Director Ryan Barton-Grimley

Ryan Barton-Grimley, or "RBG" as his colleagues refer to him, was born in Harare, Zimbabwe... For the uninitiated, that's in south central Africa... Yeah, Africa. Anyway, he and his family moved to the USA, specifically Encino California, at the height of its cultural influence in the late 80's. Fresh off the boat, RBG did time at various public and private institutions, eventually graduating from UCLA and also... catching the "acting bug." After studying with all the best acting teachers in Hollywood and falling in love with improv at UCB and The Groundlings, RBG won starring roles in the indie feature film TROPIX and too many grad films to mention, as well as supporting roles in CRIMINAL MINDS and a Fox Movie of the Week, THE PRICE OF LOVE. Yeah... remember when they made those? Anyway, always seeking new creative outlets, RBG chose to try his hand at writing and directing, making the internationally acclaimed home invasion thriller... THE TRUTH, starring John Heard, Brendan Sexton III, Erin Cardillo and Daniel Baldwin. Distributed worldwide by Warner Brothers, Gravitas and Showtime, THE TRUTH was one of the most pirated films on the Internet in the three weeks preceding its release. Hot off that success, RBG starred in and produced Douglas Mueller's well reviewed debut feature film... REPATRIATION, as well as, directed and starred in the film festival darling... ELIJAH'S ASHES... a dark comedy about brotherly love and homophobia. Both films had healthy festival runs and were distributed worldwide, despite their low budgets and lack of movie stars. A life-long fan of horror films, RBG next took on the task of writing, producing, directing and starring in his fourth and fifth feature films... HAWK & REV: VAMPIRE SLAYERS... an 80's inspired horror-comedy about "kicking vampire ass and taking vampire names" and... BABY MONITOR... a mind-bending psychological horror that will make "new parents" everywhere cringe at the the mere mention of a baby monitor! Both of these projects are currently in post-production. Lastly... keep an eye out for RBG performing improv at The Groundlings, his home away from home, or nose deep in a laptop, writing some crazy script he can't wait to unleash on the world! Feel free to say "hi" to him as he doesn't bite... he swears... Well, unless he's playing a vampire. You get the idea! RBG thanks you for your time!

Director Statement

Hey there, my name is Ryan Barton- Grimley, or “RBG” for short. And yes, I know, a certain Supreme Court Justice of the United States goes by that too. Here’s the thing... As far as I’m concerned, I’ve been called that since the late 80’s and it all started with a PE teacher who couldn’t deal with hyphenated names... whatever. Additionally, Ruth is seriously awesome and I have no problem riding her coat- tails, if that’s the way it’s perceived, or being in such great company :) Anyway... Hello, I am the writer/director of Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers. Believe it or not, my family and I moved to the United States from Zimbabwe in the mid-80’s. After 10 years of almost no media consumption, other than watching Greece, Xanadu and random American Westerns at a local drive in in central Africa, I suddenly had access to American television and a VHS player. Needless to say, I went on an epic binge of all things 80’s and American. I was like a data-starved AI, consuming every possible thing I could and as a result... I just really, REALLY love all the great 80's movies and television. I dream in VHS. I love 80's style horror and comedy. We’re talking... Lost Boys, Goonies, Die Hard, Big Trouble In Little China, Lethal Weapon, Commando, Predator, Cobra, Extreme Prejudice, The Karate Kid, Fall Guy, The A-Team, Chips and basically everything Chuck Norris ever made. You get the idea. So why the heck did I make my film Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers? Honestly... The world is just so serious. It’s exhausting being tapped into media and technology 24 hours a day. It’s really intense how many issues are happening around the world. There are so many problems everywhere and I was looking for an escape... I was looking for a laugh and something heartfelt. I was looking for some much-needed levity and humor. I was looking for a break. Hawk and Rev: Vampire Slayers is quite simply a love-letter to my childhood and a more innocent and clueless time when everything seemed possible and like it would turn out okay. It’s a love letter to goofy weirdos with big dreams and ridiculous ideas. It’s just plain old fashioned escapism. Sure, there are themes and morals and critiques of the 80’s, specifically toxic masculinity and homophobia in there too, but at the end of the day, I really just hope you enjoy the ride and leave with a nice heartfelt feeling and the knowledge that maybe... just maybe... we’ll all be okay.