PRESENTS
Directed by Paul Middleditch
Written by Chris Matheson
STARRING
Craig Robinson, Anna Kendrick, John Francis Daley,
Rob Corddry, Ana Gasteyer, John Michael Higgins, Rob Huebel,
Thomas Lennon, Paul Scheer, Tyler Labine
Rated: R
Run Time: 84 Minutes
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SYNOPSIS
When the Apocalypse actually happens and a billion people are raptured up to heaven, Lindsey (Kendrick) and her boyfriend Ben (Daley) are left behind in suburban Seattle. The young couple try their best to lead a normal life surrounded by talking locusts, blood rain showers, and pot-smoking wraiths. But when the Anti-Christ (Robinson) makes his home base in their neighborhood, Lindsey finds herself the object of his affection. With the help of her family, friends, and a lawn-mowing zombie neighbor, the young couple set off to stop the Anti-Christ from taking her as his bride... and just maybe, saving the world in the process.
With a cast full of comedy all-stars, RAPTURE-PALOOZA features Craig Robinson (“The Office,” Hot Tub Time Machine), Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air), John Francis Daley (“Bones,” “Freaks & Geeks”), Rob Corddry (Warm Bodies, “Children’s Hospital”), Rob Huebel (I Love You, Man, “Children’s Hospital”), Paul Scheer (“The League,” “NTSF:SD:SUV”), Thomas Lennon (“Reno 911,” What to Expect When You’re Expecting), Ana Gasteyer (“Suburgatory,” “Saturday Night Live”), John Michael Higgins (Pitch Perfect, A Mighty Wind) and Tyler Labine (Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, “Reaper”).
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
On a cold Vancouver night in 2011, as shooting for RAPTURE-PALOOZA wrapped for the night, director Paul Middleditch called his cast and crew to huddle around him.
“As many of you may be aware,” said Middleditch in his New Zealand by way of Australian accent. “Tomorrow, May 21st is supposed to be the Rapture. So if I don’t see you on Monday, obviously they were right.”
***
For screenwriter, Chris Matheson (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), The Rapture as portrayed in the Book of Revelations had long been a subject of fascination. Over time, as he delved into some of the more obscure and arcane writings on the subject, he was repeatedly struck by both their absurdity and specificity; for in those texts were the makings of a truly surreal comedy – a satire on belief, manners and fundamentalism in modern America.
As the producers of such films as Talladega Nights and Step Brothers the team of managers and producers at Mosaic Media were the perfect partners for Matheson’s anarchic comic vision. Upon reading the script, they saw the material as a showcase for an ensemble of rising comic talents – particularly the role of a small-time politician who suddenly finds himself thrust into the global spotlight when his true identity as The Anti-Christ is revealed.
As written by Matheson, Earl Gundy aka “The Beast” is basically the “Anti-Damien,” simultaneously reveling in his new found power, while facing down the disrespect of his young son and accepting the difficulties of finding a special someone that will like him for who he is rather than who he is becoming. One actor immediately came to mind: Craig Robinson.
In addition to his role as ‘Daryl’ on “The Office,” Robinson is also known as a stand-up comedian and keyboard player, with a comic persona that riffs on lounge-lizard piano acts and Barry White song stylings while crooning songs like “I Wanna Touch Your Booty.” With him in the role, The Beast suddenly snapped into focus, bringing a certain sweetness and naiveté to the character while counterbalancing the gleefully dirty way he chooses a mate.
With Robinson in place as star, he brought with him an extensive knowledge of Hollywood to his additional role as Executive Producer. One of the most well-liked comedic actors in town, he was able to bring many other well-known comedians on board. Up next, the filmmaking team sought to attach a director that could grasp the disparate comic tones of the piece while still assuring the human emotions that grounded it. In director Paul Middleditch, they found the perfect match.
The director of three previous feature films – two outright dramas and one dramatic comedy – Middleditch had found even greater international acclaim as a director of television commercials. His spot “The Big Ad” for Carlton Draught turned 300 backpacking extras into two opposing armies who come together to form a massive human shape and a gigantic glass of beer. The ad was awarded a Gold Lion at the Cannes Film Festival and cemented Middleditch’s reputation as a helmer that could produce spectacle and humor in equal measure - while adhering to a tight schedule and an even tighter budget.
Middleditch flew to the states to meet with Matheson and the producers. He walked into the room, sat down – and announced his vision: “It’s about the Apocalypse at the end of your driveway.”
RAPTURE-PALOOZA had found its director.
***
That initial meeting was held in January 2011. By March they were in Pre-Production - with Principal Photography set for May – allowing just two months to assemble the entire production.
Knowing the shooting schedule of the “micro-budget” film would only allow for eighteen days with his cast – Middleditch felt it was of the utmost importance to come to set as prepared as possible. Over a three-week period he hunkered down and storyboarded the entire movie himself.
