A film by Richard Kelly
2006
With the U.S.A. under the threat of nuclear attack, several people’s lives converge—movie star Boxer plans his next film with the help of porn actress Krysta and policeman Roland. Meanwhile, Marxist revolutionaries, corporations and government agencies pursue their agendas among a paranoid populace.
FAILURE FACTS
Considered by Richard Kelly as his proudest accomplishment and his “misunderstood child”, “Southland Tales” was submitted to the organizers of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival in a rough-cut format assuming that it would not be accepted. The film was unexpectedly included in the Festival’s official selection, without editing and post-production being completed. The strongly negative reaction received at Cannes is considered by Kelly as “a very painful experience on a lot of levels”, but he ultimately felt that the film “was better off because of it”. Originally running for 160 minutes, the movie was re-edited and shortened before its release.
Richard Kelly (1975) is an American film director and screenwriter, known for writing and directing the cult classic “Donnie Darko” in 2001. He studied at the School of Cinema-Television of the University of Southern California. In 2005 Kelly wrote the screenplay for the Tony Scott-directed film, “Domino”. In 2009 he directed his third feature film “The Box”, a psychological Sci-fi thriller starring Cameron Diaz, based on Richard Matheson’s short story “Button, Button”. In 2016, filmmaker Kevin Smith said of Kelly: “He is insanely creative and can be one of our greatest filmmakers. He is right now, but just a lot of people don’t realize it. He’s still a kid…”
Southland Tales
