Warning: SPOILERS for Opus!Opus, A24’s newest horror comedy, ostensibly documents the rise of a cult through the lens of a pop culture icon – but it simultaneously calls attention to the fact that many celebrity fandoms in the modern age are akin to cults already. The movie marks Mark Anthony Green's directorial debut, but his cast is filled to the brim with seasoned performers, with The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri and Oscar nominee John Malkovich leading the ensemble.

Malkovich plays Alfred Moretti, a beloved musician whose musical fame has dovetailed with a literal cult following in the 30 years since he last released music. Edebiri portrays Ariel Ecton, a music journalist who catches her big break when she’s invited to his mysterious compound alongside 5 other distinguished guests to a listening party for his next album. It is there that she learns about the Levelists, the cult that has grown around Moretti and seems to exist solely for his benefit – though he claims to merely be platforming their beliefs.

The thrills start rather quickly in Opus, as guests are picked off one by one in increasingly gruesome ways, but the central thread of the movie remains Ariel’s objective truth versus the subjective morality of Moretti and the Levelists. Even the final twist ties back to the insidious nature of propaganda, especially when it comes to the cult of celebrity. ScreenRant therefore had plenty of questions about intentionality and process to ask Green during our recent interview.

Opus Wants To Provoke You – And Not Just For The Sake Of Being Provocative

“Does That Mean You Disliked It, Or That It Was Offensive?"

The concepts of tribalism and sheep mentality are immediately apparent in Opus, as evidenced by the Levelists’ unquestioning obedience to Moretti and their harsh rejection of any criticism directed at him. Anyone who has spent time on social media or engaged in fan wars – whether the object of affection or derision is a music artist or a politician – can immediately recognize these behaviors, though they usually manifest in less extreme ways.

What we explore in Opus is the type of spell that you could be under.

Green explained that the concept for Opus stemmed from the fact that, “We're living in a time where everybody has their guy. ‘My guy is bigger than your guy. If you like my guy, then you can do no wrong. And if you hate my guy, then you can do no right.’” His movie takes that line of reasoning to its (il)logical conclusion, highlighting “the type of spell that you could be under, and how that can be exploited by the spellcaster.”

Though his goals for the messaging were undoubtedly ambitious, the director pointed out that the primary objective was not edification but entertainment. “If I had to prioritize one thing, I think the most important thing is that you have fun.” Whether or not the narrative about tribalism sticks the landing, the more valuable element for Green is the audience investment, without which no messaging will matter. “To me, that's everything. You need the honey with the medicine.”

Green’s cautionary tale of celebrity idolatry has its roots in his own experiences with the industry, having begun his career as a journalist and at one point being an editor for GQ. Though he itted that he “never saw anybody murder someone or do something that nefarious,” he did find the genre of horror to be perfect for exploring the rich world of power dynamics between artists and their fans. “I think film is such a great place to artistically explore extremes,” he added. “I'm a smartass, so I just find it to be such a ripe world.”

Of course, if we follow the parallel being drawn, then fans are the cultists and therefore the villains of Opus. Why tell the story from that perspective? “Because we're the problem,” the director responded confidently. “Opus interrogates something that I think we're all a little guilty of, and it also felt like the fresher approach to a thesis that other films have had. We're in conversation together, so I really wanted to make it , and that felt more complicated.” More than anything, he acknowledged, “I think it evokes a stronger reaction from people.”

The first word a lot of people say about the film is "provocative." And at first, I was like, "Man, does that mean you disliked it, or that it was offensive?" But I just know that evoking emotion is the first step to us really having difficult conversations. That was the intention and the goal every step of the way, and I'm super grateful and excited to see that people are really engaging with the film.

I don't think they would have engaged with the film as adamantly and thoroughly as they have been without it having the microscopic lens on us. I think, if you put it on the celebrities, there's a sense of, "Okay, well, I'm not that, so I don't have to actually engage with that. I would never do that."

Perfect Casting Is One Of Opus’ Biggest Strengths

The Director Praises Ayo Edebiri & Stephanie Suganami In Particular

ScreenRant: I think Ayo is brilliant as Ariel, and she's really our window into Moretti's world. What drew you to her as a protagonist, and how does her perspective shape the story?

Mark Anthony Green: Ayo is one of my favorite actors acting right now. I love watching what she does, but also I think she's going to go down as one of the greatest to do it. It was important to me that Ariel was a black woman. It was important that she be flawed, but never dumb, never stupid in a trophy way; she had to be strong, but young, vulnerable but not weak, and have her own personal style and POV.

I made this joke the other day, but if I were making Thor, I would cast Ayo as Thor. I think Ayo can do anything, you know what I mean? That's the easiest choice in the world, casting Ayo Edebiri. But I do think that she had a unique and specific POV for this character, and I love the life that she breathed into Ariel and her version of this character. I'm not sure that you can ask for anything more than what Ayo and John Malkovich gave in this film.

