‘Rock the Kasbah’ New Video: Who is Richie Lanz?

Who is Richie Lanz and what’s he doing in Afghanistan? Open Road Films answers that question in a documentary-style behind-the-scenes video about the lead character from the upcoming Rock the Kasbah comedy. The video stars Bill Murray as the fictional rock manager who claims he discovered Madonna, talked Slash into wearing a top hat, and made sure Woodstock was a success. Barry Levinson directed the dramatic comedy heading to theaters on October 23, 2015.

The cast also includes Zooey Deschanel, Kate Hudson, Danny McBride, Scott Caan, and Bruce Willis.

The Plot:

A has-been rock manager from Van Nuys, California stumbles upon a once-in-a-lifetime voice in a remote Afghan cave in Rock the Kasbah, a dramatic comedy inspired by stranger-than- fiction, real-life events and directed by Oscar winner Barry Levinson. Richie Lanz (Murray), dumped and stranded in war-torn Kabul by his last remaining client (Deschanel), discovers Salima Khan (Leem Lubany), a Pashtun teenager with a beautiful voice and the courageous dream of becoming the first woman to compete on national television in Afghanistan’s version of American Idol.

Richie partners with a savvy hooker (Hudson), a pair of hard-partying war profiteers (McBride and Caan) and a hair-trigger mercenary (Willis) and, braving dangerous cultural prejudices, manages his new protégée into becoming the “Afghan Star.”