'The Office' Star Confirmed as Anti-Christ in Post-Apocalyptic Film 'Rapture-Palooza'
Better known as Scranton's warehouse supervisor Daryl Philbin in NBC's "The Office," Craig Robinson has just landed a lead role as the Anti-Christ in an upcoming film about the rapture. A move up or down, only time will tell.
Written by "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" Chris Matheson, "Rapture-Palooza" is set in Seattle, a year after the apocalypse, where only half of the world's population is left behind.
Those remaining on Earth, including a young couple named Ben and Lindsey, out to rebuild their sandwich cart, are left to fend for themselves amid rainstorms of blood, fireballs and swarms of talking locusts.
Things start to get a little more complicated when Robinson's Anti-Christ character, who prefers to be called "The Beast," decides he wants to take Lindsey as his bride. The couple must fight for their business and their love as the devil seeks to do what he does best – tempt.
Deemed a sacrilegious spoof by Northwest Film and best described as "Zombieland" meets "The Big Lebowski," the post-apocalyptic comedy is sure to cause some uproar among the religious and non-religious alike.
The movie will be directed by acclaimed commercial director Paul Middleditch and produced by Mosaic Media Group and Ed Solomon, with both Matheson and Robinson also executive producing.
One of 10 films under a micro-budget strategy, "Rapture-Palooza" was introduced under a new initiative by Lionsgate to create films with budgets of under $2 million.
Structured by Sean Kisker, Lionsgate's EVP of strategic planning and operations, the idea for the low-budget films sprang from their success with movies like "The Blair Witch Project" and the "Saw" franchise.
"Micro-budget films involve minimal overhead and very little risk, but a potentially high reward," said Joe Drake, president of the Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate, in a statement. "This initiative allows us to add another layer to our slate of movies that work both financially and creatively."
Michael Paseornek, president of Motion Picture Production and Development, shared, "The productions will function as an incubator for promising new actors and filmmakers. They will experience the best of both the independent and studio worlds – the freedom to make the movies they envision, but with the infrastructure, support, and guidance of our studio behind them."
Matt Kaplan, overseer of productions, concluded from past successful films that "movie-goers are hungry for fresh stories told in bold ways."
"That means big, distinctive concepts, but it also means focusing on the humanity of the story. All the movies we greenlight will push the envelope of what we've seen on screen," Kaplan added. "The low-budget aspect definitely imposes some constraints, but also forces us to find our value in great characters, explosive situations and excellent writing."
Coming of age comedy "Gay Dude" and supernatural thriller "6 Miranda Drive" were announced as part of the 10 as well. All of the films will feature predominantly minority casts and most likely fall into the comedy or horror genre.
Production for "Rapture-Palooza" begins this spring and comes to theaters in 2012.
