Happy birthday THE FLY. Thank God we don't have teleporters yet

Whenever someone complains about remakes, there are a few classics you can drag out as counterpoints. One is John Carpenter’s The Thing, vastly superior to the original. David Cronenberg’s The Fly is another – and it recently turned 30.

Yup, it’s been 30 years since a younger Jeff Goldblum mixed his DNA with an insect and soon became a maniac intent on fusing himself with Geena Davis in the most literal sense possible. In celebration of this classic, let’s dish up some The Fly trivia:

Tim Burton nearly made it

The remake was actually set to have Tim Burton direct and Michael Keaton star in the lead. Two years later the pair would team up for Beetlejuice. So The Fly may have been a VERY different movie and Beetlejuice may have never happened.

Mel Brooks produced it

Yes, the Mel Brooks, best known for his slapstick comedy genius. The same Mel Brooks apparently loves horror. He even told Cronenberg to take the horror as far as he liked.

Vincent Price Liked it – to a point

Horror icon Vincent Price starred in the 1958 original. Jeff Goldblum sent him a letter of admiration, as well as a copy of the film. Price liked it, but said it went too far. I guess Cronenberg did follow Brook’s advice.

Cronenberg couldn’t direct it at first

David Cronenberg was an early choice as a director for The Fly. But he was busy working on Total Recall. That fell through, he moved onto The Fly (after Brooks bid $1 million for his services) and Total Recall became a Paul Verhoeven/Arnold Schwarzenegger project.

Martin Scorsese is in it

You can catch the famous director in a cameo as a doctor.

It’s one of the Davis-Goldblum couple films

Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum were a couple back in the mid Eighties. The Fly was one of their collaborations – and a big hit. On the back of this they also made Earth Girls Are Easy, which was a bit less of a hit.

It’s Cronenberg’s biggest earner

Speaking of hits, nothing has made David Cronenberg more money than The Fly. It grossed over $60 million from a $9 million budget.

Several graphic scenes were cut

The movie had a number of intense scenes that never made it into the final movie. But not because of censorship: test and festivals screenings revealed some scenes just went too far and turned the audience against the main character sooner than they should.

Last Updated: August 16, 2016