Rich Ronat and Laura Vale of Good Rebel Pictures: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker
An Interview With Guernslye Honoré
Never be ashamed of having a second job outside of the entertainment industry. Most successful people have had odd jobs starting off. One should take pride in taking care of oneself financially.
As a part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became A Filmmaker”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Rich Ronat and Laura Vale of Good Rebel Pictures.
Writer/director Rich Ronat and actress/producer Laura Vale co-founded Good Rebel Pictures with the intention of delivering high level performances and captivating stories. The pair formed Good Rebel Pictures as a way to take more creative control, champion indie films, and provide opportunities for actors who are truly right for a role — not just because they’re a “name.”
Rich is a seasoned Hollywood screenwriter known for the likes of GRAND ISLE (starring Nicolas Cage and Kelsey Grammar) AMERICAN SICARIO (starring Danny Trejo), and Crescent Hawk (2024 release starring Alec Baldwin and Terrence Howard). Having met Vale in an acting class with Larry Moss many years ago, the pair found their paths crossing once more with a shared love of storytelling, and a passion for creating. Laura’s screen credits include MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, CHARMED, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, and SEVENTH HEAVEN amongst others. The two are partners in life as well as on-screen.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
Laura: I grew up in upstate New York. I started acting on stage as a child. My father wanted my brother and I to be downhill ski racers like him, so I started focusing more on ski racing from age 12–18, and less on acting. After spending hundreds of hours training and racing, I quit ski racing, much to my father’s dismay. I knew I didn’t want to have a career in it. I went to college at NYU where I had originally wanted to move at age 10 to be in “Annie”. Although I majored in Psychology, I was able to do more theatre, and every summer went to a new location to do summer stock theatre.
Rich: I was originally born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Then I moved to Orlando, Florida and predominantly grew up there. I was an outdoors kid that played sports and ran around with friends.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Laura: I loved performing as far back as I can remember. We had an active drama program in my grade school, and I was hooked. It was my only favorite class. The teacher knew something was different when I insisted on learning an English accent for a 2nd grade production of “James and the Giant Peach”. This carried me on to doing local theatre and getting more training.
Rich: I always wanted to have a creative, fun job that would always have different challenges that make you evolve as a person. That’s what brought me to writing and directing. Creating the unknown is a daunting, wonderful experience and I don’t do it for the money. I do it to feed my soul.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your filmmaking career?
Laura: One of my first Hollywood movie sets was as a body double on a Clint Eastwood movie. I was a dead body lying on a cold slab with a sheet over me, and a toe tag on. At some point, Mr. Eastwood came over to me and pulled down my sheet to reveal my face. He started asking me how I ended up as the dead body. After a while, he told his producer not to waste me under a sheet. They called a few days later to give me a more substantial role. They also hired me for a role in their next movie that I auditioned for after writing a thank you letter. He set the bar for what a first-rate film set was. He treats his cast and crew with respect and lets them do their job.
Rich: I was doing a stunt for a film where I had to be picked up by four bikini clad women and tossed in my underwear down a slip n slide towards the camera. They threw me so hard down the slippery slide that I crashed into the camera and broke it. It was nuts!
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
Laura: I was catering at a home where the legendary director Billy Wilder (director of Sunset Boulevard, etc.) was often a guest. The host introduced me as an aspiring actress and asked him if he had any advice for me. Mr. Wilder asked “Do you have to do acting?” I thought for a few seconds and replied “Yes, yes, I do.” He then said “Then go do it, and I wish you the best.” He knew what a hard career path that was for any actor.
Rich: Norman Lear. I met him at a friend’s house many years ago and it was fantastic. He was down to earth, good-hearted and genuinely kind. He was curious and egoless and was interested in many things outside of himself. He proved to me that good people can have success and hard work will take you very far. He let me pitch him a series idea I had and gave me excellent feedback.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Laura: The person with the most influence on me to do this last film, and start a company, has been my boyfriend. I had taken a hiatus from pursuing an acting career for several years. I would overhear all of his business calls as a screenplay writer, and listen to some frustrations about how his scripts were interpreted. One night, after he watched a big budget movie he didn’t like, his frustration got to such a point that he looked at me and said “We can do this. Why don’t we make a film, and do it better?” His creative passion, along with his unwavering belief in me, reignited my own drive to immerse myself in creativity again. We have just completed our first feature film together that I co- starred in and helped produce, and he wrote and directed. It was a fulfilling experience, and the film is getting great feedback. (Phew)
Rich: There have been a few people help me along the way and I feel like I’ve had several writing mentors. But currently I’m most grateful to my girlfriend, Laura. She’s truly my support system and champions me in every way possible. I love with her with all my heart.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Laura: “This Too Shall Pass” — I think it applies to any time I’ve been in internal struggle, this phrase gives me relief that I won’t always feel this way, regardless of what’s going on in a situation.
Rich: “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” This applies to my life and the recent changes I’ve made in a very profound way with starting my production company.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Laura: I’m looking forward to putting together our next thriller Seven Suspects which we would like to start shooting in the fall.
Rich: I’m working on raising funds for Seven Suspects. It’s in the tone of Silence of the Lambs and I’m very excited about it. I’m also developing a series about bounty hunters in the 1970s, which has also been a lot of fun.
