5 Minutes with… Luke Ricci
In an uncertain economy, marketing is often the first budget to get the chop. But to Luke Ricci it’s more imperative than ever: as president of RSA Films USA, he’s doubling down on making work that matters, whether big budget or small, and ensuring the world knows about it. As he tells me, “There is no marketing without good work”.
Luke joined RSA Films from fellow LA production company Bullitt in November 2021. Since then, he has revitalised the company’s team and forged much stronger ties to the RSA global network across Europe and LA. A new relationship with Ghetto Film School allows RSA in the US to have a direct role in educating and developing some of the next great filmmakers. What’s more, significant new talent has been added to the RSA Films ranks, something that Luke sees as a necessary evolution of the roster in the United States.
To find out more about the changes happening at RSA USA, some of the best work to come out of the office this year, and balancing his free time between reading and the odd “IG Reels vortex”, LBB’s Addison Capper chatted with Luke.
LBB> You joined RSA at the back end of 2021, and when you joined your main focuses were talent, partnerships, marketing and team building. Please tell us about how those elements of the business have evolved since then.
Luke> You’re nothing without a great team and I’m very proud of the new team we’ve built for RSA in the US. Strengthening the connection between RSA and Scott Free Film and TV has been a key internal focus which expands RSA’s ability to meet new talent from the entertainment industry for opportunities in commercial production. RSA US is also building stronger ties to our different offices to flex the power of our global network - UK, Amsterdam and Asia. Through this network, we provide talent with global opportunities and clients with a turnkey production solution anywhere in the world.
In terms of partnerships, we forged a relationship with Ghetto Film School (GFS), the non-profit whose mission is to educate, develop and celebrate the next generation of great storytellers including high school students and young professionals. RSA and Scott Free’s Sam Roston (senior VP of film) and Avital Siegel (director of development for film), joined me in a panel discussion with GFS Fellows on their LA campus last October where we talked about filmmaking strategies, production challenges and best practices for breaking into the industry.
Marketing is always top of mind for my team and I, and there is no marketing without good work so we’ve really tried to focus on consistently pushing the creative boundaries with our productions in order to have better and better work to market. Over the past year and a half, we’ve produced a steady cadence of high profile creative work to market that I’m incredibly proud of: ‘Thank You Canada’, Jake Scott’s 2023 Super Bowl anthem spot for Crown Royal via Anomaly, featuring Dave Grohl; Marie Schuller’s ‘There’s a Word for That’ campaign for Rosetta Stone via Duncan Channon; and Meji Alabi’s global ‘Yummy Snacks’ campaign for Fanta via Hogarth. We also produced Dear Dad, a powerful short film written and directed by Jared Malik Royal, who we signed earlier this year. About a farmer named Kamal Bell, the film premiered over Father’s Day weekend at the American Black Film Festival in Miami as part of Walmart’s three-film showcase and panel platform for its Black & Unlimited series.
Meji Alabi’s ‘Yummy Snacks’ for Fanta
We focus on getting the word out about all this exciting new work with PR and social outreach through our domestic PR rep Lauri Aloi and the help of our UK office, which helps us bring in more great creative opportunities for our talented directors.
LBB> You’ve been on a bit of a signing spree recently. Tell us more about the directors you’ve signed and why they’re at home on the RSA USA roster.
Luke> I’d describe it more as evolving the roster to represent a wider range of filmmakers for the changing landscape of creative needs in our market. Rosters need to address the many different types of creative challenges brands and agencies need partners to help execute. I’ve tried to bring our roster into an iteration that celebrates the exceptional production legacy and filmmaking prowess of RSA Films, while also adding new facets for the future.
We’ve brought on up-and-comers alongside established voices and built a unique management strategy for everyone. Ultimately, we aim for a roster that authentically represents the diversity and complexion of today’s cultural landscape. Our mission is to bring the world’s best storytellers in every medium to the world’s best agencies and brands.
LBB> Black Dog has been similarly busy, signing directors and producing work. What has been driving that? And how do you enjoy the balance of building out both RSA and Black Dog?
Luke> We talk about Black Dog internally as the ‘tip of the spear’ which I think is a perfect description. Black Dog is an incubator for talent and a destination to work in pop-culture and emerging technology and alternative formats. We welcome new storytellers to the world of short form content and help them develop their voices. It’s a playground for creativity, a place where filmmakers can experiment. Black Dog represents our desire to build a broader offering of talent. Jeff Pantaleo and Molly Bohas are our executive producers there, two well respected names in the music industry who have dedicated their careers to developing and shepherding talent.
