Anthony Head

On Wednesday October 17th, 2007, myself, (Liz the web producer), and my daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, were in Toronto, Canada, as we had been invited by Anthony to visit him and the set of ’Repo! The Genetic Opera’.

The movie stars Sarah Brightman, Anthony, Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley, Paul Sorvino, Alexa Vega and Ogre. Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV) is directing from a screenplay by Terrence Zdunich and Darren Smith, co-creators of the original stage production of the same name upon which the film is based. Japanese musician, songwriter and composer Yoshiki Hayashi (better known as simply Yoshiki) is producing the film’s soundtrack.

’Repo! The Genetic Opera’ is set in the not-so-distant future. The production tells the story of an epidemic of organ failures that devastates the planet, killing tens of millions. As scientists feverishly make plans for a massive organ harvest program, a multi-billion dollar biotech company called GeneCo begins to manufacture salvation - for a price - offering simple payment plans to those lacking the necessary funds to purchase new body parts outright. But all financed organs are subject to default procedures, including repossession at the hand of the notorious organ Repo men (Anthony).

After arriving at the production lot at 8am, Anthony showed us around the various sets. As we made our way through the large soundstage, stepping over electrical cords, he explained scenes that had already been filmed. The sets are totally amazing and have a very futuristic bleak feel to them. Anthony then took us to the set of the opera house and introduced us to the crew there. The opera house set was fantastic - wrought iron fencing at the entrance doors with very tall stone pillars. The opera entrance was in front of a carnival with brightly coloured tents. Around the carnival were adverts offering "Replace Your Face!" and GeneCo publicity posters. Some time later, when filming was about to start, Anthony took us back to the opera to become audience members. We were placed in the third row from the front and the make up crew got us looking the part. The set was fantastic and the cast and extras all looked extremely convincing in their fabulous costumes. After filming the scene of the audience arriving and taking our seats, we moved on to film a scene with Paris Hilton and Darren Smith. Paris is an excellent singer and I was very impressed by her music track that had been playing in the background when we toured the set. In the particular scene they were filming, Paris had to pretend to be a very bad opera singer and we, the audience, booed and groaned her off the stage. Paris looked totally amazing in her unusual costume. She did a wonderful job of faking a bad singer, as she is actually very good!

Anthony as Repo Man

After a lunch break with Anthony, we went back to film an amazing scene, which involved an awesome music track by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich. We, the audience, had to cheer and testify how amazing GeneCo is. As the rock music played, the opera aisle was filled with a procession of Darren Smith, Bill Moseley, Ogre (Skinny Puppy), wonderful dancers and Paul Sorvino. As they made their way to the stage the audience clapped and cheered for GeneCo and actors in the rows would stand up and shout out their individual testimony. Paul Sorvino has a magnificent voice and roused the audience into an enthusiastic frenzy. As confetti fell from the ceiling, the atmosphere and energy in the room was electric. All the actors brought so much style to Repo’s bizarre fantasy world as they completely immersed themselves into their characters. Filming of that one scene ran from 3.30pm - 10.00pm as everyone endeavoured to get it just right - which they did!

When the final cut was called and our fourteen hours of filming ended for the day, Anthony, the girls and myself were able to watch the scenes on the monitor with Darren (director) and the other main cast members. It was truly wonderful to see how it all came together on screen. The costumes, special effects, acting and unique look of the movie is unbelievable. The music is so good that it appeals to all ages - my daughters loved it and so did I. I still have the tracks playing in my head, as they were so cool and unusual.

Darren then invited us to view the complete trailer, which will eventually go out to cinemas. It is so cool. Anthony looks amazing in his role, very scary and futuristic. I can’t wait to see the entire movie. My daughters were so excited and thought the movie looked brilliant

I can’t say enough about what a ground-breaking piece of work this movie is going to be, and how magnificent every actor and crew member involved in this production is. Please be sure to catch the movie in Spring 2008, as I guarantee you’ll love it.

Repo! The Genetic Opera Check back for more updates, clips, movie stills and other Repo! information as Anthony and I will be updating the page as often as possible.