02/11/2022, 12:09 The Fly (1986 film) - Wikipedia

The Fly (1986 film)

The Fly is a 1986 American science fiction horror film directed and co-written by David Cronenberg. Produced by Brooksfilms and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film
stars Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis and John Getz. Loosely based on George Langelaan's 1957 short story of the same name and the 1958 film of the same name, The Fly tells of The Fly
an eccentric scientist who, after one of his experiments goes wrong, slowly turns into a fly-hybrid creature. The score was composed by Howard Shore and the make-up effects
were created by Chris Walas, along with makeup artist Stephan Dupuis.

The Fly was released on August 15, 1986, to massive acclaim by critics and audiences, with praise mainly regarding the special effects and Goldblum's performance. It grossed
$60.6 million at the box office against its $9 million budget, becoming the largest commercial success of Cronenberg's career. Walas and Dupuis' work on the film resulted in
their winning an Academy Award for Best Makeup, the only Oscar won by a film directed by Cronenberg. A sequel, directed by Walas, was released in 1989.

Contents
Plot
Cast
Production
Deleted and alternate scenes
Makeup and creature effects
Music
Reception Theatrical release poster
Critical response
Directed by David
Accolades
Cronenberg
Year-end lists
Screenplay by Charles Edward
Legacy
Pogue
Other media
Sequel David
Cronenberg
Comic books
Based on The Fly

Canceled projects
by George
Renny Harlin's alternate sequel
Langelaan
Todd Lincoln's second remake
David Cronenberg's sequel Produced by Stuart
Cornfeld[1]
References
Starring Jeff Goldblum
External links
Geena Davis
John Getz
Plot Cinematography Mark Irwin

Brilliant but eccentric scientist Seth Brundle meets science journalist Veronica "Ronnie" Quaife at a meet-the-press event held by Bartok Science Industries, the company Edited by Ronald Sanders
funding his work. He takes her back to the laboratory of his warehouse home and asks her to exclusively document his invention: two pods that can teleport objects between Music by Howard Shore
them. While the "telepods" can transport inanimate objects perfectly, they are unable to teleport live tissue, as demonstrated when a baboon is turned inside out after being Production
Brooksfilms
teleported. companies
SLM Production
As they experiment with the invention, Seth and Ronnie begin to form a relationship. Using two steaks, one a control and one teleported, Seth discovers that the machine is Group
creating a synthetic version of biological material rather than the object itself. He reprograms the system to understand the makeup of living tissue and successfully teleports a
Distributed by 20th Century
second baboon. Ronnie departs before they can celebrate, and Seth worries that she is rekindling her relationship with her editor, Stathis Borans. She actually left to confront
Fox
Stathis about a veiled threat, spurred by his jealousy of Seth, to publish the telepod story without her consent. While drunk, Seth teleports himself alone, unaware that a
housefly had entered the transmitter pod with him. He emerges from the receiving pod seemingly normal. Release date August 15, 1986

After Seth and Ronnie reconcile, Seth exhibits sugar cravings and increased strength, agility, stamina, and sexual potency, which he believes resulted from the teleportation Running time 96 minutes
"purifying" his body. Ronnie becomes increasingly concerned about Seth's deteriorating sanity, as well as strange, bristly hairs growing from a wound on his back and Country United States
developing sores on his face. When she expresses her worries, Seth becomes aggressive, insisting that the process is beneficial. He tries to force Ronnie to undergo Language English
teleportation, but she refuses.
Budget $9[2]–15
Seth goes to a bar and partakes in an arm-wrestling match, leaving his opponent with a compound fracture. He brings a woman, Tawny, back to the warehouse, where they million[3]
have sex. After that, Seth tries to coerce her into teleporting. However, Ronnie intervenes, and Seth throws her out. When his fingernails begin falling off, he realizes something Box office $60.6 million
is wrong. He checks his computer's records and discovers that the telepods confused the two lifeforms, fusing him with the fly at the molecular-genetic level.

Seth continues to deteriorate, losing body parts along with his human appearance. After several weeks, he reconnects with Ronnie and reveals he is slowly becoming a hybrid creature that is neither human nor
insect, which he has nicknamed "Brundlefly." He has also begun vomiting digestive enzymes onto his food before eating and is able to cling to walls and ceilings. He also discovers that he is losing his human
reason and compassion and is now being driven by primitive impulses he cannot control.

Seth installs a fusion program into the telepod computer, planning to dilute the fly genes in his body with human DNA. Ronnie discovers she is pregnant with Seth's baby and has a nightmare of giving birth to a
giant maggot. She demands that Stathis persuade a doctor to perform an abortion in the middle of the night, but Seth overhears Ronnie's fears and abducts her before the procedure occurs. He begs her to carry
the child to term since it may be the last remnant of his humanity. Stathis breaks into Seth's lab with a shotgun, but Seth disables him using his corrosive vomit to destroy Stathis' hand and foot, stopping just
short of vomiting acid onto his face when Ronnie screams at him to stop.

