years. it's been so many years...
or at least it seems like it's been that long since i decided to post something detailed. this deserves a blog, though. i had probably one of the coolest weekends i've had in such a long time. and i think what really makes this weekend so unique and extra special for me was because i experienced it alone. i'm not a dependent person, but whenever i have done something out of the ordinary, per say, or whenever i've been to a big function in general, i've always had at least one person with me. but for many reasons, i was alone. and it was liberating. and somehow, when said aloud, this seems kind of silly. but i don't care. this weekend was absolutely amazing. now, what am i gushing about? 'repo! the genetic opera'. that is what this is all about.
just a quick rundown: i heard about this movie a few months ago, wiki'd it, thought it sounded weird and the forgot about it. when 'saw whatever the number is' came out, there was like, a 2 second blurb saying "see 'repo! the genetic opera!'" so i logged onto the ol' blockbuster.com, put it in my queue, and 2 weeks later, i watched it. the movie is set in 2056. organ failures are an epidemic and a company, geneco, offers organs. if you can't pay, you can finance. if you miss your payments, a repo man comes and takes back the organs. and there is a girl who is being poisoned by her dad in an effort to 'keep her safe'. if you want a better synopsis, imdb it. i didn't instantly love it, mainly because i didn't pay much attention to it. i like to multi-task, so while the movie was on, i was probably doing homework or something. but a couple of days later, i thought about the movie again and the more i thought about it, the more i regretted not paying attention to it. so, long story short, i scouted the internet for info about it and fell in love with the story of how the movie came to be. it was originally a series of 10-minute operas put on by two guys, terrance zdunich and darren smith, and finally, nearly 10 years later, the world got 'repo!', but due to bad advertising by lionsgate and poor reviews, and paris hilton's involvement, the movie floundered in the box office. just for the record, paris actually did do an amazing job in this movie. and now, i can't dislike her...i can deal with that.
beyond that, i bought the soundtrack on practically a whim, and the more i listened to it, the more i loved the songs. one day, i decided to buy the movie and i listened to both commentary tracks and decided it was official: i loved 'repo!' and though hardly anyone has heard of it, there are other people who love it, too. just not anyone i know in real life. and the three people i watched it with were...unimpressed, to say the least. but hey, the movie's not for everyone, and i'll totally agree with that. considering what all i saw this weekend, and my personality in general, it doesn't seem like this is something i would like, either. but hey, i'm a strange kid underneath the surface.
anywho, even longer story short, i friend-ed the arizona 'repo army' on myspace a couple of saturdays ago. friendship was accepted monday. tuesday, a posting showed up saying that 'repo!' was to be shown at the chandler cinema on friday night. and terrance, darren, and alexa vega (she played shilo), were going to be there. i jumped 3 feet in the air when i heard it and then i bought my ticket immediately. friday started early (530 am...thanks, work), and i knew it was going to run late. i didn't expect 1:30 am late, but goodness, was it worth it. i didn't feel right taking someone who'd never seen or heard of 'repo!' with me. this didn't really seem like the venue to break someone in on it. and the friends who did see it, again, didn't like it. so i was on my own. and i was okay with that.
i left for the theater at 5:50 pm. i got lost for about 15 minutes, and when i finally found chandler cinema, i was so confused. it was in a rundown section and seriously, it looked like it was closed up. sketch, to say the least. and i loved it. and when i walked into the old-timey theater, i was immediately jealous of the employees. the place oozed history and i wondered how i'd never heard of this place before. i'm glad i arrived early, so i was only 10th or so in line. yes, we had to line up to wait to get into the theater. controlled chaos, and all.
the people...god, the people. i have never been so immeresed in such diverse people in my life. i suppose you could say the atmosphere was a bit 'goth', but i don't think that's quite right. in this particular venue, the only way to describe it was "totally 'repo!'". there were scapel sluts and z-whores everywhere. zydrate was being peddled by unlicensed sources, i'm sure. in old-timey theater style, there were technical difficulties. people were absolutely comfortable with themselves and what might have looked foolish or would have been frowned upon on the streets, was more than accepted here.
we were finally let into the theater about 7:20 or :30 or so. we sat around for a little longer while they finished setting everything up and then finally, the...well, i can't say the show began. the show had started before i even showed up. the festivities continued forward, i suppose would be a better phrase. we all happily greeted terrance, darren, and alexa as they took the stage to give a quick word before the movie played. once their seats were taken, the people responsible for setting this all up, including the amazing 'midnight movie mamacita', explained a few things. now, let me explain something, too.
