RackaRacka

RackaRacka is an Australian YouTube channel created in 2013 and run by twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou. The channel is known for its live action horror comedy videos. RackaRacka has won numerous awards, including the Best International Channel Streamy Award, Best Overall at the Online Video Awards and the AACTA Award for the Best Web Show.

RackaRacka
Danny (right) and Michael Philippou in March 2020 on Cold Ones
Personal information
Born
Danny Philippou
Michael Philippou

1992 or 1993 (age 30–31)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Occupations
  • Special effects specialists
  • Filmmakers
YouTube information
Also known asRackaRacka
Channel
Years active2013–present
Genres
Subscribers6.75m[1]
(28 July 2023)
Total views1.17 billion[1]
(28 July 2023)
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2015
1,000,000 subscribers2015
Last updated: 28 July 2023

Their debut feature film Talk to Me premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, and was released internationally from 27 July 2023. Originally from Adelaide, South Australia, they moved to Los Angeles, California in January 2019, but want to continue to make films in Australia.

Entertainment career

They began filming their backyard wrestling matches with close friends in Adelaide when they were 11 years old, inspired by WWE.[2] These included scenes of the brothers crashing into furniture, "flipping kids over and bashing them headfirst into the ground", and jumping off everything", including roofs. They also filmed in a half-built house, and caused the water to flood the site. They later said that some of the things they did were extremely risky and even life-threatening, and they were glad of a friend's elder sister who helped steer them away from doing these things that could have taken them down a path of juvenile delinquency.[3] At the age of 13, they moved on to making a "TV Show" and "movies".[2]

In 2013 they started creating "fake fail" videos for Facebook, and a few months later started the YouTube channel RackaRacka.[2] Initially the channel was not monetised, with Danny financing the videos by volunteering for paid medical trials.[4]

The channel's first huge success was Harry Potter vs Star Wars, which attracted 7 million views in a week,[5] and won them a trip to the U.S.[6]

In 2014, Michael and Danny both crewed on the Australian horror film, The Babadook.[7]

On 10 July 2017, Danny and Michael revealed that they moved into a mansion with their close friends, marking the beginning of a series of videos for the channel titled House of Racka, which combined their real-life adventures and special effects skills altogether into a vlog-like series.[8] The House of Racka series became the majority of the channel's uploads for around a year. On 2 April 2018, among complaints of YouTube demonetising the channel, the brothers announced that they were being evicted from their mansion. Many fans thought this meant the end of the channel, as the video contained an emotional tribute to the experiences the twins had in the mansion, in a more sombre mood than they usually projected.[9] This was later proven to be false, however, as the two later revealed that the House of Racka series was the only cancellation to their YouTube careers.[10]

On 25 August 2018, Michael fought American YouTuber Scarce in an amateur boxing match on the undercard of KSI vs Logan Paul in Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Michael won via technical knockout in the 3rd round.[11]

Directorial career

Talk to Me
Main article: Talk to Me (2022 film)

The twins' feature-length directorial debut is a horror film entitled Talk to Me, produced by Australian production company Causeway Films[12] and set in the filmmakers' hometown of Adelaide.[3] The cast includes Sophie Wilde, Zoe Terakes, and Miranda Otto, with the storyline about a young woman who summons dead spirits with a ceramic hand.[13] Talk to Me sold to numerous international distributors at Cannes in 2022.[14] It had a preview screening at the Adelaide Film Festival on 30 October 2022, the closing night of the festival.[15][16] The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 22 January 2023,[17][18] and its European premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on 21 February,[19][20] and was released in cinemas internationally from 27 July.[6] On August 3, they revealed that a prequel had been shot utilizing a screenlife perspective,[21] and on August 8, a sequel was confirmed to be in development.[22]

Future projects

The Phillipous have said that they want to continue to make films in Australia, where they prefer the filmmaking culture.[6]

As of 2023, the brothers are working on a new Street Fighter film for Legendary Entertainment,[23] based on one of their favourite video games. They are also working on a script for a new film, called Bring Her Back.[6]

Personal life

Danny and Michael Philippou grew up in the Adelaide suburb of Pooraka.[6] They are of Greek heritage.[24] Thee brothers still view Adelaide as their home, but only spent around two weeks of 2022 there owing to film commitments. Their father has cancer, and has spent time at hospital.