Seth reveals his final plan to Ronnie: he will use the telepods to fuse the two of them, along with the unborn child, into a single entity to become "the ultimate family." During a struggle, she accidentally tears off
his jaw, which triggers his final transformation, shedding his decaying flesh to become a monstrous, insectoid-human creature.

Seth traps Ronnie in the first telepod, puts himself in the other, and begins the countdown. A weakened Stathis recovers his shotgun and severs the cables connecting Ronnie's telepod to the computer. Seth breaks
halfway out of his own pod, but the fusion process activates, gruesomely amalgamating him with a chunk of the telepod. Seth crawls to Ronnie and places the end of the shotgun to his head, silently begging her to
end his suffering. Looking on at the creature that was once Seth Brundle, she tearfully fires, killing him instantly. She falls to her knees in despair.

Cast
Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle Joy Boushel as Tawny David Cronenberg as a Gynecologist
Geena Davis as Veronica "Ronnie" Quaife Leslie Carlson as Dr. Brent Cheevers
John Getz as Stathis Borans George Chuvalo as Marky

Production
In the early 1980s, co-producer Kip Ohman approached screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue with the idea of remaking the classic science fiction horror film The Fly.[4] Pogue began by reading George Langelaan's
short story and then watching the original film, which he had never seen. Deciding that this was a project in which he was interested, he talked with producer Stuart Cornfeld about setting up the production, and
Cornfeld very quickly agreed.[5] The duo then pitched the idea to executives at 20th Century Fox and received an enthusiastic response, and Pogue was given money to write a first draft screenplay. He initially
wrote an outline similar to that of Langelaan's story, but both he and Cornfeld thought that it would be better to rework the material to focus on a gradual metamorphosis instead of an instantaneous monster.
However, when executives read the script, they were so unimpressed that they immediately withdrew from the project. After some negotiation, Cornfeld orchestrated a deal whereby Fox would agree to distribute
the film if he could set up financing through another source.[4]

The new producer was Mel Brooks; the film was to be produced by his company, Brooksfilms. Cornfeld was a frequent collaborator and friend of Brooks. Together, they had produced David Lynch's film The
Elephant Man.[5] (Brooks would leave his name off the film's credits, to avoid confusing viewers who might expect "a Mel Brooks film" to be a comedy.) Cornfeld gave the script to Brooks, who liked it but felt that
a different writer was needed. Pogue was then removed from the project, and Cornfeld hired Walon Green for a rewrite. However, Green's draft was not a step in the desired direction, so Pogue was then sought to
polish the material.[4] At the same time, Brooks and Cornfeld were trying to find a suitable director. Their first choice was David Cronenberg, but he was working on Total Recall, an adaptation of the Philip K.
Dick short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale", for Dino De Laurentiis, so he was unable to accept.[5] Cornfeld decided on a young British director named Robert Bierman after seeing one of his short
films. Bierman was flown to Los Angeles to meet with Pogue, and the film was in the very early stages of preproduction when tragedy struck: Bierman's family had been vacationing in South Africa, and his
daughter was killed in an accident.[5] Bierman boarded a plane to go to his family, and Brooks and Cornfeld waited for a month before approaching him about resuming work on the picture. Bierman told them
that he was unable to start working so soon, and Brooks told him that he would wait three months and contact him again. At the end of the three months, Bierman told him that he could not commit to the project.
Brooks told him that he understood and had freed him from his contract.

Cornfeld then heard that Cronenberg was no longer associated with Total Recall and re-approached him with The Fly.[5] Cronenberg agreed to sign on as director if he would be allowed to rewrite the
script.[6][3][7]

Pogue's draft

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1986_film) 1/5
02/11/2022, 12:09 The Fly (1986 film) - Wikipedia

Geoff and Barbara Powell are a happily married couple. Geoff, a brilliant scientist, has been working on a teleportation machine, but is unwilling to tell his employer, Phillip DeWitt, or his friend, Harry
Chandler, about the nature of the project. DeWitt is greatly displeased by this, and threatens to pull his funding of the mystery project unless he is given full disclosure. After several failed experiments,
such as a monkey's atoms never reintegrating after disintegration, Geoff eventually is successful in teleporting both inanimate and living objects. However, when he tries it on himself, a housefly slips
into the booth with him. Seemingly normal at first, Geoff soon develops incredible strength, stamina, and energy. After sprouting fly-hairs and losing his fingernails, Geoff eventually discovers that the
fly has been absorbed into his body, and that its cells are now taking over his own.

