We had the good fortune of connecting with Richard Rossi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Richard, what makes you happy? Why?
It makes me happy to take the talents God gave me, and make something with them. If we touch one person’s heart, it’s all worth it. My latest novel, (which will soon be a motion picture), “Lucy and the Lake Monster,” I co-wrote with a friend of mine since my youth, Kelly Tabor. It’s a children’s story about a little girl and her Grandpa looking for a sea serpent in Lake Champlain, which borders New York and Vermont. We’ve received letters from children who love the book. They send their drawings of Champ the sea serpent, with little Lucy and her grandfather “Papa.”  Every time I see a smile on a child’s face at one of our book signings, I feel happy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I got into the Hollywood scene and filmmaking later than others. I was middle-aged. Since childhood, I was interested in the arts, but in my young adult years, I worked as a minister. My journey from ministry to movie-making, from fundamentalism to freedom, was arduous at times, because I had been in extreme evangelical circles that disparaged the arts. It was a complete shift for me to believe that the talents within me were God-given. My concept of God now is that God is the Master Artist, the Creator. Our creativity is a part of God’s creativity.  There’s nothing more spiritual than pursuing our passions. Our creativity bears witness that we are created in the image of God, the Creator.

My religious background did provide interesting fodder for some of my work. My first dramatic feature, “Sister Aimee: The Aimee Semple McPherson Story,” was a biopic about the fabled female evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson.  My second film, “Baseball’s Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories,” was the first feature dramatic film on the life of baseball icon Roberto Clemente.  I showed his spiritual side, which catalyzed a movement to canonize him as a saint.  My last film, “Canaan Land,” was about an Elmer Gantry-ish con man preacher, (played by me) who falls in love with a sincere Christian woman (played by “Knight Rider” star Rebecca Holden). The Canaan Land film can be seen for free now on Tubi. I’m proud of Canaan Land because it was my coming out as someone who no longer subscribes to the false god of extreme American fundamentalism. The God I believe in now has unconditional love for everyone, like the Journey song says, “Open Arms.”

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The Santa Monica Pier is a very special place to me. I wrote a song entitled “Santa Monica” that Variety and The Wrap reported was on the Oscar list for Best Song consideration. I grew up by an amusement park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (West View Park). The Santa Monica Pier combines two of my favorite things, the ocean, and amusement rides like the Ferris Wheel and the Carousel. The Pier is in two of my feature films, “Sister Aimee: The Aimee Semple McPherson Story” (available on Vimeo) and “Canaan Land” (available on Tubi).

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I was blessed to have one of Hollywood’s greatest patriarchs as a mentor, Rance Howard, (father of Ron Howard and Clint Howard, and grandfather of Bryce Dallas Howard).  Rance acted in the first film I wrote and directed, “Sister Aimee: The Aimee Semple McPherson Story.”  Rance played the father of the main character, (Sister Aimee). He told me he believed in my talent and became a constant encouragement to me. He modeled for me how to be a gentleman and a kind person, while doing our craft in Hollywood as best we can.

Website: Richard Rossi Fan Club: https://www.richardrossistore.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/champmoviehq/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-rossi-a24b7115/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChampMovieHQ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/champmovie

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@richardrossilive7459

Other: Website for Richard’s latest film and novel “Lucy and the Lake Monster” (co-written with Kelly Tabor): https://www.lucyandthelakemonster.com

Image Credits
Photos Copyright Richard Rossi

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