this wasn't necessarily a "showing" of 'repo!'. it was a shadowcast of the movie. a shadowcast is where a group of actors basically act out a movie on stage while the movie plays behind them. i had never scene anything like it before and i was excited. this leg of the show started off with a few of the actors acting out a deleted scene. it was...sexy, to say the least. then, a quick costume contest was held. the winner was a convincing amber sweet. then, there was a tango to 'zydrate anatomy'. it was a little awkward, in my opinion, since the song isn't really latin dance music, but i enjoyed, nonetheless. then, they started the fucking flick (that's apparently the phrase the audience must shout before the movie starts). the previews were amazing and "flicking my bic" and cigarettes never seemed so sexy.
there really aren't words to describe how amazing the experience was. the shadowcast was out of control with awesome. it brought the movie to life, no pun intended, and the quirks that they added were genius. and i've never been to a movie were audience participation was encouraged as well as expected. people would just shout out crazy things at opportune moments in the movie, only heightening the experience. i have to say, however, that the actress who portrayed pavi was incredible! the way she moved, god, she was pavi incarnate. but the whole show was mind-blowing.
once the act of awesome was over, and after many rounds of applause later, terrance, darren, and alexa took the stage again. first, there was an auction. bronco bronco (rocking 'stash and all), mc'd it. things sold: a coin used by paris hilton, the actual coat worn by dead marni, there was someting else right here, but i don't recall. the last thing sold was terrance, himself. a date with him, at least. he went for $600, a collaborative effort between 3 lucky ladies. after that, there was a q&a. those 3 were amazing and definitely kept the audience happy and excited. alexa did 'the dance', and it was amazing. she got darren lynn bousman (the director) and bill mosely (luigi) on the phone, and after a quick refrain of 'mark it up' by bill, the q&a continued. there was mention of grilo by terrance, which made many people chuckle happily. after several more questions, the session wrapped up and then the 3 stars went into the lobby for autograph signings. due to my awesome luck (i'm being sarcastic), i found myself basically the last person in line. and i waited in that line for 2 hours. it was totally worth it.
to wile away the time (and to try and unsuccessfully stave off my migraine the size of australia), i watched 'forgetting sarah marshall' on the ol' ipod and watched the husband and wife duo of circus performers. they were pretty awesome. and the final act involving fire sated my pyro-tendencies. i saw so many wonderful, dedicated people and it was weird and awesome to be around so many people, none i knew, who loved something as much, if not so much more, than i did. i had a lot of interesting conversations and saw a lot of interesting things. like a lot of scantily clad women. and a 'geneco' tattoo on somone's butt. it was amazing.
so yes, after 2 hours of waiting, i finally made it to the front of the line, which by now, was split into 2 lines: one for alexa and darren, one for terrance. yes, we love shilo and the co-creator/band leader...but we love graverobber even more. sorry :/...i gave them some pastries from my bakery (which didn't survive the night as well), got my dvd signed, and got pictures. apparently i did something to darren's brother. hey, i did what had to be done...
after another 20 minutes of waiting in terrance's line, i finally met the man. he deemed me a "patient and dedicated" and after an extremely uncharacteristic comment from myself, added "bold" to the assessment. he's a very hugg-y man, and after 2 1/2 hours in line, nursing a headache and extreme sleep deprivation, a hug from an attractive, talented man was more than appreciated. i gave him something i'd made (why i didn't take a picture of it before hand, i do not know). we chatted about me becoming a doctor, and thus being a true 'night surgeon', and then he signed my dvd, too. i got a parting hug, which was equally wonderful, and though i'm sure he doled them out like candy, i also got a parting kiss on the cheek. yes, the wait time was so more than worth it. and then some.
i got home at 2 and fell asleep around 2:30 and lapsed into a fitful, 2 hours rest. i had to work from 5:30 to 2:30 on saturday, and in no way was i upset by my decision to be out so late. extreme sleep deprivation had never been more worth it.
during the friday performance, they had announced that they were going to put on the shadowcast again on saturday. with no plans and running on fumes, i knew i had to go again. though saturday wasn't as chaotically exciting as friday, and though, in my opinion, some of the shadowcasting was not as strong, i still had a veritable blast. there was another auction involving 'saw' memorabilia (since 'repo!' was directed by darren bousman, who directed 'saw 2- 4'), and then, alexa vega's nunchucks were auctioned. nunchucks are illegal in arizona, apparetnly. and why alexa left them, we may never know. (she had to fly back to LA, so she couldn't make the saturday 'cast). there was another costume contest, this time won by repo-skeleton-man (as i deemed him), and another short q&a. the audience then thanked terrance and darren, who in turn, thanked us, and the wonder that was 'repo!-fest' was over. and i don't think i could have had a better time.
so i know it may seem kind of lame, since all i really did was go see an interpretation of a movie, but there really aren't words to describe the experience and all that it was. and the weekend was amazing. and i'm proud of myself for just going to this thing in general. i wanted to do something and even though i had to do it by myself, i did it, anyway. in a way, it was liberating. and in so many ways, it was some of the best fun i've ever had. and i don't apologize for that and i'm so happy that i went. the theater hopes to be able to do the shadowcast every couple of months or so, and every time, i will consider going, even if there is not a spectacle like this to accompany it. i love 'repo the genetic opera' and i love the story that goes with it. is it the most important thing in the realm of life? no. but we all need something to squee about. i'm glad this is mine.
