Interview: Darren Lynn Bousman

Killer Film recently caught up with Darren Lynn Bousman about his new film, Repo! A Genetic Opera which opens soon on November 7^th in limited release.

 

Jon: This is really great that you can take time to talk with us at Killer Film.

 

Darren Lynn Bousman: Of course, of course.

 

Jon: Repo! is seriously a unique film. After your Saw films was there a need to do something totally original?

 

Darren: Yeah, I mean, I’ve done three of the exact type of movies, one after another after another, year after year after year. I needed to do something that was more me, the stuff that inspired me. Music inspires me and I wanted to do something different, something completely different than Saw and more in the lines of what I love and that’s something like Repo!

 

Jon: We can’t talk Repo! without mentioning the music. You’ve gathered a great cast of musical heavy weights: Richard Patrick from Filter, Clown from Slipknot, David J, Blasko, and even Poe. How did they get involved and what was it like working with them?

 

Darren: Ah, you know we got them involved through a couple of people, Joe Bishara the music producer and Jonathan McHugh, I think they were attracted to doing something that was completely outrageous. They’re musicians and like anyone, want to be involved in creative endeavors that challenges them. To think about Bauhaus playing against Sarah Brightman, that’s just insane. It’s just insane. Or have someone like Poe singing against Paris Hilton, I mean it’s weird, I think that everyone was attracted to the idea of the chance for us to do something completely different.

 

Jon: That’s pretty awesome that you got that type of collective mix. Everyone’s raving about the soundtrack. I can’t wait to get it, let alone seeing the movie. But I doubt if it’ll play here…

 

Darren: I get that question. But it’s worth a trip and I’m not just saying that because I made the movie. You know a movie like this you need to see in the movie theaters. You have to go see it; it’s just something that is insane! It’s just insane. It’s something that needs to be experienced and it’s something that you just can’t experience on DVD or download. You have to be there in the theater to see what the movie is all about.

 

Jon: What were the challenges taking Repo! from the stage to the silver screen?

 

Darren: I don’t think anyone will ever grasp how difficult making this movie was. There’s a misperception about me that I’m just the Saw director and that I could do anything. Repo! was seriously the single hardest thing to work on, probably will ever work on. Um, it’s so out there and you know, Hollywood doesn’t reward uniqueness, they reward what makes money. What makes them money is the standard, copycat, carbon copy movies and making this movie was a constant battle from day one in convincing people that this will make money, convincing people this is a good idea, convincing the actors, it was an uphill battle. Even today, even now, two weeks before we come out it’s still an uphill battle. A massive uphill battle.

 

Jon: Your team as been rallying up interesting in Repo! via MySpace, Facebook, your blogs, were you surprised you had to take this approach in promoting your film?

 

Darren: Seriously that’s all fan done, with myself. That’s my fans and me doing it all and then again there’s a reason for that and that being is that we don’t have a marketing budget. We are not Saw V. We do not have money. In fact, we do not have any money; there’s no trailer, there’s no posters that you could drive around and see. We have the website and we have the internet; readers and users and like your website. I don’t care if you hate the idea of a rock opera, I don’t care if you hate Paris Hilton, and you have to look at what we accomplished. What we accomplished was a completely out-there, unique movie.

 

Without the support of what we have done, we will die, we will vanish, and we will go into obscurity. Movies like us will fall into obscurity. We’re trying to rally for a bigger cause. What we are trying to do is rally, well, not so much rallying for Repo! which we need, it’s rallying for something unique, it’s rallying for something that hasn’t been seen for so many years. It is proving to the studios and everyone like that, that there’s an audience for weird, quirky movies and that’s what we are trying to do on the internet. Do we have a marketing budget, no, but we have lots and lots and lots of fans willing to do whatever it takes to get this movie the notoriety it deserves.

 

Jon: Donny and I have been discussing horror films we’ve discovered on DVD because they’re just not coming out theatrically and Repo! might have to be that type of film, not saying that’s a bad thing as it is hitting audiences, it’s just hard as you said to get away from the cookie cutter films hitting the theaters.

 

Darren: Together as a community, as a horror loving community, and as a movie loving community we can beat the odds and we can make a difference. I will not give up until that difference is made. I’ll give you an example. Have you’ve seen Rocky Horror Picture in the theater ever?

 

Jon: It occasionally plays here in Omaha (at the Dundee) but no, I have not yet.

