In the course of last year, I have upset a lot people, found myself
becoming someone I hate, and sacrificed more than I care to lay out in
this BLOG right now...
48 hours ago a SLEW of negative reviews starting hitting the web and print at a rapid pace... my heart fell to the ground - and for a BRIEF moment in time, a question hit me, that I couldn't believe I found myself asking... "what if they're right?"
What if all of the naysayers, and reviewers who were talking about how
BAD REPO is were right, and I was wrong? What if there really wasn't
an audience for this? What if no one really got what we were trying
to do? WHAT IF I MADE THE WORST MOVIE OF THE YEAR... or, as LA TIMES SAID "THE WORST MOVIE OF ALL TIME?!?"
That feeling lasted an entire 12 hours... It lasted until the second
I pulled up in front of the SUNSET 5... only to walk into a MAD HOUSE.
I have been lucky enough to be a part of three SAW films... I have
been to conventions, met with fans, even signed an autograph or two...
But never have I seen the kind of fanship that surrounds REPO. Last
night I watched as show after show sold out at the SUNSET 5. I sat at
Sushi Dan's and WATCHED as they added a midnight show, and within
moments it too SOLD OUT. I walked through a sea of fans DRESSED up
liked REPO characters. I shook hands with fans who drove over ten
hours just to see REPO. I sat back and listened as over a HUNDRED
waiting people broke out in song, singing ZYDRATE ANATOMY...
They stood for HOURS waiting to get in... Singing, dancing, being
weird, wearing strange costumes. Laughing with each other, dancing
with each other...
But that is not the crazy part...
The crazy part is this was only the 7:30 crowd... Once the theater
doors opened, and everyone took their seats... Outside another crowd
was forming... The 10:00pm crowd... And they were even weirder, and
stranger than the 7:30 crowd... They sang louder... and danced
harder... Don't even get me started on the MIDNIGHT CROWD...
Yesterday morning I woke up, depressed, sad, and down because of all
the hate, and negativity surrounding REPO... But today, I feel
rejuvenated and energetic... But more importantly... Proud. Proud to
be a part of REPO. Proud to know that I worked on a film where an
audience will stand for hours in a line, dressed as characters from
the film. Proud to be a part of a movie where high school kids will
travel 3,000 miles OVERSEAS just to see the movie because it's not
opening in their country. Proud to have a group of dedicated fans,
who take to the streets, flyering cars, clubs, and bars all because
they want to promote something they believe in... Proud to be a a
part of a movie where at 2:00am in the morning - fans will gather in a
parking lot SINGING the entire CD. Proud to be a part of something
that is so important - fans will TATTOO themselves with it. Proud
because REPO is already much bigger than 'just a movie'.
Making REPO made me realize why I want to make movies in the first
place. TO ENTERTAIN and ENGAGE audiences, and anyone who was there
last night - watching the crowd run and dance around in the aisles
could see they were entertained and very much engaged. And more
importantly, a film with little promotion, or advertising?
As much as I would love to have reviewers endorse what I am doing - I
would rather have the fans, the public... the ones who buy the tickets
get behind what we are doing.
With basically no advertising, generally bad reviews from main stream
press, I think we did a HELL OF A JOB last night... The last 48 hours
there has been a heap of negativity surrounding REPO. Some of us
where even BLINDED by it... But one only has to drive down to any of
the theaters showing REPO to see that a couple of negative reactions
can not, and will not change what so many have embraced... something
different.
For the critics that hate out there if you could only see the reaction from the people this movie played to... You would realize why I have not, and will not ever give up on
this film...
Some will call this movie a failure - but it's already a success... It was made... And that in and of itself is a victory...
I stand by this movie... The cast... The music... But more importantly I stand by the fans who have embraced it. Those are the critics I care about!
WORST MOVIE OF THE YEAR! I think there are some fans out their would disagree.
Enjoy some pictures from LAST NIGHTS opening from NY and LA!
dlb




