Today we’d like to introduce you to Ricky Reidling.
Ricky, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I was in high school, I got asked to audition for the school’s production of “Annie Get Your Gun,” for the part of Annie’s brother ‘lil Jake. I got the part and got great reviews and that is when the acting bug hit me, I loved hearing the laughter and applause. As soon as I got old enough and got the opportunity, I moved to Atlanta which was about 45 minutes from my hometown. It was scary and exciting at the same time. I had taken some acting classes and even enrolled in The Barbizon School of Modeling, I always get a good laugh when I tell people about that. There wasn’t a lot of opportunity for acting work back then and I really did not know how to pursue it at that point. I eventually met my spouse and we ended up buying a home in the suburbs. After a couple of years, we decided to make the move to the west coast where we had a short stay in Seattle before working our way down to Orange County, California. I immediately got busy doing background work for movies, T.V series, doing student films and any other thing I could find to give me experience being on a film set. I eventually landed an agent and booked a gig on E! Entertainment and then I got parts in movies and pilots that never made it off the cutting room floor or to the screen and never got credit for them, it was frustrating. We ended up moving to Long Beach, the most southern part of L.A. where I would decide to start my own entertainment company “Reidling Entertainment.”
One morning back in 2003, I woke up around 3am and could not go back to sleep and got an idea for a T.V. pilot titled “BoysTown.” I started writing it that morning and had almost half the script done by noon. Upon completion, I sent it to one of my friends who was also an actor that I had met working on another film set and he loved it and I offered him a lead role in it. I received over a thousand headshots and held auditions in L.A., I ended up with a great cast but no money to film the pilot! I met someone with a camera that was wanting to get his first gig under his belt and with the help of a few friends with locations, we got it made. It was super low budget but we made a festival and I shopped it around to a couple of gay networks here in the states, but they did not have the money to put into the series. I ended up putting it on DVD and we got a fan base. I laid the idea having the series to rest and then wrote a feature film titled “HEELS,” it took us a year to get it made due to me losing my father and sister during the production, but my cast stood by me. After HEELS, something told me to go back and give “BoysTown” another try. I got most of my original cast back together and filmed a new pilot, it caught the attention of the Canadian Network “OUTtv” and we were picked up for two seasons.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think anything I have done thus far has been a smooth road. With BoysTown, I was stressed due to the fact we were on a tight budget and I was having to do all the pre and post-production work. We would film two episodes a week, five days and typically 8 hours or less. It was insane but my actors were amazing and knew my style of filming to get it done. The late nights of editing and then filming the next day was exhausting. I honestly never thought “HEELS” would get completed through all the obstacles and deaths I dealt with, but thankfully my actors stuck by me till the last day.
My most recent project I filmed a new T.V pilot titled “Some Kind of Wonderful” with an amazing cast attached and we were set to film the next two episodes the week the pandemic hit and I had to close down production. I had raised a small amount of money that helped with pre-production but the rest was loans taken out and with no work, it really took a toll on me. The pilot has thus far screened at 36 festivals and won over a dozen awards, I continue to make connections to hopefully get the first season completed.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am proud of each film project that I have completed. I get most recognized for ‘BoysTown” it happens often living here in Palm Springs as we are a big tourist destination and people from all over the world can watch us on different platforms. I have been lucky that I have had an amazing small crew that makes my work look and sound amazing. I am self-taught in pretty much every aspect and grateful that I have a keen eye when it comes to editing film. Editing will make or break your project along with your D.P. (camera person) and the person recording sound. My actors and crew know how hard I work to make everything look and sound good and to make things happen, and I truly appreciate it.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Never give up! If you truly believe it what you are doing, make it happen! You see, people put things out in the universe but then it never gets made. If I get a no, it does not slow me down, all it takes is one yes. There are so many people that are critical of others’ work in this industry, even the big blockbusters, but the emails, messages that I still receive thanking me for what I’ve done make it all worth it. I don’t read reviews anymore good or bad, I don’t see it as a healthy mentality. I think there are a few that feel competitive in this industry but it is not a competition, at least not in my eyes… I know how much work goes into pulling off a film/series and I give praise to all that I know that has successfully done so.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.skowseries.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rickyreidling/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ricky.reidling
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1579379/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Image Credits
Rudi Weislein
