Reggie Ponder sat down with writer/director Mark Anthony Green to talk about his film OPUS, starring Ayo Edebiri (The Bear).
The film is officially described as follows: “Opus follows a young writer (Edebiri) who is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star (John Malkovich) who mysteriously disappeared thirty years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.”
The following dialogue reveals the director’s vision and the powerful messages embedded within OPUS.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: Mark Anthony, in your director’s statement, you mentioned hoping Opus will force us to ask the right questions. What are the wrong questions you think society is fixated on?
Mark Anthony Green: I think the wrong question that we are asking is, “How do I win?” And by that, I mean, like, everybody’s choosing a side. And when I talk about tribalism in this film, there’s such a my guy’s bigger than your guy mentality. And if you like my guy, then you can do no wrong. If you hate my guy, dislike my guy, disagree with my guy, then you can do no right. You’re never right.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: And what are the consequences of asking that wrong question?
Mark Anthony Green: I think it’s all about “How does my side win?” And I think that’s the wrong question because I think that we’re all losing. And we’ve never been further apart. There’s no nuance anymore. There’s no space for disagreement. And therefore, there’s no space for growth.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: So, what’s the right question we should be asking?
Mark Anthony Green: The right question is, “Does this thing—does tribalism—does it still serve us? Does this still work? Does this serve us?” The people that we’ve chosen to lead us—not just in entertainment, but in all facets of life and globally—does that still work?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: What specific questions do you hope audiences will ponder after watching Opus?
Mark Anthony Green: One question is, “Is that possible?” I’ve had people ask, “Can that really happen (the situation in the film)? Can something like that really happen? Is this threat really a threat?”
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: Can you give an example of what you mean by that?
Mark Anthony Green: Look at Luigi (referring to Luigi Mangione, who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson). Whether you think Luigi is a hero, a terrible person, a murderer—whether you think his cause is valuable or not—I think we can agree that we wouldn’t know his name if he just stood on a corner and held a sign up, and that CEO walked past the sign. And you wouldn’t know his name if he walked up to that CEO and punched him in the mouth. But Luigi, in this grand fashion, he murdered this person.
And again, I’m not saying it’s right. I’m not saying it’s wrong. I’m not saying anything about the cause. Put that aside for a second. The action of that has created a global news story that has made us have this conversation. And whatever cause or crusade that he’s on, people are engaging with it.
And so, OPUS is a thriller. One could assume that there’s murder. I don’t think that that’s a spoiler. But could this happen?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: Opus has a lot of tension. What was your goal with that?
Mark Anthony Green: I think that in film—art in general—you want to make something as evocative and provocative as possible. I think that we need all of it in this art form that we love.
Horror, especially for Black filmmakers, has always been a tool for us to sneak in messages. And I think there’s a lot of humor in the film. There’s a lot of suspense in the film. And if you can make people feel both of those things, I think they’ll listen to your message better.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: How do you feel about the diverse reactions viewers might have to Opus?
Mark Anthony Green: However you experience this movie is your experience.
As a filmmaker, I feel so good because I did everything that I could for this film. And so, if you like the movie, great. If you love the movie, even better. If you don’t, I hope I get you on the next one. No hard feelings.
But if you experience it—however you experience it—if it was just scary for you and you didn’t laugh, if it was really funny to you and you didn’t jump, but you enjoyed either experience, I can’t—I don’t want to micromanage that.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: Historically, Black characters in horror have often been relegated to stereotypical roles. Was it intentional to make Ayo Edebiri’s character—the one who questions everything and drives the narrative—a Black woman?
Mark Anthony Green: It was very, very important to me that she be a Black woman who never does something stupid. She never falls down when she’s running from the boogeyman. She never has a gun and puts it down. She never runs into a room. She never doesn’t take stock of the fact that a person’s missing.
And that was also important for her too. We got this amazing opportunity to make a film with a Black lead—a Black woman—and to make her strong and smart and flawed. You don’t want any character that’s not flawed. But to make her an accurate representation of the Black women in my life… I just don’t know any stupid Black women. I don’t know any.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: Give us your best pitch—why should people go see Opus?
Mark Anthony Green: I guarantee you three things.
First, going to see Opus will be one of the most fun experiences that you have at the theater this year.
Second, if you don’t already love Ayo Edebiri, you will absolutely leave this film loving her.
And third, I promise to spend your money wisely. I’ll buy something for my mom—something really nice for my mother. (Smiling jokingly.)
Seriously, please see the film. It’s super fun.
This was great. I’m really glad we got to talk.
OPUS is in theaters now nationwide.