As he slowly mutates into a giant fly, Geoff loses body parts, and becomes able to climb walls, as well as digest food with corrosive vomit. Barb is horrified to learn that she is pregnant by Geoff, and
cannot be sure if the child was conceived before or after his teleportation. Eventually, Chandler discovers the teleporter's existence, reveals it to DeWitt, and demonstrates it on a cat, only to have the
lost monkey atoms return from the ether and create a horrible "monkey-cat" creature, which DeWitt beats to death with a metal rod. Despite this failed experiment, DeWitt sees the substantial
monetary value of the device, and so takes possession of the teleporter. Geoff (now mostly transformed into a fly-monster and unable to speak) learns of this, and goes to DeWitt's office building,
followed by Barb. Geoff confronts DeWitt, starts a fire in the lab where the teleporter is now housed, and kills DeWitt by vomiting and feeding on him. He then traps himself in one of the teleportation
booths just as Barb arrives to watch the fire kill him and destroy the teleporter—his intent all along. In a coma, Barb dreams of giving birth to a giant maggot, only to wake up in a hospital, where it is
revealed that she's given birth to a healthy baby boy.

Cronenberg's draft

The revised script differed greatly from Pogue's screenplay, though it still retained the basic plot and the central concept of a gradual mutation. Cronenberg rewrote the characters and most of the
dialogue from scratch (as well as fusing DeWitt and Chandler--who had romantic intentions toward Barb in the Pogue draft--into Stathis Borans), and carried over a few key moments and concepts.
Certain aspects of the transformation from Pogue's draft (such as the hero's loss of body parts) were expanded upon, and Cronenberg also layered in his trademark themes of sexuality, body horror,
and personal identity. He also made it a point to keep Seth Brundle as articulate as possible for as long as possible, as opposed to Pogue's draft, in which Geoff Powell loses his ability to speak two-
thirds of the way through the script.

Seth Brundle's increasing mania and personality changes in the early stages of the transformation were emphasized in the rewrites, and the notion of the transformation itself being a horrible (and very
metaphorical) disease became a key factor in the new script. Also, in this version, Brundle was clearly transforming into a bizarre hybrid creature as the result of a genetic fusion, whereas in Pogue's
version, Powell was being taken over by the fly's cells, which had been absorbed into his body (thus slowly transforming him literally into a giant fly, rather than Brundle's deformed man-fly mixture).
Cronenberg's version also retained such moments as Brundle catching a fly in mid-air, the fingernail-pulling, and the maggot-baby dream (which was moved to an earlier point in the story, and used
for thematic and plot purposes rather than as an end-of-film shock moment).

The "monkey-cat" of Pogue's script was repurposed by Cronenberg into a twisted, desperate attempt by Brundle to find a cure, and Pogue's sequence of a fly leg hatching from Geoff's side was taken
one step further, with Brundle amputating the twitching limb with his teeth. Pogue's script also featured a bag lady being murdered by Geoff in an alley, and Cronenberg revised this so that the woman
was killed by vomit-drop (as with DeWitt's murder at the end of the original draft) rather than Geoff cutting her throat accidentally (however, Cronenberg never filmed his version of this sequence,
which was written out of the final shooting script). While Cronenberg's script did not end with Veronica Quaife giving birth, it did end with a coda which revealed that she was pregnant with a normal
baby, conceived by Borans after Brundle's death (and the abortion of Brundle's possibly tainted fetus).

Despite the extensive rewrite of Pogue's script, Cronenberg insisted during Writers Guild arbitrations that he and Pogue share screenplay credit, since he felt that his version could not have come to pass without
Pogue's script to serve as a foundation.[6]

With a script that everyone approved of, Cronenberg assembled his usual crew and began the process of casting the picture. John Lithgow was offered the role of Seth Brundle but turned it down, stating it was too
grotesque;[8] ultimately deciding on Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis for the leads. Chris Walas, who had designed the creatures in Gremlins, was hired to handle the film's extensive special effects. Principal
photography began on December 1, 1985, in Toronto.

The producers commissioned musician Bryan Ferry to record a song for the film for promotional purposes. The resulting track was "Help Me". A music video was made for the song, and footage from the film was
prominently featured in it. Cronenberg admitted to liking the song, but he felt that it was inappropriate to the film itself. Brooks and Cornfeld originally wanted to play the song over the closing credits, but after
Cronenberg screened it for them, they agreed with the director that it did not mesh with the movie. As a result, the song is featured only briefly in the film, in the background during the scene where Brundle
challenges Marky in the bar. "Help Me" became rather obscure, as it was not included on the film's soundtrack release. The song resurfaced in 1993 on the Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry compact disc Ultimate
Collection.[9]

The design of Brundle's telepods was inspired by the engine cylinder of Cronenberg's Ducati Desmo motorcycle.[10]

Deleted and alternate scenes

After filming ended early in 1986, a rough cut of The Fly was shown to Fox executives, who were very impressed. A rough cut was then previewed at Toronto's Uptown Theatre in the spring of that year. Due to a
strong audience reaction, the graphic and infamous "monkey-cat" sequence was cut from the film to make it easier for audiences to maintain sympathy for Brundle's character. Another preview screening was
subsequently held at the Fox lot in Los Angeles, and this version featured the "butterfly baby" coda. As before, the screening results dictated that the scene be cut.[6][3]

