Cinematical

A few months back we all found it pretty juicy (if perhaps a little unfair) when Richard Kelly's Southland Tales was met by cascades of displeasure after it unspooled at the Cannes film festival -- but according to the filmmaker's MySpace blog, the final product has been locked, only he chose to lop 27 minutes off of the flick for Sony's theatrical release. (The new version will run 157 minutes.) Aside from some final voice-over and special effects work, the movie is entirely ready for mass consumption, and Kelly promises a trailer / release date announcement sometime soon.

For those with short memory spans, Southland Tales is the sophomore effort from the director of Donnie Darko -- and from what I've read the movie is sort of beyond description. One thing we know for sure is that the ensemble case (which includes names like Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore, Cheri Oteri, Miranda Richardson, Jon Lovitz, John Larqouette, Kevin Smith and The Rock) could make for a fairly ... unique evening. (Check out the Rocchi Review of Southland right here!)

So what's next for Mr. Kelly once his Southland Tales has been unleashed upon the world? Looks like he's busy on pre-production with The Box, which will be a spooky movie based on a great story by Richard Matheson. Those who are anticipating another five-year waiting period from the filmmaker can rest easy: production on The Box is scheduled to begin in March.

[Thanks to BD.com for the tip!]