BL8K Talks: Riley Robbins
It felt a bit weird asking Riley what Monsters, Inc. and The Silence of the Lambs had in common. Never realizing that such completely different movies could essentially be the same. Why did I ask him this? Well, Riley used to have this amazing movie recommendation list on his site and naturally I was curious as to why each movie made his list. His answer was simple and yet fucking powerful.
“Connection”
Photo via @rileyrobbinsfilm
That is essentially all we talked about; connection. Be it skin to skin, through a glass or by touch. Some of us might even turn to alienating ourselves from it as a means of self protection, the self destructive species we are. But at the end, whether we accept it or not, is that uncomfortable connection that will not only make us feel better but will make us understand that we are humans. We need it.
If you walk straight you will eventually get somewhere. Sounds easy, just go from A to B. Whatever happens between those two points are either finite distances that make up segment points that will eventually add up to the halfway point of the destination. We might even encounter bypasses that through us off course but eventually will lead us to point B. Or, we can even say that between these points what is happening is a constant energy exchange and we can start a discussion about kinetic energy but I don't know anything about that so we won't.
I guess what I am trying to say is that there is an abyss of life and possibilities between A and B and we have no control over them. So I will no longer ask “how?”.
As I explained to Riley how I was desperate to understand how people become artists and find success in life he stopped me and said “Paulina, detach yourself from the outcome! That’s how I first started, I gave zero fucks. No worries about likes or followers, just post the video. Have no attached feeling to the outcome at all.”
Riley, a film director born and raised in Indianapolis who, like many others, moved to LA to follow his passion. A (Indianapolis) to B (LA). I guess that's my answer, he moved cities. But what happened in between and after, as you might have already guessed, is what makes life life. It’s messy, it's weird, it's complicated, it's sad, it's painful, it's lonely, it's confusing, it's sour, it's bitter, it's unfair, and beautiful all at the same time.
“Prioritize the journey, that is the real award, awards get dusty. Walking by faith with eyes closed helps to enjoy the present.”
How did connections become so important in your work?
“The older i get the more I realize that you’ve got to be yourself, when I was younger I never used hip hop music on my videos because I didn’t want to be categorized as “the black director”, society pushes you into categories, as if you can’t be more than what they expect or want from you.”
What about the connections you see in films?
“Movies about connections are also about abandonment and I am all about abandonment. I never knew my father in my life so I think about all those movies and all those attachments and abandonment issues, Sully and Boo, Marty McFly and Doc have friendships rooted in connection and abandonment.”
What about the connection with yourself?
“When I started working with really old, beautiful music in my films it painted my image of sort of like “what color, who is this person?” Now, I am myself. Now I am myself. Like, these are my tattoos, this is who I am. I just had a meeting this morning with SpringHill with about ten people and you know people started doing the usual “hello, how are you?” ritual and I just went; “hello everybody let’s stop real quick and go around the room saying what we are grateful for and what some of our dreams are”. That broke so much, setting the tone to “okay, this is the type of creative he is, he is a real person.”
We talk a lot about the journey, how does your journey help my journey? We are all different but we are essentially connected, you work with a lot of people so how do you connect with them and their stories and the stories you want to tell?
“Being present. For me, being present on set, earlier we were talking about how I develop my characters' backstories and all that, if I am seated with an actress or actor I let them talk. The first thing I talk to them about is “Did you read the script, tell me what you feel. Who is the character to you?” I let them speak, that is them venting and molding the character. The trick is being present in everything you do in life.”
We did talk about character backstories and how you create them, how you can create a whole person. How do you do that?
“Some of the best directors are the kids that played by themselves as kids. (Introverts whoop, whoop!) You play with toys and you create all these life stories for them. I even give the extras on set a backstory, every person in the film and their stories are super special. Backstories are the most important thing, it sets the tone for the actors. I love to give them an invisible fence, you can’t see it but walk too close to it and get shocked, not really but you get the idea. They have free room to create but if they get too close to the “fence” that is when I step in and give them direction, zapping is me giving them direction. If you don’t react well then i'll come in and give little notes and we work it out.”
Reaching goals should be what we strive for in our journey?
I saw Spike Lee back in February and I had a talk with him and we were talking about Oscars and this and that and I told him how my goal is to be an Oscar winning director. He said to me; “first get that out of your mind, focus on creating the best body of work, no one can tell you shit about it, critics can’t get to you because. You know, in your soul, you’ve done the best body of work.”
“I did a deep meditation, this is exclusive content, never talked about this before, where I went on a crazy journey, crazy. You know Bora Bora’s huts on the water connected by a bridge? In my meditation I was on some sort of those bridges and at the end of my bridge there was a lady and as I reached out to her lights started to go off and I was suddenly onstage accepting awards, but surprisingly I was sad. Sad that I got them. I realized that the journey to get those awards was what I was loving. Prioritize the journey, that is the real award, awards get dusty.”
