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Whether it's grown men in bunny suits or the addictive giggle of Melissa McCarthy, this week's double feature is all about alternate realities. While I'm not the biggest fan of many science fiction elements, I'm a sucker for a good story about worlds that are just a little bit off. When an eerie twist is mixed into scenes showcasing the life and environment we're all familiar with, a film changes from something we can guess into an intriguing puzzle to figure out, or endlessly argue about. (And it does so without traveling to unrecognizable, fantastical new turf.)

Tonight, we've got a film that really should get more play, plus one beloved cult classic. I give you: The Nines and Donnie Darko.

*Included at the request of a nerd friend of mine.

Each week, The Exhibitionist comments on the latest news, trends and innovations related to the theater industry, or it discusses long-continuing problems with and complaints against cinemas in general, or it simply relates a specific moviegoing experience of yours truly. But rarely does this column get into the subject of actual movies. Well, seeing as there's not much new in the industry this week, and seeing as I'm fortunately not being dragged to see Sex and the City and therefore have no experience to relate about being a sole male in an auditorium packed with women, I figure this is a perfect time to bring up actual movies. Not just any movies, though: I'm presently only interested in discussing movies about, set in or prominently featuring movie theaters.

The earliest movie that I'm familiar with that significantly involves a theater is Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr. The silent comedian plays a projectionist who falls asleep on the job then has a dream in which he literally climbs through the movie screen and into a detective film. A similar idea of breaking the boundary between auditorium and screen is used in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo and in John McTiernan's The Last Action Hero, both of which involve a movie character who manages to leave his respective film within the film. But nothing tops Keaton's screen-entering stunt, which utilizes special effects that still astonish more than 80 years later.

So it looks like I have to disabuse myself of the notion that this story was some sort of fever dream or hallucination on my part. A Donnie Darko sequel, titled S. Darko, is happening, and Elizabeth Berkeley, that fearless queen of the C-list, has joined the cast. She will play "a speed freak-turned-Jesus freak whose sentiments about ridding the world of its exponential sin are rivaled only by her infatuation with her dreamy pastor." No word on who plays the dreamy pastor, but Berkeley joins Justin Chatwin, Ed Westwick and the original film's Daveigh Chase. Chase reprises her role as Donnie's sister Samantha, who leaves Sparkle Motion to go on a road trip with her best friend (Brianna Evigan) only to be plagued by nightmarish visions.

What's most curious about S. Darko is that while it has begun production, with television veteran Chris Fisher at the helm, I can't find word anywhere about who the screenwriter is. What gives? The stories about the film have given the impression that Fisher was hired by the producers to direct; if so, where did the project originate? It seemed to come out of nowhere earlier in the month.

I'm not sure any admirer of Donnie Darko can reasonably be optimistic about this sequel. The first film is so wonderfully self-contained that the very notion of a sequel is kind of heartbreaking. And it seemed so personal to maestro Richard Kelly that doing it without him (he's not involved in any way) seems offensive.

It sounds like a prank. We would all like it to be one. But it seems to be legit.

The story comes from Screen Daily, who reports that S. Darko is being shopped around, with Fox already picking up the North American distribution rights. Touted as the sequel to the 2001 cult hit, the story picks up seven years after Donnie Darko left off. The youngest Darko, Samantha, is now 18 and abandoning her commitment to Sparkle Motion. She heads to Las Vegas with her best friend Corey, but the two are plagued with bizarre visions. I imagine they will involve a rabbit.

Richard Kelly, the original director, is in no way involved. Chris Fincher Fisher* will direct instead. Daveigh Chase, who played Samantha in the original, will reprise her role. It looks like she is the only one. The movie also stars Ed Westwick, Briana Evigan, and Justin Chatwin.

As to the big looming question of why, oh God, why, Simon Crowe of UK sales company Velvet Octopus says they're thinking of the children. "I think there is a new generation of cinema-goers who will be very excited to see this film."
Which generation came of age between 2001 and 2008? Why haven't they rented Donnie Darko? I am afraid these are questions to which Crowe has no answers. But he did quip, "Donnie's not in [the new film] but there are meteorites and rabbits."

Nothing is safe from the all mighty dollar, my friends. Nothing. Even when there is a pretty conclusive ending, there can always be a sequel. I'll leave you to think about that as I go pen my script for No Country for Old Men 2.

[via Empire]

*Very kind thanks to astute reader toad_stone for pointing out our egregious misspelling of director Chris Fisher's last name. Correction made, with our apologies. - Ed.

The other day we brought you the first image from Richard Kelly's (Donnie Darko) new film The Box, and now USA Today has a whole slew of images featuring the cast and that darn box. Imagine, if you will, some guy who looked a lot like Frank Langella showed up to your house with a mysterious box, and said that you could push a button on said box and come into great wealth. However, once the button is pressed, someone somewhere will die. What would you do? Well, something tells me we wouldn't have much of a movie if Cameron Diaz and James Marsden (who play the husband and wife who come in possession of the box) didn't go ahead and push the button.

On the film, Diaz says, "This is the most beautiful love story ever. It's so romantic, especially at the end. Other then that, it's a crazy, si-fi psychological thriller with a twist of conscience." The Box is supposed to be Kelly's big commercial film, after the writer-director had a hard time wowing audiences with the experimental Darko and the recent Southland Tales. But if you take a couple and put them into a freaky situation everyone can relate to, I imagine ticket sales will look a tad better this time. So far I'm loving the retro vibe and I truly hope Kelly pulls off a damn good thriller. We could use one of those. Check out one more photo below, then head to USA Today to view the rest.

