Bob Ruggeri gives a first-hand account of his journey to become a film producer. He talks about finding your passion or in his words, your “Soulgasm” and pursuing that without any excuse.
Bob Ruggeri is the founder of Omega Point Films, a television and film production company based in his hometown of Cleveland. He launched in January of 2014 to produce the movie Lost In Austin, starring Linda Cardellini, Craig Robinson & Kristin Schall. Bob has over 15 years of television and film experience as a writer, producer, and director. He began his career as a screenwriter and had his first screenplay, Pure Shooter, optioned by several major studios. After watching this project and his follow-up script, Dead Dresses, both die slow deaths in development hell, he shifted his focus to producing to gain more control over his fate. His first effort was co-producing Jeff Nichol’s Take Shelter, starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews. The film was purchased sight-unseen by Sony Pictures Classics the day before its Sundance Premier and released theatrically. Take Shelter also screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Critic’s Week competition and won the Grand Prize for Best Picture and Screenplay. His follow-up film, The Kings of Summer, premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and was released theatrically by CBS Films. In television, Robert co-wrote, produced, and directed the television pilot, Scottish Reign, for James Gandolfini’s Attaboy Films. He has also written, produced, and directed hundreds of national commercials and videos for clients ranging from GE Lighting, Purell, Cub Cadet, and PlayLogic. He has racked up numerous writing awards for his screenplays and recently won a National Gold Addy Award for producing Bellefaire’s “Take a Closer Look at Youth Homelessness” campaign with Doner Advertising. The Huffington Post picked up the videos immediately and played them on several national news outlets.
Original Talk Date: 8/21/15