Southland Tales
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section contains information about one or more scheduled or expected films. The content may change as the film's release approaches and more information becomes available. |  |
| Southland Tales | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Southland Tales. |
|
| Directed by | Richard Kelly |
| Produced by | Sean McKittrick Bo Hyde Kendall Morgan |
| Written by | Richard Kelly |
| Starring | Dwayne Johnson Seann William Scott Sarah Michelle Gellar Miranda Richardson Janeane Garofalo Mandy Moore Jill Ritchie Cheri Oteri Amy Poehler Kevin Smith Jon Lovitz |
| Music by | Moby |
| Distributed by | Inferno Distribution (domestic), Universal Pictures (most foreign territories), Wild Bunch (France, Benelux, Spain and Switzerland) |
| Release date(s) | 2006 (USA) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$15 million |
| IMDb profile | |
Southland Tales is a 2006 science fiction film, written and directed by Richard Kelly. Set in the near future, the film is a portrait of Los Angeles and a comment on the military-industrial newstainment complex. The film features an ensemble cast including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kevin Smith, Seann William Scott and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Original music for the film will be provided by Moby.
The film has become highly anticipated in many circles, particularly due to the cult success of Kelly's 2001 independent film Donnie Darko. Kevin Smith, who has a cult following of his own, is also part of the ensemble cast.
The film premiered to polarized reviews at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2006 as one of the films in competition. Sony recently announced its purchase of the film and, after Kelly delivers his new, slightly altered cut of the film, will decide which arm will distribute the film and when.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
This futuristic film evokes the city of Los Angeles, fallen victim to a nuclear attack in 2008, a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions which precipitates America into war. The Patriot Act has been upgraded to a new agency known as USIdent which keeps constant tabs on citizens even to the extent of censoring the internet and using fingerprints in order to access computers and bank accounts. In order to be able to respond to the fuel scarcity, the German company Treer designs a generator of inexhaustible energy which operates thanks to ocean currents. In this city on the brink of chaos, we follow the criss-crossed destinies of Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson), action film actor stricken with amnesia; Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar), ex-porn star in the midst of reconverting; and twin brothers Roland and Ronald Taverner (both played by Seann William Scott), whose destinies becomes confused with that of all mankind.
[edit] Production
Filming for Southland Tales began on August 15, 2005, with a budget of around US$15-17 million.
Kelly has stated that the film's biggest influences are Kiss Me Deadly, Pulp Fiction, Brazil and Dr. Strangelove. He also calls it a "strange hybrid of the sensibilities of Andy Warhol and Philip K. Dick".[1]
After Sony's purchase of the film, the film was cut down and re-edited by Kelly.[2]
[edit] Cast
Lovitz, Garofalo, Oteri, Dunn, and Poehler are all current or former cast members on Saturday Night Live. Sasso was one of the more visible cast members on SNL's Fox rival MadTV. The sketch comedy troupe The Mechanicals also make an appearance. Apparently, much of the dialogue in the film was improvised by the performers during filming.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Dwayne Johnson | Boxer Santaros |
| Seann William Scott | Roland / Ronald Taverner |
| Sarah Michelle Gellar | Krysta Now |
| Kevin Smith | Simon Thiery |
| Curtis Armstrong | Doctor Soberin Exx |
| Joe Campana | Brandt Huntington |
| Nora Dunn | Cindy Pinziki |
| Janeane Garofalo | General Teena MacArthur |
| Beth Grant | Dr. Inga Von Westphalen / Marion Card |
| Wood Harris | Dion Werner / Dion Element |
| Christopher Lambert | Walter Mung |
| John Larroquette | Vaughn Smallhouse |
| Bai Ling | Serpentine |
| Jon Lovitz | Officer Bart Bookman |
| Abbey McBride | Sheena Gee |
| Mandy Moore | Madeline Frost Santaros |
| Holmes Osborne | Senator Bobby Frost |
| Cheri Oteri | Zora Carmichaels |
| Amy Poehler | Veronica Mung / Dream |
| Lou Taylor Pucci | Martin Kefauver |
| Miranda Richardson | Nana Mae Frost |
| Jill Ritchie | Shoshana Cox |
| Zelda Rubinstein | Dr. Katarina Kuntzler |
| Will Sasso | Fortunio Balducci |
| Wallace Shawn | Baron von Westphalen |
| Sab Shimono | Hideo Takehashi |
| Justin Timberlake | Private Pilot Abilene |
| Robert Benz | Tab Taverner |
[edit] Promotional details
Southland Tales is divided into six parts. A series of three graphic novels will tell the first three parts of the story; the film will tell the final three parts. The film's website is expected to be one of the largest and most elaborate ever designed for a feature film.
