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I’m not proud of it, but I am afraid (in no particular order) of: The dark, driving a car, insects, heights, hospitals, airplanes, tight spaces, hippies, clutter, and the people on Antiques Roadshow. Despite all these fears and phobias, I’ve managed to be a semi-productive member of society. In an interview with Jay Leno, Billy Bob Thornton once admitted he was afraid of metal cutlery–not just metal knives, but metal forks and spoons. Metal utensils gave him the creeps, so he used plastic instead. I take comfort in knowing at least I’m not that bad.
Still, I have a miserable track record in regards to watching horror and slasher films. I have an inconvenient habit of fainting in movie theaters when something frighteningly graphic takes me by surprise. It’s mortifying. One would hope that as a rational adult, I could have the self-control to not let these things get the better of me–or at least muster the will power to keep my nausea in check. The only upside is that the unlucky theater chains where I have ‘made friends with the carpet’ always graciously offer me a book of free movie passes. I guess they’re afraid I’ll sue or something.
[IMG:R]Taking all of that into consideration–and with great trepidation–I boarded a plane (yes, a plane) to Toronto to exorcise my “horror” demons while on assignment and help the millions of movie enthusiasts who log on to Hollywood.com celebrate the unique, hair-raising holiday that makes us 5 pounds heavier from candy consumption–before we throw up from fright!
You are therefore invited on my haunted journey to the set of Repo! The Genetic Opera to meet that dynamic cast and crew, as well as greet the filmmakers behind the hit horror, Saw IV.
My Set Visit/Sneak Peak Diary
Friday, October 12, 2007 – Toronto:
3:45 p.m. Waiting patiently to go on the set of Repo! The Genetic Opera with the rest of the press. Some of the journalists from the “Horror” entertainment outlets look like refugees from a Nine Inch Nails video. My style–just a little different. They are looking at me as if to say, “What is SHE doing here?” One of the journalist’s cell phone rings. Their ringtone is the theme to Halloween–nice. This might be a two-day long trip.
[IMG:R]4:00 p.m. We sign confidentiality waivers, are given numbered security laminates, and are led inside the ominous gates. We are instructed that no tape recorders or cameras will be allowed on the set.
4:10 p.m. Still waiting around. The soundstage is located in what used to be an industrial area with warehouses. Some of the reporters are looking through a chain link fence at a set for a new Hulk movie being built next door.
4:25 p.m. The bubbly girlfriend of Repo and Saw IV‘s director [Darren Lynn Bousman] comes out to greet us with their jumpy poodle.
4:30 p.m. Screenwriters Terrance Zdunich (who also plays the “Grave Robber”) and Darren Smith come outside to greet us near the trailers. This is their first movie in production and they are very excited. In fact, excuse me as I interrupt myself to include a sliver of my chat with them. …
[PAGEBREAK]Interview with Repo! Screenwriters Terrance Zdunich and Darren Smith
[IMG:R]On how this hushed project was initially pitched:
Darren Smith: We sold this idea as Blade Runner meets Rocky Horror. We’re trying to do something different.
On spilling specific storyline scoop about Repo!:
Terrance Zdunich: This film is set in the not so distant future, [where] people are buying and selling body parts on credit. But they’re not just buying them for health reasons–in this future, it’s the next wave of plastic surgery. Upgrading your internal organs is a fashion statement. You can upgrade your heart. You can have a designer kidney or a Gucci liver. It’s expensive, so people are buying these high-end body parts on credit. And it’s legal for the organ financing companies to repossess your organs if you don’t make your payments on time. Our story is about one of these “Organ Repo Men” and his 17-year-old daughter, who doesn’t know what her dad does for a living. It’s her coming of age story–discovering the world outside, and of course, daddy’s dark secrets. And all put to music!
[IMG:R]Darren Smith: Paris Hilton’s character is the daughter of the President of Gene Company, this nefarious organization that sells organs that are financed. She is one of three adult children.
Terrance Zdunich: Alexa Vega plays the Repo Man’s daughter, Shilo. [Specifically] Paris’s character is Amber Sweet. She’s the daughter of Rotti Largo, who is played by Paul Sorvino. Rotti Largo is the owner of this big, evil, mega corporation–Gene Co., which pushed the bill through Congress to make organ repossessions legal.
On the creative origins of this very unique, musical horror opera:
Darren Smith: It was happenstance. I had a friend who was having a repossession problem and I had read a story about these forced organ donations that were supposedly happening in China. That was the genesis.
[IMG:L]Terrance Zdunich: And from a general love for horror and rock! What we like about opera, but don’t like about musicals, is that opera deals with operatic themes, which are bigger than life. Some people might consider Star Wars a space opera. Sin City is operatic. This film is much more like those types of films than–Oklahoma! If you like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, you’ll like this. And by the way, Ogre from Skinny Puppy is playing one of the characters–he’s one of Paul Sorvino’s adult children. If you hate regular musicals, you’ll probably like this and say, “Opera is cool!”