Makeup and creature effects

The Academy Award-winning makeup was designed and executed by Chris Walas, Inc. over a period of three months. The final "Brundlefly" creature was designed first, and
then the various steps needed to carry protagonist Seth Brundle to that final incarnation were designed afterwards. The transformation was intended to be a metaphor for the
aging process. To that end, Brundle loses hair, teeth and fingernails, with his skin becoming more and more discolored and lumpy. The intention of the filmmakers was to give
Brundle a bruised and cancerous look that gets progressively worse as the character's altered genome slowly asserts itself, with the final Brundlefly hybrid creature literally
bursting out of Brundle's hideously deteriorated human skin. The creature itself was designed to appear horribly asymmetrical and deformed, and not at all a viable or robust
organism. The different stages of Seth
Brundle's gradual transformation
Various looks were tested for the makeup effects. Some early test footage can be seen on the 2005 The Fly: Collector's Edition DVD, as well as the Blu-ray release.
into "Brundlefly"

The transformation was broken up into seven distinct stages, with Jeff Goldblum spending many hours in the makeup chair for Brundle's later incarnations.[3]

Stages 1 and 2: subtle, rash-like skin discoloration that leads to facial lesions and sores, with tiny fly hairs dotting Goldblum's face, in addition to the patch of fly hairs growing out of the wound on Brundle's
back.
Stages 3 and 4-A: piecemeal prosthetics covering Goldblum's face (and later his arms, feet, and torso), wigs with bald spots, and crooked, prosthetic teeth (beginning with stage 4-A).
Stage 4-B: deleted from the film, this variant of stage 4 was seen only in the "monkey-cat" scene, and required Goldblum to wear the first of two full-body foam latex suits, as Brundle has stopped wearing
clothing, at this point.
Stage 5: the second full-body suit, with more exaggerated deformities, and which also required Goldblum to wear distorting contact lenses that made one eye look larger than the other.
Stage 6: the final "Brundlefly" creature (referred to as the "space bug" by the film's crew), depicted by various partial and full-body cable- and rod-controlled puppets.
Stage 7: another puppet which represented the mortally injured Brundlefly-Telepod fusion creature (initially dubbed the "Brundlebooth" and later the "Brundlething" by the crew) as seen in the film's final
moments.

Music
The score to The Fly was composed and conducted by Howard Shore, and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It was released on record, cassette and compact disc (with three additional tracks
exclusively included on the latter) by Varèse Sarabande, and in 2005 was remastered and reissued on a two-disc set with Christopher Young's album for The Fly II.

Titles in bold are exclusive to the CD release. The soundtrack presents the music out of order from the movie's presentation.

1. Main Title 1:54

2. Plasma Pool 1:54
3. The Last Visit 2:25
4. Stathis Enters 2:20
5. The Phone Call 2:07
6. Seth Goes Through 2:02
7. Ronnie Comes Back 0:55
8. The Jump 1:21
9. Seth and the Fly 2:21
10. Particle Magazine 1:02
11. The Armwrestle 0:51
12. Brundlefly 1:43
13. Ronnie's Visit 0:35
14. The Street 0:43
15. The Stairs 1:25
16. The Fingernails 2:35
17. Baboon Teleportation 0:58
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1986_film) 2/5
02/11/2022, 12:09 The Fly (1986 film) - Wikipedia

18. The Creature 2:08

19. Steak Montage 0:59
20. The Maggot/Fly Graphic 1:37
21. Success With Baboon 0:58
22. The Ultimate Family 1:59
23. The Finale 2:51

Reception

Critical response

The Fly was critically acclaimed, with most praise going to Goldblum's performance and the special effects. Despite being a gory remake of a classic made by a controversial, non-mainstream director, the film was
a commercial success, the biggest of Cronenberg's career, and was the top-grossing film in the United States for two weeks, earning a total domestic gross of $40,456,565. Audiences reacted strongly to the graphic
creature effects and the tragic love story, and the film received much attention at the time of its release. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[11]

Cronenberg was surprised when The Fly was seen by some critics as a cultural metaphor for AIDS, since he originally intended the film to be a more general analogy for disease itself, terminal conditions like
cancer and, more specifically, the aging process:

If you, or your lover, has AIDS, you watch that film and of course you'll see AIDS in it, but you don't have to have that experience to respond emotionally to the movie and I think that's really its power.
This is not to say that AIDS didn't have an incredible impact on everyone and, of course, after a certain point, people were seeing AIDS stories everywhere, so I don't take any offense that people see
that in my movie. For me though, there was something about The Fly story that was much more universal: aging and death—something all of us have to deal with.[9][12][13][14]

Film critic Gene Siskel named The Fly as the tenth best film of 1986.[15] In 1989, Premiere and American Film magazines both conducted independent polls of American film critics, directors and other such
groups to determine the best films of the 1980s, and The Fly appeared on both lists.

