Michael Rapaport Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Video Game Voice Acting Isn't a Crime
Filed under: Fandom », Tech Stuff », Home Entertainment »
It wasn't until fairly recently that voice acting in video games was done by either no-name actors trying to pay the bills or B- and C-list actors who were, well, also trying to pay the bills. The Command and Conquer games began employing a mixed bag of actors in its 1999 iteration, Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun, when they managed to snag Luke Skywalker's big daddy James Earl Jones, but otherwise continued casting random character actors like Udo Kier and Barry Corbin in future games like Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2.
Grand Theft Auto III changed the game, literally, with its roster of recognizable names and voices like Joe Pantoliano, Michael Madsen, Michael Rapaport, Debi Mazar, and Kyle MacLachlan all playing parts in the free-for-all crime cape that make Rockstar Games just that. With GTA III's massive sales and buzz (particularly from angry parents), the scene was set for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which boasted an over-the-top cast particularly appealing to its target audience: Dennis Hopper, Danny Trejo, Gary Busey, Lee Majors, Debbie Harry, Ray Liotta, Tom Sizemore, and Jenna Jameson, just to name a few.
Review: Special
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Magnolia », Theatrical Reviews »
By Jette Kernion (originally published on 10/29/06 -- Austin Film Festival)
I wasn't sure what to expect from a movie called Special, "special" being a word that gets used snarkily and ironically these days. Fortunately, Special turned out to be a good narrative feature with elements of comedy and drama, giving character actor Michael Rapaport a chance to really shine in a complex lead role.
Rapaport plays Les, who works as a meter maid -- only of course, being a guy, he's a parking enforcement officer. He won't admit to feeling depressed, but his job is causing him problems, so he signs up for a pharmaceutical trial of a new antidepressant, Special (Specioprin Hydrochloride). The drug is supposed to remove self-doubt; in Les, this means that he believes he has developed superpowers. He can feel himself floating in midair, and he can hear other people's thoughts. Perhaps he can even walk through walls. Is he becoming a superhero or progressively insane? His friends who run a comic-book store aren't sure whether they believe him, and the doctor who gave Les the pills is acting extremely odd. But Les is determined to pursue a life of heroic crime fighting, and he's not going to stop taking his Special pills.
Exclusive: 'Special' Poster Premiere!
Filed under: Independent », Fandom », Movie Marketing », Posters »
Click image above to enlarge
Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for the film Special, starring Michael Rapaport as a lonely meter maid who has a psychotic reaction to his medication and becomes convinced he's some sort of superhero. Back when Cinematical's Jette Kernion reviewed Special at the Austin Film Festival, she called it "different" and "attention-grabbing" -- adding that "Rapaport is riveting to watch as Les, as he transforms from a mild-mannered, easily duped meter maid to a self-identified superhero determined to help fight crime, and even further to his final state at the movie's climax."
As we told you last week, Special is part of Magnet's Six-Shooter Series, featuring six of the more talked-about genre flicks from the past year or so (Let the Right One In, Timecrimes, Donkey Punch, Eden Log, Big Man Japan) -- all of which are heading our way courtesy of Magnet Releasing. Special will hit theaters on November 21, but will be available On Demand beginning November 7.
Indie Deals: 'Special' to Magnolia/Magnet
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Deals », Magnolia », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »
I saw Special at Austin Film Festival back in October 2006 and hadn't heard a thing about the quirky little film since then. As you can see from my review, I liked this story about a guy whose antidepressant makes him think he's a superhero, and Michael Rapaport was excellent in the lead. Now the news in Hollywood Reporter is that Special's North American theatrical distribution rights have been sold. Magnet Releasing, the genre division of Magnolia Pictures, plans to release the film in the late summer, which should provide a fun counterpoint to early-summer comic-book-hero blockbusters.Special premiered at Sundance in 2006, which shows you can't give up hope that a film-fest movie you enjoyed might someday hit theaters. Hollywood Reporter notes that the film's leads may be one reason the deal was made. Rapaport has a role on a continually popular TV show, The War at Home. Josh Peck, who plays one of Rapaport's comic-book-loving sidekicks in Special, starred in one of the hits of Sundance this year, The Wackness. Scott Weinberg didn't like it much, or Peck's performance, but he seems to be in the minority. Perhaps this deal is Magnolia's gamble that if The Wackness does well, Special can ride on its coattails, but I think Special has its own comic merits.
