RBG in his usual element… Headphones on… Creating intensely!
Ryan Barton-Grimley, or "RBG" as his colleagues refer to him, was born in Harare, Zimbabwe... For the uninitiated, that's in south central Africa... Yeah, Africa. Anyway, he and his family moved to the USA, specifically Encino California, at the height of its cultural influence in the late 80's. Fresh off the boat, RBG did time at various public and private institutions, eventually graduating from UCLA and also... catching the "acting bug." After studying with all the best acting teachers in Hollywood and falling in love with improv at UCB and The Groundlings, RBG won starring roles in the indie feature film TROPIX and too many grad films to mention, as well as supporting roles in CRIMINAL MINDS and a Fox Movie of the Week, THE PRICE OF LOVE. Yeah... remember when they made those? Anyway, always seeking new creative outlets, RBG chose to try his hand at writing and directing, making the internationally acclaimed home invasion thriller... THE TRUTH, starring John Heard, Brendan Sexton III, Erin Cardillo and Daniel Baldwin. Distributed worldwide by Warner Brothers, Gravitas and Showtime, THE TRUTH was one of the most pirated films on the Internet in the three weeks preceding its release. Hot off that success, RBG starred in and produced Douglas Mueller's well reviewed debut feature film... REPATRIATION, as well as, directed and starred in the film festival darling... ELIJAH'S ASHES... a dark comedy about brotherly love and homophobia. Both films had healthy festival runs and were distributed worldwide, despite their low budgets and lack of movie stars. A life-long fan of horror films, RBG next took on the task of writing, producing, directing and starring in his fourth and fifth feature films... HAWK & REV: VAMPIRE SLAYERS... an 80's inspired horror-comedy about "kicking vampire ass and taking vampire names" and...LISTEN CAREFULLY... a mind-bending psychological horror that will make "new parents" everywhere cringe at the the mere mention of a baby monitor! HAWK AND REV: VAMPIRE SLAYERS is available ON-DEMAND everywhere, for more info: CLICK HERE! Listen Carefully is currently in post-production. Lastly... keep an eye out for RBG performing improv at The Groundlings, his home away from home, or nose deep in a laptop, writing some crazy script he can't wait to unleash on the world! Feel free to say "hi" to him as he doesn't bite... he swears... Well, unless he's playing a vampire… Which he never does because he’s a… VAMPIRE SLAYER. You get the idea! RBG thanks you for your time! For more personal info check out RBG's personal page ryanbartongrimley.com or his production company rbgfilms.com for film production stuff. Lastly… Subscribe to his YOUTUBE CHANNEL for weekly shenanigans :)
AJ GORDON - PRODUCER
An organized and reliable film-nerd evoking the entrepreneurial spirit... A tried and true producer of feature films, broadcast commercials, and high-end corporate video content... A.J Gordon was born and raised in Portland, Oregon as a fan of film, sports, film, live music, film, the outdoors, film, and movies... after graduating from film school, he immediately moved to LA to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a filmmaker. After gaining years of professional experience on feature films, national commercials, and A-List special events, he re-relocated back to Portland to be involved in its ever-growing motion picture community. www.loadedimageentertainment.com
ARI SCHNEIDER - PRODUCER + COMPOSER
Found hanging off a glacier in Antarctica and raised by wolves is NOT how one would describe Ari Schneider’s early life. Rather, his mother is from Buenos Aires and father from the Bronx. He was accepted into the prestigious Guildford School of Acting in the UK where he received a BA (Hons) in acting and musical theatre and awarded a “Gold w/ Distinction” from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts for Stage Combat. Yup…that’s right. That means he can kick some serious royal ass on stage, but in the “real world” can easily be dominated with a simple kick to the shin. Most recent TV/FILM credits include CRIMINAL MINDS, S.W.A.T and Oscar winner Sebastian Lelio’s remake GLORIA BELL alongside Julianne Moore and Rita Wilson. He also co-wrote and co-starred in their first indie feature together, ELIJAH’S ASHES , with Ryan Barton- Grimley which won best picture at LAIFFA and he most recently won the Fusion Audience Award at DWF for the short SAM DID IT starring Alfred Molina. He currently resides in south la where you might find him performing at The Second City, UCB, working as VP for the nonprofit ZIP ZAP ZOP ENRICHMENT (an inclusion program teaching Improv to kids with autism), composing music, raising a son and/or raising chaos with his little production company Clumsy Tiger Productions, LLC.