The Fly holds a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 8.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "David Cronenberg combines his trademark affinity for
gore and horror with strongly developed characters, making The Fly a surprisingly affecting tragedy."[16] In 2005, Time magazine film critics Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel included The Fly in their list of
the All-TIME 100 Greatest Movies.[17] Time later named it one of the 25 best horror films.[18] The film was ranked #33 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.[19] Similarly, the Chicago Film Critics Association
named The Fly the 32nd scariest film ever made.[20] In 2021, The Daily Star ranked The Fly at the top of its list of greatest short story adaptations, praising the film for "exhibit[ing] how greater a short story can
evolve, and very much become its own detached, barely recognisable thing."[21]

Accolades

The Fly was nominated for the awards in the chart below. Many genre fans and film critics at the time thought that Jeff Goldblum's performance would receive a Best Actor Oscar
nomination,[22] but this did not happen. Gene Siskel subsequently stated that Goldblum most likely "got stiffed" out of a nomination because the older Academy voters generally do
not honor horror films.[23]

Award Category Subject Result

Academy Award Best Makeup Won
Chris Walas & Stephan Dupuis
BAFTA Award Best Makeup and Hair Nominated
Hugo Award Best Dramatic Presentation Nominated
Best Actor Jeff Goldblum Won
Best Actress Geena Davis Nominated
Jeff Goldblum received the
Saturn Award Best Makeup Chris Walas Won
Saturn Award for Best Actor
Best Horror Film Won for his role in the film
Best Director David Cronenberg Nominated

Year-end lists

In 2008, the American Film Institute distributed ballots to 1,500 directors, critics and other people associated with the film industry in order to determine the top ten American films in ten different genre
categories. Cronenberg's version of The Fly was nominated under the science fiction category, although it did not make the top ten.[24] It was also nominated for AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills[25] and AFI's 100
Years...100 Passions[26] and Veronica's warning to Tawny in the film—"Be afraid. Be very afraid."—was nominated for AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes.[27]

The quote "Be afraid. Be very afraid." was also used as the film's marketing tagline, and this became so ingrained in popular culture (as it—and variants—have appeared in countless films and TV series) that a
large number of people who are familiar with the phrase are unaware that it originated in The Fly.[9]

Legacy

On October 10, 2020, the film was referenced in a Saturday Night Live sketch regarding the 2020 vice presidential debate. Jim Carrey provided an impression of Jeff Goldblum.[28]

Heavy metal band Ice Nine Kills released "F.L.Y" as part of their 2021 album The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood. The song is inspired by the 1986 film.

Other media

Sequel

Whereas the 1958 original was followed by two sequels, Cronenberg has said that the stories in his films have definitive beginnings and endings, and he has never considered making a sequel to one of his own
films, although others have made sequels to Cronenberg films, including Scanners (1981).

The Fly II (1989) was directed by Chris Walas, the man behind the makeup and creature effects of both films and Gremlins. It is a direct continuation of The Fly. It features Veronica Quaife giving birth to
Brundle's mutant son before dying, and it focuses on the Bartok company's attempts to get the Telepods working again.

David Cronenberg was not involved with the project. The only actor to return for the sequel was John Getz as an embittered Stathis Borans. Veronica Quaife appears briefly in the film. She is played by Saffron
Henderson, since Geena Davis declined to reprise the role. Jeff Goldblum appears in archival footage of Seth Brundle in two scenes, including the post-teleportation interview segment that was deleted from the
first film.

An early treatment for a sequel, written by Tim Lucas, involved Veronica Quaife dealing with the evils of the Bartok company. Brundle's consciousness had somehow survived within the Telepod computer, and
the Bartok scientists had enslaved him and were using him to develop the system for cloning purposes. Brundle becomes able to communicate with Veronica through the computer, and he eventually takes control
of the Bartok complex's security systems to gruesomely attack the villains. Eventually, Veronica frees Brundle by conspiring with him to reintegrate a non-contaminated version of his original body. Cronenberg
endorsed this concept at the time. Geena Davis was open to doing a sequel (and only pulled out of The Fly II because her character was to be killed in the opening scene), while Goldblum was not (although he
determined a cameo appearance was acceptable), and this treatment reflects that.[29] However, a later treatment written by Jim and Ken Wheat was used as the basis for the final script, written by Frank
Darabont. Mick Garris also wrote a treatment, with elements incorporated into the final film.

Comic books

Beginning in March 2015 IDW Publishing released The Fly: Outbreak, a five-issue comic book miniseries written by Brandon Seifert.[30] The story is a direct sequel to the events of The Fly II, and features Seth
Brundle's son, Martin, inadvertently causing a transgenic outbreak while attempting to cure Anton Bartok, to whom he'd previously transferred his mutant genes at the end of The Fly II.

