Repo! The Genetic Opera

Repo! The Genetic Opera
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Darren Lynn Bousman
Written by	Darren Smith Terrance Zdunich
Produced by	Darren Lynn Bousman Yoshiki Hayashi
Starring	Anthony Stewart Head Alex Vega Paul Sorvino Sarah Brightman Paris Hilton
Cinematography	Joseph White
Edited by	Harvey Rosenstock
Music by	Darren Smith Terrance Zdunich
Distributed by	Lionsgate Twisted Pictures
Release dates	November 7, 2008 (US) November 21, 2008 (CAN)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$8,500,000

Repo! The Genetic Opera is a rock opera-musical 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.

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 the head Repo Man.
• 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.
• 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 GraveRobber.
• 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.
• Nivek Ogre as Pavi Largo, the younger son of Rotti, described as vain, dim-witted, effeminate, and very possibly a rapist. He wears women's faces as masks to cover his own face, which is horrendously scarred.
• 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.
• Sarah Power (Nancy Long, singing) as Dead Marni
• Jake Reardon (Poe, singing) as Single Mother
• Darren Smith as Band Leader

Musical numbers

There are 64 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. A soundtrack CD was released on September 30 with 22 tracks. 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 and 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. “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

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.

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.

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.

The Fanatsia Film Festival held in Montreal, Quebec on July 18 2008 had the first offical fully edited screening of Repo! the Genetic Opera. The show sold-out.

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 before this film was announced, and had existed as a play for several years before the movie began filming..

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