It was during this time that he conceived the opening credits – in which The Rapture claims the members of a bowling league mid-game. As written, the sequence was meant to claim no more than a few moments of screen time – dramatizing the suddenness of the transition. For Middleditch, he saw a unique comic potential in going the other way, slowing the moment down to see what happens within the blink of an eye. “It’s the first time in my career that I’ve gotten laughs from a title sequence,” says the director.
Among his other stylistic inventions, Middleditch also seized upon the idea of including animated exposition sequences – stylized and simplified segments that would bridge the gap between “real world” logic and the loopier, post-Apocalyptic sensibilities of Matheson’s script.
As Middleditch worked away on this task of biblical proportions, the producers and casting directors were working to populate the film with actors who could embody the film’s quirky comic personalities.
For the key role of Lindsey, whose narration (often accompanied by animated diagrams) illustrates the “rules” of The Rapture, the filmmakers were able to land Academy Award® Nominee Anna Kendrick. Fresh off a dramatic turn in 50/50, the young actress was eager to take on a more broadly comedic role.
“Anna’s comic persona is just so funny, dry and laconic,” says Middleditch. “What she brought to Lindsey just gave the entire film a grounded foundation. I remember the first day we had her on set, we shot the scene in the truck where she looks out and says ‘I think its raining blood’ and I was just struck by her tone and how perfect she is for this sort of material.”
Serving in comic opposition to Lindsey’s deadpan acceptance of the post-Rapture world, is the slow boil of her boyfriend Ben, played by John Francis Daley (“Freaks & Geeks”). The role is a challenging one, built from equal amounts of verbal humor and larger moments of physical absurdity. In Daley, the film found its “coiled spring” – a performance with a constant thread of internal panic while still remaining optimistic and sweet – if somewhat dim.
“The thing about John Francis,” says the director. “Is that he possesses brilliant comic instincts as both a writer and performer. Given the fact that the character he is playing is so unlike him – which is to say, fairly stupid – it’s a testament to his skills that you completely buy it as you watch the Apocalypse slowly get to him.”
Having cast the lead roles, the project began to attract a solid roster of comic performers – including Rob Corddry(Warm Bodies), Ana Gasteyer (“Saturday Night Live”), Thomas Lennon (“Reno 911!”), Paul Scheer (“The League”), John Michael Higgins (“Arrested Development”) and Tyler Labine (“Reaper”).
With his technical blueprint in hand, Middleditch was able to work one week of rehearsals into the schedule. Given the comic sensibilities of much of the cast, they were determined to leave some breathing room, enabling a certain ratio of “planned improvisation.” On-set they would shoot the text as written by Matheson, and then shoot additional takes where Middleditch would wind his actors up and watch them go.
“It was a hoot on set,” says the director. “The energy and craziness of the whole thing was just so infectious. Despite the time limitations, everyone involved had a sense that we were doing something bold and out there. There’s an odd contradiction of sorts in the fact that a lower budget can sometimes accommodate greater risks.”
One such risk is Middleditch’s own performance – or performances – in the film, as it is the director himself who voices both the profanity-shrieking crows – and the anthropomorphic “Suffer Bug.”
“Ultimately, this is a film where the Big Plan is to capture the Anti-Christ and imprison him in a kennel,” says the director. “The whole thing has this cartoonish sense of physics and physicality. So when I saw the opportunity to contribute my own ‘Hitchcock’ moment, I went for it.”
As he tells the story of that night shoot in Vancouver, Middleditch recalls the faces of his cast and crew – as he genuinely wished them the best in the event of a full-tilt Rapture. He apologized that they would obviously be unable to finish the film; and as laughter erupted, he grinned wide.
“Hey, I’m just saying that we should all keep an open mind. Because you never know, right?”
***
That Monday, the film resumed production. Un-Raptured.
ABOUT THE CAST
CRAIG ROBINSON (Anti-Christ / “The Beast”)
Currently appearing in the ninth and final season of the Emmy-winning “The Office” on NBC, Robinson portrays acerbic Dunder-Mifflin employee Darryl Philbin. He is definitely a world away from his original career intentions; before deciding to pursue his comedy career full time, Robinson was a K-8 teacher in the Chicago Public School System. He earned his undergraduate degree from Illinois State University and his Masters of Education from St. Xavier University. It was while he was studying education in Chicago that he also discovered his love of acting and comedy when he joined the famed Second City Theatre.
Keeping him in the family, NBC has just ordered a single-camera comedy from “The Office” developer/executive producer Greg Daniels that will star Robinson as - loosely based on his own past - a talented musician with rough edges who adjusts to his new life as a music teacher in a big-city middle school. The “Untitled Craig Robinson Project” will go into production this Spring; Robinson will also serve as a Producer.
