Everybody has a dream. The key to life is taking that dream and making it a reality. With the digital age, dreams are coming true more and more often. For Ronnie Holman, the dream of becoming a movie producer is in full motion and blossoming more and more with each project.
Holman always knew he wanted to do something with his passion for writing. After completing his undergraduate degree in journalism, he started to get serious about his craft.
“I remember when I turned in my first short film to my professor. He came back to me and asked me if I was serious. I told him yes,” Holman said. “About two weeks later, he gave me back my script full of red marks, and that began my career.”
Red marks for a writer can be a blessing and a curse at the same time. Depending on how you receive criticism, red marks can be seen as an opportunity to improve your writing, or you can view them as a roadblock to the next step. Holman took on the challenge and embraced the feedback.
“You cannot be scared of what people are going to say about your work if you want to make it in this business,” Holman said.
And he is not wrong. Most people who create art for a living express the same anxiety about having their work published to be judged. For those who excel, develop a thick skin and use the feedback as fuel to get better. No artist, whether they make movies or music, is free from the public’s wrath if they do inferior work.
Holman understands this concept all too well, so he makes sure that his work represents the best of his ability. The hard work is paying off. Holman has had major success producing plays and films. His most recent play, The Cose of Love, was a hit with the audiences that attended the play.
His latest project, Samuel’s Tune, pulls at the heartstrings of the audience as it details the emotional journey of a man struggling to find the meaning of life. Typically, most writers either excel in screenplays (feature films) or stage plays; Holman has found success in both.
“I learned very early on in my career how to write both screenplays and stage plays. I developed the ability to do both,” Holman said. “If I have to choose between the two, I like writing screenplays more than stage plays.”
Holman plays to screen Samuel’s Tune to a private audience in June 2026 for a private audience. After that he plans to take the short film on the road and enter it into film festivals around the country.
“I am trying to take my game to the next level.” Holman continued, “There are levels to this, and if you are going to get to where you are making major productions, you have to be active and work hard to get audiences to your stuff.”
Holman’s goal is to, one day, be as big as any other major producer who makes films. His path to getting it might be easier today than in the past due to the advances made in technology.
30 years ago, if you wanted to make a feature-length film, you had to find someone in Hollywood to make your movie. You also had to find almost a million dollars in order to get the production shot. Most people did not have access to that kind of money or a way to move to California to pursue their dreams.
Today, you and a friend can take your two iPhones and, with the help of a few local actors, create a film for next to nothing. Someone used AI to make the world’s first full-length film, and it included no actors, production crew or location shoots to make the film. It cost him $2,000, and it took 2 months to prompt AI to create the right scenes.
Holman does not suggest anyone do that; however, he does encourage anyone who wants to create art for a living to give it a shot. Holeman states that it does not have to be perfect for anyone to start; there just has to be effort.
Holman’s next fulfilled dream will be a standing ovation at the premiere of his short film later in June. For anyone who has made art, one can only hope that the audience will appreciate the effort that was put into making something out of nothing.
“This is my passion. This is my life. I went to school for it, and I intend to live out my dreams creating theater for people to enjoy,” Holman said.
If he gets his way, Holman plans to take a whole lot of people with him. Hollywood is where you make movies, and Cleveland loves to claim the rise of future stars.
So, Holman is in the right place, at the right time. If you look and see a shooting star, it might be him dreaming up his next project. ●