Which aspect of your work makes you most proud? Can you explain or give a story?
Laura: I think taking an audience member on an emotional ride, or portraying a character they relate to. I don’t get to connect with many people who see me on TV or film, but when someone has approached me after a stage performance, telling me they were moved, I know I’ve done my job.
Rich: From writing a screenplay to directing it and then seeing it all the way through in post-production is the most fulfilling experience I’ve ever had by far. Seeing the project through from start to finish.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
Laura:
1. Before an audition, rather than asking yourself, “What are they looking for, and how can I be that?”, ask yourself “How do I bring more of myself to this role, to put my original stamp on it?”
2. Never be ashamed of having a second job outside of the entertainment industry. Most successful people have had odd jobs starting off. One should take pride in taking care of oneself financially.
3. Honor what you do as an artist.
4. Don’t tolerate anyone else treating you badly. This goes for the way you treat yourself too.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. You never know where help can come from.
Rich:
1. Learn as much as you can about human psychology and the structure of a great story. This will take you further than you can imagine when it comes to creating stories.
2. Only trust good-hearted people that truly have your best interests at heart. There are way too many people in the world that want to control or have power over you because it makes them feel better about themselves.
3. Work on your mind, your body and your creative spirit every day and your life will be a lot healthier. I think we get out of balance when we don’t work on all three of these almost every day. Our stomach has as much intuition as our minds and needs to be worked on.
4. Think creative choices through three times before making a hard decision, then commit fully to your choices.
5. Create a clear vision for yourself, then put your ego aside and be open to potentially better ideas. Film is a much bigger collaboration than people think.
When you create a film, which stakeholders have the greatest impact on the artistic and cinematic choices you make? Is it the viewers, the critics, the financiers, or your own personal artistic vision? Can you share a story with us or give an example about what you mean?
Laura: There’s always a balance between creativity and commerce. However, over the last few decades, large companies have taken over studios, so often a company is thinking about its bottom line. Rather than consulting the creatives first, marketing departments are often consulted first, which can obscure and dilute the artistic vision of a writer or director. As an independent film company, we want to have the creative people make most of the cinematic choices to keep the integrity of the story, and quality of the film.
Rich: I think it depends on the circumstance of the film. For me on my film, Culprit, it was my vision that had the greatest impact on the choices because we also financed it. I set out to put the performances and the story before anything else and to me that was the most important choice I made. Because creating the very best product I can, gives us the best opportunity for success. And with film, it’s all about the story and the acting for me. When films try to stuff in political or social agendas or care more about the financial bottom line, they run into a lot of trouble. We’re making movies here, not curing cancer.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Laura: I worked with mentally ill homeless people in NYC during college, as part of an ambulance service. We also have a bad homeless situation in CA. If the government provides housing for people, it has to be a comprehensive plan that also provides onsite mental health care, life skill resources, and substance abuse treatment in units with those with addictions. We need to listen to those people who work on the ground with these populations because they are the ones who know what’s needed, not necessarily policy makers. Also, there needs to be more mental health workers going out on calls with policeman to deescalate mental health crises. It’s not fair to the cops, and it’s not the way to deal with the mentally ill.
I’m a big proponent of mental health care, for everyone in general. Unfortunately, many insurance companies do not provide coverage adequate for proper care, nor enough reimbursement to providers.
Rich: I would start an artistic movement that would provide education and healthy human connection and spread it to the children of the world so they can see the value in just being a creative, expressive human being that wants to do good in the world. The program would eliminate cynicism, negativity and toxicity and work towards human beings sharing a generosity of spirit with each other.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)
Laura: I’d like to share a meal with Tony Robbins. I met him almost 20 years ago, but I didn’t have the time to have a one-on-one conversation with him. I find him to be very motivating, a straight shooter, smart, and he’s able to communicate his empowering messages to millions of people in a clear, concise way. I do believe he comes from a good place, he’s walked his talk, and he’s probably met most of the influential people on the planet, so he’s a collection of all that wisdom.
Rich: The Director, Michael Mann. He’s a truly fantastic, seasoned, brilliant artist and director. I would love to pick his brain on how he sets up shots or rehearses or any other number of things he does as a filmmaker. How he prepares a movie or works on a screenplay. All of it would be amazing to learn.
How can our readers further follow you online?
Follow our website: goodrebelpictures.com and @GoodRebelPictures on Instagram and Facebook.
Laura’s Instagram Account: lauravale333
Laura’s Facebook Page: Laura Vale
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About the interviewer: Guernslye Honoré, affectionately known as “Gee-Gee”, is an amalgamation of creativity, vision, and endless enthusiasm. She has elegantly twined the worlds of writing, acting, and digital marketing into an inspiring tapestry of achievement. As the creative genius at the heart of Esma Marketing & Publishing, she leads her team to unprecedented heights with her comprehensive understanding of the industry and her innate flair for innovation. Her boundless passion and sense of purpose radiate from every endeavor she undertakes, turning ideas into reality and creating a realm of infinite possibilities. A true dynamo, Gee-Gee’s name has become synonymous with inspirational leadership and the art of creating success.
