Opus Tells the story of Ariel Ecton, a budding writer who is played by Ayo Eebiri, one of a handful of journalists selected to visit the compound of an enigmatic pop star (John Malkovich) to celebrate his return to music after a 30-year disappearance.
The character of Malkovich, Alfred Moretti, is not a direct parody of a pop star – he is as if Madonna David Bowie meets Willy Wonka. His dedicated followers live with him on a compound, and the longer Ariel spends with him, the more the Fandom starts to feel like a cult.
Mark Anthony Green, a columnist in former style for GQ, wrote and directed the film. His work in the magazine brought a fascination for the tribalism of celebrities and the ways in which people are obsessed with their favorite musicians and actors, on which he used in making Opus.
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Green spoke with Yahoo Entertainment after the premiere of the film at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Opus Opens in theaters on March 14.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Where did this idea come from and how did you start to believe that this idea was a movie?
I love the way you have formulated that, because there is something that I want to say around the world – I wanted us to interrogate this pandemic of tribalism in every country and all over the world and in every facet, not just entertainment. There were a lot of different worlds that I visually explore. I just started writing, and six years later I am here with Kelsey.
Pop-star horror Is now popular, which of course is a result of what we appreciate as a culture. But this film is so different from recent releases such as Smile 2 And Fallbecause instead of being about the fear of being A pop star, it’s about the fear of being obsessed by A pop star. Is there a reason why you chose the other perspective?
It’s funny – as a filmmaker you are supposed to say: “Oh, I don’t want to be talked about in the context of other films.” But I love Smile 2! That opening series is sick. The nice thing about art is that you can have a similar thesis statement as other artists, because as artists we are simply in our small caves and observe the world. Then we display something artistically and show it to people. I feel strange when people say, “You do something that did this other film, but you did it differently.” I love Blink twice And Midsummer [and other films Opus has been compared to] Because they are all so different, but the similarities speak with each other.
Fictional pop star Alfred Moretti, played by John Malkovich, performs for a group of journalists Opus. (Anna Kooris/A24/Courtesy Everett Collection)
You have one of the biggest movie stars in the world, John Malkovich, in your film that plays this eccentric pop star. How did you know he was the right fit?
I didn’t know it at first, but I believed in him. By making the character and working together, we met a lot. I sent him an e -mail at all hours of the night because he never just sits somewhere. He is never just in Los Angeles on an e -mail. He plays in Austria. He is just gone to be John Malkovich, but he is fearless. One of the things I demanded was that the first thing he had to do, to record the songs. I wanted him to be Moretti. He had to sing them and they had to be great. We had Nile Rodgers and De-Dream-je could make an objective argument that those are two of the best songwriters in the history of humanity. The facts are there, which is insane. [Malkovich] Needed to take a certain gravitas and presence with you to shine and work with them to justify all that talent in the room. And he did – it felt like: “Holy shit, we’re in the room with Moretti!” I am 36 and hopefully I have a lot of life left to live, but … … as closely work with him and intimate as we did has been one of the honor of my life.
How did you know that Ayo Edebiri had to be your star?
First of all, if you can place Ayo Edebri in a movie, you put Ayo Edel in a movie. I think she could do everything. She could play Thor. I would look at that! No lack of respect for Chris Hemsworth, but if they ever do it again AridI am completely busy with Ayo. She is one of the great ones. If you look at how long her career will last, you know that this is just the beginning, which is so exciting. I think she has such great instincts. She has this enormous ability to be in the moment, and I think that as a fan and a person who loves film, watching her is one of the best things we have to work.
Another star of the film is in my opinion level, the cult that discovers the character of Ayo. How did you come up with it?
I have done a lot of research! That will be a bit strange, because you realize that some of these religions have bad practices, whatever level, but some of them have good principles! With some you can just feel the manipulation. Then some have very popular, common beliefs. Research was probably my least favorite part of this entire process, but it was really necessary. I wrote this Bible of 300 pages, The meditations of the levelAnd when I had done that, I had to put it down for a few weeks and then go back and read it. I felt that I knew what the religion was about – the pros, the disadvantages, the way it could be exploited, the way it started and the good in it. That is how it is to develop a character – you want a well that you can get out of, so if you are asked how something looks like, you have an answer. I think the best way to approach a film is to do as much psycho work as possible at the front, so that those decisions come very quickly when you are in production.
Would you ever publish that book and just don’t tell anyone that it is part of the film?
I would feel so bad if something bad happened!
Opus Opens in theaters on March 14.
