Southland Tales

Message

Cobalt60 · #26 Post by **Cobalt60** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 1:52 pm

Antoine Doinel wrote:MovieCityNews is reporting that not only is North America getting a new director's cut but that Kelly is already in pre-production on a sequel:

All Domestic Rights To Southland Tales Bought By Sony Home Entertainment Chief Ben Feingold... Film Will Be Released In Finished Version, Not The One Shown At Cannes, But Not As Edited By The Studio, But By Richard Kelly, Who Is Already In Early Preproduction On Part II... Unclear If A Sony Arm Will Release Or If Theatrical Will Go To An Associated Company, Like Samuel Goldwyn... Kelly Strongly Argues That The Film Cost $16.9 Million And Not More, As Rumored By People Associated With The Film

This is both good and bad news. On the one hand I am glad that we will not be getting a studio-cut-to-hell-because-we-are-scared version (a kind of Sid Sheinberg's Southland Tales) but I am also concerned that if Kelley releases a "directors cut" to theaters then there is less of a chance (since there will be less of a need) that the Cannes version will see inclusion on a DVD, especially if the movei doesn't do so well.

Dylan · #27 Post by **Dylan** » Fri Jun 30, 2006 12:00 am

Just found this at Hollywood Elsewhere. Amoung other things, says this new cut will be around ten minutes shorter:

I heard from Southland Tales director Richard Kelly, his friend-producer Sean McKittrick and another producer, Persistent Entertainment's Matthew Rhodes, earlier today about Sony having acquired Tales for theatrical and home video distribution. No one's saying which theatrical distrib branch -- Columbia, Screen Gems, Sony Classics -- will put it out there, but it would be really weird if it was Screen Gems. The first piece of news I learned is that Tales will most likely come out sometime in early '07, and also that a showing at September's Toronto Film Festival isn't necessarily in the cards. Kelly and his editor are "re-ordering" some scenes, cutting some others, re-writing and re-recording some voice-over with Justin Timberlake, and then finishing a bunch of visual effecfts shots that weren't done in time for Cannes. The finished cut will clock in around 10 minutes shorter, give or take, and Kelly expects to show it to Sony honchos in a few weeks time. Release-wise "we have heard rumblings of January," said Kelly, "which might be cool since it is sort of a wasteland time for other movies and our movie would have room to be discovered as a wild card, and the graphic novels will have more time to be digested and read by fans, so I'm game. It just feels good to have the biggest movie studio in the world behind me...never had that before." And by the way, the first Southland TalesSecret Stash on July 6th.

flyonthewall2983 · #28 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Fri Jun 30, 2006 12:53 am

Ok, if Sony has it now, why is the Universal logo still on the official movie site?

#29 Post by **Jeff** » Fri Jun 30, 2006 2:17 am

flyonthewall2983 wrote:Ok, if Sony has it now, why is the Universal logo still on the official movie site?

Universal co-financed the film and has distribution rights outside North America.

Fletch F. Fletch · #30 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:36 pm

Film Threat has a brief interview with Kelly and a clip from the movie via YouTube.

Jean-Luc Garbo · #31 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:17 pm

The clip from that scene has me interested. Everyone seemed rather mannered, but I guess I'll have to see the whole film.

Galen Young · #32 Post by **Galen Young** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:34 pm

That's a painful clip to watch -- just compare it a to similar scene in Christopher Guest's 1989 film The Big Picture, where Kevin Bacon talks about the movie he's about to direct in a pre-production meeting with a group of executives led by the perfectly cast J.T. Walsh -- to see just how lifeless and unfunny it is. Oh well.

Barmy · #33 Post by **Barmy** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:46 pm

That clip sucks. Bad and hard. Utterly painful. I did see a hint of Darko stylization. Why is Rock in this? Why is Stifler in this? Why is that chick who does all the US J-Horror remakes in this? Why?

Fletch F. Fletch · #34 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 4:25 pm

Barmy wrote:That clip sucks. Bad and hard. Utterly painful. I did see a hint of Darko stylization. Why is Rock in this? Why is Stifler in this? Why is that chick who does all the US J-Horror remakes in this? Why?

Because they are names that will get the multiplex crowd in to see this movie... at least, I'm sure that's the hope. I'm still curious to see it and the brief interview that Kelly did with FT gives me hope that he's sculpting it into something good.

John Cope · #35 Post by **John Cope** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 4:44 pm

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:Because they are names that will get the multiplex crowd in to see this movie... at least, I'm sure that's the hope.

I assume Kelly's going for more than that--it's obviously meant in part at least to be a critique of modern attitudes and celebrity culture.

Fletch F. Fletch · #36 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:23 am

John Cope wrote:I assume Kelly's going for more than that--it's obviously meant in part at least to be a critique of modern attitudes and celebrity culture.

That too but Kelly's no dummy -- he knows that these actors have marquee value as well. And it makes sense if his film is as ambitious and out there as early reviews suggest, you want some big names to draw people in the theaters... at least for a strong opening weekend. It'll be interesting to see how Sony markets this film.

Fletch F. Fletch · #37 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:16 pm

From Kelly's MySpace blog:

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!

Jean-Luc Garbo · #38 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 9:06 pm

Woo Hoo!!

Antoine Doinel · #39 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 9:22 pm

Does anyone know if the "work-in-progress" version contained a voiceover? If not, I wonder if it was added to make sense out of what was reportedly a mess.

