The Big Picture Interview with Alexa Vega from 'Repo: The Genetic Opera'

It's not the sort of movie that would ever get released in 3,000 theaters, so Repo: The Genetic Opera spread the word another way. Director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, III, and IV) took the movie around the country on a whirlwind tour, hitting different cities every night and appealing to the midnight movie crowd.

The film is an unusual mix of a musical, a horror flick, and a post-apocalyptic dystopia movie, and its cast is just as peculiar: Classically trained singer and actor Paul Sorvino, Bill Moseley from the Rob Zombie movies, Paris Hilton, musical theatre legend Sarah Brightman, and one-time Spy Kid Alexa Vega. The Big Picture recently caught up with Alexa to talk about Repo, which is now available on DVD. Big Picture: I thought the plan to release Repo the way they did was really unique. It made it more of an event, and I know in certain cities, it played very, very well. I know you kept video journals during the production of the film. How important was it to you to reach out to your own fan base that way, people who may not be into this sort of thing normally, to get the word out? Alexa: It was really important letting our fans know, because most of my fans have grown up with me, so people who were fans of Spy Kids are now 20, like me. Luckily, through MySpace I was able to get through to a lot of people and get support that way. And then between [director Darren Lynn Bousman and co- stars Bill Moseley and Paris Hilton], all of their fans were very supportive. That's the thing about this movie - it brought such a diverse group of people together. If you think about who was showing up at the theaters, not everybody was gothed out, not everybody loved musicals, not everyone loved horror, and we were able to bring all of those groups together. When you first found out, was it just the script, or did you know - "Wow, this cast is sure a strange mix. I hope it all works out"? Well, at first, we didn't know Sarah Brightman would be involved. We were looking at other people for that part because we didn't think we could get Sarah Brightman. And then when that happened, it really brought everything together. But when I first found out about Paris Hilton being in it, I was like, "Are you kidding me?" This was when there was a lot of negative stuff in her life and it was very public. Oh, was this around the time she went to jail? Yeah, yeah. And the moment I met that girl, I ate my words. She was so professional, she came in and recorded her stuff, and she was so nice. And she proves it on screen; she did a great job and she did her homework for this movie.

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Reminder: 'Repo!' Hits the Road Again This Weekend

Just a reminder that director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II - IV) and co-creator and cast member Terrance Zdunich will be on tour this weekend with Repo! The Genetic Opera, making stops in New Orleans, Boston, and Philadelphia Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and kicking off their second Repo Road Tour here in the greater Phoenix area at Chandler Cinemas. The show starts tonight at 10pm. The movie has an unusual concept - in the future our organs begin failing, and one company keeps producing healthy organs for us that are transplanted like car parts, but you better make your payments... - and it stars Alexa Vega, Paul Sorivno, Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley, Anthony Head, and one of the original divas, Sarah Brightman.Get more info on the tour by clicking the pic below. Repo! will also open in some more cities tomorrow - Seattle, Baltimore, and Riverside, California. Go to Repo-Opera for continuing updates, and order your tickets for the tour at RepoRoadTour.com.

'Repo! The Genetic Opera' Hits the Road Again

Despite the fact that Repo! The Genetic Opera has failed to generate incredible interest in its theatrical release (or maybe because of it), the filmmakers are taking the show back on the road for a second Repo Road Tour. Director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II - IV) and co-creator and cast member Terrance Zdunich will accompany their film on a whirlwind, cross-country, five-cities-in-five-nights tour December 4th - 8th.You can check out Repo with the filmmakers on hand in Phoenix at Chandler Cinemas, Thursday night, December 4th, followed by a screening in New Orleans at the Prytania Theatre on Friday the 5th.The tour then travels east, hitting The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Boston on Saturday and The Ritz 5 in Philadelphia on Sunday, wrapping up on Monday the 8th in Houston, at The Alamo Drafthouse. That's kind of a circuitous way to get the message out, but at least they're still working on behalf of their film; that's got to count for something.The trippy, futuristic organ harvesting musical will also expand its run into more cities beginning this week, opening in Atlanta on Wednesday, Portland on Friday, and Seattle, Baltimore, and Riverside, California on December 5th.

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'Repo!' Opening Weekend Locations and New Clips

I was wondering about Repo! The Genetic Opera the other day while attending the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival. There were plenty of similarly peculiar films from all over the world there, and I thought, with two weeks before the official opening, it would've been a natural fit. Unfortunately, Lionsgate is holding onto this one pretty tightly, and they have an exact plan for what they want to do with it.I asked around a bit and learned that Repo! will open in four markets on November 7th, so if you're looking for it and you can't get to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, or the famed Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, you're out of luck.Hopefully Lionsgate will platform it out after that, and they are taking the film on a little cross-country tour beginning November 10th, so you'll have other opportunities. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this bizarre-looking flick isn't buried by the publicity blitz that accompanies a lot of other November movies.We've mentioned the film a few times here at The Big Picture, so there's no need to regurgitate all the specifics, but it's a futuristic goth musical about organ harvesting and repossession and it stars Alexa Vega, Paul Sorivno, Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley, Anthony Head, and the oh so operatic Sarah Brightman.We've got a couple scenes for you now, including the opening sequence, which is animated and covers a lot of the back story, and then one of the songs from the film, featuring performances by Brightman and Vega.
Video courtesy of Worst Previews
"Chase the Morning" courtesy of My SpaceYeah, it looks weird, but weird can be good. I'll keep you updated if there are other release dates coming our way.

One More Batch of Posters for 'Repo: The Genetic Opera'

I'm still hopeful that we'll get a chance to see Repo! The Genetic Opera before it opens on November 7th. It is a Lionsgate film, so you can never be too sure (they make a habit of not screening films for the press), but I'm anxious to see it. I love the juxtaposition of this weird, dark story or futuristic organ re-harvesting set to music.

And I love the new collection of movie posters, created for the film's traveling road show that kicks off in about a couple of weeks. Repo is directed by Saw veteran Darren Lynn Bousman and stars Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head, Bill Moseley, and Paris Hilton, featured in this first image.

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