[via SpoutBlog]
Four Get Hot in Cracktown
Filed under: Drama », Casting », Newsstand »
Intertwining stories set in urban jungles are hot these days; Crash and Traffic both thrived on the big screen, and now Buddy Giovinazzo is adapting his own collection of short stories, Life is Hot in Cracktown. Evan Ross, Michael Rapaport, Kerry Washington and Victor Rasuk have signed on to star in the pic, which follows the lives of several people living in a crack-infested neighborhood. But will it feel fresh? Young drug dealers, distraught parents, kids getting killed on the streets -- it's all been done before. Here's hoping the talented cast helps to ignite a flame that lasts throughout.
In fact, the storyline isn't too much of a stretch for the four; Washington recently starred as a prostitute/addict in The Dead Girl; Rapaport has dabbled in a slew of urban dramas; Rasuk first crashed onto the scene in the little indie drama Raising Victor Vargas; and Ross -- son of Diana Ross -- broke through with ATL and has also signed on to another drug-related flick, Brooklyn to Manhattan. And speaking of Ross (who stars in the upcoming Pride), he's been wrapped up in a bit of controversy as of late after the MPAA banned a poster for Pride that featured Ross in a pair of "tight-fitting" swimming trunks. Perhaps the best response came from the Lionsgate spokesperson: "Apparently the MPAA accused us of enlarging his bulge. He's just naturally well-endowed. That's the long and short of it." Shouldn't we all be so lucky ...
Yay! Distribution for Special!
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »
You'll be forgiven for not remembering, but I posted several months ago about the trailer for a fantastic-looking movie called Special. In the film, the great Michael Rapaport plays "a lonely metermaid [who] has a psychotic reaction to his medication and becomes convinced he's a superhero." From the hilarious, melancholy trailer (and, I gather, the movie as well), it's unclear if the character is just bonkers, or if he actually really has some of the powers he claims -- it's probably a little bit of both. Despite some buzz about the movie at Sundance and rumors of distribution talks, though (check Karina's comment on the original post for details about that), a deal was never secured, and the movie went back to languishing on the internets, looking for love.But today it's been revealed that Special finally got some love: First Look has picked up world-wide distribution rights to the movie. WOO HOO! First Look reps are at Cannes looking to farm out international rights, but they'll handle the movie in the US themselves, and plan to have it in theaters this fall. Did I mention woo hoo?
A very Special trailer
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Sundance », Movie Marketing », Cinematical Indie »
Like Todd at Twitch, I'm a huge Michael Rapaport fan. Ever since I accidentally caught his debut, Zebrahead, at my local multiplex (!) in college, I've wondered why
such a talented, interesting actor ends up in so much godforsaken crap. He's clearly cursed with a)needing to make
money (presumably The War at Home is keeping him in
groceries), and b)not being a hot, photogenic kid who gets jobs because he's pretty. Sometimes the latter curse can be
turned into a blessing, though, because it means people with weird, interesting scripts looking for an actor with
passion and no fear come to him first. The result of one of those imagined encounters is Special, a movie I had never heard of until I saw the trailer on Twitch yesterday. It's about "a lonely metermaid [who] has a psychotic reaction to his medication and becomes convinced he's a superhero," and its tagline is the realistically harsh "A very select group of people in life are truly gifted. Special is a movie about everyone else." The trailer is both completely hilarious and incredibly depressing, but Rapaport is fantastic throughout, and the movie - the debut of writer/directors Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore - looks really wonderful. It played at Sundance this year but somehow managed to evade our screening dragnet; as of yet, no distribution has been secured.
[via Twitch]
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