Steve Buscemi presents filmmaker Luis Fernandez de la Regueras’ documentary “Rockets Redglare!”, a portrait of the New York personality from his early days around '50s hustlers to the East Village crowd of the '80s to his tragic death in 2001.
Born Michael Morra in 1949, Rockets Redglare was, by turn, a brilliant actor, seasoned con artist, best friend and bad influence. Though he never held a day job, Rockets counted actor (for directors such as Jim Jarmusch, Gus Van Sant and Steve Buscemi), model (for Julian Schnabel), bodyguard (to Jean Michel Basquiat), stand-up comedian (including a touring act with Steve Buscemi) and drug dealer (to Sid Vicious) among his crowning achievements, resulting in a life that even the highest-paid Hollywood screenwriter could unlikely concoct.
Rockets Redglare narrates his own story, with a little help from his friends, Steve Buscemi, Willem Dafoe, Matt Dillon, Jim Jarmusch, Julian Schnabel, Gary Ray, Nick Zedd and Rene Heras.
New York City. May 8, 1949. Agnes Tarrulli Morra, a 15-year-old heroin addict, gives birth to Michael Morra. Addicted in utero, they added an opiate derivative to his formula to ease the pain of heroin withdrawal. This was his first of countless detoxes during his lifetime. His father and uncle were career criminals. After his father was deported to Italy, his mother took up with a junkie ex-boxer who beat him and his mother on a regular basis. Eventually, he murdered Michael's mother. After his mother's death, Michael Morra became Rockets Redglare. He went on to explore his own tragic beginnings through stand up comedy, partnering with Steve Buscemi in "The Rockets Redglare Taxi-Cabaret" and landing numerous roles playing characters not unlike himself or derived from the rough and seedy neighborhoods that were his home.
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