As a stand-up comedian, Robinson first made his mark in the comedy circuit at the 1998 Montreal “Just For Laughs” Festival. That year, he also won the Oakland Comedy Festival Awards and the Miller Genuine Draft 1996 Comedy Search. He soon went on to perform his act on “The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” and “Real Time with Bill Maher.” Now headlining venues and festivals across the country, he does both solo acts as well as full-band sets – “The Nasty Delicious” – tying together his lyrical comedy with his finesse at the piano. Whether Robinson shows up with just his keyboard or also with his seven-man band, the clubs are packed to thebrims with raucous laughter in response to the musical comedy on display.
His rise to success with “The Office” and his stand-up prowess quickly brought him to the forefront with industry comedy maven Judd Apatow. Robinson made audiences question their notions of vanity playing the sensitive bouncer in Knocked Up. He then kept audiences glued to their seats as one of the henchman hunting Seth Rogen and James Franco’s bumbling stoner characters in Pineapple Express, and made fans squirm when he co-starred with Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks in Zack and Miri Make A Porno.
In 2010, Robinson with Rob Corddry and John Cusack starred in the sleeper hit Hot Tub Time Machine for MGM and director Steve Pink. The story follows three grown-up men (Robinson, Corddry, and Cusack) as they visit the hot tub where they once partied, accidentally discover it is now a time machine, and travel back to their raunchy heyday in the mid-1980’s. Fans voices spoke loudly, and early negotiations are currently in progress for a sequel.
In February of this year, he will be heard as a character in The Weinstein Company’s first animated feature, Escape from Planet Earth. And in May, finally getting his due with his first leading man role, Robinson is starring in the comedy We the Peeples for Lionsgate and producer Tyler Perry. Playing a pushy boyfriend, Robinson surprises his fiancé-to-be (Kerry Washington) who is on a trip home to visit her family and discovers that the family is not only surprised to see him, but has never even heard of him.
Later this summer, he appear as himself as part of the Hollywood juggernaut that makes up the SethRogen and Evan Goldberg comedy world. With the likes of James Franco, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Seth Rogan, Emma Watson, Danny McBride, and a slew of their other actortypefriends, Sony Pictures’ This is the End tells us what will happen while attending a party at James Franco's house the celebrities are faced with the apocalypse.
Robinson has made it a point to flesh out every element of his resume, turning in a hilarious cameo in Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian as one of the Tuskegee Airman, lending his comedy genius to fellow Apatow devotee Danny McBride in his HBO television series “East Bound & Down,” and voicing several characters on “The Cleveland Show.” Robinson was heard in the final chapter of the Shrek film series, Shrek Forever After, as one of the new characters being introduced to the repertoire, a member of the ogre clan and the camp’s resident chef named “Cookie.” And taking a dramatically different role, Robinson starred in the independent feature Father of Invention with Kevin Spacey and Camilla Belle
Robinson’s additional credits include the films The Goods with Jeremy Piven, Miss March, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girl and television shows including “Friends,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” He also turned up as a preacher in the demonstrative web video celebrity push in support of Gay rights, “Prop 8: The Musical” with Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and Neil Patrick Harris.
Robinson currently resides in Los Angeles.
ANNA KENDRICK (Lindsey)
Anna Kendrick has a slew of projects that showcase her impressive range as an actress. Recently, she voiced a character in the creepily entertaining Focus animated feature ParaNorman; which was nominated for an Oscar. She also starred In David Ayer’s intense crime drama End of Watch opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. Kendrick was the lead in Universal’s hit summer comedy/musical Pitch Perfect. The song “Cups” she performed in the film is currently on the Billboard’s Top 100 Chart.
Kendrick recently wrapped filming Dylan Kidd's comedy Get A Job with Bryan Cranston, as well as the Robert Redford drama The Company You Keep, and the comedy, Drinking Buddies opposite Olivia Wilde and Ron Livingston.
Last year Kendrick starred in Summit Entertainment’s dramatic comedy 50/50 with Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film received rave reviews from fans and critics alike as well as several prestigious award nominations.
In 2010, Kendrick starred opposite George Clooney and Jason Bateman in the lauded film Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman. Kendrick earned a best supporting actress Oscar® nomination and was honored as best supporting actress by The National Board of Review and best breakout star at the MTV Movie Awards. She also earned nominations from the Critic’s Choice Movie Awards, the Golden Globes, BAFTA and the Screen Actors Guild.
Anna was seen in the action packed, genre bending film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World opposite Michael Cera. Kendrick also appeared in the blockbuster Twilight films including New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn Part 1.
Kendrick notably starred in PictureHouse’sRocket Science directed by Jeffrey Blitz. Her performance as an ultra-competitive high school debate team member garnered critical acclaim and the film received a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. For her work in the film, Anna was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress.