Thanks to A24 and writer-director Mark Anthony Green, John Malkovich is officially in his pop girly era.
In the newly-released single from the Opus soundtrack, ‘Dina, Simone’, the 2x Oscar nominee channels his inner pop icon as Moretti for a song produced by Nile Rodgers and The Dream, which is reminiscent of George Michaels, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys and other greats of the ’80s and ’90s.
The song is one of three original tracks performed by Malkovich from the upcoming film, now available to stream ahead of Opus: The Moretti EP, dropping March 14 along with the movie’s theatrical debut.
Ahead of the movie’s Sundance premiere last month, Malkovich opened up in the Deadline Studio about achieving a voice he had “8 billion unfiltered Camels ago” with the help of the recording team.
“Mark Anthony told me he was going to get some great music for it, and I had my doubts about that, just because I think that’s very hard to do,” said Malkovich. “He brought one piece to visit me while I was directing a play overseas, which was nice, and then he decided against that one.
“Then I got these three songs, I think the morning I listened to them on the way to the recording studio, quietly in the Uber. And I thought, ‘Well, that will be a challenge’ because I hadn’t sung any pop in probably 40 years or more,” he added.
Green, who makes his feature directorial debut with Opus, recalled, “There was an amazing period where Dream and Nile were working with John Malkovich as Moretti, and Beyoncé… and then back with John, and then Beyoncé.”
Edeberi joked, “I feel they’re often in conversation with each other though.”
Green raved that Malkovich “had big shoes to fill, and he knocked it out of the park.”
Opus stars Edebiri as a young writer who is invited to the remote compound of the legendary pop star Moretti after he 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.
