Director Richard Kelly Is Planning To Make a SOUTHLAND TALES Prequel Film That Will Combine Live-Action and Animation
After directing the cult classic film Donnie Darko, director Richard Kelly helmed a crazy and ambitious project titled Southland Tales. The movie was met with mixed reactions, but I remember most people not liking it. I actually liked it because it was such a different and unique film. If you don’t remember what it was about, here’s the synopsis:
With the United States under the threat of nuclear attack, the lives of several people converge in a dystopian Los Angeles. Movie star Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson) plans his next film with the help of ambitious porn actress Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and troubled policeman Roland Taverner (Seann William Scott). Meanwhile, Marxist revolutionaries, greedy corporations and secretive government agencies pursue their separate agendas among a paranoid populace.
Justin Timberlake, Amy Poehler, Jon Lovitz, and Christopher Lambert, also appeared in the film. Well, Kelly recently participated in a live global viewing party for the film as the film launched on MUBI. Before it started he confirmed there are 4K restorations of the theatrical cut and Cannes cut coming. He also revealed that he has been working on a prequel film that he wants to make. That film will mix animation and live-action elements using the graphic novels he created with Brett Weldele as the blueprint.
Here’s what Kelly shared in a series of tweets:
I hope he gets to make his Southland Tales prequel! It’s been over a decade since he helmed a movie. The last movie that Kelly directed was the 2009 film The Box. He was also at one point developing a biopic based the the life of The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. The filmmaker previously explained in an interview with LA Times explaining why he hasn’t directed a movie since The Box:
“I’ve had many opportunities since The Box. I don’t want to direct a film that just feels like I’m going through the motions, like I’m phoning it in or I’m just doing it to placate the marketplace. I don’t want to direct unless I really care about it. It’s a really emotional experience and it’s an amazing gift to be able to direct a film. It’s like the best job in the world. It really is. I don’t want to do it unless I feel like it’s something really meaningful. I wish I could have directed 8 movies by now, but maybe before I drop dead, maybe I’ll direct, I don’t know, 10? I hope to get higher than that, but we’ll see what happens.”
What do you think about Kelly developing a prequel to Southland Tales? Did you even like the first movie?