Canceled projects

Renny Harlin's alternate sequel

In the 1990s, Geena Davis was reportedly involved with an alternate sequel to The Fly, to be directed by her then-husband, Renny Harlin, titled Flies. The script by Richard Jefferies was said to feature a story in
which Veronica gives birth to twin boys, and she survives the ordeal.

Todd Lincoln's second remake

In 2003, it was announced that a second remake of The Fly was being developed, to be directed by Todd Lincoln, produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures, and released in 2006, but this did not happen.[31][32]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1986_film) 3/5
02/11/2022, 12:09 The Fly (1986 film) - Wikipedia

David Cronenberg's sequel

In 2009, it was rumored that David Cronenberg himself was preparing to direct a second remake of The Fly,[33] but it was not until 2011 that the director addressed the rumors. Cronenberg stated that he had
written not a remake, but rather a "sort of" sequel script to his 1986 version, and would film it if 20th Century Fox gave the project the go-ahead:

I have written a script that is more of a strange lateral, let's say oblique sequel than it is a true sequel, and it's certainly not a remake of the original. It's financed by Fox, and whether it will get made or
not, I cannot say at the moment because there are a lot of up-in-the-air factors that deal with internal studio politics and a bunch of other things that I'm not in control of. But I would make it if they
greenlight it, let's put it that way.

Cronenberg elaborated further when interviewed by Empire in 2012:

Well, I did talk to Fox, because my agent found out that they were approaching people to do a remake of my film. He sort of said, "Well, you know, what about David?" And they said, "Well, we never
thought of that!" I think they'd been to Guillermo del Toro and Michael Bay. I said, "Long ago I proposed a sequel to Mel Brooks when he said he wanted to make a sequel." He didn't like what I
proposed because he said it wasn't the same as the original movie. "A sequel," he said, "should be more of the same." And I said, "Well, Mel, then I'm not interested." And he went off and did his sequels
[sic] and they had nothing to do with me and they weren't very successful. But I still had this idea in mind—which no, I won't tell you—and I said to Fox, "I'll write that idea up because, as I think of it, it
could be interesting." And they were excited about it enough to pay me to write a script. And then for various reasons it kind of got bogged down. I don't know exactly why. It seems now that it's not
going to happen. But it's a script that I like and would do. It's not exactly a sequel, and it's certainly not a remake. More a meditation [...] it involves teleportation.[34]

In a late 2012 interview, Cronenberg provided additional details on why the project had stalled, citing

Budget constraints and other things. I think maybe the script that I wrote was a little too radical for Fox, and they felt it really needed to be a very low-budget film at that point. However, what was in it
that attracted them could not be done low-budget. So I think that was the problem.[35]

He also described the project as "more of a sequel or a sidebar. It was a meditation on fly-ness. None of the same characters or anything and, of course, with an understanding of modern technology."[36]

Despite Cronenberg's prior assertions that he does not make sequels to his films, he returned to The Fly for the opera The Fly in 2008, and his proposed sequel film project would mark a second return to the
material, as well as his first sequel to one of his previous movies.[37][38] However, the film is not moving forward.[39]

On June 15, 2018, Jeff Goldblum said he would be interested in doing a sequel only if Cronenberg was involved even though his character died. “I don’t think my character would be involved because of course I
got tragically mutated with the fly and then the machine, oh boy. But maybe I show up as a grandchild of the original Seth Brundle, or Seth Brundle had a brother. Had a brother that emerges in some ways! Who
knows, I don’t know but David Cronenberg was a thrill to work with. Boy, if he was involved I’d like to work with him again, I’ll tell you that.”[40]

