Matty Rich, highly regarded as one of the pioneers of Black Filmmakers burst onto the Hollywood scene in the early 90’s, gaining major recognition as 19-year-old acclaimed writer/director/producer in his award-winning film STRAIGHT OUT OF BROOKLYN. Mega Director Jonathan Demme discovered Matty Rich and STRAIGHT OUT OF BROOKLYN during an editing session for SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. He immediately took him under his wing and the movie went on to be a huge success winning the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize Award for his critically acclaimed film STRAIGHT OUT OF BROOKLYN in which he was wrote, directed, produced and acted in. Samuel Goldwyn Films distributed the movie theatrically. The film would go on to win the Independent Spirit Award, the NAACP Image Award and The Producer’s Guild Award. Shortly thereafter, Matty was inducted into the Directors Guild of America (DGA) by African American Hollywood icons Sidney Poitier and Bill Duke.
From there, Matty then landed a development deal with Tri-Star Pictures under the helm of studio chief, Mike Medavoy. Next, Matty signed a three-picture deal from studio chief, Jeffrey Katzenberg at Disney where he directed the summer splash, THE INKWELL, which to date is a black film classic. Other credits include development of several television projects including: RED HOOK as writer/creator for Warner Brothers/Fox Network, the Tupac Shakur bio project for HBO, and SUBWAY SCHOLAR with Whitney Houston for Showtime Network to name a few.
Staying true to his pioneering spirit, Matty accepted an offer from video game giant Ubisoft to serve as their Creative Director/Artistic Director for the video game 187 RIDE OR DIE. Rich packed his bags and headed for Paris. During this time, Matty would travel back and forth between Hong Kong and Seoul Korea where he would write and direct cinematics.
In 2016, Rich authored the civil rights novel BEV for Simon & Schuster. Most recently, Matty wrote, directed and acted in a 10-minute teaser for his upcoming supernatural television series C-U-R-E and teamed up with Rapper T.I. to star in his upcoming Thriller CALLER 100.
Artist's Chosen Interview:
Black Film Article: Matty Rich honored at MOMA NYC 2017
Artist's Work:
Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991)
Inkwell (1994)
Inspirational Resources/Recommendations:
- I was inspired by my mentor Jonathan Demme mentioning me when he won an Oscar for best Directing Silence of the Lambs
- I had the pleasure to be signed into the directors guild by three of my mentors, Jonathan Demme, actor/director Sidney Poitier, and actor/director Bill Duke
- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, which stars Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, was the movie that inspired me to write/direct Straight Out of Brooklyn. Director Martin Scorsese's film Raging Bull was an inspiration for me as a young director. I loved the gritty realism that was created
- Photographer, musician, writer, and film director Gordon Parks was an inspiration and a friend to me as a young director. Mr. Parks was a famous pioneer among black filmmakers, and the first African American to produce and direct a major motion picture
- Mr. Parks's book, A Choice of a Weapons was an inspiration and a game-changing read for me.
- I also had the pleasure to meet author/screenwriter Alex Haley (who wrote the 1976 book, Roots) and was inspired by his quote on family: "In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. In my writing, as much as I could, I tried to find the good, and praise it."