About Ricky Moon
Started as the lab rat of a small-town newspaper. I spent my time developing images while listening to Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run album on the portable record player I had in the darkroom.
Moved up to being a runner for one of Hollywood’s most important still photography labs. Then later, I joined the design firm of the world’s most important poster company.
While attending film college, I studied under industry greats like Allen Daviau, ASC. Mere words cannot capture the impact he had on my life. He was a true gentleman. No one in Hollywood could match how generously he shared his time and his incredible knowledge. Steven Spielberg expressed this aptly after Allen’s death, saying: “Allen was a wonderful artist but his warmth and humanity were as powerful as his lens. He was a singular talent and a beautiful human being.” One hundred percent true. Rest in peace, my friend and mentor … and thank you for everything.
After film college, I spent a long while evolving from a young man into a man.
Studied photo processing under one of greats, if not the greatest, photo processors.
This year 2020 transformed my life… and now we begin this chapter. Thank you for coming along for the ride.
TECHNICAL • systems architect for 20th Century Fox Latin America/Brazil TV websites (e.g., The Simpsons); full stack on self-designed colo servers • built enterprise ad server with real time logic and stats that served over 5 billion ads per month with many more GETs • self-taught 15 coding languages/protocols/services: C#, Java, Objective-C, extensive AWS, JavaScript Frameworks, CSS, ColdFusion, T-SQL, SQL Server Administrator, Xamarin, PHP, WordPress, Square Space, Wix, Shopify, The Well, etc. • built CMS for Tokyo's high-profile restaurant group • built several iOS/Android apps (one was #1 trending) • wrote Apple games in high school (1984), ran ads in Apple Magazine for mail orders • in 2000, designed w/team checkout that users would trust using their credit card • in Tokyo, presented Ruby to Japanese programmers pre-Ruby on Rails • crypto.
CREATIVE • started in a darkroom, worked in labs responsible for priceless Disney originals • mentored by Louis G. Friedman (70+ films, 15 of which earned $100M box office each, total $6B worldwide; 37 Oscar nominations, 21 Oscar wins, 12 Golden Globes, 25 Emmys) • RickyMoon.com photo essays • on staff of nightly news • magazine and videos for cooking & sensuality lessons • developed TV show for international best-seller All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten; Farrah Fawcett to direct; Howard Kazanjian (producer of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi); pitched to CBS et al. • youngest member of the Nat’l Assn. of Personal Managers, worked with FBI agent on stalkers • produced/directed PSA for teen rescue org., Children of the Night; spokeswoman Traci Lords; cinematographer Allen Daviau (E.T., The Color Purple) • personal assistant to Donald P. Bellisario, executive producer JAG • studied with b-movie & early TV pioneer Herbert L. Strock (I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, The Crawling Hand.)
CULTURAL • Japan – lived 15 years • global digital nomad – 7 years • business in France, Italy, Greece, Ireland, Thailand, China, Japan, Mexico and Tel Aviv • hired for my companies 350+ international folks who worked more than 20,000 hours, to whom I paid over $500K; many I work(ed) with for years, a few for 8+ years • spent half of childhood living among cowboys on a farm and ranch; animal husband, operated heavy equipment; spent the other half in big cities • culinary studies in Vietnam, Bali, China, Japan, Paris, Australia, Italy, Singapore • worldwide Home Exchange and Airbnb guest and host with glowing reviews and invites to return • Tokyo host/chef for private dinner penthouse parties with celebrities • dined cum 40 Michelin stars Maison Troisgros, The French Laundry, Per Se, Alinea, The Fat Duck; dined at the counter directly in front of the legendary Jiro Ono of Jiro Dreams of Sushi • Mexico City street taco afficionado plus Asian street foods • Opera Hop (with a friend) covering 5 countries, 10 operas in 20 days.
PEOPLE • native English speaker; low-level conversational Japanese; excel at communicating all varietals of broken English • worked with Arianna Huffington and NYT best-selling authors Robert Fulghum and Christopher Ryan • worked in service of: Kirk Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Lloyd, Beau & Jeff Bridges, Marisa Tomei, Barbara Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, Ricardo Montalbán, Norman Lear, Lauren Hutton, and many more • broke bread with a wide variety of people, notables: former yakusa, multinational corporate executives, leaders of adult entertainment, architects, authors, leading doctors, and craft professionals • junior bellman at world-famous Hotel Bel Air • chef/owner of restaurant in Kobe, Japan • partner, interior designer of a luxury massage shop in Chiang Mai • stagiaire to chefs • executive defensive driver trained by former Secret Service instructor • drove the cast of American Pie and taught one to drive • interior designed my homes, which were featured in books, calendars, film/tv/music videos, and magazines.
QUALITIES • skipped finals after 4 years of film/tv college due to produce first film • spelling/grammar weak • dyslexic (explorative specialization) • I don't suffer liars or the unethical • experienced in maintaining good relations with complex individuals • superhero ability: seeing around corners for bad news • obsessed with learning anything new • have been praised for and enjoy building bridges between silos on a team; no discipline I can’t make feel heard • non-musician who loves music; saw Yuja Wang perform 13 times in 7 countries, 10 cities • Krav Maga • work ethic: if there is time to lean, there is time to clean; if 10 minutes early, 5 minutes late • confidante level sounding board • pride in one's work is my first principle; if a janitor, clean to impress; if a CEO lead by example.