References
1. "The Fly" (https://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.asp
x?s=&Movie=68348). American Film Institute. Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20161023114438/http://www.afi.com/member
s//catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=68348) from the original
on 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
2. Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and
Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p260
3. Lucas, Tim (1986). "The Fly Papers". Cinefex Magazine.
4. Thurman, Trace (2016-09-15). " 'The Fly' Was Released 30
Years Ago Today" (https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/34027
30/the-fly-released-30-years-ago-today/). Bloody Disgusting.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20171005050708/http://bl
oody-disgusting.com/editorials/3402730/the-fly-released-30-year
s-ago-today/) from the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved
2017-10-04.
5. Westwood, Emma (2016-08-15). "The Fly: A 30-Year Love Story"
(https://fourthreefilm.com/2016/08/the-fly-a-30-year-love-story/).
4:3. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20171005050719/http
s://fourthreefilm.com/2016/08/the-fly-a-30-year-love-story/) from
the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
6. Fear of The Flesh: The Making of The Fly, 20th Century Fox,
2005
7. The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood's Scariest Insect. AMC
Backstory. AMC. 2000.
8. "John Lithgow Says He Turned Down David Cronenberg's 'The
Fly' Because It Was 'Icky' And 'Grotesque' " (https://www.indiewir
e.com/2014/05/john-lithgow-says-he-turned-down-david-cronenb
ergs-the-fly-because-it-was-icky-and-grotesque-86380/).
indiewire.com. May 5, 2014.
9. DVD audio commentary. The Fly. 20th Century Fox. 2005.
10. Cronenberg, David (2010). Blu-ray Commentary. The Fly. Los
Angeles: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC.
11. "Home" (https://www.cinemascore.com/). CinemaScore.
Retrieved 2022-06-09.
12. "FILM FREAK CENTRAL takes a look at David Cronenberg's
body of work—with a little help from the master himself" (https://
web.archive.org/web/20030401142610/http://filmfreakcentral.net/
notes/dcronenbergretrointerview.htm). Film Freak Central.
Archived from the original (https://www.filmfreakcentral.net/notes/
dcronenbergretrointerview.htm) on 2003-04-01.
13. Cronenberg, David; Rodley, Chris (1997). Cronenberg on
Cronenberg. Faber & Faber. ISBN 9780571191376.
14. Iverson, Jeffrey T. (September 4, 2008). "David Cronenberg Tries
Opera" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130826060713/http://ww
w.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1838909,00.html). Time.
Archived from the original (https://time.com/time/arts/article/0,85
99,1838909,00.html) on August 26, 2013. Retrieved January 16,
2021.
15. "Gene Siskel's 10 Best Lists: 1969 to 1998" (https://web.archive.
org/web/20151127054504/http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/
critics/siskel.html). Archived from the original (http://alumnus.calt
ech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/siskel.html) on November 27, 2015.
Retrieved July 2, 2010 – via Caltech.edu.
16. "The Fly (1986)" (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1007602_fl
y?). Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20200605061027/https://www.rottentomatoes.co
m/m/1007602_fly) from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved
May 14, 2021.
17. "Time Magazine's All-Time 100 Greatest Movies" (https://web.arc
hive.org/web/20100715185255/http://www.time.com/time/special
s/packages/article/0,28804,1953094_1953143_1953500,00.htm
l). Time. February 12, 2005. Archived from the original (https://ti
me.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1953094_19531
43_1953500,00.html) on July 15, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
18. "Top 25 Horror Movies" (https://web.archive.org/web/2011100821
1247/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,167
6793_1676808_1677021,00.html). Time. October 29, 2007.
Archived from the original (https://time.com/time/specials/2007/ar
ticle/0,28804,1676793_1676808_1677021,00.html) on October
8, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
19. "Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments" (https://web.archive.
org/web/20071030070540/http://www.bravotv.com/The_100_Sca
riest_Movie_Moments/index.shtml). Archived from the original (ht
tps://www.bravotv.com/The_100_Scariest_Movie_Moments/inde
x.shtml) on October 30, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
20. "Chicago Critics' Scariest Films" (https://www.altfg.com/film/chica
go-critics-scariest-films/). AltFilmGuide.com. Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20150604013812/http://www.altfg.com/blog/ho
llywood/chicago-critics-scariest-films/) from the original on June
4, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
21. Bari, Mehrul (2021-06-13). "10 must-watch short story-to-film
adaptations" (https://www.thedailystar.net/book-reviews/news/10-
must-watch-short-story-film-adaptations-2110225). The Daily
Star. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210615110854/htt
ps://www.thedailystar.net/book-reviews/news/10-must-watch-sho
rt-story-film-adaptations-2110225.html) from the original on June
15, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
22. Mathews, Jack (August 27, 1986). "Goldblum's 'Fly' May Land In
Oscar Circle" (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-
27-ca-14397-story.html). Los Angeles Times. Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20210122030243/https://www.latimes.com/ar
chives/la-xpm-1986-08-27-ca-14397-story.html) from the original
on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
23. Siskel, Gene (February 18, 1987). "Oscar Swats 'The Fly' " (http
s://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-02-18-87011301
44-story.html). Chicago Tribune. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20201202164408/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct
-xpm-1987-02-18-8701130144-story.html) from the original on
2020-12-02. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
24. "AFI's 10 Top 10: Official Ballot" (http://connect.afi.com/site/DocS
erver/10top10.pdf?docID=381&AddInterest=1781) (PDF).
AFI.com. American Film Institute. Archived (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20110716071937/http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/1
0top10.pdf?docID=381&AddInterest=1781) (PDF) from the
original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
25. "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills: Official Ballot" (http://connect.afi.c