ScreenRant: Stephanie's death scene was one of the most gruesome death scenes I've ever seen on screen. What was the most challenging scene to film emotionally and logistically for you?

Mark Anthony Green: This is really one of Stephanie's first acting jobs ever. She's done small stuff, but this was really her first major role. She was basically blind for two days because of the prosthetics, so there's a level of humility that you have to bring to that because it's so uncomfortable. And she was such a great sport; so ferocious. You're sitting somewhere you can't see for six or seven hours, and then you have to go and act. Somebody's got to walk you to set, you get there, and then you have to be in that character with these really intense emotions. She just did an incredible, incredible job in such a pivotal moment of the story that we shot in 19 days.

It's a really, really aggressive shoot, and I couldn't have had a better crew. I recommend shooting in New Mexico because of the people. I had the best crew imaginable, and everything was difficult. You don't have enough time to do anything. You don't have enough money to do anything. But we wouldn't accept anything short of everything. A simple walk-and-talk, if you don't have the time, becomes the most difficult thing in the world. And then there were some high-level shots and some things that required a degree of attention and a degree of difficulty. I have the utmost gratitude towards my crew.

When I watch the film back, that's where my brain goes. I have just the fondest memories of us in the trenches trying to make the day. "If this one thing didn't work, if this person's an hour and a half late, what do we do here? How do we switch this around? We're over lunch penalty." I'm watching it, and I'm seeing something totally different than I think most people.

ScreenRant: You created a list of 101 facts, half-truths, and rumors about Moretti. What were some of the more interesting details that didn't make it into the film?

Mark Anthony Green: There were so many weird ones. There was one about his Fabergé egg collection that was really weird. And then there were some Easter eggs, like how his childhood home, the Rhinestone Chalet, vanished. People talked about what happened to it, and his multiple homes and compounds, and the women and men that he slept with. That part was really fun.

What I wanted to catch John up on, because we didn't have a ton of time, is that it's all about the mythos. Be it true, be it not true, be it real, be it valid, be it bizarre, or whatever... When someone meets a celebrity, they're showing up with all these preconceived notions. That's why I did it. It was really a posture thing, not that anyone will ever read it outside of John. But I had a hell of a lot of fun writing it and making it.

Pulling From Real Rock Icons To Make Moretti Pop

Caesar’s Request Is In Some Ways Modeled After Michael Jackson’s Invincible

ScreenRant: Moretti exists in a world alongside real-life legends like Prince and Bowie. How did you craft that mythology to feel authentic yet distinct?

Mark Anthony Green: Yeah, I never wanted him to seem like David Bowie or to seem like Prince or Liberace. But using them as an example, Prince played every instrument, so we already can't do that. David Bowie's hair color was iconic, so we can't do that. It's taking those things off the table, and then dreaming and playing around with what's left.

Moretti to me seems so original. There isn't really a musician quite like him. But the songs themselves, those three original songs, really, really jam. They belong on the radio. And that to me was the needle that I think we had to thread. I'm really, really stoked about where we landed.

ScreenRant: Moretti is introduced through his fans rather than himself. Why was it important to frame his presence through their reactions?

Mark Anthony Green: Man, I had this really weird experience. It was kind of beautiful, actually. I was at GQ, on my fourth day, and we had an ideas meeting for who should be on the next cover. Bruce Springsteen was doing a play or something, and everyone was excited about putting him on the cover. I had never heard of Bruce Springsteen as a 36-year-old black kid from Kansas City who went to an HBCU. My parents didn't listen to Bruce Springsteen, so I just had never heard of him.

When I was leaving the meeting, I went to Will Welch, who's now the editor-in-chief and is like my big brother. I felt safe to ask him who Bruce Springsteen was as we were going from one meeting to the next, and he had about 30 seconds to contextualize to me who this person was in culture and music. I kind of felt like that was the challenge with Moretti in the film. I had a very limited amount of time to show you what he means and who he is in culture, so I let people show their love. That's also what the film's about, but in a way that feels relatable. Do it in a way that feels like, "Oh, I've seen that before."

Which is to say, I think that makes the end of the film and its message resonate even harder and louder. And it was really fun. That song, that montage, the moments of Moretti when he's young? All that felt fun. A lot of the decisions are like, "Okay, what's the best choice here? What should we do? Should we do this? Should we do that? We know where we're going to end, so what's the most fun avenue?"

ScreenRant: Can I ask you about one of the songs? "35mm" seems to be Moretti's big cinematic moment. Can you talk about how that song represents the themes of the film?

Mark Anthony Green: Thank you. It jams, and I worked with Nile Rodgers and The-Dream for it. I couldn't be more honored to even know either one of those guys.

