Richard Kelly

Edgar Ramirez Set as Lead in Richard Kelly’s CORPUS CHRISTI; Robert Rodriguez and Eli Roth Will Produce

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 9th, 2012 at 3:01 pm

Carlos star Edgar Ramirez was on the shortlist of possible replacements for Benicio Del Toro when the actor dropped out of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel, but the role ultimately went to Benedict Cumberbatch. Now the much buzzed-about star has landed the lead in the next effort from Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly. Variety reports that Ramirez will star in Kelly’s Corpus Christi, a thriller set in 2014 that finds the actor playing an Iraqi war veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. The character forges a dangerous alliance with a wealthy industrialist in Texas. The film is said to be a departure for Kelly as it has a more traditional narrative than his past features.

Eli Roth and Robert Rodriguez are producing the pic, which will start shooting on location in Austin this July. Kelly followed-up the well received Donnie Darko with the confusing Southland Tales, which of course was followed by the disappointing sci-fi thriller The Box. While I’m dismayed that we haven’t seen anything from Kelly that matches up to the wonder and darkness of Darko, I’m intrigued to see him take on a more straightforward story. Ramirez is currently filming Kathryn Bigelow’s action drama Zero Dark Thirty which centers on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, and he’ll next be seen in the sequel Wrath of the Titans as Ares.

Richard Kelly to Direct CORPUS CHRISTI; Casting Announcement Expected by End of March

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 16th, 2011 at 7:32 pm

It’s evident in Richard Kelly’s work that he’s one of the best idea men in the business.  But he’s struggled to capitalize on the backdoor success of Donnie Darko: audiences were understandably baffled by Southland Tales, and notoriously slapped the more mainstream The Box with a grade “F” CinemaScore.  The admittedly uneven film didn’t deserve that “F,” but it’s gotta be hard to rebound from such a negative reaction.

Yet, the resilient Kelly is busy setting up his next film, a Texas-set thriller titled Corpus Christi.  The story revolves around the strange friendship between a mentally unstable Iraq war veteran and his boss, the wealthy owner of a supermarket chain with political ambitions.  Variety suggests a more traditional narrative, but the publication seems to be responding to the lack of overt sci-fi.  With a mentally unstable lead character, I expect some grade “A” Kelly weirdness.

Kelly will produce with Darko Entertainment partner Sean McKittrick and Eli Roth.  They have begun the casting process, with an announcement expected by the end of March.  Corpus Christi is set to begin filming on location in July.

Edgar Wright and Christopher Nolan to Speak at Los Angeles Film Festival June 17-27

by Germain Lussier    Posted: June 9th, 2010 at 4:39 pm

While most would say the the Los Angeles Film Festival playing host to the World Premiere for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is the coolest thing at the festival, for my money, it’s J.J. Abrams interviewing Edgar Wright.

That awesome combo, in addition to A Conversation With Christopher Nolan, were both just announced as part of the festival’s Conversations program.   Another cool edition is filmmakers Richard Kelly, Eli Roth and Adam Shankman talking about “The Power of the Tweet.”

Hit the jump for dates, ticket prices and more awesome programs from the festival running June 17-27.

THE BOX Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: March 17th, 2010 at 6:11 am

Richard Kelly made a great name for himself with Donnie Darko, but his follow up films show a great visual talent, and someone who gets easily lost in his own ideas. The Box is no exception, though it’s tighter and smarter yet less fascinating that his previous fiasco Southland Tales. James Marsden and Cameron Diaz play a married couple given a gift: a box with a button in it. Frank Langella plays the man who tells them what it’s for: if they press the button, someone they don’t know will die, and they will be given a million dollars. My review of Richard Kelly’s The Box after the jump.

Writer/Director Richard Kelly Exclusive Video Interview THE BOX

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: November 2nd, 2009 at 11:56 pm

Earlier today I sat down with writer/director Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”, “Southland Tales”) to talk about his upcoming movie “The Box”.  For those who don’t know, the movie is set around a deceptively simple moral dilemma.  An average couple is offered an opportunity to get themselves out of financial difficulty: a million dollars, in exchange for the knowledge that their acceptance of this gift will result in the death of one person somewhere in the world – someone they don’t know.  The big question is, “What will they do?” But writer/director Richard Kelly is also asking, “What would you do?”

While some interviews are rushed, our conversation was extensive and if you’re a fan of Richard Kelly or just curious about “The Box”, then you’ll definitely want to watch this. He talked about how the Arcade Fire came to the project, when will the score be released, the writing process, how his dad really worked at NASA and how he influenced James Marsden’s character, is the Blu-ray of both “Donnie Darko” and “Southland Tales” the final editions of those films, what will be on “The Box” Blu-ray, what is he working on now, and so much more. Take a look after the jump:

5 Movie Clips from Writer/Director Richard Kelly’s THE BOX

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 30th, 2009 at 10:31 pm

Opening next Friday is writer/director Richard Kelly’s “The Box”. The movie is set around a deceptively simple moral dilemma.  An average couple is offered an opportunity to get themselves out of financial difficulty: a million dollars, in exchange for the knowledge that their acceptance of this gift will result in the death of one person somewhere in the world – someone they don’t know.  The big question is, “What will they do?”  But writer/director Richard Kelly is also asking, “What would you do?”

So to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with five clips from the movie.  If you want to stay spoiler free, I strongly suggest not watching these clips.  But if you’d like a taste of Richard Kelly’s next film, hit the jump and take a look.

