Trivia for
The Fly (1986) More at IMDbPro »

• Director Cameo: [David Cronenberg] obstetrician who delivers the maggot baby.
  
  
• Several sequences were filmed but cut from the final release, including: a sequence where Brundle sends a cat and the surviving baboon through the telepods, resulting in a mutated creature he beats to death with a pipe; a scene where Brundle climbs the outside of his building as an insect limb emerges from his side; and an alternate ending in which Veronica has another dream of her unborn child, this time as a baby with beautiful butterfly wings.
  
  
• The inspiration for the design of the telepods came from the shape of the cylinder in director David Cronenberg's vintage Ducati motorcycle. Brundlefly's "vomit drop" was, in reality, made from honey, eggs, and milk.
  
  
• It took nearly five hours to apply the most extensive makeup stages to actor Jeff Goldblum.
  
  
• The Chris Walas, Inc. designers studied graphic books on disease as a starting point for their "Brundlefly" makeup/creature designs. The final "Brundlefly" creature is horribly deformed and asymmetrical. This reflects director David Cronenberg's idea that the creature shouldn't be a giant fly, but rather a literal fusion of a man and an insect that embodies elements of both.
  
  
• The famous tagline, "Be afraid. Be very afraid", originated in this film as dialogue spoken by Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis).
  
  
• Screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue originated the idea of remaking The Fly (1958), and wrote the script. When David Cronenberg was hired as director, one condition was that he be able to extensively rewrite the script. Cronenberg substantially altered the characters (and their names), the dialogue, and much of the plot. However, key details from Pogue's script (the fusion of man and fly and details of the metamorphosis) were retained.
  
  
• Originally a project for Tim Burton to direct.
  
  
• Michael Keaton was offered the role of Seth Brundle, but he declined.
  
  
• After watching some of his early films, director Martin Scorsese asked to meet David Cronenberg. After meeting him, Scorsese said he looked like a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. That is why Cronenberg gives himself a cameo as a doctor in this film.
  
  
• The line, "I'm saying I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it, but now that dream is over and the insect is awake," is a reference to author Franz Kafka's 1912 story "The Metamorphosis," in which a man wakes from a nightmare to find himself transformed into a giant insect.
  
  
• While working at Fox, it was Scott Rudin's suggestion to Stuart Cornfeld that they hire David Cronenberg as director. Cornfeld agreed and after Mel Brooks had written an eloquent letter to the bosses at Fox, they agreed. At which time, Cronenberg's asking salary was US$750,000. Brooks, Cornfeld and Fox, countered with a deal for $1 million which sealed the deal.
  
  
• The scene where Seth and Ronnie are having coffee at the restaurant and is talking endlessly was only half scripted, while the remainder was written the night before the scene was going to be filmed, as Jeff Goldblum felt that he could add more to the character.
  
  
• When David Cronenberg was hired as director, it was contingent that he'd work with the same crew of filmmakers he's always worked with that included Editor Ronald Sanders, Production Designer Carol Spier, Director of Photography Mark Irwin and Composer Howard Shore.
  
  
• Scripted, but never filmed, was a segment meant to have followed the deleted monkey-cat scene: A homeless lady screams after interrupting Brundlefly as he feeds out of an open dumpster. Brundlefly seizes the bag lady and disintegrates her face with his vomit drop. Before he finishes feeding on the woman's corpse, Brundlefly's humanity emerges for a moment; just long enough to contemplate the horror of his sub-human existence.
  
  
• Robert Bierman was the original director but dropped out after the death of a family member.
  
  
• Originally, Cronenberg turned down the film because of a scheduling conflict with the shooting of Total Recall (1990) for Dino De Laurentiis. So the producer hired Robert Bierman, and just when they were about to go into production Bierman experienced a terrible family tragedy and decided he couldn't make such a dark film. At about the same time, Cronenberg realized that he and De Laurentis were not seeing eye to eye and backed out, leaving him free to direct this film.
  
  
• Mel Brooks didn't want people to know he was a producer for the film because, he thought people wouldn't take it seriously if they knew he was involved. When people did find out he decided to make the most of it by handing out deely boppers at the premiere.
  
  
• Seth's saying, "Drink deep, or taste not, the plasma spring", is a reference to a famous quote from Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Criticism". The full quote is: "A little learning is a dang'rous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring: Their shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again."
  
  
• An Opera based on this movie is currently being produced for the stage in 2008. David Cronenberg is directing, Howard Shore has composed the music and the lyrics have been written by David Henry Hwang.
  
  
• This was the first theatrical film to have its broadcast premiere on the Fox television network.
  
  
• After bringing Veronica, a journalist, to his apartment, the first thing Seth does to impress her is play the piano. In real life, David Cronenberg's mother played the piano, while his father was a journalist.
  
  
• Director Trademark: [David Cronenberg] Brundle describes his condition from the "disease's" viewpoint, saying its "purpose" or its "want" is to "turn him into something else."
  
  
• The silver car driven by Stathis Borans (John Getz) is a 1980 Maserati Quattroporte III.
  
  
• Veronica tells Seth (Jeff Goldblum) that "Something went wrong." Ellie Sattler tells Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) the same thing in Jurassic Park (1993)). Brundle and Malcolm are also both in the habit of wearing the same set of clothes every day.
  
  
• David Cronenberg met with some opposition when he announced that he wanted to cast Jeff Goldblum in the lead role. The executive at Fox who was supervising the project felt that Goldblum was not a bankable star, and Chris Walas felt that his face would be difficult to work with for the make-up effects. Both, however, deferred to Cronenberg's judgment. Cronenberg himself later had reservations when Goldblum suggested Geena Davis, his girlfriend at the time, for the other lead role, as he did not want to have to work with a real-life couple. Cronenberg was convinced after Davis's first reading that she was right for the role.
  
  

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