Darren Smith: I also wanted to mention, the public spokeswoman of Gene Co. called Blind Mag, is played by Sarah Brightman. She was born blind, but she made a Faustian bargain with Gene Co. to get these ‘digital corneas’ so she could see.
Terrance Zdunich: She’s the corporate mouthpiece.
On how the Repo! collaboration began between Zdunich and Smith:
Darren Smith: Terrance and I have known each other for more than ten years now. It’s a great partnership. How do you find people as twisted as you are!
Terrance Zdunich: The first fully staged production of this was in 2002 in L.A. And in 2004, it was staged again in Hollywood. And in 2005, it was staged in New York off-Broadway. In each step, we were re-working it. We tried to be mindful of what the audience was responding to [in each performance].
Darren Smith: We learned a lot about how to tell a story with music.
Terrance Zdunich: We did it on stage as a way to hone our ideas. It was what we could afford at the time. We were producing it ourselves. But we always wanted to do it bigger.
On “what else” the audience will be encountering in this scary world of runaway Repo! plastic surgery:
Darren Smith: We also have ideas for graphic novels that would be prequels up to 2056, which is approximately when this all takes place. When we take you inside, you are going to see a scene in which a fair takes place, right before the “Genetic Opera.”
Terrance Zdunich: The centerpiece of our story is that, in this future, opera is popular. We say, “This is not your parent’s opera”–it’s that kind of opera which is popular. Part of what Gene Co. has done in their marketing of these organs is tying-in that ‘high fashion’ is Italian, hence opera. In Act III, there is a big climax in a literal opera called “The Genetic Opera” in our story. What you’ll see is a fair leading up to the opera, and in this fair, people are having face lifts. Then they’ll cut the red tape to open the opera house, and then everyone will rush in to watch the show.
[IMG:R]On the film’s wide range of actors and their various musical talents:
Terrance Zdunich: To cast this, everyone in this movie–even the name actors–had to come in and audition and sing a piece. Unlike most movies, the pre-production for this was huge. They recorded everything months in advance. We had months in a recording studio in L.A. to put all the music together and we have a lot of great players working with us. We had the drummer from Jane’s Addiction, the guitarist from Bauhaus, Laura from Rasputina, and people from Nine Inch Nails. And one of our producers knew Ogre from Skinny Puppy; when he came in and auditioned, he blew everyone away.
On the filmmakers being very ‘into’ Ogre’s charismatic presence in the movie:
Darren Smith: His character is Pavi, which is the brother of Paris’s character. Ogre’s character takes plastic surgery to an extreme. He loves the beautiful softness of a woman’s face–but he likes it on his face! You’ll notice when you go inside, that he has someone’s face sutured on to him.
On Paris’s character’s signature look for the opera!:
Amber Sweet is a ‘scalpel slut’ who loves to go under the knife and get a new face. So she’ll look different in each scene–people will barely recognize her. Paris has a few vocal solos and about ten choral numbers with other people. One is called: “Come Up and Try My New Parts” where she has had yet another surgery done. The Amber character is also a drug addict. She’s addicted to a fictitious drug called Zydrate, which is taken from dead people. At the time of death, do you know how people supposedly get a euphoric high and see a white light? We developed it so that it’s a chemical that is given off called Zydrate!
Terrance Zdunich: And all these scalpel sluts are addicts of this drug because it’s used to help ease surgery pains. So there’s no recovery process. That’s why you can constantly change your face.
[IMG:R]On Paris’s strung-out character’s nasty habit:
Darren Smith: Amber Sweet wants one more hit of Zydrate and she has no money left, so she goes to Grave Robber and says, “I know another way I could pay you.” And she starts singing, “Come Up and Try My New Parts.” We auditioned several great people for the role, and Paris was definitely the best. It was Darren Bousman’s idea to cast her. And she’s a great sport. She really loves this project and she gets it. She’s spoofing herself and the kind of celebrity culture that she’s part of. There’s lots of violence in this film and freaky, gratuitous sex.
On their risk-taking director Repo!/Saw IV Darren:
Terrance Zdunich: We should also mention that in 2002, Darren Bousman directed the first stage performance of Repo! At the time, he said that if he ever had an opportunity to make Repo! into a movie, he would. Well, here we are five years later!
[PAGEBREAK]Back to Friday Late Afternoon’s Set Visit Activities:
[IMG:R]4:50 p.m. Anthony Head (a co-star of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) who plays Nathan Wallace, emerges for a breath of fresh air. The screenwriters walk us into the warehouse to show us the remnants of an ornate, gothic graveyard set, which has been mostly disassembled. When the set was being used, the set designer had mountains of soil moved on set, but that has since been carted away. Because the project is on a tight budget, sets have to be disassembled immediately after use and nothing is saved.
5:00 p.m. We walk past the opera fair scene being shot–extras are dressed in various accoutrements of Goth and rock garb with over-the-top hair and makeup! Ahh, the life of an actor … The Repo! set’s design looks like a twisted take on a country fair. There is a cart covered with glass bottles holding various types of ‘human organs’ (made of bio synthetic plastic).