Finally, hypothetically speaking…if I were to have seen “The Box”…I might say it’s infinitely better than “Southland Tales” and it’s worth checking out next week.  Hypothetically speaking of course…

Collider Giveaway: THE BOX

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 30th, 2009 at 3:03 pm

Opening on November 6^th is writer/director Richard Kelly’s “The Box”. The movie is set around a deceptively simple moral dilemma.  An average couple is offered an opportunity to get themselves out of financial difficulty: a million dollars, in exchange for the knowledge that their acceptance of this gift will result in the death of one person somewhere in the world – someone they don’t know.  The big question is, “What will they do?”  But writer/director Richard Kelly is also asking, “What would you do?”

While many of the various giveaway’s we’ve run on Collider have been cool, one of the prizes for “The Box” might be the best yet.  That’s because we’ve been given a replica of the box used in the movie!  According to the people providing the items, it’s retail value is two hundred dollars.  Needless to say, this is the grand prize.  So if you’re curious what else we have to giveaway, hit the jump and find out how to enter:

Exclusive: Robin Williams and Bobcat Goldthwait Video Interview WORLD’S GREATEST DAD

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 17th, 2009 at 7:06 pm

When you go to a film festival, you never know what’s going to stand out. Often the film you expect to love isn’t anything special, and a film that’s completely off everyone’s radar is the one you’re raving about. And that’s exactly what happened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival when I saw writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait’s “World’s Greatest Dad”. To say the film is great is a disservice, as it’s so awesome that just saying great isn’t good enough. I absolutely cannot recommend this film enough as it had me laughing from beginning to end with an amazing script and fantastic performances.

So to help promote the limited theatrical release of “World’s Greatest Dad”, the other day I got to speak with Robin Williams and Bobcat Goldthwait and the interview is after the jump. They tell some great stories about making the film. Also, for those not familiar with the movie, after the jump are links to the red band trailer and some movie clips.

WB Fall 2009 Preview – New Images from WHITEOUT, NINJA ASSASSIN, THE INVENTION OF LYING, THE INFORMANT!

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 12th, 2009 at 6:18 pm

Warner Bros. has released a preview of their upcoming 2009 movies. In the preview, they’ve got updated synopsis’ along with new images from “Whiteout”, “Ninja Assassin”, “The Invention of Lying”, “The Informant!” and a few others. So if you’d like to see the new images and read what’s coming later this year (it’s a lot of great stuff), it’s all after the jump:

Exclusive: Writer/Director Richard Kelly Comic-Con Video Interview – THE BOX

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: July 30th, 2009 at 6:05 pm

Writer/director Richard Kelly’s new movie “The Box” arrives in theaters this October. The film asks the question what if someone gave you a box containing a button that, if pushed, would bring you a million dollars…but simultaneously take the life of someone you don’t know? Would you do it? And what would be the consequences? Sounds cool, doesn’t it.

So at this year’s Comic-Con, I managed to get an extended interview with Richard Kelly and we talked about “The Box”, the movies he producing like “World’s Greatest Dad”, Comic-Con, “Avatar”, his next script, 3D, the state of the film industry, and a lot more. It’s a great interview and one worth watching. Take a look after the jump:

THE BOX Comic-Con Presentation with Richard Kelly, James Marsden, and Cameron Diaz

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 24th, 2009 at 7:24 pm

The trailer for “The Box” has kind of sold you wrong on the film.  They make it look like writer/director Richard Kelly has taken a simple, “Twilight Zone”-esque story and once again, over-reached as he did with the poorly received “Southland Tales”.  But watching the presentation today from Hall H, I think he’s done exactly the opposite.  It looks like he’s learned from “Southland Tales” and gone back to a simple premise (a man brings you a box with a button; press the button and you get a million dollars but someone in the world who you don’t know will die) and built outwards from there.  This was a really fun panel and a good way to let the audience catch a bit of a breather before the back-to-back onslaught of “Jonah Hex” and “Sherlock Holmes”.

Hit the jump to hear about the footage they screened and the Q&A with Kelly and stars James Marsden and Cameron Diaz.

Final Poster for Director Richard Kelly’s THE BOX

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: July 17th, 2009 at 9:12 am

The final poster has just been released for director Richard Kelly’s “The Box” and it’s after the jump.  As a fan of “Donnie Darko”, I’m really hoping this is a return to form for the filmmaker as his last film (“Southland Tales”) did absolutely nothing for me. In fact, it was a red hot mess. But I’ve been told “The Box” is a more straightforward mainstream release and I’m really hoping that’s true.

Anyway, with Comic-Con next week, I think he’s planning on showing some footage from the film, so we’ll know a lot more soon. Until then, check out the poster.

Trailer for Richard Kelly’s THE BOX

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 24th, 2009 at 8:27 pm

Writer/Director Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”, “Southland Tales”) has an interesting premise with his upcoming film, “The Box”: You receive a box with a button.  Press the button and you receive one million dollars but someone you don’t know somewhere in the world will die.  It’s a moral quandary well-suited to an episode of “The Twilight Zone”.  Unfortunately, this is a feature length film and moral quandaries don’t sell movie tickets as much as crazy action sequences that in no way seem related to the central premise.

I have no idea what Kelly has up his sleeve here but if the failure of “Southland Tales” was in trying to do too much, the failure of “The Box” could be in trying to do too little.

Check out the trailer after the jump.  “The Box” hits theatres on October 30th.

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