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Cheech Marin Voicing Born-Again Evangelical Talking Dog in Satire ‘Lapham Rising’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Over the course of his long career, Cheech Marin has toked up with Tommy Chong in umpteenth Cheech & Chong movies, hung out on the driving range with Kevin Costner in “Tin Cup” and rode shotgun with Don Johnson on “Nash Bridges.” But he’s never taken on a role quite like the one he’ll be playing in “Lapham Rising.” The actor will be lending his distinctive voice to role of Hector, a born-again evangelical and unapologetic capitalist talking dog. In case you’re wondering about his breed, he’s a Westy.

Marin joins a distinguished cast, which includes such heavyweights as Frank Langella, Stockard Channing, Bobby Cannavale, Ashley Benson, Katie Parker, Stelio Savante and Jared Gilman

Marin completed his voice work for the role recently in Santa Barbara. With its story set in the Hamptons, the film completed live-action principal photography on location in Minnesota before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown went into effect.

Here’s the official logline: “‘Lapham Rising’ follows the story of Harry March (Langella), a retired writer whose life starts to unravel when a multimillionaire begins building a mansion across from his quiet island home in the Hamptons. Up until now, he has lived peacefully with his talking dog, Hector (Marin).”

Charlie Kessler is directing Roger Rosenblatt’s adaptation of his bestselling novel of the same name, a sendup of class relations that scored strong reviews when it debuted in 2006. Joining forces with Winterstate, the producers on “Lapham Rising” include Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning producer Kerry Orent (“Michael Clayton,” “The Affair”), Mike Sobiloff, Hamid and Camille Torabpour, and Dr. Mark Smith.

Marin has voiced a range of characters in films such as “Oliver & Company,” “The Lion King,” Pixar’s “Cars” series, “Coco,” “The Book of Life” and “Beverly Hills Chihuahua.” He recently starred opposite Robert De Niro in “The War With Grandpa,” and will appear alongside Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel in “Shotgun Wedding,” an upcoming rom-com.

“As soon as I read the script, I knew ‘Lapham Rising’ would be something special,” Marin said. “Frank Langella gives a fantastic performance, and for me, [getting] to play opposite of Frank — his alter ego in the form of a talking Westie — is pretty awesome.”

ICM Partners is handling the sales of “Lapham Rising” worldwide.

Producer Hamid Torabpour of Winter State Entertainment said, “This is a gem of a project, with a stellar cast. I’ve been a Cheech Marin fan for as long as I can remember, so naturally, I was thrilled that he chose to lend his singular comedic voice to Hector, the dog in ‘Lapham Rising.’ In fact, it was hard to keep from laughing during his recording sessions.”

Producer Dr. Mark Smith of AimForKnowledge, said, “It is not easy to take a great book and adapt it to a great screenplay that ends up on the screen. Roger Rosenblatt has managed to do both. Watching the performances in our film, especially the interaction between the characters played by Cheech and Frank, really complements Rosenblatt’s great work. Who knows? They might just be that next amazing Hollywood duo.”

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