Controversies

South Australia Police charges

In December 2019, Michael Philippou was charged by South Australia Police with numerous crimes related to a video uploaded on 16 January 2019, which depicted him driving a heavily modified and watertight car on public roads while completely submerged and breathing partially through a hole in the roof.[25][26] He was ordered to appear in court on 14 January 2020,[27] but avoided conviction[6] after entering a plea deal that saw him pay $2000 in fines and court costs and disqualified him from driving for 14 days.[28][29]

Filmography
Year Title Director Writer Producer Ref(s)
2023 Talk to Me Yes Yes No [3]

Recognitions

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2014 Australian Online Video Awards Best Comedy Harry Potter vs Star Wars Won [34]
Best Overall Won
2015 Fright Meter Awards Best Short Horror Film RackaRacka Nominated [35]
Streamy Awards Best International YouTube Channel Won [36]
2017 AACTA Awards Best Online Video or Series Won [37]
2019 Streamy Awards International: Asia Pacific Nominated [38]

See also

References
  1. "About Therackaracka". YouTube.
  2. Beckerman, Marty (8 August 2014). "The 'Epic Childhood' guys explain their crazy backyard wrestling video". MTV.
  3. Philippou, Danny; Philippou, Michael (25 July 2023). "Talk to Me directors Danny and Michael Philippou (aka RackaRacka) on their new A24 Aussie horror flick". ABC Everyday (Interview). Interviewed by Rasker, Rachel. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  4. Going drink for drink with RackaRacka: Cold Ones, retrieved 8 March 2023
  5. Galletly, Jessica (4 May 2014). "SA filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou create a YouTube sensation with Harry Potter vs Star Wars". The Advertiser.
  6. Debelle, Penelope (27 July 2023). "Be afraid: The wild ride of YouTubers turned filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou". CityMag. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  7. The Babadook (2014) - IMDb, retrieved 8 March 2023
  8. We got a mansion!!!! on YouTube (10 July 2017)
  9. "The End of RackaRacka *not clickbait*". YouTube. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  10. "Our future ..." YouTube. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  11. Goldstein, DG (25 August 2018). "All Results From the KSI vs Logan Paul Undercard Fights". Dexerto. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  12. "The best news of my life !! *emotional*". YouTube. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  13. Debelle, Penelope (7 October 2022). "The state of science fiction". InDaily . Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  14. Tabbara2022-07-05T11:45:00+01:00, Mona. "Bankside Films scores slew of deals on Cannes slate (exclusive)". Screen. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  15. Smith, Matthew (7 October 2022). "RackaRacka brothers to release debut film Talk to Me at Adelaide Film Festival". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  16. "First look at Talk to Me, upcoming horror feature by Youtube sensation RackaRacka". Adelaide Film Festival. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  17. "Program Guide". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  18. Kroll, Justin (24 January 2023). "'Talk To Me' Directing Duo Danny & Michael Philippou Sign With WME Following Film's Midnight Premiere At Sundance". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  19. jkeast (15 January 2023). "'Talk to Me', 'Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black)' off to Berlin". IF Magazine. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  20. "Talk to Me". Berlin Film Festival. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  21. Davids, Brian (3 August 2023). "'Talk To Me' Filmmakers on Their Breakout Horror Hit and the Prequel They've Already Shot". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  22. Vlessing, Etan (8 August 2023). "'Talk to Me' Sequel in the Works From A24, Danny and Michael Philippou". The Hollywood Reporter.
  23. Kit, Borys (27 April 2023). "'Street Fighter' Movie Lands 'Talk to Me' Filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  24. Healy, Guy (2022). The Production of Global Web Series in a Networked Age. p. 2010.
  25. "We got ARRESTED. 9 charges pending ..." YouTube. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  26. "Driving world's first UNDERWATER CAR ft. Jackson O'doherty". YouTube. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  27. "YouTube prankster in court for driving car filled with water to Adelaide bottle shop". ABC. Adelaide, AU. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  28. "YouTube prankster Michael Philippou resolves driving charges stemming from water car prank on eve of trial". The Advertiser. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  29. "YouTube Prankster Avoids Conviction Over Underwater Car". Facebook. 10NewsFirst. Retrieved 28 July 2023. Michael Philippou... pleaded guilty to driving without due care and driving unregistered and uninsured, with the more serious charge of reckless driving dropped. The 27-year-old was required to pay more than $2000 in fines and court costs and was disqualified from driving for 14 days.
  30. Spangler, Todd (21 June 2016). "Famechangers 2016: Ranking the Top Digital Stars". Variety. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  31. "The 10 most influential people in Australian culture in 2017". Australian Financial Review. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  32. Einem, Johnny von (9 June 2023). "Meet South Australia's 40 Under 40 of 2023". CityMag. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  33. "40 Under 40". Solstice Media. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  34. Hawker, Philippa (15 October 2014). "Harry Potter vs Star Wars YouTube hit wins Australian Online Video Award for twins". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  35. "Fright Meter Awards". IMDb. 2015.
  36. Grant, Peter (17 September 2015). "RackaRacka Take Home Streamy for Best International Channel!". Blog, BBTV. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  37. "First Winners Announced At The 7th AACTA Awards Industry Luncheon". AACTA. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  38. "Streamy Awards 2019: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
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