just a quick rundown: i heard about this movie a few months ago, wiki'd it, thought it sounded weird and the forgot about it. when 'saw whatever the number is' came out, there was like, a 2 second blurb saying "see 'repo! the genetic opera!'" so i logged onto the ol' blockbuster.com, put it in my queue, and 2 weeks later, i watched it. the movie is set in 2056. organ failures are an epidemic and a company, geneco, offers organs. if you can't pay, you can finance. if you miss your payments, a repo man comes and takes back the organs. and there is a girl who is being poisoned by her dad in an effort to 'keep her safe'. if you want a better synopsis, imdb it. i didn't instantly love it, mainly because i didn't pay much attention to it. i like to multi-task, so while the movie was on, i was probably doing homework or something. but a couple of days later, i thought about the movie again and the more i thought about it, the more i regretted not paying attention to it. so, long story short, i scouted the internet for info about it and fell in love with the story of how the movie came to be. it was originally a series of 10-minute operas put on by two guys, terrance zdunich and darren smith, and finally, nearly 10 years later, the world got 'repo!', but due to bad advertising by lionsgate and poor reviews, and paris hilton's involvement, the movie floundered in the box office. just for the record, paris actually did do an amazing job in this movie. and now, i can't dislike her...i can deal with that.
beyond that, i bought the soundtrack on practically a whim, and the more i listened to it, the more i loved the songs. one day, i decided to buy the movie and i listened to both commentary tracks and decided it was official: i loved 'repo!' and though hardly anyone has heard of it, there are other people who love it, too. just not anyone i know in real life. and the three people i watched it with were...unimpressed, to say the least. but hey, the movie's not for everyone, and i'll totally agree with that. considering what all i saw this weekend, and my personality in general, it doesn't seem like this is something i would like, either. but hey, i'm a strange kid underneath the surface.
anywho, even longer story short, i friend-ed the arizona 'repo army' on myspace a couple of saturdays ago. friendship was accepted monday. tuesday, a posting showed up saying that 'repo!' was to be shown at the chandler cinema on friday night. and terrance, darren, and alexa vega (she played shilo), were going to be there. i jumped 3 feet in the air when i heard it and then i bought my ticket immediately. friday started early (530 am...thanks, work), and i knew it was going to run late. i didn't expect 1:30 am late, but goodness, was it worth it. i didn't feel right taking someone who'd never seen or heard of 'repo!' with me. this didn't really seem like the venue to break someone in on it. and the friends who did see it, again, didn't like it. so i was on my own. and i was okay with that.
i left for the theater at 5:50 pm. i got lost for about 15 minutes, and when i finally found chandler cinema, i was so confused. it was in a rundown section and seriously, it looked like it was closed up. sketch, to say the least. and i loved it. and when i walked into the old-timey theater, i was immediately jealous of the employees. the place oozed history and i wondered how i'd never heard of this place before. i'm glad i arrived early, so i was only 10th or so in line. yes, we had to line up to wait to get into the theater. controlled chaos, and all.
the people...god, the people. i have never been so immeresed in such diverse people in my life. i suppose you could say the atmosphere was a bit 'goth', but i don't think that's quite right. in this particular venue, the only way to describe it was "totally 'repo!'". there were scapel sluts and z-whores everywhere. zydrate was being peddled by unlicensed sources, i'm sure. in old-timey theater style, there were technical difficulties. people were absolutely comfortable with themselves and what might have looked foolish or would have been frowned upon on the streets, was more than accepted here.
we were finally let into the theater about 7:20 or :30 or so. we sat around for a little longer while they finished setting everything up and then finally, the...well, i can't say the show began. the show had started before i even showed up. the festivities continued forward, i suppose would be a better phrase. we all happily greeted terrance, darren, and alexa as they took the stage to give a quick word before the movie played. once their seats were taken, the people responsible for setting this all up, including the amazing 'midnight movie mamacita', explained a few things. now, let me explain something, too.
this wasn't necessarily a "showing" of 'repo!'. it was a shadowcast of the movie. a shadowcast is where a group of actors basically act out a movie on stage while the movie plays behind them. i had never scene anything like it before and i was excited. this leg of the show started off with a few of the actors acting out a deleted scene. it was...sexy, to say the least. then, a quick costume contest was held. the winner was a convincing amber sweet. then, there was a tango to 'zydrate anatomy'. it was a little awkward, in my opinion, since the song isn't really latin dance music, but i enjoyed, nonetheless. then, they started the fucking flick (that's apparently the phrase the audience must shout before the movie starts). the previews were amazing and "flicking my bic" and cigarettes never seemed so sexy.
