[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: You’ve had a number of high-profile stars in the movies that you’ve written.
I’m going to name some: Tom Sizemore, Nicolas Cage, Danny Trejo, Alec Baldwin, Terrence Howard, just to name a few.
Which one has meant the most to you?
Maybe it was a project that you did that something special happened.
Rich Ronat, Screenwriter/Director: Kelsey Grammer on Grand Isle with Nick Cage.
Nick Cage is great, too, but I would say Kelsey Grammer.
Had made me a gin and tonic at his place.
We really talked.
He’s kind of a genius guy.
I remember when he read the script or when he was working on a scene, he was like, ‘Yeah, come to my place, we’ll run lines.”
And I was like, “Cool.”
I’d go over there, we’d drink some gin and tonic and he’s like, Look, I can read a scene once and know if the writing is good because if I can’t memorize it after reading it one time, (he’s done it for so long) that he goes, The writing is off.
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And I was like, “Wow, that’s amazing.”
He’s done so much work.
And he read it once and he goes, “Okay, I got it. Let’s do it.”
I just read it with him and he goes, “Okay, your writing’s good.”
And I was like it [breathes a sigh of relief]. It was just kind of wild.
It was a long four-page scene.
He had a monologue.
That’s how his brain just sort of…he has been doing it so long.
It’s such a muscle for him that he was like, “If there’s not a rhythm and a flow to what I’m saying and what I want and what the obstacle is and what’s going on in the scene and what the beginning, middle, end of the scene and the obstacle in the scene and the event of the scene.”
“If I don’t immediately feel that and know that flow, there’s something off.”…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
About:
Rich Ronat is a seasoned screenwriter/director based in Los Angeles. Over the past ten years, he’s been consistently hired by independent producers, production companies, and major studios like Universal, Paramount, Lionsgate, Saban, Millenium, and VMI Worldwide. His writing credits include the war epic “THE RISING HAWK,” the character-driven thriller “GRAND ISLE” starring Nic Cage and Kelsey Grammar, the crime thriller “AMERICAN SICARIO” featuring Danny Trejo and “CRESCENT CITY” featuring Alec Baldwin, Terrance Howard, and Esai Morales, which was released in 2024 by Lionsgate.
He’s directed two feature films. The first one – CULPRIT, received rave reviews, has gotten over 5 million views and is currently on all the VOD platforms. The second feature film, a SyFy dark comedy called THE CLUTTERBUCKS, which is set for release in 2026.
Lastly, he co-founded Good Rebel Pictures with his fiancé, Laura Vale.
WATCH ‘THE CLUTTERBUCKS’
MORE VIDEOS WITH RICH RONAT
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