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Matty Rich (born Matthew Statisfield Richardson, November 26, 1971), is an American
film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
,
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
, and
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
executive.


Career

Rich broke into the film world with the 1991 film '' Straight Out of Brooklyn'', which was financed by credit cards and
donation A donation is a gift for Charity (practice), charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, Service (economics), services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donati ...
s. Rich also plays Larry Love, a major character in the film. The low-budget
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
grossed $2.7 million at the
box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...
and only cost $450,000 to make. Rich wrote the film as a short story at age 17, and first filmed it as an 8-minute short for himself and high school students. The film was critically acclaimed, and Rich won many
awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...
, including an
Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...
. In interviews, Rich had proudly stated that even though he dropped out of
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
's (NYU) famed
Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...
after one month (he accused the faculty of
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
), he still made a successful film. This drew criticism from
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...
, a Tisch graduate, who accused Rich of being "ignorant". Rich's second film, 1994's '' The Inkwell'', received mixed reviews. He has not made another film since. In 2005, Rich re-emerged as the director and screenwriter of the video game, '' 187 Ride or Die'' which was not a success. He is CEO of Matty Rich Games, a Los Angeles–based gaming company that specializes in family-oriented and Christian-themed video games geared toward the African-American community.


Personal

On January 19, 2008, Rich married publicist Leah "Reid" Johnson. They live in Los Angeles.


References


External links

* 1971 births Living people Writers from Brooklyn Screenwriters from New York City African-American film directors Tisch School of the Arts alumni Independent Spirit Award winners Sundance Film Festival award winners African-American male actors American male film actors African-American screenwriters Male actors from Brooklyn Film directors from New York City {{US-film-director-1970s-stub