Repo! The Genetic Opera

Repo! The Genetic Opera
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Darren Lynn Bousman
Written by	Darren Smith Terrance Zdunich
Produced by	Darren Lynn Bousman Yoshiki Hayashi
Starring	Alexa Vega Anthony Head Sarah Brightman Paris Hilton Nivek Ogre Terrance Zdunich Bill Moseley Paul Sorvino
Cinematography	Joseph White
Edited by	Harvey Rosenstock
Music by	Darren Smith Terrance Zdunich
Distributed by	Lionsgate Twisted Pictures
Release dates	November 7, 2008
Running time	98 minutes
Country
Language	English
Budget	$8,500,000

Repo! The Genetic Opera is a rock opera film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. Originally planned for an April 25 release date, it has since been reported that it will open with a limited release in 4 U.S. cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Las Vegas) on November 7, 2008 followed by Toronto, Canada on November 21, 2008, and a subsequent DVD release in January 2009. A 22-track soundtrack was released online on September 30, 2008, and another will be released in CD-format to coincide with the release of the DVD. The film is based on a play written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich. It received an R rating by the MPAA for strong bloody violence and gore, language, some drug and sexual content.

Plot

An epidemic of organ failures devastates the planet. Panic erupts and scientists feverishly make plans for a massive organ harvest. Out of the tragedy, GeneCo, a multi-billion dollar biotech company, emerges. GeneCo provides organ transplantation for a profit. In addition to financing options, GeneCo reserves the right to implement default remedies, including repossession. For those who can't keep up with their organ payments, collection is the responsibility of "organ repo men", skilled assassins contracted by GeneCo, ordered to recover GeneCo's property by any means necessary.

At the heart of the story is Shilo Wallace (Alexa Vega), a 17 year-old girl with a rare blood disease. She has been kept locked up and protected in her house, where she is guarded from the outside world by her father, Nathan Wallace (Anthony Head). While Shilo struggles with her wish to leave the house and experience the outside world, Nathan struggles with his secret job as the Repo Man, and more specifically, his next target, a woman named Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman). Blind Mag, an opera singer, was a friend of Nathan's now-deceased wife, and is Shilo's godmother.

The Largo family, consisting of GeneCo president Rotti (Paul Sorvino), his daughter Amber (Paris Hilton), and his two sons Luigi and Pavi (Bill Moseley and Nivek Ogre, respectively), have their own plans. Rotti is dying, and the three siblings bicker and fight about who is to take the role as head of GeneCo. But, disappointed with his own children, Rotti takes an interest in Shilo.

The stories intertwine and merge at the GeneCo opera.

Production and history

The first version of Repo! was The Necromerchant's Debt, which told the story of a graverobber in debt to a Repo Organ Man. It was first performed at the John Raitt theater. After being such a success, creators Smith and Zdunich expanded on the universe to create all of the storylines that became Repo! The Genetic Opera. Many changes were made, gradually, to the characters and music. For example, Rotti, in the earliest performances, was not the father to Luci, Pavi, and Heather. Instead, he was a younger brother to Luci and Pavi, while Heather was Luci's daughter. Music lyrics were adjusted to new arcs, and some songs were dropped altogether, like "But This Is Opera!", which was cut out in an effort to change the direction of Blind Mag's character. After years of being performed as a stage play, Repo! was adapted into a 10-minute short movie by Darren Lynn Bousman to pitch the idea to movie companies. The movie starred Shawnee Smith as Heather Sweet, Michael Rooker as the Repo Man, Kristen Fairlie as Shilo Wallace, Terrance Zdunich as the GraveRobber, and J. Larose as Pavi. Once Repo! The Genetic Opera was picked up by Lionsgate, shooting began on September 2007 in Canada. The movie was scheduled to be released on April 25, 2008, but was pushed back to November 7, 2008. X Japan member Yoshiki Hayashi will produce the soundtrack, along with composing one extra track for the film. He is also one of the film's producers. The first screening of the film took place on October 18th in Toronto, Ontario at the historic Bloor Cinema as part of the After Dark Film Festival.

Promotion

Due to Lionsgate's lack of promotion for the film, director Bousman and creator Zdunich do much of their own promotion. For example, MySpace profiles have been created for individual characters in the Repo! universe (5 have been activated thus far: GraveRobber, Pavi Largo, Luigi Largo, Amber Sweet, and Rotti Largo), as well as for the movie itself. Each profile uses art drawn by Zdunich. A Road Tour was later set up for one-night screenings of the film in 10 different cities across the United States.

