Southland Tales

[MacGuffin]

Richard Kelly Upset With Planned Movie Edits
Source: FemaleFirst.co.uk

Hollywood director Richard Kelly is furious after learning distributors plan to cut one hour of footage from his latest movie Southland Tales.

Kelly's follow-up to his cult hit Donnie Darko received a disastrous reception from critics at the Cannes Film Festival in France earlier this year (06).

And the 31-year-old now has no idea if American audiences will ever get to see the movie as he intended it to be seen.

He tells Hotdog magazine, "What's disappointing, frustrating is that now I don't know that Southland Tales will be seen in the United States.

"Maybe it will, but potentially it could be shown with almost an hour of it missing. I don't quite know what that film is.

"It was intended to be this epic LA story. I just don't know if I have the energy anymore.

"I tried. I tried. And hopefully they'll (the fans) get a chance to see it at some point".

[gob]

Is there a set release date for this in the US or UK or are the studio just going to rape it and throw it out when they feel like it?

Despite the bad buzz it got at Cannes I'm still incredibly interested to see the full Richard Kelly version of the movie as it sounds (unusually for a film created in Hollywood) unlike anything else I've seen.

Anybody else still interested in this movie?

[Pozer]

nah

[pumba]

Richard's statement on Southland Tales



I just wanted to give everyone an update on Southland Tales, as there was recently an article published in Hot Dog Magazine about the film being taken away from me and cut down by an hour. This interview took place during the Cannes Film Festival and WAS TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT WITHOUT REFERENCING MANY POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE THEN.
As many of you know, the film has been bought by Sony and I have been finishing A SHORTER cut of Southland Tales under their supervision. It has been a great experience and I feel like the film is now in better shape than ever. The film will absolutely be released in theaters, and Sony is still deciding on an appropriate release date and strategy.
The second graphic novel of The Prequel Saga, "Southland Tales - Book II: Fingerprints, will be released on September 13th. Book III will likely come out in mid-October. If you like the books, I guarantee you will love the film, as it represents chapter IV-VI!
Thank you guys for your continued support, and please know that I am incredibly proud of this film and excited for it to be seen. What you will see in theaters will absolutely be my cut of the film!
Best,
Richard

[Ultrahip]

ewwww.....january

[MacGuffin]

Timberlake A Disfigured Iraq War Vet, Gellar A Porn Star In 'Tales'
'Donnie Darko' director re-editing 'Southland Tales,' which is spawning graphic-novel series.   
Source: MTV

Trying to summarize the plot of "Southland Tales" is a bit like explaining string theory to your dog: More likely than not, you'll be met with a blank stare. Attempting to explain the story-behind-the-story of the upcoming flick, meanwhile, is more comparable to filing the proper forms at the DMV: No matter how you do it, you're still likely to end up with a headache.

So, for simplicity's sake, here are a few basic facts: The movie stars a ridiculous list of actors including Sarah Michelle Gellar, the Rock, Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore, Seann William Scott and a dozen other recognizable names. It is Richard Kelly's follow-up to 2001's "Donnie Darko," one of the boldest debut films from a writer/director in recent memory. And, in a weird way, the first third of the movie is already out there for you to enjoy.

" 'Southland Tales' is basically a science-fiction fantasy about the near future," the 31-year-old auteur recently explained. "It's about what would happen to our country, potentially, if we were hit with another major terrorist attack. And it's trying to use comedy to project a political fantasy in the near future. [The film is] trying to engage young people to talk about alternative fuel, homeland security, the Patriot Act, foreign policy, the tabloid culture and a lot of other important issues."

In short, this ain't no "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties." Kelly compares his vision to that of complex films like "Brazil" and "Dr. Strangelove" and has concocted a bizarre mix of deadpan comedy, apocalyptic politicizing and musical numbers. Not surprisingly, he suffered a long and arduous road getting his movie made in a town known for celebrating the one-line synopsis.

"The Rock plays Boxer Santaros, a movie star stricken with amnesia," Kelly said. "Seann William Scott plays twins who are also mysteriously stricken with amnesia, and he finds himself with a psychic connection to this movie star. They both awaken in the Nevada desert. They're involved in this massive conspiracy involving a lot of characters, and one of the most pivotal is Krysta Now, a porn star played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. She is the femme fatale and the mysterious broker of this massive conspiracy involving an alternative-fuel corporation [and] a senator running for vice president." 
 