One album that I looked at was Michael Jackson's Invincible. His heyday was before this album, so you've got to make an album that sounds like you, but then you need it to be the updated version. He has all these songs like Dark Child, and these Hip hop producers, and there are a few songs on that album that are really, really good and feel like they are contemporary, but also like him.

What I wanted was songs to hit that spot, and that's such a hard thing to do. It's one of the reasons why Nile was so necessary, because his guitar playing bridges generations, in my opinion. It was a really special collaboration with them, and the song had to be really good. That was the first thing: Does it jam? Is it fun? Does it feel good?

Feel-good horror is so deeply my taste and interest in the world. so I'm proud of those songs. I love "35mm."

ScreenRant: You talked about the Bruce Springsteen story helping you inform how we got to know Moretti in such a quick amount of time. Were there any other real-world events or celebrity moments that directly influenced Opus?

Mark Anthony Green: There were some, but man, a lot of them ended up just not making it - or only the context made it. There are a few homages. I love Tyler, the Creator, so I had this whole thing with these butterflies because in my favorite music video of his, ["Perfect"] there are butterflies all over him. Prince was a vegan, but he loved Yak's milk, and the one thing he wouldn't give up was Yak's milk. So, what Stephanie's character drank is Yak's milk. There's no true-life murder that inspired Opus, but there were a lot of Easter eggs.

There's one thing that's prickly, but interesting. Obviously, Opus was done well before this happened, but you can look at the situation with Luigi. A question I've been asked a lot is, "Why did Moretti murder those people? Why did he feel like he had to?" Whether you believe Luigi's good or bad, whether you believe he was justified or not, should be in jail or not, is hot or not... I think we all can agree that if he was just standing on a corner with a sign that said "Insurance Company Bad," none of us would know his name.

I would go as far as to say that if he walked up to that CEO and punched him in the face, none of us would know his name. But he [allegedly] killed him in such a fashion that it is a global story. I want people to have the conversation, but I think there's a question to be asked there: What gets our attention? Story-wise, it's an effective way to get your message out. But the question is: Why is that so effective? Why do we need such a great story to stop and pay attention to things that are literally killing us?

Opus is very dense, and I think that that's just kind of my style as both a creative and a human. I like things that feel challenging and complicated, and if you watch them a few times, you feel like, "Whoa, there's something to really grapple with that." But when the situation with Luigi happened, I just thought that was just such an example of this phenomenon.

The Ending Of Opus Is Ambiguous On Purpose

Mark Anthony Green Hopes It Will Inspire Conversations

ScreenRant: Ayo described Ariel's arc as, "Winning, but at what cost?" Was that ambiguity always the intention?

Mark Anthony Green: Yeah, I always wanted the end to be ambiguous. Again, that bathroom conversation, I think you're way more inclined to have it if something feels unfinished. But I don't want the end to feel unsatisfying. That's the dance, right? I want you to be satisfied, but for the movie to feel unfinished.

It's that feeling of, "What now?" You call graduation a commencement because you study your ass off for 4 years and graduate, but then you commence your career, your profession, and your adult life. Opus always felt like a commencement. I think, at its best and most successful, it feels like that. I love the conversation. I love the dialogue. The conversation is as important to me as the film itself.

ScreenRant: Opus feels like a response to how fandom has evolved in the digital age. How do you think social media has amplified the dangers of celebrity worship?

Mark Anthony Green: I think social media amplifies everything, even the good stuff. I'm not anti-social media at all. I'm not very good at it, but that's just more of my own stupidity and age.

I think that social media is such a reflection of people. One thing that I would love to see is more journalists, or at least more of a journalistic approach. It used to be that, to believe something, there had to be some fact-checking. Obviously, with social media, there's no fact-checking involved by journalists.

There's a reading of Opus in which people think that I'm anti-criticism or anti-journalism, and that is the furthest from my intention with the film. If anything, I'd just like to see more of the Anderson Coopers and the Ta-Nehisi Coates of the world. I would like to see more voices like that amplified on social media, but I think social media's cool. It's where the kids are, and where I am, and I don't think that's our problem.

ScreenRant: You say that you don't have the answers, but hope the film provides the right questions. What were some of those questions you hope the audiences walk away asking?

Mark Anthony Green: "Does this still serve us? Has this thing gone too far? Should we idolize and look up to these people, or is there a better way?" Film is, to me, the ultimate art form. That's why I am so honored to be a filmmaker. Hopefully, it makes people feel something. Hopefully, it's provocative enough to make us talk together, and fun enough to make us not be repulsed by one another.

I will say I'm really inspired by the response and the reaction because I do think it evokes such a strong response from people, and people are having those conversations.

Opus is now playing in theaters.