joel M. schneider - executive producer
Joel M. Schneider is an award-winning Executive Producer and actor known for such films as… The Truth, Elijah’s Ashes, Repatriation, Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers and Listen Carefully. He also likes cats, traveling, writing poetry and scuba-diving.
JEREMY WANEK - Associate Producer + EDITOR + POST COORDINATOR + VFX
Jeremy Wanek is an award winning editor and VFX artist. By combining the skills of editing and compositing, he's able to uniquely reshape a story. After making over 50 short movies in high school, he received film editing training at Video Symphony in Burbank, CA and an Associates degree in Media Production in MN. His tireless passion has allowed him to work on countless productions.
SEAN AYERS - CINEMATOGRAPHER
A native of Hanford CA and a graduate of Cal State Monterey's esteemed Film Studies program, Sean has quickly worked his way up mastering every position related to lighting and camera. Inspired by Emanuel Lubeski's use of natural light, Sean brings a sense of naturalism to all his work. He looks forward to collaborating with you!
AUDREY HAWORTH - PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Audrey is a native of Los Angeles and from an early age was trained in classical oil painting and sculpture as well as set design and construction. Growing up amongst artists and engineers of all sorts, and loving both worlds, she became known as the MacGyver of any situation. She graduated with honors from Otis College of Art and Design where, aside from honing her skills in multiple media, site-specific art and environmental design, she focused strongly on the psychology of perception and art theory. She was Art Director on her first film, "From Here to Infinity" with Patrick Stewart at the age of 18 and continues to work on music videos, TV and film in various creative capacities. She has simultaneously worked as an interior designer for many years, consistently reinforcing her love of production design and the psychology of designing worlds around individuals. Always eager for a new challenge, her favorite thing to hear is "I have no idea how we're going to do that! Audrey, go figure it out!" www.audreyhaworth.com
ROBBY ELFMAN - COMPOSER
Robby Elfman is a graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music (2003) with a Bachelor’s degree in music composition. He was the recipient of the Joe and Alice Harnell Scholarship, the Silvia Grancel Endowed Music Scholarship, the Michael Kamen Scholarship through the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, and the BMI Scholarship for music for film and television. While attending USC he had new music compositions premiered by local L.A. groups such as The Capitol Ensemble, the Donald Novakowsky Foundation, and the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony. He also wrote the music for several short films and documentaries, including the award-winning “Pharaoh’s Streets”, which received recognition at the Silverlake Film Festival in 2002. In 2004, Robby was one of fifteen composers selected to attend the prestigious ASCAP Summer Film Scoring Workshop. In 2009 and 2010 Robby had two original compositions premiered in New York, as part of the “Detour” concert series featuring the work of new composers. In 2012 he composed the original score for the short film “Private War”, which was shown at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. In 2013 Robby was hired to compose the entire news theme music package for San Diego’s local CBS affiliate KFMB News 8. In 2015, he composed the music for 2 independent feature films, “Repatriation” and “Elijah’s Ashes.” In addition to composing music, Robby is also a professional instrumentalist, recording saxophone and clarinet for film and TV scores, radio and TV commercial spots, and rock/pop albums. In 1999, he won the coveted Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award for his jazz performance on the tenor saxophone at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. He was the 2nd chair clarinetist of the L.A. Jewish Symphony from 2002-2012, and the tenor saxophonist for the L.A. jazz quintet, Jazz Punks, who recorded their debut album Smashups in 2011. In 2014 he moved up to the Bay Area joined a swinging indie-rock band, Royal Jelly Jive, with whom he performs up and down the west coast. Robby lives in the Bay Area, where he performs regularly, continues to compose music for film, television and the concert stage. Robby Elfman
MATT LATHAM - Additional Editing
Matt Latham is a Lone Star Emmy Award-winning editor living in Los Angeles, CA. He is an alumni of the American Cinema Editors Diversity Mentorship Program, and he is an Executive Committee Member of the Blue Collar Post Collective, a non-profit organization supporting emerging talent in post production.