Cast

• Anthony Stewart Head as Nathan Wallace, a father to Shilo and a widower, having lost his wife Marni, a death which he blames himself for. He doubles as a legal assassin known as the Repo Man. (Note: The original stage production included acclaimed singer/musician Curtis Wilson as Nathan. He is also scheduled to have a cameo role in the film as the voice of a News Reporter.)
• Alexa Vega as Shilo Wallace, a young woman condemned to her room due to the blood disorder she inherited from her mother.
• Paul Sorvino as Rotti Largo, the dying president of GeneCo, looking for a worthy heir. He sees his own children as "vultures" and "ingrates", and is bitter towards Nathan for stealing Marni from him. Unknown to Nathan, Rotti killed Marni by poisoning her.
• Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag, born blind but given the ability to see by GeneCo at the price of having to sing for the GeneCo Genetic Opera. She is marked for repossession and she is set to deliver her final performance for the company.
• Paris Hilton as Amber Sweet, the surgery-addicted daughter of Rotti who is Mag's rival. She is addicted to Zydrate, a euphoric painkiller, which she obtains illegally from the Graverobber. The character's name was changed for the movie. Originally, the character was named Heather Sweet, but it was changed to distinguish from Dita von Teese, whose born name was Heather Sweet. Her appearance is always changing, and Paris Hilton had a new set of prosthetics for each scene. Originally, Darren Bousman refused to hold an audition for Paris Hilton. Once he gave in to the idea, she showed up and "rocked" the soundbooth audition.
• Bill Moseley as Luigi Largo, the eldest son of Rotti, described as being angry and abusive. He wields a knife at all times and is usually wearing an ascot. According to Darren Bousman, Luigi "walked around with a knife and a flask, drinking and stabbing everything that came in his way" in the stage play. In an interview, Bill Mosley stated "It’s very easy to just turn that character into a complete caricature; I mean almost a buffoon. It’s very interesting because its so outlandish. In order to anchor a character like that you really have to find out what makes him real. Certainly, there’s the sibling rivalry, which usually means there’s love for brother [and] sister but also a hatred. So, there’s whatever that balance is on whatever given day. There’s absolutely an idolizing of my father and yet, at the same time I’m no dummy, I can tell that he disapproves of me, so I’m fighting that losing battle of getting Dad’s approval. You start exploring some of those things, plus the fact that we’re all incredibly rich and above the law so we can really do anything we want. Plus whatever happened to Mom? You know, I still haven’t — you’re going to have to ask Terry Zdunich — I don’t think there’s a mom." Luigi's name in the stage play was Luci (and later Lucci), but, in an effort to avoid legal trouble with a Japanese clothing company called Largolucio, Lucci Largo was renamed Luigi Largo.
• Nivek Ogre as Pavi Largo, the younger son of Rotti, described as a vain, dim-witted, effeminate rapist and womanizer who wears women's faces as masks. His own face is horrendously scarred. One of Pavi's "flesh-masks" is modeled after Darren Bousman's girlfriend's face. His habit of wearing flesh-masks in the movie differs from previous versions of Pavi. In the comic panels for the stage play, as well as the 10-minute trailer, Pavi had an exaggerated face-lift that gave him a permanent grin.
• Terrance Zdunich as GraveRobber, a Zydrate-peddler with connections to Amber, sexually and as a dealer. He acts as a narrator of the post-apocalyptic world. Zdunich plays GraveRobber in all three incarnations of Repo! The Genetic Opera: the stage production, the 10-minute trailer, and the film.
• Sarah Power as Dead Marni, a ghostly projection of Shilo's deceased mother. Nancy Long sings as the character.
• Jake Reardon as Single Mother, a client of GeneCo who went in for a kidney replacement and got a full-body upgrade. Poe provides her voice.
• Darren Smith as Band Leader, the flamboyant maestro of the Genetic Opera.

Official songs

There are 57 songs in the movie. This is the official list of all the songs in the film. Some have been cut from the movie (e.g. "Come Up and Try My New Parts"). Not all songs have confirmed performers. Joan Jett appears in the number "17", and Melora Creager of the band Rasputina plays cello on the soundtrack. Principal theatrical release songs are in bold font. Official soundtrack released songs are in italic font; songs do not appear in the same sequence on the CD as they do in the film.

