Rubber (2010)

Director:

Quentin Dupieux

Writer:

Quentin Dupieux (written by)

Release Date:

10 November 2010 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Are You Tired of the Expected?

Plot:

When Robert, a tire, discovers his destructive telepathic powers, he soon sets his sights on a desert town; in particular, a mysterious woman becomes his obsession. |

Plot Keywords:

Tire | Desert | Inanimate Object In Cast Credits | Wheelchair | Dead Woman On Ground

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Goodyear	...	Robert
Stephen Spinella	...	Lieutenant Chad
Jack Plotnick	...	Accountant
Wings Hauser	...	Man in wheelchair
Roxane Mesquida	...	Sheila
Ethan Cohn	...	Film buff Ethan
Charley Koontz	...	Film buff Charley
Daniel Quinn	...	Dad
Devin Brochu	...	Son
Hayley Holmes	...	Teenager Cindy
Haley Ramm	...	Teenager Fiona
Cecelia Antoinette	...	Black woman
David Bowe	...	M. Hughes
Remy Thorne	...	Zach
Tara Jean O'Brien	...	Cleaning lady
Thomas F. Duffy	...	Cop Xavier
Pete Dicecco	...	Cop Luke (as Pete Di Cecco)
James Parks	...	Cop Doug
Courtenay Taylor	...	Cop Denise (as Courtenay K. Taylor)
Blake Robbins	...	Cop Eric
Michael Ross	...	Truck driver
Gaspard Augé	...	Hitchhiker
Pedro Winter	...	Tires burner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eloy Lara	...	Paramedic
Gayle Kate	...	Movie Buff Spectator (uncredited)

Directed by
Quentin Dupieux

Writing credits
Quentin Dupieux		(written by)

Produced by
Julien Berlan	....	producer
Gregory Bernard	....	producer
Josef Lieck	....	associate producer
Josef Lieck	....	line producer

Original Music by
Gaspard Augé
Quentin Dupieux

Cinematography by
Quentin Dupieux

Film Editing by
Quentin Dupieux

Casting by
Andy Henry
Donna Morong

Art Direction by
Zach Bangma

Costume Design by
Jamie Redwood		(as Jamie Bresnan)

Makeup Department
Akiko Matsumoto	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Grégory Bernard	....	assistant unit manager
T. Scott Keiner	....	unit production manager
Kevos Van Der Meiren	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Karla Carnewal	....	second assistant director
Ian J. Putnam	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Nathan Amondson	....	visual consultant

Sound Department
Stéphane De Rocquigny	....	sound mixer
Valérie Deloof	....	sound editor
Tim D. Lloyd	....	boom operator
Zsolt Magyar	....	sound mixer
Gadou Naudin	....	foley artist

Special Effects by
Wayne Beauchamp	....	pyrotechnician
Marco Castillo	....	special effects technician
Milan Jancic	....	special effects technician
Valek Sykes	....	puppeteer
Valek Sykes	....	special effects supervisor
Tom Talmon	....	special mechanical design

Visual Effects by
Fabien Feintrenie	....	title designer

Stunts
Pete Dicecco	....	stunt driver

Camera and Electrical Department
Quentin Dupieux	....	camera operator
Walter Laudin	....	gaffer
Caroline Lehello	....	first assistant camera
Kevos Van Der Meiren	....	second assistant camera

Casting Department
Shaunessy James Quinn	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lauren Nakagawa	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Aurélien Guégan	....	post-production consultant
Hélène Sevaux	....	digital image technician
Kevos Van Der Meiren	....	assistant editor
Kevos Van Der Meiren	....	post-production coordinator

