Rich Ronat and Laura Vale 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.”
The filmmaking duo join us on Close-Up Culture to talk about their vision for Good Rebel Pictures, their love of indie films, upcoming projects, and much more.
Hello and welcome to Close-Up Culture. What was your trigger to form your production company, Good Rebel Pictures?
Rich: Creatively, we both wanted to create the opportunity to utilize our full potential. We saw enough movies that we thought weren’t too great, and wanted to do better.
Laura: We have both been dependent on others to give us jobs, so we decided it was time to empower ourselves by building our own table, rather than asking for a seat at someone else’s.
What was your vision for Good Rebel Pictures?
Laura: We want to create an environment with independent film that positions the writer and director to fully realize their vision without having to compromise for financial reasons. We also want to prove that you can tell a great, highly creative story, without a bloated budget and excess crew. Being that our ethos is creative independence, we feel that with not having to answer to so many people, we can keep the integrity of the original story and its execution. We put story and performance first.
What are some of the indie films that have inspired you most?
Rich: Happiness (Directed by Todd Solondz), Ghost Dog (Jim Jarmusch), Little Miss Sunshine (Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton), Swingers (Doug Liman), Blue Ruin (Jeremy Saulnier).
Photographer: Ben Cope
Makeup: Kate Hollinshead
Your first film under Good Rebel Pictures is titled Culprit. What can you tell us about this story?
Rich: I was first inspired to write a story about what the Innocence Project does— fighting for truly innocent prisoners. However, the story took a sinister turn. Here’s the synopsis:
In the small town of Huntsville, Texas, there is an unsolved rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl. A convicted ex-con, Jack, has been released from prison after mishandled evidence proved he was not present at the scene of the crime. But when another little girl is brutally murdered after Jack’s release, the town points their fingers at the ex-con. As Jack works to free his name, new suspects emerge in a town trying hard to keep secrets buried.
Rich, how did you find the experience directing this project?
Rich: For the first time in my life, I had a genuinely wonderful, creatively pure, and thrilling experience. I finally got to meet the potential of one of my screenplays in a way I haven’t before. I was also inspired by placing good hearted, egoless people around me, which made the experience very fulfilling.
Laura, can you tell us about your character and how you approach this role?
Laura: Lucy Walters is a woman emotionally haunted by her past. The murder of her younger sister as a child, along with growing up in a highly dysfunctional family, has led to her estrangement from her family.
I prepared for the role by first asking the writer/director Rich how he saw the character of Lucy, and how she pushes the story along. I also wanted to listen to the stories of real people who had had family members murdered. I’ll admit, I became a bit obsessed with true crime. I had to lessen my intake after my own reality started to get a little darker.
What are your hopes for the film and the impact it has on audiences?
Laura: We hope the film can be seen by as many people as possible, and will probably be released on streaming platforms. We will be having our world premiere in the at a film festival in Los Angeles in late June… more details for that to come soon
Rich: We hope the movie hooks people into a thrill ride, and keeps them guessing from start to finish, with fantastic performances that bring home the reality of the story.
What are your ambitions and hopes for the future?
Laura: We plan to start with making one high level thriller per year, and increase that number over time to three to five films, all in different genres. We intend to put out stories that can inspire and entertain.
Photo Credit-
Photographer: Ben Cope
Makeup: Kate Hollinshead
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