Rakontur Explained

Rakontur
Foundation:2000 (original)
2013 (relaunch)
Type:Subsidiary
Location:Miami, Florida, U.S.
Industry:Motion pictures

rakontur is a Miami-based media studio founded by Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman in 2000.[1]

History

Rakontur's feature documentary debut, Raw Deal: A Question of Consent, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, making Corben the youngest director to premiere in Sundance history.[2] Examining the alleged rape of an exotic dancer at a University of Florida fraternity house, the film utilized extensive clips from videotape footage of the alleged assault. Considered by critics to be “one of the most controversial films of the modern day” and “one of the most compelling pieces of non-fiction ever produced,” (Film Threat Magazine),[3] Raw Deal landed on the cover of New York Post[4] and has been seen all over the world.

Following that success Rakontur took on another Florida true-crime story, this one closer to home. The New York Times called Cocaine Cowboys, “a hyperventilating account of the blood-drenched Miami drug culture in the 1970s and 1980s.”[5] The non-fiction film chronicles how the cocaine trade built their hometown of Miami through firsthand accounts of some of the most successful smugglers of the era and the deadliest hitman of the cocaine wars.

Cocaine Cowboys was New York Magazines Critic's Pick[6] when it premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival and, after a limited theatrical release, the movie became a worldwide phenomenon on DVD and the highest-rated documentary in the history of the Showtime cable network. The sequel, Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin’ with the Godmother, was released in 2008.

The U, a feature documentary about the championship history of the University of Miami Hurricanes football program, produced by Rakontur for ESPN's 30 for 30 series, became the highest-rated[7] documentary in the network's 30-year history, when it debuted on December 12, 2009, following the Heisman Trophy presentation.

Rakontur debuted two new films in the first half of 2011. , examining the free-wheeling pot smuggling of South Florida in the 1970s, had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March, followed by a limited theatrical and DVD release by Magnolia Pictures.[8]

Rakontur released Broke, a documentary about former professional athletes who have squandered their wealth, at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.

In 2012, the company produced Dawg Fight, a brutal exposé on underground backyard MMA fighting in one of Miami's toughest neighborhoods.[9]

In 2007 and again in 2010, Rakontur was selected for the Realscreen Global 100,[10] [11] “an annual list of the most exciting and influential production companies working in non-fiction film and television." That same year, Spellman and Corben were listed among of the 50 Most Influential People in Miami by The SunPost[12] . In December 2009, the Miami New Times declared Cocaine Cowboys #3 on its "Top Ten of the Decade: Miami in Pop Culture."[13]