Transportation Department
Hugo Ocana	....	transportation co-captain
Tony Ruiz	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Sarah Clifford	....	animal supplier
Sarah Clifford	....	insect wrangler
Tonto Goldstein	....	production accountant
Samantha Schwartz	....	production assistant
Wednesday Standley	....	production coordinator
Kevos Van Der Meiren	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Edward McGurn	....	grateful thanks
Chrys Wong	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Realitism Films
• Elle Driver (in association with)
• arte France Cinéma (in association with)
• 1.85 Films (in association with)
• Backup Films (in association with)
• Sindika Dokolo (in association with)
• Canal+ (participation)
• Arte France (participation)

Distributors

• Magnet Releasing (2010) (USA) (all media)
• UFO Distribution (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• Canal+ (2010) (France) (TV)
• Madman Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (all media)
• Xenix Filmdistribution (2010) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Mongrel Media (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2011) (UK) (theatrical) (limited)
• Alambique Destilaria de Ideias Unipessoal (2011) (Portugal) (all media)
• Capelight Pictures (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• Zeno Pictures (2011) (Belgium) (all media)
• Earth Star Entertainment (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Another World Entertainment (2012) (Norway) (DVD)
• Earth Star Entertainment (2012) (Japan) (DVD)
• Magnolia Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Film Emporium Insurance Services  production insurance by
• Orange Sky  production services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent images and language

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

France | Angola

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA (2010) | USA:R (certificate #46682) | UK:15 | Hong Kong:III (film festival rating) | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:16 | Japan:R15+

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Realitism Films

Trivia:

One of the Spectators is played by Daniel Quinn, who starred in Scanner Cop (1994) (V) as a man who could make people's heads explode with his mind, just as the tire does in this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Tricycle is moving along the road (at around 1h 14 mins) the picture flips and the bell and lone handlebar grip streamer move from the left-hand side to the right hand-side and then back again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lieutenant Chad:In the Steven Spielberg movie E.T., why is the alien brown? No reason. In Love Story, why do the two characters fall madly in love with each other? No reason. In Oliver Stone's JFK, why is the President suddenly assassinated by some stranger? No reason. In the excellent Chain Saw Massacre by Tobe Hooper, why don't we ever see the characters go to the bathroom or wash their hands like people do in real life? Absolutely no reason. Worse, in The Pianist by Polanski, how come this guy has to hide and live like a bum when he plays the piano so well? Once again the answer is, no reason. I could go on for hours with more examples. The list is endless. You probably never gave it a thought, but all great films, without exception, contain an important element of no reason. And you know why? Because life itself is filled with no reason. Why can't we see the air all around us? No reason. Why are we always thinking? No reason. Why do some people love sausages and other people hate sausages? No fucking reason.
Cop Xavier:[honks the horn] Come on! Don't waste your time explaining that garbage. Let's go!
Lieutenant Chad:Just a minute, let me finish.
[looks back at the audience]
Lieutenant Chad:Ladies, gentlemen, the film you are about to see today is an homage to the "no reason" - that most powerful element of style.
[pours his glass of water on the ground before getting back into the trunk of the police car]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Half in the Bag: Cabin in the Woods and The Three Stooges (#2.8)" (2012)

too much in love with itself to be original

Sigh... I've been really looking forward for this one. And the premise makes 'Rubber' sound almost irresistible. But there are two ways of killing off a smart movie idea: 1.) Believe that the idea works so well with the audience that it won't notice inconsistencies and bad acting. 2.) Constantly remind the audience what a smart idea it is watching.

Unfortunately, 'Rubber' succeeds in both: the only saving grace in terms of acting is Wings Hauser, the other leads make you seriously ponder an early leave. And what's with the pompous speeches? To be sure, 'Rubber' is not about taking you out or into a moment. It's about constantly reminding you that this moment isn't really happening. For some, that might be a nice existentialist twist. For others, like me, such ambition is completely out of place in a film about a tire blowing people's heads up.

If you'd edit this down to five minutes, you'd get a seriously hilarious short, though.

As for more rewarding options in the 'weird French horror film with excellent cinematography' section, I suggest 'Amer' (2009). It's equally pointless but delightful eye-candy (in the literal sense of the word).