culture. Actors are always creative immigrants, and every movie and show they do is a new culture they’re exploring. I want to acclimate myself, get steeped; that’s what I like. I like not being myself for a while.”
Despite its humble beginnings, Money Matters has made quite a splash.
It was the first short film to be nominated for the Independent Feature Project’s Gordon Parks Award in 2001; the screenplay won the UrbanWorld Film Festival’s HBO Screenplay Competition; it was selected by the Tribeca Film Festival’s All-Access Program and it won the Audience Favorite Award at Roxbury International Film Festival. Closer to home, the movie got a standing ovation at the Congressional Black Caucus’s Annual Legislative Conference film festival in September.
Richmond hopes for commercial success as well, and with his film “in the can,” he said he’s finally ready to take on Hollywood. He leaves for the West Coast at the end of this year.
At the premiere, during a Q&A after the movie, Richmond broke down as he spoke about the work he put into making his creation a reality.
“I wanted to show a very rough environment through young eyes,” he said. “… I wanted it to be authentic, relevant. The key was to make it timeless.”
“Today is a very big day. This is the day you envision when you come up with the idea. It’s important for me to think that so many of you in this room made this possible. People devoted their talent, sweat and blood. It was important to share this day. I hope I did you proud. I hope it’s something you’re proud of.”
Michelle Wright, whose voice can be heard on WKYS 93.9 FM, played a concerned teacher in the film. She was at the premiere, as were radio and TV legend Donnie Simpson, arts maven Peggy Cooper Cafritz, and former University of Maryland and NBA player Laron Profit.
Despite their pride at their contributions to this project, Ellis and Richmond acknowledged the challenges they face as they ply their craft. One issue discussed was the issue of rappers and other non-theatre personalities who are hired in the place of thespians who have studied and worked hard at the craft.
“It doesn’t bother me about how people come into what they do,” Ellis said. “Barbara Streisand, Diana Ross and Ethel Waters, there are countless examples of people who weren’t actors. What bothers me is people getting jobs because of who they are. I have seen actors lose jobs to someone more famous. It has happened to me. People getting roles because of celebrity, that’s a problem for me.”
Ellis said she’s “still figuring out her expectations versus Hollywood’s.”
“I’ve always been on a slow burn,” said the Brown University graduate. “I got on, dropped off and got back on. It’s never been steady but somehow, I’ve been able to pay the bills. There are a few women around getting a chance to do some great stuff. I say good for them. For me, those roles are sparse.”
“There are women with high-profile careers like Salma Hayek who said she doesn’t get the roles (she desires). The difficulty is that there are not a lot of roles and fewer people deciding who should get roles. People are very myopic about what sells and what appeals to their tastes. So I have started writing with an eye to where Ryan is. It took a lot of endurance and courage for him to do what he did.”
Richmond, who said his immersion into the world of acting and film began when he was 11, agrees.
“The filmmaking art require[s] money. It’s a huge hurdle … across the board, it’s difficult to make films. It’s twice as hard for us. It’s kind of a weird place. There is an increase of opportunities now because of technology and interest across the board.”
He cited local radio personality Russ Parr and Tyler Perry as black filmmakers who are on the forefront of producing films.
“They are great examples, and consistently in films,” said Richmond.
Ellis paused briefly to consider the state of the industry for herself and others like her.
“I don’t know what my dream was. I’m not sure it was particularly articulated,” she said. “I wish it wasn’t so hard. Some actors have stability financially and in terms of location. I don’t know if I anticipated the degree of difficulty.”
But Ellis – who recently wrapped up a television movie in Europe with Ashley Judd – says she loves what she does and continues to seek out roles that fulfill the creative part of her being.
“It depends on the role. I don’t go into some good Hollywood things because the roles aren’t interesting,” she explained. “But I am with Ryan so I can lose myself and try to make it work.”
Richmond sounded excited about the prospect of beginning a new chapter of his filmmaking life. Given what he’s done so far, Hollywood had better watch out for this rising star.