1. “Depraved Heart Murder at Sanitarium Square”
2. “Genetic Repo Man” – Terrance Zdunich
3. “Crucifixus” – Sarah Brightman
4. "Things You See In A Graveyard (Part One)" – Paul Sorvino
5. “21st Century Cure” – Alexa Vega & Terrance Zdunich
6. “Shilo Wakes” – Anthony Head & Alexa Vega
7. “Infected” – Alexa Vega
8. “Legal Assassin” – Anthony Head
9. “Lungs and Livers”
10. “Bravi!” – Sarah Brightman, Paul Sorvino, Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre
11. “Mark It Up” – Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre
12. “Tao Of Mag” – Sarah Brightman
13. "Things You See In A Graveyard (Part Two)" – Paul Sorvino
14. “Limo Ride” – Paul Sorvino & Alexa Vega
15. “Thankless Job” – Anthony Head
16. “No Organes? No Problema!”
17. “Largo's Little Helpers” – Bill Moseley
18. “Genterns" – Nivek Ogre
19. "Luigi, Pavi, Amber Harass Mag” – Sarah Brightman, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre, Paris Hilton, Paul Sorvino
20. “Seeing You Stirs Memories” – Paul Sorvino
21. “Inopportune Telephone Call” – Anthony Head & Alexa Vega
22. “Graverobber & Shilo Escape” – Terrance Zdunich & Alexa Vega
23. “Zydrate Support Network” – Paul Sorvino, Sarah Brightman, J. Larose
24. “Zydrate Anatomy” – Terrance Zdunich, Alexa Vega, Paris Hilton
25. “Who Ordered Pizza?” – Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre, Paris Hilton, Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head
26. “Night Surgeon” – Anthony Head, Paul Sorvino, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre
27. “Can't Get It Up If The Girl's Breathing?” – Paris Hilton & Terrance Zdunich
28. “Come Up And Try My New Parts” – Paris Hilton
29. “Chase The Morning” – Sarah Brightman, Alexa Vega, Nancy Long
30. “Everyone's A Composer”
31. “Come Back!” – Anthony Head, Sarah Brightman, Alexa Vega
32. “What Chance Has A 17 Year Old Girl” – Anthony Head & Alexa Vega
33. “Seventeen” – Alexa Vega
34. “Happiness Is Not A Warm Scalpel” – Paul Sorvino & Paris Hilton
35. “Gold” – Paul Sorvino
36. “Nathan Discovers Rotti's Plan”
37. “Tonight We Are Betrayed” – Anthony Head
38. “At the Opera Tonight” – Alexa Vega, Sarah Brightman, Anthony Head, Paris Hilton, Terrance Zdunich, Paul Sorvino, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre
39. “Bloodbath!” – Terrance Zdunich
40. “We Started This Op'ra Shit!” – Darren Smith, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre, Poe, Paul Sorvino
41. “Buongiorno”
42. “Needle Through A Bug” – Alexa Vega & Terrance Zdunich
43. “Rotti's Chapel Sermon” – Paul Sorvino
44. “Blame Not My Cheeks” – Paris Hilton
45. “Chromaggia” – Sarah Brightman
46. "Mag's Fall"
47. “Rotti's Pièce De Résistance” – Paul Sorvino
48. "Interrogation Room Challenge"
49. “Let the Monster Rise” – Anthony Head & Alexa Vega
50. “Don't Poop In My Pool”
51. “Sawman's Lament” Anthony Head, Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre
52. “The Man Who Made You Sick” – Paul Sorvino
53. "Cut the Ties" – Anthony Head, Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre
54. “Shilo Turns Against Rotti" – Anthony Head, Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre
55. “I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much” – Anthony Head & Alexa Vega
56. “Genetic Emancipation” – Alexa Vega
57. “Epitaph” – Terrance Zdunich

Two songs are also to be performed by two of the stars during the ending credits.

1. “Repo Man” – Nivek Ogre
2. “Aching Hour” – Sarah Brightman

Reviews

On March 4, 2008, there was a private screening of Repo! the Genetic Opera for many critics and the crew. The reviews written from the screening were all extremely positive. However, the film they saw was not the fully completed version. Some noted that the sound mixing was not finished. The director has finished the final touches on the film as of March 31st, 2008. It is now in the hands of Lionsgate to release further information.

Controversy

A very similar film has entered production named Repossession Mambo which shares the same basic plot. Editing of these films took place in adjacent studios leading to suspicion of possible, but unprovable plagiarism. It is to be noted that Repo! The Genetic Opera was in production well ahead of time of this film being announced..

External links

• Official site - created by Wiretree
• Official site of the stage play
• Interview with Darren Lynn Bousman and Alexa Vega about Repo! the Genetic Opera at Alternative Film Guide
• Interview with Terrance Zdunich and Bill Moseley about Repo! the Genetic Opera at Alternative Film Guide
• Review of Repo! the Genetic Opera at Alternative Film Guide