Solomon Richards

"You know they always say, never work with children or animals. Well, I wanna add to that list. Never work with directors or actors."

- Solomon Richards

Solomon Richards is a character in the Grand Theft Auto who appears as a supporting character in Grand Theft Auto V.

Background
Solomon Richards is a succesful Vinewood film producer and the owner of Richards Majestic Productions, a film company he inherited from his father, classic Vinewood producer, David Richards. Solomon began his career as an associate producer on his father's movies, though he later began to produce his own and eventually gained fame through the late 70's and early 80's for making commercially succesful but artistically mediocre movies, in sharp contrast with his father's critically acclaimed projects.

He had a complicated work relationship with one of his father's lead starlets, Leonora Johnson, because she considered him a hack and refused to complete work on a film Solomon was producing, due to "artistic differences". This great dislike for Leonora eventually made Solomon one of the lead suspects for her murder (which in reality had been committed by Peter Dreyfuss), but he was never charged due to lack of evidence.

By the time the game takes place, Solomon's studio has run into finnancial difficulty after the economic failure of some of his more recent productions. Tired of the movie business, Solomon seeks to recover his studio's prestiege and succesfully retire after making one final movie: Meltdown.

Events of GTA V
Solomon is introduced to Michael De Santa by their mutual contact, billionaire holdings investor Devin Weston, who is also a major shareholder in Richards' production company. Michael, a big fan of Solomon's work, agrees to help his idol complete his swan song picture. Solomon tells Michael that his lead actor, Milton McIlroy, and his director, Anton Beaudelaire, have left production after being persuaded to sign up with former gangster Rocco Pelosi's management firm and Rocco is trying to force Richards to pay him off to get his lead and his director back. Per Solomon's request, Michael tracks down and beats up Rocco to get him to back off and then succesfully intimidates the two crew members into returning to the set.

Some time later, Rocco and his partner, Gianni, break into Solomon's studio and assault him, trying to force him to pay them off. However, they get caught by Michael, who chases them out of the studio and eventually kills them both.

Solomon manages to complete the film, but he gets betrayed by Weston, who decides to shut down the studio and the production in order to cash in on the insurance and so that he can sell the studio property and develop into luxury condos. Weston gives the analogue copy of the film to his attorney, Molly Schultz, as she leaves the city so that she can dispose of it, but Michael follows her to the Airport and attempts to recover the film, scaring Molly (who believes Michael is trying to kill her) and causing her to accidentally get sucked into a jet engine. The film is left untouched and Michael manages to recover it, only to later discover that Solomon kept several digital copies that Michael wasn't aware of.

Following the Molly incident, Solomon and Michael attend the premiere of Meltdown, but Michael misses it to save his family after Weston sent a platoon of his Merryweather soldiers to his home to kill them. Meltdown turns out to have mixed critical reception, but audiences love it and the film becomes the biggest box office hit of Solomon's career.

Films produced

 * Author's Penny Sanatorium
 * Nelson in Naples
 * Shoulder of Orion
 * Shoulder of Orion II
 * Rum Runner (1973)
 * The Welshman
 * An American Divorce
 * Meltdown (2013)

Mission appearances

 * GTA V
 * Mr. Richards (Boss)
 * Derailed (Post-mission phone call)
 * Fresh Meat (Post-mission phone call)
 * The Ballad of Rocco (Boss)
 * Reuniting the Family (Post-mission phone call)
 * Legal Trouble (Boss)
 * Meltdown (Boss)
 * The Third Way (Post-mission phone call)