Well, it's official. The Writers Guild of America is going on strike tomorrow. Here's hoping the strike ends quickly and that all parties come away happy. And writers? Use this time off to study my choices for the seven best screenplays of the 2000's:

The 40 Year Old Virgin by Judd Apatow & Steve Carell

The blending of improvisation and the written word gives Apatow's two classic comedies -- Knocked Up would be the other -- a feeling of authenticity that is all too rare in today's film world. Apatow takes the strategy of writing for specific performers and their strengths, and it really pays off. Scoff if you want at a sex comedy making the list, but for a movie to be this incredibly funny -- while keeping an oddly touching romance and a spot-on character study afloat -- the screenwriters deserve high praise.

About Schmidt by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor

One of the saddest comedies ever made, and one of the most truthful and painful portraits of old age. Payne and Taylor specialize in scripts about people on the verge of cracking, depressed souls who tend to find the smallest redemption possible. Payne/Taylor characters never go from Point A to Point B over the course of the screenplay, they go from Point A to Point A.1. The small, gradual changes in their characters are reflective of the way actual humans (as opposed to movie humans) work. Warren Schmidt's personal growth is so minor that it is confined to the last thirty seconds of the film, but when it comes it's an emotional punch in the gut.

I rented Donnie Darko the day it came out on DVD. This was before it reached cult status, I hadn't really heard anything about it at all. I put it in the machine with very low expectations, Patrick Swayze was in the thing for crying out loud! Two hours later, I sat in the dark, completely blown away. I immediately watched it again. I wanted to call everyone I knew and tell them to watch this movie, and fast. These days, it's very difficult to find something truly "under the radar," but Donnie Darko felt like a real discovery to me, and to a lot of people. I think it's one of the best movies of the decade. So of course a new film from its director, Richard Kelly, is big news. And no matter what the critics think of Southland Tales (and they haven't been kind thus far - Andrew O'Hehir at Salon called the 160-minute Cannes cut of the film "about the biggest, ugliest mess I've ever seen" and you can read James's negative review here), I'm dying to see it.

Listed on imdb as a "comedy musical sci-fi thriller," Southland looks interesting to say the least. Set in Los Angeles, 2008, with the city on the brink of "social, economic and environmental disaster," it's got a cast that redefines "eclectic" (Justin Timberlake, John Larroquette, Mandy Moore, Jon Lovitz, Cheri Oteri...getting the idea?),and you can see just how eclectic in this cool new group of photos from the film over at iesb. There's shots from the movie, behind-the-scenes stuff, storyboards, paintings, sketches, all kinds of goodies. A majority of the photos are of Seann William Scott (who plays twin brother cops), The Rock and an almost disturbingly attractive Sarah Michelle Gellar, who plays a porn star in the film. Southland Tales has been picked up by Columbia Pictures, and Kelly is said to have made some pretty drastic cuts in preparation for a potential release soon.

Last week, I gave you a nice list of DVDs for younger kids. This week it's time to give a little love to the older kids in the family. Sure, they'll sneak a peek at the younger sibs' kiddie flicks when they think you aren't looking, but they really want to know that you know they're getting older, and they have their own taste in movies. Some of these recommendations are more current films that older kids might enjoy; others are well-loved classics you might remember from your own teen-hood. In any case, adding a couple of these selections to your shopping list for that tween or teen in your life is sure to make you tops on their list.

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!]

Actor Noah Wyle, alumni of television's hit hospital drama ER, and more recently star of TNT's rip-offs of homages to Raiders of the Lost Ark known as The Librarian: Quest for the Spear and Return to King Solomon's Mines, is set to make his feature directorial debut with the romantic comedy Prince Test for Dolphin Entertainment and producers Peter Sussman, Arthur Sarkissian and Morris Levy. The film, written by first-timer and recent USC film grad Rachel Weinhaus (with a rewrite by J.P. Manoux), centers on a female private investigator who uses somewhat unorthodox and deceptive techniques to gauge the fidelity of the married men she investigates.

Wyle, who's other acting credits include some pretty good work as Steve Jobs in Pirates of Silicon Valley, Enough and one of my favorite films, Donnie Darko, is, of course, an unproven director. Add to that a script that, while it has a somewhat interesting premise, was nevertheless written by someone with no prior feature credits or experience. Even the person they tapped to do the rewrite doesn't have any feature credits. I don't know about you, but to me this project is really starting to sound like a bad idea with a pretty good chance of failure. I realize that people have to start somewhere and everyone is a first-timer at one point, but usually when the director has never directed before, producers will often have a writer on-board with a little experience under his or her belt -- just to give the project a fighting chance of success.

As the film is being financed by freshman feature backers Dolphin Entertainment (who are primarily known for their TV movies) and, as an indie production, most-likely has a relatively small budget, I guess Dolphin feels an unproven director and writers are worth the financial risk. But really, who knows what their reasons are? Whatever they might be, I really hope they know something I don't know -- for their sake. No word on casting for Prince Test (which, if they get the right actors, would help) but production is set to begin this April in Chicago.