Some people are born into clever and dramatic introductions to their bios. Others find such hooks. And then there is Brian Ranzoni, who wanders through life with the self-assurance that somehow, someday, somebody will pay him for his thoughts.
Born and raised in Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley, Brian always knew he’d be a writer. He developed an interest in storytelling as soon as he learned to crudely copy Richard Scarry drawings on the freezer with a permanent marker. Graduating to notebook paper and crayons opened the world to Brian. Despite his crippling inability to spell, and a tendency towards risky content, nothing has stopped him since.
His art isn't merely creative expression, but also a subtle and calculated mission to impose his worldview on humanity. As such, he is a godless atheist. By turns a capitalist and a socialist, Brian hopes to get rich while advocating empowerment to all. Politically independent, he is no more a moderate than a liberal or a conservative. He is Brian.
After eight years in the United States Navy-- an experience not dissimilar to the Dilbert comic strip-- Brian returned to the civilian world. He attends a community college, partly to better his life but mostly in an unsuccessful attempt to pick up on educated women. As such, he lives a lower-middle class lifestyle. His hobbies include: playing computer games until he fails spring term, defending democracy in his letters to the editor while at the same time plotting to conquer the world, and just trying to be free amidst an increasingly fearful and yet complacent populace.
It’s probably no surprise that he draws artistic inspiration from music as well as filmakers and literary artists. Frank Zappa, Jello Biafra, and Trent Reznor dominated the soundtrack of his formative years (Zappa’s Freak Out and Absolutely Free were especially crucial in keeping him sane in high school).
Ranzoni also cut his teeth on writers like H.G. Wells and John D. Macdonald, graduating to Douglas Adams, Stephen King and Frank Herbert. He since draws much of his current fiction style from Ernest Hemmingway and Sherman Alexie.
Film-wise, Brian didn’t encounter Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin Scorsese until he left his sheltered home; but these directors influenced how he pictures his pictures. He recently finds David Fincher and P.T. Anderson inspiring as well; Zodiac and There Will Be Blood respectively, being recent masterpieces.