On top of that is an impressive roster of comedians, all cast against type. "Once you can do comedy you can do anything," Kelly said. "You can dial them back and play it straight, and it's still funny, but it's about restraint. Jon Lovitz, we dyed his hair blond, and he plays this vicious cop character, a film-noir thug of a cop. Cheri Oteri plays a neo-Marxist freedom fighter who's a comedian, but she's angry at the world — she worked out for the role and got really buff. Amy Poehler plays a beatnik poet/performance artist, and Nora Dunn plays a porno director."

When Kelly shot the film more than a year ago, he encountered plenty of the problems that plague independently financed films. But landing big names wasn't one of them, thanks to his post-"Darko" buzz and a willingness to allow his actors to stretch. "We have Justin Timberlake in the film, playing a disfigured Iraq war veteran, and he's the heart and soul of it," Kelly said of the singer, who was eager to get past his pretty-boy image. "[Timberlake is] this doomsday prophet, and he's our narrator. And Mandy Moore plays the spoiled-brat daughter of a Texas senator. You see a lot of these actors taking their image and shaking it up, showing different parts of themselves. It's exciting to see them in roles you wouldn't expect."

But when, exactly, will we see these performances? It's a question that even Kelly can't answer. In May, a rambling, 160-minute cut debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and was received with the kinds of walkouts and bad reviews that could make a grown man cry.

"We made this movie for the people who loved 'Donnie Darko,' " Kelly insisted, downplaying the French response. "For people who read 'The Onion,' watch 'South Park' and listen to Green Day — very much the MTV audience. The fact that this film got [into Cannes] is a huge honor, and it is a statement that the film has something to say."

Sony Pictures would seem to agree, as it recently purchased the rights to the film and currently has Kelly slaving away on a brand-new, substantially shortened cut. "We're still finishing the film, and we'll be done with it in a couple of months," Kelly said. "I think at that point Sony [will decide] exactly when and how to release it."

In the meantime, however, Kelly and another cult figure, writer/director Kevin Smith, have concocted a unique way to simultaneously preserve the edited plot points and build anticipation. "I went to Kevin and pitched it to him," the "Southland" helmer said of the new graphic-novel series bearing the same name. "It's definitely an experiment, but we're excited."

The first graphic novel, "Two Roads Diverge," which introduced the film's major characters, was released this summer. The second, "Fingerprints," hit stores a few weeks ago.

"The film was always divided into three chapters, and as we got into it I started to get frustrated because I was like, 'Man, there is so much more I want to tell,' " said Kelly, who will soon release the third comic book with Smith, who also acts in the flick. "I started designing a back story as a way of figuring the story out in my own terms, and I thought, 'Well, let's just cross media and create chapters one, two and three as graphic novels and the film will be chapters four, five and six.' "

Once again, Kelly is going out on a limb with an idea that many in Hollywood might not understand. But it's rare to see a filmmaker give his audience credit for being smart enough to keep up.

"[We're] hoping people excited about the film will start reading the books and getting an awareness for the characters in the story, and then there will be a cliffhanger that will end in the movie theater," he explained. "We're hoping it might change the way people go see a film, in the sense that you'll already know the characters when you walk into the theater."

Maybe the French just didn't understand "Southland Tales" — or maybe, as some critics insist, none of us ever will. But good luck finding anybody who fully understood Kelly's debut the first time they saw it yet didn't grow to love its complexity after repeat viewings.

"It's like in 'Donnie Darko,' when she says, 'You're weird' and he says, 'I'm sorry,' and then she says, 'No, that was a compliment,' " Kelly grinned. "Everyone's weird, everyone's confused, everyone's screwed up in the head [in my audience]. I'm happy to be a part of it."

[Neil]

So, did anyone here pick up the graphic novels? 

[MacGuffin]

From Kelly's myspace blog:

Picture Lock
Current mood:  energetic

Sorry for the radio silence. I have been incredibly busy finishing
Southland Tales and prepping The Box simultaneously. We are hoping to begin production in early March, 2007 in Virginia.

After almost a year of editing, we have finally locked picture on
Southland Tales!

