Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Ranarivelo.
Hi Alex, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I got to Hollywood… by car. I was born in France and went to grade school in New York, but I have been a SoCal resident since junior high. Always had a passion for cars and in the 90s, I was one of those kids who street-raced in the San Fernando Valley. I made a short documentary about street racing, which got me into the film school at Pasadena Art Center, and then my thesis film was a short film called “The Last Race”, which you can find on YouTube. Another ex-street-racer named Ali Afshar saw my film and asked to meet me. He had become a professional racer and actor and wanted to move into producing. We met at Mel’s Diner on Ventura, a total car-guy hangout, and hit it off pretty quickly. I then wrote a feature script with a friend about a high school street racer, and it took a few years, but Ali found a financier. That first directing gig for me was “Born To Race”, an indie racing film that has gotten a cult following. A rip of it on YouTube got over 15 million views! The film did well on home video and VOD, and it was the start of a collaboration which continues today. Ali Afshar and I have made 14 movies together.
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?
Day one in film school, a teacher told us that if there is *anything* else you could do in the world as a job that would make you happy, you should go and do that because the film world is a tough world. Very sound advice. I tell this to any young person who asks me about getting into the business. It’s super-competitive, it’s full of rejection, and unless you’re on a TV show, you never know when you’ll get your next check. It’s also never easy to get that next project green-lit, even after some successes. The upside is when you’re working… there’s nothing else like it. It doesn’t feel like work because you love doing it.
Another “challenge” you could call it is the general public’s perception of anyone with the title of producer, writer, or director. They imagine everyone lives in Beverly Hills and drives a Benz. Many are surprised when they find out that’s not the case. In truth, there are thousands of people working regularly in Hollywood, making a middle-class living.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
ESX Entertainment is an independent film production company that has made films for Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and Warner Bros.
How do you define success?
Getting paid to do what you love with people you love. That’s honestly what makes me happy. Now, if on top of that you make something together that audiences really respond to, that’s really all you can ask for. We had a small success this year with the Rom-Com “Holiday in the Vineyards,” which premiered on Netflix just before Christmas. It had no big stars, no advertising, not even a trailer! Yet it shot up into the Top 10 in its first week and stayed there through Christmas, solely through word-of-mouth and social media. All the other movies in the top 10 had budgets of 80-120 million dollars. Our was made for probably the cost of their catering. We’re very grateful for how well it did.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alexranarivelo.com
- Instagram: @alexranarivelo
Image Credits
Randy Shropshire, Sean Gunn