Filmography

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Farzad . Roben . Rakontur Films' Marketing Strategy . Bloomberg Businessweek . August 28, 2008.
  2. News: Rakontur Films' Marketing Strategy. https://web.archive.org/web/20120712101425/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-08-27/rakontur-films-marketing-strategy. dead. July 12, 2012. June 29, 2012. Bloomberg Businessweek. August 27, 2008.
  3. Web site: Review: Raw Deal: A Question of Consent. Film Threat Magazine.
  4. Web site: Rape, Lies and Videotape. New York Post.
  5. News: Movie Review: Cocaine Cowboys — A Culture Built of Guns, Drugs and Blood. The New York Times . Jeannette . Catsoulis . October 27, 2006.
  6. Web site: 2006 Tribeca Scorecard. New York Magazine.
  7. News: 'The U' sets docu record at ESPN. Variety . Stuart . Levine . 2009-12-16.
  8. Web site: Square Grouper *Blog . October 12, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110914040739/http://squaregroupermovie.com/blog/ . September 14, 2011 .
  9. Web site: 2015-03-04. Documentary on Miami-Dade County back yard boxing ring to premiere. 2021-04-07. WPLG. en.
  10. Web site: 2007 Global 100. Realscreen.
  11. Web site: 2010 Global 100. Realscreen.
  12. Web site: 50 Most Influential People in Miami. The Sun Post.
  13. Web site: Top Ten of the Decade: Miami in Pop Culture. Miami New Times.
  14. Web site: Raw Deal: A Question of Consent . Rotten Tomatoes.
  15. News: McCarthy . Todd . Raw Deal: A Question of Consent . Variety . February 6, 2001.
  16. News: Raw Deal: A Question of Consent . Film Threat . January 26, 2001.
  17. News: Barker . Adam . A question of consent . The Guardian . January 27, 2002.
  18. Web site: Cocaine Cowboys . Rotten Tomatoes.
  19. News: Murray . Noel . Cocaine Cowboys . AV Club . October 26, 2006.
  20. News: Catsoulis. Jeannette. Cocaine Cowboys (2006) A Culture Built of Guns, Drugs and Blood. 29 June 2012. The New York Times. 27 October 2006.
  21. News: Cocaine Cowboys . Film Threat . October 25, 2006.
  22. News: Koehler . Robert . Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin' With the Godmother . Variety . June 25, 2008.
  23. News: Duran . Jose . Cocaine Cowboys 2 Takes Its Cues From '90s West Coast Hood Flicks . Miami New Times . July 29, 2008.
  24. News: Alvarado . Francisco . Ego Trippin': Rakontur's Clubland Finally Hits the Web . Miami New Times . November 18, 2008.
  25. News: Tobias . Scott . 30 For 30: "The U" . AV Club . December 13, 2009.
  26. News: Levine . Stuart . 'The U' sets docu record at ESPN . Variety . December 16, 2009.
  27. News: Deitsch . Richard . Ranking the Best 30 for 30 Documentaries (So Far) . Sports Illustrated . August 13, 2017.
  28. News: O'Hehir . Andrew . "Square Grouper": A hilarious, tragic tale of Florida ganja . Salon . April 16, 2011.
  29. Web site: Square Grouper . Rotten Tomatoes.
  30. News: Catsoulis . Jeannette . Rise and Fall of a Nightclub Impresario . New York Times . September 22, 2011.
  31. News: Weisberg . Sam . "Limelight," the NYC club phenomenon that was . Screen Comment . September 24, 2011.
  32. News: Tobias . Scott . 30 For 30: "Broke" . AV Club . October 2, 2012.
  33. News: Martin . Vanessa . Watch 'Collision Course,' Billy Corben's New ESPN '30 For 30' Short On The Murder Of Don Aronow (VIDEO) . HuffPost . September 26, 2013.
  34. News: Williams . Brennan . Steve Stoute Talks VH1 Docu-Series 'The Tanning Of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop' . HuffPost . February 25, 2014.
  35. Web site: Kluger . Bryan . Cocaine Cowboys Reloaded . High Def Digest . June 3, 2014.
  36. News: Lowry . Brian . TV Review: ESPN's 'The U Part 2' . Variety . December 11, 2014.
  37. News: Rodriguez . Rene . Dawg Fight . Miami Herald . March 6, 2015.
  38. News: Valys . Phillip . Billy Corben's 'Dawg Fight' steps into the ring . Sun-Sentinel . March 10, 2015.
  39. News: Wilson . Chris . Cocaine Cowboys Director Takes on Backyard Fighting . Maxim . March 9, 2015.
  40. News: Rodriguez . Rene . 'Dawg Fight' . Miami Herald . March 6, 2015.
  41. News: Montgomery . James . 'Dawg Fight' Director Pulls No Punches With His Brutal New Film . Rolling Stone . May 15, 2015.
  42. Web site: Watch Miami Beach 100 . rakontur.
  43. News: New 'Magic City Hustle' Documentary Brings Jai Alai Back To Life . WLRN . March 1, 2019.
  44. News: Rosenthal . Phil . The gang that couldn't shoot up straight: 'Screwball' a comic take on A-Rod's PED scandal . Chicago Tribune . April 1, 2019.
  45. Web site: Tallerico . Brian . Screwball . RogerEbert.com . March 29, 2019.
  46. News: Gay . Jason . How A-Rod Explains Modern America . Wall Street Journal . March 28, 2019.
  47. News: Schager . Nick . 'Screwball': Inside the Damning Steroid Movie Alex Rodriguez Doesn't Want You to See . The Daily Beast . March 23, 2019.
  48. News: Mullen . Pat . TIFF Review: 'Screwball' . POV . September 15, 2018.
  49. News: Mancini . Vince . 'Screwball' Is Another Masterpiece Of Insane Floridiana From Filmmaker Billy Corben . Uproxx . March 28, 2019.
  50. News: Rechtshaffen . Michael . Review: Alex Rodriguez and the 2013 MLB doping scandal get the doc treatment in 'Screwball' . Los Angeles Times . March 28, 2019.
  51. News: Abele . Robert . 'Screwball' Film Review: Billy Corben's Baseball Doping Doc Is Disreputable Fun . The Wrap . March 26, 2019.
  52. News: McNear . Claire . 'Screwball' Is the Bizarro Documentary A-Rod and the Biogenesis Scandal Deserve . The Ringer . April 5, 2019.
  53. Web site: Screwball . Rotten Tomatoes.
  54. News: Roeper . Richard . '537 Votes': How the Supreme Court and irate people in Miami picked a president . Chicago Sun-Times . October 20, 2020.
  55. News: Kroll . Andy . Remember Bush v. Gore — or Be Doomed to Repeat It . Rolling Stone . October 22, 2020.
  56. News: Williams . Trey . HBO to Debut 2000 Presidential Election Doc '537 Votes' on Oct. 21 . The Wrap . September 18, 2020.
  57. News: Cohen . Howard . New HBO documentary by Miami filmmakers revisits 2000 election as a 'heist' film . Miami Herald . September 18, 2020.
  58. Web site: 537 Votes . Rotten Tomatoes.
  59. News: Mancini . Vince . Miami Screwed The World In 2000: '537 Votes' Caps Off Billy Corben's Career Documenting 'Florida F*ckery' . Uproxx . October 21, 2020.
  60. News: Lowry . Brian . '537 Votes' revisits Florida election chaos in 2000 as a prelude to 2020 . CNN . October 21, 2020.
  61. Web site: A&E and WWE Give Fans the Ultimate Ringside Seat in New 10-Week Original Programming Partnership Starting Sunday, April 18 . The Futon Critic . February 23, 2021.

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