Matty Rich, born Matthew Statisfield Richardson (November 26, 1971 in

Brooklyn, New York City Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

), is a

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

executive.

Career

Rich broke into the film world with the 1991 film '' Straight Out of Brooklyn'', which was financed by

credit cards A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

and

donation A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blo ...

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 produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

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, wicke ...

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 something 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 ...

, including an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

. In interviews, Rich had proudly stated that even though he dropped out of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

'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, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

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 over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

), 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, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

, a Tisch graduate, who accused Rich of being "ignorant". Rich's second film, 1994's ''

The Inkwell ''The Inkwell'' is a 1994 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Matty Rich. The film stars Larenz Tate, Joe Morton, Suzzanne Douglass, Glynn Turman, Jada Pinkett and Vanessa Bell Calloway. Plot Set in the summer of 1976, the film follows the ...

'', 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 ''187 Ride or Die'' is a video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, developed and published by Ubisoft. It is a vehicular combat racing game and was released for the PS2 and Xbox before being ported to the PlayStation Portable under the title '' S ...

'' which was not a success. Today, he serves as CEO of Matty Rich Games, a Los Angeles-based gaming company. Matty Rich Games 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 presently live in Los Angeles.

References

External links

* 1971 births Living people People from Brooklyn African-American film directors Tisch School of the Arts alumni African-American male actors American male film actors African-American screenwriters Screenwriters from New York (state) Male actors from New York City Film directors from New York City {{US-film-director-1970s-stub