Divine Rapture (partially found footage of unfinished film; 1995)

A photo of Marlon Brando and Johnny Depp from Divine Rapture

Status: Partially Found

Divine Rapture is an unfinished movie from 1995 that starred Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, John Hurt, and Debra Winger. Set in a small village in Ireland in the 1950s, the movie revolves around a woman named Mary (Debra Winger) who dies only to come back to life at her funeral. Later it is revealed by a doctor (John Hunt) that Mary has a rare heart condition. Filming for Divine Rapture started on July 10th of 1995 in Ballycotton, Ireland only to come to an end on July 23rd of 1995. The abrupt ending for filming was due to the fact that the escrow account for the production company CineFin was found to be non-existent. In a 2009 documentary titled Ballybrandoproducer of Divine Rapture, Barry Navidi returns to the town of Ballycotton, Ireland to tell the story but also drum up support for him to finish the film with a new cast. The documentary is significant as it shows never-before-seen footage from Divine Rapture. A trailer using various footage that was not seen in the documentary was released in 2015. As of now, the trailer is the only part of the movie that has surfaced.

Plot

The plot for Divine Rapture is loosely based on an account from a small Italian village that took place in the 1970s. Taking place in 1950s Ireland it follows a woman named Mary (Debra Winger) who dies but comes back to life during her funeral. The local priest (Marlon Brando) is shocked and calls it a miracle. Soon a reporter (Johnny Depp) shows up in town and soon Mary's story is known all throughout Ireland. Later, a doctor (John Hunt) later diagnoses Mary with a rare heart condition that causes her to pass out for long periods.

Production

Originally proposed under the title Mamma Mia, writer Glenda Gias wrote a twenty-six-page outline for a movie after reading an L.A. Time article on a woman in Italy who went cataleptic for twelve hours was pronounced legally dead but woke up during her funeral. In 1987, the script was pitched to producer Barry Navidi who liked the story so much, he agreed to get a production studio involved. Initially, he had wanted to film in Italy. Due to the success of the 1992 movie The Crying Game, the government of Ireland was offering to cover twenty percent of production costs, and after four re-writes the story was changed to be set in Ireland. While Orin Pictures was willing to distribute the film, there were unwilling to financially back the film. With the high salary demands of the cast involved, Barry Navidi was put into contact with an investment group called CineFin which agreed to cover the salaries of the cast.

Filming for Divine Rapture started on July 10th of 1995. Up to twenty-five minutes worth of footage was filmed before production was dealt a big blow. After actor Marlon Brando failed to receive his second payment of $1 million as a part of a $4 million contract for the film from CineFin, production fell apart. Production was halted on July 23rd, 1995.

Fallout

With payments not being made to anyone, including the locals of Ballycotton everyone turned to the production company CineFin. It had turned out that production company and primary backer CineFin was nothing but a fraudulent company with banking accounts and offices turning out to be non-existent. CineFin also did not have a completion Bond ready. Later, when actress Debra Wigner's agent went to collect payment from CineFin, the address given to her agent by CineFin turned out to be a parking lot.

Revival

In a 2009 documentary titled Ballybrando director and producer of Divine Rapture, Barry Navidi returns to Ballycotton, Ireland to talk to locals about the film and the impact the short production had on the town. He then promises that he will revive the film and try to film it again in Ballycotton. In February of 2012, Barry Navidi revealed that he was in talks to formally revive Divine Rapture with a new cast. Geoffrey Rush was the only cast member named and plans called for the movie to be re-named as Holy Mackerel. Keeping to his promise, he intended to film in Ballycotton in six months. For unknown reasons, the plans for a revival did not materialize.

Availability

Some footage from Divine Rapture has been released in the form of a trailer that was made after the movie had stopped production. Some photos from the production and movie have also been published. In the documentary Ballybrando, locals were shown all twenty-five minutes of footage. While twenty-five minutes of Divine Rapture was filmed, as of writing only roughly three minutes of footage has been released.

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