[edit] Graphic novels
The graphic novels are illustrated by Brett Weldele. The first part, Two Roads Diverge, was released on June 28 and introduces Boxer Santaros, Krysta Now, and Fortunio Balducci, as well as the state of the nation in the alternate universe in which the film takes place. Parts two and three of the graphic novel series are to be forthcoming, and will further set up the events prior to those depicted in the film.
The titles of the graphic novels are, according to the official website:
- Part One: Two Roads Diverge
- Part Two: Fingerprints
- Part Three: The Mechanicals
[edit] The film
The titles of the parts in the movie are:
- Part Four: Temptation Waits
- Part Five: Memory Gospel
- Part Six: Wave Of Mutilation
It has been noted that the titles for the parts of the film are also song titles. "Memory Gospel" is the name of a Moby song from the B-side album Play: The B Sides; "Wave of Mutilation" is a song by the Pixies that originally appeared on their second LP Doolittle; and "Temptation Waits" is the name of a Garbage track from their second album Version 2.0.
[edit] Websites
In a similar style to Donnie Darko, the official website, located at www.southlandtales.com, is an interactive Macromedia Flash animation, blending eerie sounds and visuals with puzzles. The taglines for the film include "Warning: you are entering a domain of chaos," "The internet is the future" and "The future is just like you imagined." Sites have also been created for Gellar's Krysta Now character, as well as for a company and what appears to be an as of yet unidentified organization, both of which are set to be part of the movie's universe.
[edit] Cannes Film Festival
Along with two other American filmmakers (Sofia Coppola with Marie-Antoinette and Richard Linklater with Fast Food Nation), Kelly's follow-up to Donnie Darko was in competition for the coveted Palme d'Or during 2006.
Critical reaction to the movie was divided. Many American critics responded unfavorably to the film's long running time and sprawling nature. Salon.com critic Andrew O'Hehir, for example, called the Cannes cut "about the biggest, ugliest mess I've ever seen."[3] Jason Solomons in The Observer said that "Southland Tales was so bad it made me wonder if [Kelly] had ever met a human being" and that ten minutes of the "sprawling, plotless, post-apocalyptic farrago" gave him the "sinking feeling that this may be one of the worst films ever presented in [Cannes] competition."[4] A handful of the American and European critics, however, were far more positive.[5] Village Voice critic J. Hoberman, for example, called Southland Tales "a visionary film about the end of times" comparable in recent American film only to David Lynch's acclaimed Mulholland Dr.[6]
[edit] Trivia
- The name of the film refers to the Southland, a name used by locals to refer to Southern California, and more specifically, Greater Los Angeles.
[edit] References
- ^ Etherington, Daniel (2006). Southland Tales preview. Channel 4. Retrieved on 2005-09-16.
- ^ Bell, Mark (2006-09-12). How The World Ends: Conversation with Richard Kelly. Filmthreat.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-18.
- ^ O'Hehir, Andrew (2006-05-22). Beyond the Multiplex: Cannes. Salon.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
- ^ Solomons, Jason (2006-05-28). Get set for Palme Sunday. The Observer. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
- ^ Links to many post-Cannes reviews, including multiple positive reviews by American, French, Spanish, Polish, and other reviewers.
- ^ Hoberman, J. (2006-05-23). Code Unknown. Village Voice. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
[edit] External links
Official promotional websites
Others
- Southland Tales at the Internet Movie Database
- Production notes
- News about re-editing of the film
- Associated Press interview with Kelly about his goals for the film