there really aren't words to describe how amazing the experience was. the shadowcast was out of control with awesome. it brought the movie to life, no pun intended, and the quirks that they added were genius. and i've never been to a movie were audience participation was encouraged as well as expected. people would just shout out crazy things at opportune moments in the movie, only heightening the experience. i have to say, however, that the actress who portrayed pavi was incredible! the way she moved, god, she was pavi incarnate. but the whole show was mind-blowing.
once the act of awesome was over, and after many rounds of applause later, terrance, darren, and alexa took the stage again. first, there was an auction. bronco bronco (rocking 'stash and all), mc'd it. things sold: a coin used by paris hilton, the actual coat worn by dead marni, there was someting else right here, but i don't recall. the last thing sold was terrance, himself. a date with him, at least. he went for $600, a collaborative effort between 3 lucky ladies. after that, there was a q&a. those 3 were amazing and definitely kept the audience happy and excited. alexa did 'the dance', and it was amazing. she got darren lynn bousman (the director) and bill mosely (luigi) on the phone, and after a quick refrain of 'mark it up' by bill, the q&a continued. there was mention of grilo by terrance, which made many people chuckle happily. after several more questions, the session wrapped up and then the 3 stars went into the lobby for autograph signings. due to my awesome luck (i'm being sarcastic), i found myself basically the last person in line. and i waited in that line for 2 hours. it was totally worth it.
to wile away the time (and to try and unsuccessfully stave off my migraine the size of australia), i watched 'forgetting sarah marshall' on the ol' ipod and watched the husband and wife duo of circus performers. they were pretty awesome. and the final act involving fire sated my pyro-tendencies. i saw so many wonderful, dedicated people and it was weird and awesome to be around so many people, none i knew, who loved something as much, if not so much more, than i did. i had a lot of interesting conversations and saw a lot of interesting things. like a lot of scantily clad women. and a 'geneco' tattoo on somone's butt. it was amazing.
so yes, after 2 hours of waiting, i finally made it to the front of the line, which by now, was split into 2 lines: one for alexa and darren, one for terrance. yes, we love shilo and the co-creator/band leader...but we love graverobber even more. sorry :/...i gave them some pastries from my bakery (which didn't survive the night as well), got my dvd signed, and got pictures. apparently i did something to darren's brother. hey, i did what had to be done...
after another 20 minutes of waiting in terrance's line, i finally met the man. he deemed me a "patient and dedicated" and after an extremely uncharacteristic comment from myself, added "bold" to the assessment. he's a very hugg-y man, and after 2 1/2 hours in line, nursing a headache and extreme sleep deprivation, a hug from an attractive, talented man was more than appreciated. i gave him something i'd made (why i didn't take a picture of it before hand, i do not know). we chatted about me becoming a doctor, and thus being a true 'night surgeon', and then he signed my dvd, too. i got a parting hug, which was equally wonderful, and though i'm sure he doled them out like candy, i also got a parting kiss on the cheek. yes, the wait time was so more than worth it. and then some.
i got home at 2 and fell asleep around 2:30 and lapsed into a fitful, 2 hours rest. i had to work from 5:30 to 2:30 on saturday, and in no way was i upset by my decision to be out so late. extreme sleep deprivation had never been more worth it.
during the friday performance, they had announced that they were going to put on the shadowcast again on saturday. with no plans and running on fumes, i knew i had to go again. though saturday wasn't as chaotically exciting as friday, and though, in my opinion, some of the shadowcasting was not as strong, i still had a veritable blast. there was another auction involving 'saw' memorabilia (since 'repo!' was directed by darren bousman, who directed 'saw 2- 4'), and then, alexa vega's nunchucks were auctioned. nunchucks are illegal in arizona, apparetnly. and why alexa left them, we may never know. (she had to fly back to LA, so she couldn't make the saturday 'cast). there was another costume contest, this time won by repo-skeleton-man (as i deemed him), and another short q&a. the audience then thanked terrance and darren, who in turn, thanked us, and the wonder that was 'repo!-fest' was over. and i don't think i could have had a better time.
so i know it may seem kind of lame, since all i really did was go see an interpretation of a movie, but there really aren't words to describe the experience and all that it was. and the weekend was amazing. and i'm proud of myself for just going to this thing in general. i wanted to do something and even though i had to do it by myself, i did it, anyway. in a way, it was liberating. and in so many ways, it was some of the best fun i've ever had. and i don't apologize for that and i'm so happy that i went. the theater hopes to be able to do the shadowcast every couple of months or so, and every time, i will consider going, even if there is not a spectacle like this to accompany it. i love 'repo the genetic opera' and i love the story that goes with it. is it the most important thing in the realm of life? no. but we all need something to squee about. i'm glad this is mine.