Brett Rapkin
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Brett Rapkin is an Emmy Award-winning Producer, Writer, and Director. He is also the Founder and President of Podium Pictures, a production company focused on impact sports films.
Brett grew up playing competitive baseball in Los Angeles and attended The University of Arizona. Shortly after graduating, he recruited a small crew and gained access to Cuba. That shoot would eventually become the documentary "Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey," which premiered at the prestigious AFI SilverDocs Festival and was acquired by MLB Network.
In 2003 he moved to New York after an offer to be mentored by the principals at Black Canyon Productions, the multiple Peabody and Emmy Award winning sports film production company behind class HBO Sports documentaries like HBO's "Curse of the Bambino" and "When It Was a Game" series.
During that time Brett wrote, produced, and directed projects for ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS, HBO, Red Bull, and others.
In 2004 he was hired to spend the entire FIS World Cup of Ski Racing season in the European alps documenting the championship season of Olympic legend Bode Miller.
Eventually he returned to Los Angeles, where he wrote, produced and directed his first scripted feature film. "Spaceman" starred Josh Duhamel (Transformers) as gonzo MLB pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee and also featured Sterling K. Brown (NBC's hit "This is Us). "Spaceman" was acquired and released globally by Amazon and Orion Pictures/MGM.
"Welcome to Dodgertown," narrated by Vin Scully and Larry King won a 2016 Emmy for Best Sports Special.
In 2020, HBO Sports acquired and released "The Weight of Gold," a documentary Brett wrote, produced, and directed in partnership with Olympic legend Michael Phelps about mental health and Olympic athletes. The film received over 1.5 billion media impressions on platforms including CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The Today Show.
Brett grew up playing competitive baseball in Los Angeles and attended The University of Arizona. Shortly after graduating, he recruited a small crew and gained access to Cuba. That shoot would eventually become the documentary "Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey," which premiered at the prestigious AFI SilverDocs Festival and was acquired by MLB Network.
In 2003 he moved to New York after an offer to be mentored by the principals at Black Canyon Productions, the multiple Peabody and Emmy Award winning sports film production company behind class HBO Sports documentaries like HBO's "Curse of the Bambino" and "When It Was a Game" series.
During that time Brett wrote, produced, and directed projects for ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS, HBO, Red Bull, and others.
In 2004 he was hired to spend the entire FIS World Cup of Ski Racing season in the European alps documenting the championship season of Olympic legend Bode Miller.
Eventually he returned to Los Angeles, where he wrote, produced and directed his first scripted feature film. "Spaceman" starred Josh Duhamel (Transformers) as gonzo MLB pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee and also featured Sterling K. Brown (NBC's hit "This is Us). "Spaceman" was acquired and released globally by Amazon and Orion Pictures/MGM.
"Welcome to Dodgertown," narrated by Vin Scully and Larry King won a 2016 Emmy for Best Sports Special.
In 2020, HBO Sports acquired and released "The Weight of Gold," a documentary Brett wrote, produced, and directed in partnership with Olympic legend Michael Phelps about mental health and Olympic athletes. The film received over 1.5 billion media impressions on platforms including CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The Today Show.