5:05 p.m. Kevin Ogilvie from Skinny Puppy walks by me at the craft services table. He has heavy makeup on, and is wearing the fake skin riveted to his face like the screenwriters mentioned earlier. He looks at me and stretches out his hand to shake mine. For a shock rocker, he is incredibly sweet and polite.
5:10 p.m. Terrance and Darren walk us by another deconstructed set–Rotti Largo’s house. It’s old and dark, with a winding staircase.
5:15 p.m. We see the remnants of another set–the ‘Repo Man training room.’ Fake bodies in saran wrap with chains around their necks are hanging from the ceiling. Creepy!!
[IMG:R]5:20 p.m. We meet ‘Jim’, the prop master (who also worked on Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV), in his laboratory. He tells us that one of the greatest challenges in the production is bringing great props in for a low budget. Every prop is made two or three times, in case one is broken or damaged. Jim also divulges that the shiny, black gas masks used in the movie were found at sex stores in Toronto–and that in fact, the sex shops had a wealth of inexpensive prop options for production; eBay was also a helpful tool in finding props for the film.
5:35 p.m. Prop master Jim shows us samples of the organs that the ‘Repo Men’ are repossessing and transplanting. Livers, hearts and other body parts are stored in airtight, sealed bags for transport. He passes some fake organs around to the group (a heart and a liver–they are made of silicone, and have a squishy quality–yuck!). As we pass them around, we can’t help but laugh, uncomfortably. Jim nods in warm agreement. “Once you touch them, you can’t stop–they’re like little pets!” he enthuses. “Little bloody pets!” I think to myself. To give the human organs a gooey quality, they are slathered with a concoction of “fake blood” and KY Jelly. Yes kids, that’s right: KY Jelly.
5:45 p.m. Vegetarians beware! Jim gives us a crash course in blood and guts. For Repo!, both real animal organs and synthetic organs are used. As for the blood, production uses a specialist for that–a guy named ‘Francois’. Francois has a special “secret blood recipe”, and is an expert at creating different types of blood for different scenes (examples include: “edible” blood, blood that flows easily, blood that is more congealed, etc.). Jim theorizes that the blood probably contains some real animal and artificial ingredients, such as Palmolive and corn syrup, depending on what kind of blood is used. After a hard day of gore work on set, “Shaving cream is the only thing that takes it out of your hands and clothes,” Jim explains.
6:00 p.m. We meet David Hackl, the film’s production designer (also the designer on Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV). David explains that he wanted to make the set design for Repo, “A world of its own.” David also explains that the biggest challenge is the movie’s limited budget and emphasizes that Darren Bousman, “Didn’t want this to look like a Saw film!” David will be working on Saw V, right after Christmas.
6:15 p.m. Walk past a set that is a Zydate addict meeting place: AA for the future!
[IMG:R]6:20 p.m. Back on the opera fair set. Paul Sorvino and Sarah Brightman–wearing crazy makeup and weird contacts–are waiting to shoot a scene. Paris Hilton walks by the craft services table in jeans and a parka; she isn’t shooting today. She eyes a cookie and pops one in her mouth.
6:30 p.m. Darren Bousman takes us into a tent to see a montage of footage set to one of the songs called “At the Opera Tonight.” Very cool–the footage looks fantastic.
6:45 p.m. We are watching them film again. Darren, the screenwriter, hugs Paris as she walks by again with a blonde girlfriend. He tells me that Paris and Sarah Brightman were really excited to work together.
6:50 p.m. The director needs bodies, so the journalists jump into the shot as ‘invisible’ extras. A drag queen stands next to me and gives me a look of disdain. To me, it all looks like another day on Avenue A in the East Village in New York City.
7:00 p.m. Last stop is the costume designer’s room. She tells us of the challenges of a shoestring budget. Most costumes come from the mall: “It’s what you do with them [costumes] and how the characters wear them that makes them unique and larger than life,” she explains.8:00 p.m. Press is driven to a luxurious editing house to see an advance cut of Saw IV (minus the surprise ending). I feel certain that fans of the franchise will definitely not be disappointed. Gentleman, if you want to take your girlfriend to a scary movie that will give her a cherished–and well earned gray hair–then this is the flick for you!
… And–believe it or not–that was just Day One of Toronto!
But for all of my whimpering and fretting to mount this assignment, I actually surprised myself. I was able to watch most of the Saw IV–sort of–and considered it a personal triumph that I actually got through the weekend “ordeal” up north. I credit this success to the comfort and support provided by my fellow journalists, especially the horror enthusiasts. Their camaraderie actually made me feel like I was a part of something, like a club–which is also, probably, the key to the popularity of this genre. Also, the lesson I got earlier in the day on the Repo! set exposed it all for what it was–a bunch of theatrical technicians trying to trick us all and have a little fun. I’ve been cured of my phobia of horror films–success!
