Many are familiar with the Ace Ventura trilogy and the comedic renderings of Jim Carrey in the role as a pet detective. Alum Brian Robinson still remembers seeing the trailer for Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls in a Baltimore movie theater. He was the senior VP of marketing at Los Angeles-based Morgan Creek Entertainment at the time.
Robinson created that trailer.
He said it was surreal to see the audience’s reaction as he sat in their midst, unbeknownst to them. “Here I was, in the theater that I went to growing up. The audience was going crazy,” Robinson said. “For me, it was a fulfilling moment. I could see the fruits of my labor.”
Robinson also helped create the movie’s poster. “We used a fishing line on Jim’s shirt to mimic the wind blowing it and photoshopped in the business card he’s holding and the alligators.”
Morgan Creek Entertainment is a family business. James Robinson, who is the chairman and CEO, founded the company the year before his son, Brian, graduated from Richmond. An alum from the Class of 1989, Brian has been the company’s managing director for the past three decades and oversees film distribution. His brother David serves as president.
Back to where it all began
Brian Robinson fell in love with the University of Richmond while he was still a high school student in Baltimore. He came to campus to visit his brother, Pat, a freshman finance major in the Class of 1988, and felt at home right away. “Everyone was welcoming and friendly and had great energy,” he said.
The tour of the Robins School of Business sealed the deal. “The idea of getting a high-caliber business degree was appealing to me. I had always gravitated toward marketing,” he said.
Robinson particularly enjoyed how local companies, like Reynolds Metals, would come to campus to share their expertise. “You weren’t just taking classes, you also got a glimpse inside businesses that were right down the street. They brought in new products and showed us their advertising and marketing,” he said. “It made you feel like you were a part of something.”
Robinson was not solely focused on business. A memorable French professor helped take his studies to the next level. Professor Françoise Ravaux-Kirkpatrick taught him not just about the language but about the culture. He was selected to live in the French apartments during his sophomore year with other French-speaking students.
“The idea was to provide us with an immersive experience while on campus,” Robinson said. “I learned a lot that year. The university significantly enhanced my French, which I still use today, having traveled extensively throughout France in my career.”
Robinson also enjoyed fraternity life as a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, and hosted a radio show every Sunday — which sparked his interest in the music industry.
Going to Cali
After graduation, Robinson moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music but soon realized it was not his calling. “I started interviewing at record companies, and even though I had a passion for music, I didn’t see it as a career that made sense for me in the long run,” he said.
He ultimately ended up working for his father at Morgan Creek Entertainment. “I wasn’t planning to get into the film business because I wanted to follow my own path,” he said. But plans change. Once he met with the distribution team, he couldn’t deny that it was a good fit. “The people working in distribution were cultured and creative, and movies had always been one of my passions,” he said. “For me, this job was a culmination of all the things I was passionate about.”
Robinson credits the University for providing him with a well-rounded education, lifelong friends, and teaching him skills he still uses to this day. “It was a perfect balance of college life and a curriculum you could really get something out of,” he says. “It checked all the boxes for me.”
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