2 hrs 17 min. The final cut is 27 minutes shorter than the
"work-in-progress" version that premiered at Cannes. I am very happy
with this edit, as we have done a significant amount of work to solve the
rubiks cube narrative. Justin Timberlake just recorded the final voice-over
this past sunday. We still have some visual effects work to do... but expect a release date and a trailer soon!

I hope everyone is enjoying Southland Tales - Book II: Fingerprints.
Book III is going to the printer in about a week, and I believe that it is
the best of the three (cerainly the longest). I can't believe it is almost
over... and that we have made it to the end with our sanity intact.
Well... perhaps not completely intact:)

I leave for Cape Canaveral tomorrow to attend my first space shuttle
launch.

Expect some big announcements soon!

RK

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=87279726&blogID=201502851&MyToken=532fcdaf-fcb1-4429-84b5-e38030817120

[MacGuffin]

Southland update
Source: JoBlo

If you're wondering why you haven't seen a trailer yet for Richard Kelly's SOUTHLAND TALES, it's because... there isn't one yet. Nor is there any distribution plan or release date in place yet, which will surely disappoint anyone anxiously waiting to see how Kelly follows his cult fave DONNIE DARKO.

Kelly gave an update at his MySpace blog, stating that the film awaits budget approval for completion, and that a soundtrack deal is in the works. He also recommends reading the online SOUTHLAND TALES "prequel saga" graphic novels for maximum enjoyment of the eventual film. In the meantime, Kelly isn't letting those hands get idle -- he's still working on the horror movie THE BOX and is hammering out another screenplay, a remake of a 1971 action film for a "big director" (speculation is that it's the car chase flick VANISHING POINT, which was already remade as a TV movie starring a pre-Aragorn Viggo Mortensen).

Southland Tales Teaser Trailer
Current mood:  excited

Hello all,

I have been inundated with requests about the trailer for Southland
Tales... and I am sorry to say that it does not yet exist:( Sorry everyone...
but I promise we are getting closer!

We are still in the process of getting the budget approved to finish
all of the additional visual effects in the final cut. There were many missing
and incomplete visual effects in the Cannes version, so expect lots of
improvements! Fingers crossed that we get the additional money...

Release date has not been decided upon, as the distribution plans are
still in the works.

We are in advanced negotiations for a soundtrack deal for Southland
Tales, but until there is a locked release date... we won't know for sure.

The graphic novels are done... so I hope everyone is checking out The
Prequel Saga. I really believe that the people who read the books will
enjoy the film a lot more on their first viewing.

Casting is still underway on The Box... but we will not start filming
until later this year... as there is still work to be done in the Southland.

In the meantime... I have been hired by Fox to write a big action film
for [FAMOUS DIRECTOR]. It is a remake of a film released in 1971...

I've already started writing... and will have it finished in the next
9-10 weeks... right about the time I hope to have this whole Southland Tales
thing out of my system... once and for all... for the love of God... if
he is not dead, per The New York Times.

Best,

RK

[polkablues]

In the meantime... I have been hired by Fox to write a big action film
for [FAMOUS DIRECTOR]. It is a remake of a film released in 1971...

Let's start taking bets.  I'm going with either this or this.

[SiliasRuby]

It's not the french connection. He said so on a reply to a person who posted on his blog

[grand theft sparrow]

My money's on this.

[SiliasRuby]

My money's on this.

That's the the one I'm bettin on too.

[MacGuffin]

Listed on imdb as a "comedy musical sci-fi thriller," Southland looks interesting to say the least. Set in Los Angeles, 2008, with the city on the brink of "social, economic and environmental disaster," it's got a cast that redefines "eclectic" (Justin Timberlake, John Larroquette, Mandy Moore, Jon Lovitz, Cheri Oteri...getting the idea?),and you can see just how eclectic in this cool new group of photos from the film over at iesb. There's shots from the movie, behind-the-scenes stuff, storyboards, paintings, sketches, all kinds of goodies. A majority of the photos are of Seann William Scott (who plays twin brother cops), The Rock and an almost disturbingly attractive Sarah Michelle Gellar, who plays a porn star in the film. Southland Tales has been picked up by Columbia Pictures, and Kelly is said to have made some pretty drastic cuts in preparation for a potential release soon.

http://iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2106&Itemid=99

[picolas]

they may have to delay 2008 for this movie.