Also, by the time this thing hits theatres, the not too distant future 2008 setting the film is supposed to be taking place will actually be here.

Antoine Doinel · #40 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 7:41 pm

It looks like a theatrical release is still a little way out. From 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 stars Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Rock and an expansive and sundry cast interacting during a Los Angeles heatwave in the not-too-distant future (which could conceivably be the past by the time we get to see the movie).

Antoine Doinel · #41 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 12:44 am

From Richard Kelly's MySpace:

"So we have finally gotten the greenlight from Sony for the additional round of visual effects for Southland Tales. This is VERY GOOD NEWS for the film! We will now be able to finish the film properly. Phew! The film will be completely finished for the first public screening sometime mid-summer.

Thank you everyone for your patience and I will let you know when the release date is decided upon and teaser trailer will be released (work is about to begin on the marketing materials)."

patrick · #42 Post by **patrick** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:34 pm

Wikipedia might not always be the most reliable source, but according to the page for Southland Tales, we won't be seeing it until 2008.

I had totally forgotten about this movie until someone renting Donnie Darko at the shop tonight asked if the director had done anything else. I remember a friend of mine who works in the film industry telling me how he felt like the people producing the movie basically let Richard Kelly run amok with no control, and how he felt bad for him because it was obvious that he needed some outside input while making it (this was after it bombed at Cannes). Every single thing about this movie screams "disaster," to the point where I can't wait to see it. After that Donnie Darko commentary, I'm not even sure what to think about Kelly - how can someone who only seems to think on the surface level be an apparent fountain of bizarre symbols and general weirdness?

DrewReiber · #43 Post by **DrewReiber** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:41 pm

patrick wrote:how can someone who only seems to think on the surface level be an apparent fountain of bizarre symbols and general weirdness?

Because he's read a lot of comicbooks and seen a lot of movies.

Nothing · #44 Post by **Nothing** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 1:21 pm

patrick wrote:he felt like the people producing the movie basically let Richard Kelly run amok with no control

heaven forbid a director be allowed to shape their own movie...

southland tales is hardly great, but it's definitely a step up from donnie darko.

patrick · #45 Post by **patrick** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:16 pm

heaven forbid a director be allowed to shape their own movie...

I guess my friend's comment doesn't make as much sense out of context, and I apologize for that. My friend (who is a director) meant that he felt like Kelly could have used some guidance and help - not necessarily from the studio, just from anybody. He said that after he saw the original cut he just wondered why nobody seemed to question Kelly on the decisions he was making. Simply put, it sounded like he needed an editor (in the literary sense) working with him.

Not having actually seen the movie, I obviously can't say if he's right or not, but it does seem kind of amazing that Paramount and whoever else were willing to dish out close to $20 million for this thing and not really exercise any control until after it bombed at Cannes.

Nothing · #46 Post by **Nothing** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 10:46 pm

yeah, that was the "line" from the industry and much of the mainstream press after Cannes, but I don't buy it. As I say, it's a better film than Darko. This view, increasingly prevelent in North America, that even independent films from established directors must be 'controlled' and 'edited' seems to me downright pernicious. Southland Tales is one such example, outright rejected by US distributors in its original cut. Brown Bunny is a more depressing case, the genuinely marvellous 2-hour cut seemingly lost forever. And then we have Inland Empire - the work of a legendary (and oscar-nominated) director that no US distributor would touch without the right to inflict their own retarded viewpoint on the material, forcing Lynch to re-purchase the US rights and self-distribute.

Antoine Doinel · #47 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:24 pm

Hollywood just wants product they can package and sell easily to American audiences. The Brown Bunny (which ends in a graphic blowjob), Inland Empire (three hours of Lynch-drenched surrealism) and Southland Tales aren't being "rejected" so much as not being sought after with the same fervor as more marketable "micro-indies" from the "independent" arms of the major studios.

Is this really any surprise? I think the shutdown of arthouses, which support smaller distributors who are more likely to invest their time in films those mentioned above, are having a far more dire effect on the state of these films than whatever Hollywood is or isn't interested in.

Antoine Doinel · #48 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:16 pm

Richard Kelly has updated his MySpace blog and included this little bit about the film:

As for Southland Tales... we are about halfway through completing all
of the new visual effects. We have to deliver everything by the end of summer.
I have to tell everyone that the amount of visual effects work being
added to the film is SIGNIFICANT... and I am so grateful for the work being done by Thomas Tannenberger and his team at Gradient VFX in Venice Beach.

And I can confirm that a company has been hired by Sony to
begin work on a trailer. The release date will be announced very soon.

Oedipax · #49 Post by **Oedipax** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:42 pm

It's strange to me that so much additional effects work could be done to a film that, for all intents and purposes, screened as a completed work at Cannes a couple years ago! Does anyone know what explanation there is for this? Were there incomplete shots with temp effects and the like in the former version? Or is this some kind of massive overhaul/CGI 'reshoot' of the film as a whole? I think for all the extra work that's gone into it, whatever the film's problems are and people didn't like about it, improved visual effects aren't really going to change that.

Fierias · #50 Post by **Fierias** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:43 pm

I saw the film at Cannes, and the effects were noticably shoddy, but not distractingly so. I felt that it could have been released as is, having enjoyed the film quite a bit. There were some explosions near the end of the film that looked like explosions from a duke nuke 'em video game, but within the context of the story, felt like they were supposed to be like that, not like they were hastily done.