Marie Schuller’s ‘There’s a Word for That’ for Rosetta Stone
LBB> The economy is in a tricky space right now and some production companies are feeling it via smaller budgets and fewer scripts. You’re taking a proactive approach to this by shooting good quality work, no matter the budget. Why?
Luke> It’s up to us to solve any creative challenge the market delivers to us and figure out a way to evolve our business for the future as we see it. We have to build and grow with macroeconomic tailwinds and adjust and adapt to the headwinds. We look at every creative opportunity with the same end goal in mind: how best to service our clients and filmmakers to deliver great creative solutions. We aim to scale our productions to the budget parameters, while maintaining the creative integrity of the projects and walking away with work we’re proud of.
LBB> What is a good recent example of work like this that you’ve produced?
Luke> Black Dog produced Hannah Bon’s video for Q, ‘Not Alone’. It’s a funk and soul-driven track featuring the rising artist portraying several different sides of himself to suggest that no one has to face their struggles all by themselves. I love this video and it’s reflective of how we are working on smaller scale when needed in order to produce solid creative.
For the Hennessy Paradis campaign ft. Alicia Keys and Lang Lang that Neels Castillon directed through our UK office and the US office serviced, Black Dog director duo MOM shot BTS films diving into the richness and authenticity of the creative collaboration between Keys and Lang Lang, exploring both their own connections with nature and culture, and their shared artistic values.
Hennessy BTS by MOM
Kristen Stewart directed boygenius ‘The Film’, a trio of music videos from the artists’ debut studio album, ‘The Record’. Black Dog produced the film, which includes tracks ‘$20’, ‘Emily I’m Sorry’ and ‘True Blue’.
LBB> Which recent piece of work are you most proud of and why?
Luke> I’m a big fan of Jake Scott’s Crown Royal Super Bowl spot, ‘Thank You Canada’. RSA produced that for Anomaly. It’s with Dave Grohl and it’s just the right spirit for the Super Bowl - a lot of fun, effortless, very rock ‘n’ roll and for a great brand. Plus, it’s Canadian! (I was born in Ottawa.)
Jake Scott's 'Thank You, Canada' for Crown Royal
Jake also directed a really fun film for Impossible Foods, ‘Making Meat History’. It premiered during the Tony Awards broadcast, and was the first work from Terry Crews’ new creative venture Super Serious, with ad vets Paul Sutton and Matt O’Rourke. It was a super fun shoot and really showcases Jake’s comedic chops.
Making Meat History
LBB> How did you wind up as a producer? Somewhat of a plan or more a happy accident?
Luke> Happy accident! After graduating from UC Berkeley, I was accepted into the screenwriting programme at AFI Conservatory where I realised I hated writing. I started producing commercial spec reels for all the directors, which led to my first job producing. It was a natural fit and I’ve been doing it ever since.
LBB> What were you like as a kid? Were you always into films?
Luke> I moved around a lot when I was growing up and never really planted roots anywhere so I was a bit of a nomad: Rome, Paris, Sydney, The Bay Area. I was always into books and film and TV but I didn’t really consider it a valid profession. Honestly, when I was growing up, I had no idea what I would end up doing and certainly wasn’t thinking too far into the future. I spent a lot of time skateboarding, surfing, playing rugby and getting into trouble. I went through a lot of different phases as I was discovering my identity.
LBB> Which piece of work from your career are you most proud of and why?
Luke> The last job I line-produced before becoming an EP was a Toyota Super Bowl spot with The Muppets and Terry Crews. It was a 10-day shoot right before the winter holiday and in LA. 10 days. Muppets. LA. It was awesome. Such a great last project to line produce.
LBB> Outside of work what keeps you happy?
Luke> Nothing beats hanging with my kids and family and dogs.
I love cycling and riding with the Fireflies [as pictured in the main image]. I’m a voracious reader, currently enjoying ‘The Rise and Fall of The Dinosaurs’, ‘Outlive’ and ‘Irresponsible Hospitality’. I love trashy reality TV and classic 1970s cinema. And true crime docs. I’ll also confess to occasionally losing myself in an IG Reels vortex and an obsession with memes.
LBB> What do you hope the rest of the year holds in store for RSA US?
Luke> It’s been almost two years since I started at RSA and I think my team and I have accomplished a lot. I hope to continue to build out my team, add exciting new talent to the roster, make better and better work, and find new areas of business to engage in with our talent.
I plan to continue preserving the company's legacy and building on it for Ridley and the Scott Family. It’s been such an honour to be brought into this organisation and I feel a great responsibility to protect and preserve the brand and strengthen the company culture. RSA is the only commercial production company that’s been around for 55 years. Being president of RSA US is a highlight of my career. So I plan to continue to enjoy my time here as it’s a special place to work.
