Rob Tapert

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.{{Cite web |title=Box Office |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0083907/?ref_=bo_se_r_1 }}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=grudge.htm|title=The Grudge (2004) - Box Office Mojo|website=www.boxofficemojo.com}} They followed up that success with Boogeyman, Rise, The Messengers, 30 Days of Night, Drag Me to Hell which Raimi directed, The Possession,{{cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36486/lionsgate-open-up-ghost-houses-dibbuk-box|title=Lionsgate to Open Up Ghost House's Dibbuk Box|date=August 16, 2012 |publisher=DreadCentral}} and a remake of Tobe Hooper's seminal film Poltergeist.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2013/film/news/mgm-partners-with-fox-on-poltergeist-reboot-1200500013/|title=MGM Partners With Fox On 'Poltergeist' Reboot|first=Dave|last=McNary|date=June 20, 2013}}

In 2013, Tapert and Raimi tapped Uruguayan director Fede Álvarez, after seeing his short, Ataque de pánico!, to reimagine The Evil Dead.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34730/sam-raimi-helps-filmmaker-fede-alvarez-usher-alien-invasion|title=Sam Raimi Helps Filmmaker Fede Alvarez Usher in an Alien Invasion|date=June 19, 2012 |publisher=DreadCentral}} Diablo Cody contributed a polish to help Americanize the script.{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/07/evil-dead-remake-diablo-cody-polishing-script-for-first-time-director.html|title='Evil Dead' remake: Diablo Cody polishing script for first-time director|date=July 13, 2011}}

Tapert would re-collaborate with Álvarez and writer Rodo Sayagues in 2016 on the breakout film Don't Breathe that grossed $157 million worldwide.{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dontbreathe.htm|title=Don't Breathe (2016) - Box Office Mojo|website=www.boxofficemojo.com}} He returned as producer in its 2021 sequel.

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.{{cite journal|title=Page not found – The Online Scholar|doi=10.1111/j.0022-3840.1998.00079.x}}{{cite web|url=http://www.whoosh.org/issue24/stein1.html|title=Xena: Warrior Princess, The Lesbian Gaze, And The Construction Of A Feminist Heroine|website=www.whoosh.org}}{{cite book|author1=Janet K. Boles|author2=Diane Long Hoeveler|title=Historical Dictionary of Feminism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tOVlvvrMJhUC|year=2004|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-4946-4}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.cathyyoung.net/features/whatweowexena.html|title=Cathy Young: Salon - What We Owe Xena|website=www.cathyyoung.net}} 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.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.

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,STARZ DECLARES - "WE ARE SPARTACUS! http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20081027starz01/ 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.{{Cite web|title = Starz Orders 'Evil Dead' TV Series|url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/starz-orders-evil-dead-tv-747919|website = The Hollywood Reporter| date=November 10, 2014 |access-date = February 22, 2016}}

File:Lawless 08 (41611693484).jpg in 2018]]

Tapert has two sisters, Dorothy and Mary Beth Tapert. He also has a younger brother, Jeff Tapert.{{cn|date=February 2025}} He has been married to actress Lucy Lawless since March 28, 1998;{{Cite web |date=2004-07-21 |title=Santa Monica,Ca. Actor Kevin Sorbo And His Wife Sam, Leaving The... |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/santa-monica-ca-actor-kevin-sorbo-and-his-wife-sam-leaving-news-photo/51099087 |access-date=2024-08-26 |website=Getty Images |language=en-us}} the couple has two sons.{{Cite web |date=1 November 2013 |title=There's something about: Lucy Lawless, Actress |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/theres-something-about-lucy-lawless-actress/6OO33K2LBUUH46TZBUSTINIGZY/ |access-date=3 May 2022 |website=The New Zealand Herald }} Lawless played the title character in Xena: Warrior Princess.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

Producer

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• 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)

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Executive producer

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• 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)

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Acting roles

Other roles

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)

Acting roles

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,{{cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/96765073/the-pleasure-pain-and-40year-wait-behind-this-kiwi-musical-spectacular|title=The pleasure, pain and 40-year wait behind this Kiwi musical spectacular|website=Stuff |date=September 15, 2017 }} successfully premiered in 2017 to critical acclaim and sold-out crowds in Tapert's home of Auckland, New Zealand and stars Lucy Lawless.{{cite web |title=The Ultimate 80's Musical Experience - Pleasuredome The Musical |url=http://www.pleasuredomethemusical.com |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716215841/http://www.pleasuredomethemusical.com/about/ |archive-date=July 16, 2018 |website=www.pleasuredomethemusical.com}}

57,000 tickets were sold during its first 13-week run.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/TheUltimate80sExperience/|title=Pleasuredome The Musical|website=www.facebook.com}}

• Warren, Bill. The Evil Dead Companion, {{ISBN|0-312-27501-3}}.

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• [https://robtapert.com/ Official website]
• {{IMDb name|0849964}}

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Category:1955 births

Category:American film producers

Category:Horror film producers

Category:Living people

Category:Michigan State University alumni

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)