om/site/DocServer/thrills400.pdf?docID=249) (PDF). AFI.com.
American Film Institute. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
110716072312/http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/thrills400.p
df?docID=249) (PDF) from the original on July 16, 2011.
Retrieved July 2, 2010.
26. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions: Official Ballot" (https://www.afi.c
om/Docs/100Years/passions400.pdf) (PDF). AFI.com. American
Film Institute. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2017051707
3555/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/passions400.pdf) (PDF)
from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
27. "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Quotes: Official Ballot" (http://connect.afi.
com/site/DocServer/quotes400.pdf?docID=205) (PDF). AFI.com.
American Film Institute. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
090919175551/http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/quotes400.
pdf?docID=205) (PDF) from the original on September 19, 2009.
Retrieved July 2, 2010.
28. Pallotta, Frank (11 October 2020). " 'SNL' mocks the VP debate
between Kamala Harris, Mike Pence and the fly" (https://www.cn
n.com/2020/10/11/media/snl-kamala-harris-mike-pence-vice-pres
ident-debate/index.html). CNN. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
29. Lucas, Tim (June 20, 2016). "The Story Behind FLIES - My 'Lost'
FLY Sequel" (http://videowatchdog.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-sto
ry-behind-flies-my-lost-fly.html). Video Watchdog. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20170324084049/http://videowatchdog.
blogspot.com/2016/06/the-story-behind-flies-my-lost-fly.html)
from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
30. Orange, Alan (December 17, 2014). "David Cronenberg's 'The
Fly' Gets a Comic Book Sequel" (https://movieweb.com/david-cro
nenberg-fly-movie-comic-book-sequel/). MovieWeb. Archived (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20141218232049/http://www.moviewe
b.com/david-cronenberg-fly-movie-comic-book-sequel) from the
original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
31. "Another "The Fly" Remake In The Works" (http://www.horror.co
m/php/article-20-1.html). Horror.com. Archived (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20210504022816/https://googleads.g.doubleclick.ne
t/pagead/html/r20210429/r20190131/zrt_lookup.html) from the
original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
32. "What The Fly Remake Could Have Been Like..." (http://www.ins
omniacmania.com/news/3527/what-fly-remake-could-have-been)
Insomniac Mania. 2006-03-28. Archived (https://web.archive.org/
web/20120422183807/http://www.insomniacmania.com/news/35
27/what-fly-remake-could-have-been) from the original on 2012-
04-22. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
33. "David Cronenberg Remaking The Fly... Again?" (http://shocktilly
oudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=11945). Shock Till You Drop.
2009-09-23. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120807063
852/http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=1194
5) from the original on 2012-08-07. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
34. "The Big Interview - Empire" (https://archive.today/20130201082
209/http://www.readperiodicals.com/201202/2583301841.html).
Readperiodicals.com. Archived from the original (http://www.read
periodicals.com/201202/2583301841.html) on 2013-02-01.
Retrieved 2012-11-01.
35. "David Cronenberg interview: 'Cosmopolis', 'Nightbreed', 'The
Fly' sequel" (https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a437534/david-cr
onenberg-interview-cosmopolis-nightbreed-the-fly-sequel/).
Digital Spy. 2012-09-13. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0210122004559/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a437534/dav
id-cronenberg-interview-cosmopolis-nightbreed-the-fly-sequel/)
from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
36. "David Cronenberg Shares Details Of Canceled 'Eastern
Promises 2' & 'The Fly' Remake +" (http://blogs.indiewire.com/th
eplaylist/exclusive-david-cronenberg-shares-details-of-canceled-
eastern-promises-sequel-and-fly-remake-20121214). Indiewire.
2012-12-14. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20121218022
107/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/exclusive-david-cronen
berg-shares-details-of-canceled-eastern-promises-sequel-and-fly
-remake-20121214) from the original on 2012-12-18. Retrieved
2012-12-18.
37. Ed (2011-10-03). "Exclusive: Cronenberg Has Written a Sequel
to The Fly" (http://shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=2
1268). Shock Till You Drop. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20120807063901/http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topne
ws.php?id=21268) from the original on 2012-08-07. Retrieved
2012-11-01.
38. Man is an Insect, Dave Alexander, Rue Morgue, 2011
39. Rich, Katey (22 November 2011). "David Cronenberg Reveals
Details On The Scrapped The Fly Remake, Eastern Promises 2"
(https://www.cinemablend.com/new/David-Cronenberg-Reveals-
Details-Scrapped-Fly-Remake-Eastern-Promises-2-28020.html).
Cinema Blend. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/202101220
04947/https://www.cinemablend.com/new/David-Cronenberg-Re
veals-Details-Scrapped-Fly-Remake-Eastern-Promises-2-28020.
html) from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
40. "Jeff Goldblum Is Open To Doing The Fly Sequel" (https://geekso
ncoffee.com/jeff-goldblum-the-fly-sequel/). June 15, 2018.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20200716010853/https://g
eeksoncoffee.com/jeff-goldblum-the-fly-sequel/) from the original
on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.

External links
The Fly (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091064/) at IMDb
The Fly (https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v17925) at AllMovie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1986_film) 4/5
02/11/2022, 12:09 The Fly (1986 film) - Wikipedia

The Fly (https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fly.htm) at Box Office Mojo

The Fly (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1007602-fly) at Rotten Tomatoes
The Fly (https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-fly) at Metacritic

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Fly_(1986_film)&oldid=1116812859"

This page was last edited on 18 October 2022, at 13:13 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0;

additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a
non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1986_film) 5/5