Integrated production company Big Block has added actor, comedian and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Rapaport to its directorial roster for exclusive commercial representation.
Rapaport is equally known for his low-key, streetwise persona as he is for the memorable comedic and dramatic roles he’s played on film and television. Currently, Rapaport stars on the TNT show Public Morals, executive produced by Steven Spielberg. His penchant for trash talking has also proven to be radio gold as the host of his own stereo podcast “I Am Rapaport” and as a frequent guest on the Howard Stern Show on Sirius, especially on the subject of the staff’s fantasy football picks.
Rapaport brings that upfront sensibility to directing, a quality that harmonizes with clients and brands wanting to engage with the viewer on an authentic level. He frequently helms documentary-style projects. A quintessential New Yorker, Rapaport’s ties to the community and culture frequently emerge within his work. His debut feature documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest explores the history and living legacy of the seminal Queens-based hip hop group. The 2011 film screened at the Tribeca and Sundance Film Festivals to rave reviews.
Rapaport enjoyed another Tribeca premiere with his film When the Garden was Eden created for ESPN’s celebrated “30 for 30” series. The piece, which won Rapaport the 2014 Emmy Award, looks back at the 1970s championship-winning New York Knicks led by Earl Monroe, Walt Frazier, and Willis Reed. Other sports-related projects for major brands include a monochromatic tribute to street basketball in “For The Love of the Game” for Coors Light, and a striking glimpse at the diverse clientele who train at Manny Pacquiao’s gym, the Wild Card Boxing Club, for American Giant.
“I’m a huge fan of Michael’s work both on and off-screen,” said Kenny Solomon, managing director of Big Block. “He really fits our sweet spot. Mike brings that charm, charisma and singular personality to everything he does, whether it be his podcast, radio, television or feature film work.”
Rapaport rounds out a Big Block lineup which also includes directors Paul Trillo, Josh + Vince, The Bozzwicks, and Shaun Collings.
Review: Writer-Director Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man”
Imagine you could wake up one morning, stand at the mirror, and literally peel off any part of your looks you don't like โ with only movie-star beauty remaining.
How would it change your life? How SHOULD it change your life?
That's a question โ well, a launching point, really โ for Edward, protagonist of Aaron Schimberg's fascinating, genre-bending, undeniably provocative and occasionally frustrating "A Different Man," featuring a stellar trio of Sebastian Stan, Adam Pearson and Renate Reinsve.
The very title is open to multiple interpretations. Who (and what) is "different"? The original Edward, who has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes bulging tumors on his face? Or the man he becomes when he's able to slip out of that skin? And is he "different" to others, or to himself?
When we meet Edward, a struggling actor in New York (Stan, in elaborate makeup), he's filming some sort of commercial. We soon learn it's an instructional video on how to behave around colleagues with deformities. But even there, the director stops him, offering changes. "Wouldn't want to scare anyone," he says.
On Edward's way home on the subway, people stare. Back at his small apartment building, he meets a young woman in the hallway, in the midst of moving to the flat next door. She winces visibly when she first sees him, as virtually everyone does.
But later, Ingrid (Reinsve) tries to make it up to him, coming over to chat. She is charming and forthright, and tells Edward she's a budding playwright.
Edward goes for a medical checkup and learns that one of his tumors is slowly progressing over the eye. But he's also told of an experimental trial he could join. With the possibility โ maybe โ of a cure.
So... Read More