Tag Archives: genetic opera

Getting my geek on – Geek Media Expo Vol. 2

Bob & Carl with Timmy

Bob & Carl with Timmy

This past weekend I attended, performed and worked at a local Nashville convention called Geek Media Expo (GMX). This year marked the second year for the con (I happened to work it last year as well as VIP assistant) and I admit that I had an awesome time this year.

The special guest lineup was most excellent and I had the chance to meet Jeph Jacques, Bob & Carl: Sci-Fi Janitors, Dominic Keating and Garrett Wang along with a slew of other folks. In between running from my panels to performances, being painted green and then washing it all off and trying to find time to eat a bite or two, I did get the chance to hang out with various friends who had come into town for the convention and others that I’ve seen at every convention I’ve worked since the Tattoo & Horror Festival in April. (yep, 4 conventions this year that I’ve run into them at so far)

I didn’t spend a lot of money on stuff, though I was sorely tempted. I did purchase the Questionable Content book which Jeph autographed for me. That was pretty much my only purchase though I happily browsed the dealer room and wandered the guest tables, looking longingly at other merchandise.

This weekend I was also keeper of the Timmy from ThinkGeek.com. I have three costumes for him currently in my possession and he happily wore two of them to the convention: a “THE” shirt from Questionable Content (and yes, Timmy got his picture with Jeph Jacques, the created of QC and a Jedi outfit, complete with lightsaber. That last outfit got quite a few smiles and he posed for pictures with Bob & Carl and even the entire group of folk who attended my panel on Jedism (and the other 2 Star Wars panels I ran).

There were some great events including an Orion Slave Auction where you could bid on folks who were offering services like “Pool Party Escort” or “20 minute massage”. Me, I had a friend airbrush me green and I offered a front row, no wait seat to the showing of Repo! The Genetic Opera that my cast was performing at. There was a small bidding war for me and that prize but the final amount was $90. All the money from the auction was being donated to St. Jude’s and we actually raised quite a bit during that event.

The Race of the Tauntauns was another event that was hilarious. We had the slight problem of having only one Tauntaun sleeping bag….so with the help of Brian and Crispy from WhattheCast, we improvised an “imaginary” tauntaun sack race. They provided the commentary and interviews with the 11 racers. We also had 3 obstacles: a guy in a Jar Jar mask who laid on the floor and had to be hopped over, Amanda in a Greedo mask that had to be shot before she shot them, and finally the racers had to stop by Garrett Wang’s table and get their photo taken with him. As the racers approached the finish line they had to hop in slow motion and were penalized if they sped too fast through that part.

Here’s what made it so hilarious…

Imagine them doing a sack race without the sacks.

That’s right. Our racers basically pretending to have Tauntauns that they had to mount and we made them hop the length of the course as through they were really wearing a sleeping bag.

There was a bonus treat for Repo! and RHPS fans on Saturday night. A true Science Fiction Double Feature with back to back showings of those two cult films complete with shadowcast performances. Our local Repo shadowcast, Testify!, rocked the showing that night!

Now that the con is over I’m already looking forward to next year and it just spurs on my excitement for Dragon*Con when I’ll get to see many of these folks again!

Did any of you attend GMX this year? What were your favorite panels or events? (bonus points if you happen to claim it was one of the crazy things I was involved in)

Addicted to the knife… (or “why I love Repo! The Genetic Opera”)

I’m surprised I haven’t really written about one of my favorite geeky things yet in the past two weeks I’ve been a proud writer here at The GeeksFTW.

Repo! The Genetic Opera

Never heard of it? Let me give you a few reasons why you should go out and pick this up:

Repo

1. Much of the movie involves ripping out people’s organs and singing maniacally while doing so.
2. Anthony Stewart Head (yes, Giles!) sings the lead role.
3. Where else can you see Bill Moseley and Nivek Ogre (from Skinny Puppy) play homicidal brothers?
4. Terrance Zdunich as the Graverobber is definitely a hot goth boy.

And the reason that actually gets most people to watch it:

5. Haven’t you always wanted to see Paris Hilton’s face fall off?

Now that you have those reasons, I can give you a quick summary:

It’s in the “not too distant future” and the human race got a little ahead of itself with technology. The population fell victim to a disease called Neural Overstimulation Syndome which cause massive orgran failures. Billions died because of this until a company called GeneCo, headed by the Largo family, came up with a way to create and patent replacement organs. People who couldn’t afford transplants could finance them instead. With this new lease on life “upgrading” your body with surgery became fashionable and very popular. A new anesthetic was developed by GeneCo called Zydrate. This drug was highly addictive and blackmarket (and dangerous) versions of it extracted from dead bodies started being sold as well (with the dealers often being Graverobbers).

The downside to this came if you defaulted on your payments. When that happened GeneCo sent out special enforcers called Repo Men to get back their property…without anesthesia.

It’s in this setting that we find one man, his daughter, a corrupt family and the ties that bind them all in a complex web as one young girl tries to break free of her genetic destiny.

Tell me that didn’t intrigue you a least a little bit.

As you probably guessed by now, this is a rock opera. Yes, that means there is singing. However, with people like Bill Moseley and Ogre singing a couple of lead roles, this isn’t your typical musical. Even my friends who can’t stand musicals seem to love this movie. The gore is the type that is so over the top that it’s funny. (wait till you get to the “puppet” moment….trust me) The comic art sequences that are inserted to give the backstories are amazing and drawn by one of the creators of the movie, Terrance Zdunich. The music is catchy. I promise that “Zydrate Anatomy” will get stuck in your head in a good way.

And finally, the story is well written. As Shilo (the daughter) explores the world outside that she’s been locked away from during her life you find yourself caught up in her discoveries and how she reacts to the strange people that she encounters. I also love the interactions between the head of GeneCo, Rotti Largo, and his three children.

The movie itself has already attained a solid cult status among fans and has followed in the tradition of Rocky Horror Picture Show of being a film that has “official” shadowcasts around the world. Many cities boast a Repo! shadowcast that is well rehearsed with costumes, props, sets, special fx and even their own home venues. I’m the creator and co-director (and Graverobber) of the shadowcast here in Nashville, Testify! And I gotta say, we’re about to have our third performance and even after watching/listening to this movie hundreds of times (I’ve lost count….I lost count about 2 months into creating the shadowcast) I still love this film. It’s one that I just can’t seem to get tired of.

Terrance often describes the movie as one that you either love or hate. I have to agree, though I was originally “meh” about it untill a sudden obsession with it hit me three months after the first watching. Even knowing that, give it a try. Watch it through to the end. Then drop me a line and let me know what you thought.

Testify!