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More like RIP-OFF MEN
Mar. 13th, 2010 11:40 pmSo if you're the kind of person who watches horror or sci-fi movies, you may have noticed the new movie coming out, Repo Men. But what you might not know is that this movie is based on a book which, while it was being written, used to be called, Repossession Mambo.
This isn't extraordinary in itself, and normally I would be looking forward to seeing a movie about repo-men whose job it is to repossess not cars or houses, but people's organs in a distopian future. Except that I already have! Repo Men is a total rip off of a stage-musical turned movie, Repo! The Genetic Opera.
Most people aren't familiar with Repo! which is too bad, because it is fantastic. It's been around as a stage musical for about 10 years, and has a Rocky Horror type cult following. Yes, it's an opera in the literal sense - a rock opera. The Trailer gives a pretty good impression of the campy style. And apparently some guy must have thought to himself, "This is great, but I'd bet it would do better if it wasn't an opera, since some people just can't get into that." So he wrote a book and got a movie deal.
And no, this isn't just a case of two stories with a similar premise. If the "opera" vs "mambo" part wasn't a tip off already, the plots are eerily similar, down to the Repo Man's family set up. I can't say more without spoiling both but they have a lot in common. The author of the book even had to add a forward before it got published explaining how he came up with the idea for the story--i.e. how he totes didn't steal it.
But of course, you can't copyright a premise, or even a series of story events, so Repo! can't do anything about it.
So whether or not you decide to see Repo Men, do yourself a favor and check out Repo! The Genetic Opera. It's campy and bloody but the music is great and the story underneath has a hell of a lot of heart (the emotional kind, not just the beating kind). And if you like it, tell your friends, because it deserves to be better known.
Or come over and watch my DVD ;D
This isn't extraordinary in itself, and normally I would be looking forward to seeing a movie about repo-men whose job it is to repossess not cars or houses, but people's organs in a distopian future. Except that I already have! Repo Men is a total rip off of a stage-musical turned movie, Repo! The Genetic Opera.
Most people aren't familiar with Repo! which is too bad, because it is fantastic. It's been around as a stage musical for about 10 years, and has a Rocky Horror type cult following. Yes, it's an opera in the literal sense - a rock opera. The Trailer gives a pretty good impression of the campy style. And apparently some guy must have thought to himself, "This is great, but I'd bet it would do better if it wasn't an opera, since some people just can't get into that." So he wrote a book and got a movie deal.
And no, this isn't just a case of two stories with a similar premise. If the "opera" vs "mambo" part wasn't a tip off already, the plots are eerily similar, down to the Repo Man's family set up. I can't say more without spoiling both but they have a lot in common. The author of the book even had to add a forward before it got published explaining how he came up with the idea for the story--i.e. how he totes didn't steal it.
But of course, you can't copyright a premise, or even a series of story events, so Repo! can't do anything about it.
So whether or not you decide to see Repo Men, do yourself a favor and check out Repo! The Genetic Opera. It's campy and bloody but the music is great and the story underneath has a hell of a lot of heart (the emotional kind, not just the beating kind). And if you like it, tell your friends, because it deserves to be better known.
Or come over and watch my DVD ;D
