Ron Simons

Master of Fine Arts, 2001

Founder of SimonSays Entertainment - a film, stage and television production company dedicated to developing and presenting the stories, fables and narratives of under-represented communities.

Latest project

Producer of “Night Catches Us,” a feature film about two former Black Panthers set in Philadelphia. Premiered at Sundance Film Festival in early 2010 and released by Magnolia Pictures in December 2010. Ron’s film “Gun Hill Road” is set to premiere at Sundance in 2011.

TV and film appearances

“27 Dresses,” “Mystery Team,” “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: CI.”

Stage

London Stage Award for Acting Excellence for “Boy Steals Train,” a play he co-developed.

Education

• Master of Fine Arts, 2001, University of Washington School of Drama’s Professional Actor’s Training Program
• Master of Business Administration: Columbia University
• Bachelor’s degree: Columbia University

Career path

• Software engineer.
• Marketing manager at Microsoft.
• Professional actor.

What he learned while producing “Night Catches Us”:

Renting vintage cars for street scenes is very expensive, so “Night Catches Us” could never afford to have more than three cars on the street.

Finding 1970s-era clothing for the actors was very difficult as the clothes produced during that time were not very well-made, unlike clothing made in the 1960s and 1980s.

Producing a movie for less than $1 million meant making difficult decisions such as choosing between shooting on 16mm film or shooting in a more efficient format and giving the film its vintage look during the editing phase. Shooting on 16mm film would have meant shipping the film to New York for processing, which was too expensive. The director ultimately chose to shoot with the more efficient format so the movie could be shot in Philadelphia.

On the difference between acting on stage before a live audience and acting in a motion picture:

“Film is a very, very intimate medium. It’s the difference between what you do in a space this size – where the people are right here – and an outdoor Shakespeare theater where you can’t even see the person in the back. In filming a movie, your job is not to reach out to the audience. The camera will come to you and find you. If you reach out (while filming), someone will certainly tell you to pull back.”

— Excerpted from Ron’s talk with drama students at the UW in fall 2010.

On his movie’s premiere at Sundance:

“We four (along with our press reps) were among the last to enter the theatre walking from the back of the theatre along the right corridor to our reserved seats in the front. I kinda felt like the first string coming onto the field at the Superbowl ... This was to be the first time I’d seen the film with an audience. This is where the worlds of stage and film converge: both art forms require an audience to complete them. Only when the experience of acting and lighting and directing and editing and recording and casting meets the experience of a moviegoer can the art form lift, inform, move or inspire.

“It was when the opening credits were running that the delayed emotions which I had no time to experience before then, flooded my system. I literally felt my eyes swell and my throat expand as I thought: This is real. We’re here. We made it. Suddenly all the abrupt 4AM awakenings over how to wring another $5,000 out of the budget seemed worth it. It was then that all the arguments, discussions, disagreements and debates about how to make the film better seemed terribly logical. Right then every hour, every dollar ... was a small sacrifice to get us to this here place.”

— Quoted in Filmmaker Magazine

Photo:  Joshua Spafford