E-mail at matt35mm @ yahoo dot com
DAVID RICKABAUGH - ART DIRECTOR
David was born in Hollywood, CA and raised in Los Angeles. He “caught the bug” doing plays and a commercial in high school but didn’t pursue an acting career because he thought there was too much “bullshit” involved in being an actor. After being “fired” from a soulless job he decided to try some background acting work, landed a national commercial and fell back into the industry. Now he can’t imagine life without the wonderfully creative commotion of a set, whether in front or behind the camera. Check out his one liner in this film and the piercing looks that made Ari Schneider blush! Also, be sure to see him all gothed up with his gimp in the upcoming indie horror comedy feature... Hawk & Rev: Vampire Slayers! IMDB PROFILE!
DOUGLAS MUELLER - GAFFER
Prior to completing Repatriation, his feature directorial debut, Douglas Mueller’s narrative filmmaking style can be seen in Prairie Love (Sundance '11, Film Movement Distr.), where he storyboarded and production designed the frigid, almost-fantasy world; or in his award winning short film Four Corners (Periphery Project LLC, Distr.) set in the dusty isolation of the desert. He’s currently in post-production on his documentary feature debut, a visual journey in cinema verité style, chronicling the critical restoration of California’s cherished Carmel Mission.
Shot on, now obsolete, Kodachrome film, Doug made an experimental documentary about the final Space Shuttle launches. Until chemical photography hobbyists crack the processing code for this iconic filmstock, the project waits, undeveloped, in his freezer. In 2011 his short 16mm experimental documentary about a baroque keyboard tuner, Carey Beebe, Intermezzo 1 premiered at the Academy accredited, Nashville Film Festival. Mueller’s short documentary Dan, Tom and Ray- a silent film documentary short- screened at a number film festivals in California and the Mid-West.
Doug actively produces commercial works, non-profit documentaries and short-form internet films for organizations, most recently with Restorative Justice Partners Inc and funding through a Packard Foundation Grant. He and his wife were $1,000 winners of the Trend Micro video contest. Mueller was Production Designer for the 2010 thriller The Truth, distributed by Gravitas Ventures, Showtime and Maverick Entertainment Group. Studying for his BA in film at CSUMB, he developed a documentary The BBC; 2002, which won the '2003 Edgar Kennedy Award for Arts, Culture, Humanities, Performance Event under the Volunteer/Student Category' as well as 'Monterey's Best Freedom of Expression under the Volunteer/Student Category. For more info: douglasmueller.com
JOSHUA TIMMER - LOCATION SOUND MIXER
At an early age Joshua used a friends tape recorder to capture a naughty word much to the shock of his mother, which earned him a strong rebuke and a vow that he would never record again. He's been hooked on sound ever since. Joshua has been working in Chicago's audio and film industry since 2005, continuing a lifelong passion, working in two recording studios, then maneuvering into films, commercials, reality tv, and the list continues to grow. In the future he wants to be the "go-to" location sound recordist in Chicago, and is gaining exposure for his work in post-production audio as well. www.joshuasounds.com
Marcos Butron Jr. - additional location sound mixer
Marcos was born in Los Angeles and raised in West Covina, California. He got his first taste of filmmaking in the 8th grade by filming and editing school events for class and has been making films ever since. He earned his Associate of Science in T.V. Production at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California and then transferred into the Undergraduate Film and Television Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2012. Marcos’ credits include projects for Adidas, ESPN, CBS, TeamCoco.com, and Kingston Technologies.