When I interviewed cinema auteur David Cronenberg last year for Wired.com, an opera version of his 1986 sci-fi remake The Fly was still in the larval stage. But now it has evolved into a body-horror blockbuster in Paris, with the help of Howard Shore, David Henry Hwang and, yes, Placido Domingo.
But we're still afraid. Very afraid.
According to the Associated Press, Shore was convinced The Fly would make a freaky opera right when the film first dropped. For his part, Domingo saw the opportunity as one he couldn't pass up.
"Why not?" he told the AP. "I couldn't resist."
Cronenberg's operatic mutation celebrates its Parisian premiere Wednesday at the City of Light's Theatre du Chatelet, while the American strain will infect the Los Angeles Opera on September 7. It's a welcome return of sorts to sci-fi for the Canadian film legend, who's behind creepy brain-teasers like Shivers, Scanners, Videodrome and more. Lately, he's been crafting crime thrillers like A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, but that doesn't mean he's taken his eye off of outer, or inner, space.
"I know fans have nostalgia for the movies that they grew up with," he explained to Wired.com in December 2007, "but to redo that would be boring. On the other hand, I wouldn't ever rule out doing another sci-fi or horror film as a matter of course. If something came along that was intriguing and challenging, I wouldn't hesitate."
Photo: AP/Chatelet Theater, Marie Noelle Robert, HO
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