When Bloody-Disgusting was asked to do a set visit and press conference for Darren Bousman’s film, REPO! The Genetic Opera, I begged and pleaded with Mr. Disgusting to let me go. I want this film to be good in such a bad way that it’s almost embarrassing. And from what I saw on set… this isn’t just going to be good, this could quite possibly be Oscar worthy, and legendary!

Lionsgate and Twisted pictures are the studios behind this crazy sounding film, and the brains behind them have done wonderful things for the genre for years. In no small part the SAW franchise has helped lead the charge in getting horror out to the mainstream. In keeping with their trend of releasing films that are out of the ordinary, edgy and chance taking, these trend setting companies are bringing us REPO! in April 2008.

You may have seen the footage that was shown at Spike TV’s Scream Awards last week (and all over you tube), and it is nothing short of spectacular! Could this be the movie that takes horror and shakes it up so much that the world will be changed? Just what the hell is it? Set in the near future REPO! is a MUSICAL in which, people are upgrading their bodies like we would our clothing, and thus begins the need for new body parts, but just as things are today, there is a person who can come to reclaim the unpaid for items: The REPO!MAN. Add to that the drug dealing scum Grave Robber, and the crazed Rotti Largo family which we follow. REPO! sets out to be next years most unique offering, to say the least!

The creators of REPO! - Terrance Zdunich and Darren Smith - explain the genesis of the film, “REPO! The Genetic Opera, began as a stage play and was performed for several years on both coasts in the states, it began as sort of a little rock and roll vignettes in rock clubs in Los Angeles.” Says Zdunich, “It spring boarded into a full length theatrical play and then into a promo 10-minute trailer (if you will), which helped find the financing for the sets and stuff you’re going to see in just a minute.” Smith adds, ”We started with just us together, doing what we called 10-minute operas and playing in rock shows and so REPO! is based on one of the 10-minute operas, called ‘The Necro-Merchants of Death’ that we had done. It’s funny to see how it’s grown, and with this wonderful cast. We did it to a full length production in LA, where we met just coming to Hollywood director Darren Bousman, and he was our first director of our stage play. And that was five years ago.”

Upon finishing SAW III Bousman asked his entire crew to stay on and help out in making the short film/trailer to help generate interest in the project, and EVERY crew member stayed on and worked for free! Bousman then championed it to the studios and beyond.

Just about every studio in town had representatives at the first screening of the short film (which starred Michael Rooker and Shawnie Smith) to take a look. After it was done, bidding wars started, buzz was spreading, and most importantly REPO! looked like it was going to be made. Ultimately Bousman and Twisted came together and the film started moving forward.

Terrance Zdunich tells us, “In the film I play the character of the Grave Robber. I rob graves to extract a futuristic drug.” Zytrate is the name of the drug he sells to Paris Hilton’s character Amber Sweet as Rotti Largos daughter. Hilton is the spoiled rich kid who happens to be a junkie. Hilton talks to B-D about her role, ”I play kind of a daughter who wants attention, so she is always changing her appearance. And she's kind of messed up because her dad is a workaholic and we’re kind of a demented family. Grave robber is kind of like my lover slash Supplier… a Candyman.”

As the casting process happened, they sat with loads of actors, actresses and singers, and at the end of it all Bousman assembled what many would consider a wet dream cast - except for one person; Paris Hilton. Hilton had been cast in a bold move that had people heads spinning. According to Bousman, and others involved, “I had to have the perfect cast and so the casting process is one of the most arduous, painful things that almost made me lose all of my hair. We met with numerous people for Amber. [She’s a] great actresses, an amazing actresses that I love and I still would love to work with, but none of them got it. None of them got what the movie was. And when Paris came in, it was crazy because… I’ll be honest; I was a disbeliever originally when the name got thrown out. Everyone has this idea of what Paris Hilton is, and when she walked into the room, she met with (producers) Mark, Carl and me and two seconds after she left the room Carl and I just nodded and said ‘That’s her, but can she sing? Can she do this kind of music?’ So I gave her a CD and I said ‘I want you come back’. The next day she comes in the room full of people like (music producer) Joe Bishara and these other guys, tattooed, pierced, complete Goth dudes.”

Producer, Mark Burg talks about casting Paris and how nobody wanted her, “There wasn't a single person in the room that wanted to cast Paris Hilton,” Bousman explains, “Then once she came in, there was no one that was not 100% convinced she was Amber Sweet. Her voice in this is incredible.” With this bit of casting a new element was brought to the film that will (in due course) be a make or break move.

Paul Sorvino talked a bit about how excited he was to use his opera voice, “This is the first time that I get a chance in movies to use my operatic voice, which I had used at the Seattle Opera, and others. Something that most people don't know about me is that I'm an operatic tenor.” Sorvino plays father not only to Hiltons character, but as well to Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy Fame and Bill Mosley who we all know and love as Choptop and Texas Cahinsaw and Otis from The Devils Rejects. Mosley tells us “I'm really the horror ringer. My job is to make sure that the blood flows, and I accomplish this with some conventional tools like knives and guns, also some unconventional tools like a fountain pen. I am very excited because I’ve played a lot of different happy psycho's in my life but this is one of the happiest, and on top of that I also get to sing and that I'm sure, will be a surprise for all of us.” Kevin “Ogre” Oglvie, lead singer of industrial band Skinny Puppy, is new to the acting biz. Although he had auditioned for a few other roles in the past (The Crow and The Hills Have Eyes 2) this is his first turn in front of the lens, as an actor: Ogres explains, ”I play Pavi who is a narcissist with a misogynistic twist. I'm really happy to be part of this, it’s a great role for me coming from music and it allows me to play under a mask, which I'm kind of used to doing and the makeup is amazing.”

Rounding out the cast is Alexa Vega, and Anthony Stewart Head, after years on the TV series Buffy he got to expand his horizons playing the lead roll of Repo Man, “I play a caring, sharing father who happens to kill people on the side. I was blackmailed by Mr. Sorvino's character into working for him and I’m part of his Genco empire because I Repossess people's organs.” Primarily known as the little girl in Spy Kids, Alexa Vega is no stranger to singing as she had a stint on Broadway, just prior to getting the roll as Shilo, the Repo mans daughter. Vega tells us, “My character is just kind of this girl who has been stuck in her room her entire life because her overbearing father keeps her there. So Shilo is basically stuck in her room until she sneaks out and she kind of becomes the, I guess, Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. She kind of leads you through the film, and you go along meeting all these crazy characters. It's kind of like this great ark that Shilo creates in the film. She starts as a little girl and kind of becomes a young woman. And it's perfect because I feel like I'm right there in my life.”

Being that this is a musical, the brains behind the music had a very big job to deliver. So not leaving anything to chance, Bousman brought in Yoshiki, the founding member of X Japan to oversee the music, Joe Bishara as music producer, and soundtrack producer mastermind Jonathan McHugh to supervise the music. Band members from Bahuaus, Janes Addicition, Poe, Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie and more, were hired to help out with the recording sessions. Now with a stellar group of musician, an eclectic gang of actors, and the director of the SAW films helming, the question remains…Can REPO! connect with today’s audiences? The buzz is huge and the anticipation is high, but can it deliver the goods? Hopefully I will be able to answer this question with what I learned when I visited the set on Toronto… Read part two of this in-depth look at REPO! The Genetic Opera tomorrow!!!

READ PART TWO HERE