 

Darren: Rocky Horror Picture Show…I’m trying to think of an example here…there are certain movies you can watch on DVD and that are fine to watch on DVD. There’s other movies where it’s all about the theatrical experience of seeing that movie. Rocky Horror Picture Show is one. The reason Rocky Horror got the fan base it did, is that a community formed around that movie. A community of viewers who watched that movie in the theater, loved the experience of watching it in the theater, and ever since then following the movie where ever it goes and buying every record and DVD. If that movie was never released theatrically, Rocky Horror wouldn’t be popular today. Because Rocky Horror was about a community of fans and loyalists that fell in love with the experience of Rocky Horror Picture Show.

 

I think that Repo! does not exist as a “movie”. It’s a movie you can watch and enjoy it but it’s the experience, an event, and my hope would be that people will get the chance to see this thing in the theater and that they want to re-live that by buying the DVD. But again, I think that the majority of fans, readers or internet people out there don’t realize the power that they have and they have a huge, huge, huge amount of power. The power comes from their voice, their blogs, their MySpace, their internet sites, their messages boards, that’s the power they have and for example our website, I put a contest up, kind of put a quest up. There’s 1,500 people on here and I want you to tell just tell two friends. Just tell two friends about Repo! and get them excited to find out. One week, within one week, we doubled the amount of readers we had for six months, we doubled them, because they told their friends and they told their friends and that’s the power that we have. People don’t realize that and that’s why I encourage everyone to get involved.

 

Jon: That’s a really awesome story. You know you have gathered a pretty eccentric cast of actors and actresses. Did you plan it this way or did it just come down to the right person for the right part?

 

Darren: Well, both. I think that everyone cast in the movie was amazing and they got the job because of their ability and the reason we assembled this group of people though, was that the movie was so weird and out there, we wanted the casting to be weird and out there as well.

 

Jon: The casting of Anthony Head seems ideal. Did you see him in Once More with Feeling, the Buffy musical episode or did you specifically go after him?

 

Darren: Yeah. You know, he was on my list prior to that. I knew he could sing and he was in a band called Music for Elevators, but he had a look to him that was fatherly to one extent and a monster the other extent. That’s what the character he portrays, Nathan Wallace had to be equal parts monster and hero.

 

Jon: That’s what we get from the trailer and until we see the film, which opens November 7^th…

 

Darren: You can go to the website and download ten minutes of the movie. I urge, urge, urge your fans to go to the website and take a look. There is a lot of stuff out there.

 

Jon: Awesome, awesome.

 

Darren: We have songs with Anthony; we have clips, and in fact with have Steward Head’s audition on our website.

 

Jon: Speaking of that stuff, today, while making money at the box office, studios equally focus on DVD sales. Were you doing anything during filming with DVD in mind?

 

Darren: You know, I hope, I pray that we get Blu Ray. It was shot on HD and it’s a beautiful, beautiful movie done by David Hackl, the production designer who directed Saw V, and Jo White, the DP and I really want to keep that experience on Blu Ray. The other thing is we have a lot of behind-the-scenes tuff, we had a lot of commentary tracks, yeah, we have a lot of stuff prepared for the DVD.

 

 

Jon: David Hackl was once again your production designer for Repo! as well as your installments of the Saw films. What can we expect from him in Saw V?

 

Darren: David Hackl has a unique vision, I mean here’s the reality, it is not Saw II, III, IV. It’s not and I wouldn’t want it to be. It’s a new voice, a new direction, than my Saw films. Saw V is a much different film than mine. It’s not as violent or abrasive as mine and that being said it shouldn’t be. David Hackl has a very unique approach. I saw Saw V a couple of days ago and I really enjoyed, I thought he did a great job and passed my expectations. And I had high expectations.

 

Jon: Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich did the screenplay. What challenges did they have for adapting to the medium of film and how did you help them?

 

Darren: It was the hardest thing to do in the world; it had 64 songs in it and as a stage play was very Broadway-ish, sing-song-y, and not as edgy. We wanted to make it abrasive, harsh and edgy; it was a huge undertaking but they did a fantastic and great job.

 

Jon: Great and I want to thank you for talking with us, Killer Film, and we cannot wait for November 7^th.

 

Darren: Thank you very much, man.

 

As you can tell, Bousman is really excited for the film to be seen. We’re pretty excited as well, so be sure to check out our news section for the latest info, as well as future updates on the film all leading up to our review of Repo! A Genetic Opera. Only on Killer Film!