Rob Tapert

Career

Film

Tapert first became involved with filmmaking while attending Michigan State University where he was studying economics. Through his friend and roommate Ivan Raimi, Tapert would meet future longstanding filmmaking partners Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell.

Tapert and director Sam Raimi experimented on several short films before endeavoring on their first feature-length picture, a graphic horror film titled The Evil Dead, which Tapert produced, Raimi directed, and Bruce Campbell starred. It was a success with the crowd at the Cannes Film Festival in France, and a glowing review from horror author Stephen King saw the film given a cinematic release in the USA, and later internationally.

Although not a favorite of critics at the time, it gained a cult following and was later critically acclaimed as a horror classic. The film spawned a franchise of five films and a television series, of which Tapert has been involved as a producer in all of them.

Tapert continued on to produce numerous other films, typically involving Raimi and/or Campbell in some capacity, such as Crimewave, Easy Wheels, Darkman, Hard Target, Timecop, The Quick and the Dead, A Simple Plan, and The Gift.

Tapert co-founded film production company Ghost House Pictures in 2002. Their first release, The Grudge, grossed nearly $200 million internationally. They followed up that success with Boogeyman, Rise, The Messengers, 30 Days of Night, Drag Me to Hell which Raimi directed, The Possession, and a remake of Tobe Hooper's seminal film Poltergeist.

In 2013, Tapert and Raimi tapped Uruguayan director Fede Álvarez, after seeing his short, Ataque de pánico!, to reimagine The Evil Dead. Diablo Cody contributed a polish to help Americanize the script.

Tapert would re-collaborate with Álvarez and writer Rodo Sayagues in 2016 on the breakout film Don't Breathe that grossed $157 million worldwide. He returned as producer in its 2021 sequel.

Television

In the 1990s, Tapert produced and/or wrote several television series, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, M.A.N.T.I.S., Spy Game, and American Gothic. Tapert also co-created the prequel series Young Hercules that starred Ryan Gosling.

During Hercules, Tapert created the character of Xena which he later spun off into a separate series, Xena: Warrior Princess. The franchise has been referred to as ground-breaking and the character as a feminist and lesbian icon. Xena: Warrior Princess has been credited by many, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, with blazing the trail for a new generation of female action heroes such as Buffy, Max of Dark Angel, Sydney Bristow of Alias, and the Bride in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. After serving as Lucy Lawless's stunt double on Xena, stunt woman Zoë E. Bell was recruited to be Uma Thurman's stunt double in Tarantino's Kill Bill. By helping to pave the way for female action heroes in television and film, Xena also strengthened the stunt woman profession.

In 2008, Tapert produced Legend of the Seeker, the television adaptation of the popular Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind for ABC Studios.

Tapert followed with the Roman epic Spartacus for Starz in 2010, including Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Spartacus: Vengeance, and Spartacus: War of the Damned.

Tapert's most recent television project is Ash vs Evil Dead based on the Evil Dead film franchise that premiered on Starz in 2015.

Personal life

He has been married to actress Lucy Lawless since March 28, 1998; the couple has two sons. Lawless played the title character in Xena: Warrior Princess.

Filmography

Film

Producer

• Crimewave (1986)
• Evil Dead II (1987)
• Easy Wheels (1989)
• Darkman (1990)
• Army of Darkness (1992)
• Timecop (1994)
• The Grudge (2004)
• Boogeyman (2005)
• The Grudge 2 (2006)
• The Messengers (2007)
• 30 Days of Night (2007)
• Drag Me to Hell (2009)
• The Possession (2012)
• Evil Dead (2013)
• Poltergeist (2015)
• Don't Breathe (2016)
• The Grudge (2020)
• The Unholy (2021)
• Don't Breathe 2 (2021)
• Evil Dead Rise (2023)
• Evil Dead Burn (2026)
• Play Dead (TBA) Executive producer
• Within the Woods (1978) (Short film)
• The Evil Dead (1981)
• Lunatics: A Love Story (1991)
• Hard Target (1993)
• The Quick and the Dead (1995)
• The Gift (2000)
• Rise: Blood Hunter (2007)
• Boogeyman 2 (2007)
• Nightbooks (2021)

Acting roles

Other roles

Direct-to-video

Producer

• Battle the Big Tuna (1991) (Documentary film)
• 30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)

Executive producer

• Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995)
• Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996)
• Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus (1998)
• Messengers 2: The Scarecrow (2009)

Television

Acting roles

Video game

Musical

Tapert produced the stage musical Pleasuredome as a love story to 1980's New York City incorporating songs from the era. The play, which was based on Tapert's personal experiences, successfully premiered in 2017 to critical acclaim and sold-out crowds in Tapert's home of Auckland, New Zealand and stars Lucy Lawless.

57,000 tickets were sold during its first 13-week run.

References

References

1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4tlURFBdj8 Evil Dead Interview (1983)]
2. "Box Office".
3. "The Grudge (2004) - Box Office Mojo".
4. (August 16, 2012). "Lionsgate to Open Up Ghost House's Dibbuk Box". DreadCentral.
5. McNary, Dave. (June 20, 2013). "MGM Partners With Fox On 'Poltergeist' Reboot".
6. (June 19, 2012). "Sam Raimi Helps Filmmaker Fede Alvarez Usher in an Alien Invasion". DreadCentral.
7. (July 13, 2011). "'Evil Dead' remake: Diablo Cody polishing script for first-time director".
8. "Don't Breathe (2016) - Box Office Mojo".
9. "Page not found – The Online Scholar".
10. "Xena: Warrior Princess, The Lesbian Gaze, And The Construction Of A Feminist Heroine".
11. (2004). "Historical Dictionary of Feminism". Scarecrow Press.
12. "Cathy Young: Salon - What We Owe Xena".
13. See the documentary Double Dare (Amanda Micheli, director. 2005) for more information on the role of Xena in fostering the female superhero character and the stunt woman, both of which are traditionally male categories.
14. STARZ DECLARES - "WE ARE SPARTACUS! http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20081027starz01/
15. (November 10, 2014). "Starz Orders 'Evil Dead' TV Series".
16. (2004-07-21). "Santa Monica, Ca. Actor Kevin Sorbo And His Wife Sam, Leaving The...".
17. (1 November 2013). "There's something about: Lucy Lawless, Actress".
18. (September 15, 2017). "The pleasure, pain and 40-year wait behind this Kiwi musical spectacular".
19. "The Ultimate 80's Musical Experience - Pleasuredome The Musical".
20. "Pleasuredome The Musical".