I hate to spread totally speculative bad buzz, but if any advance development merits the term "not a good sign," it's a movie getting its release date pushed back seven months to early September, the year's most notorious dumping ground. Yep -- Richard Kelly's The Box is now scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. on September 11, 2009.

Now, to be clear, its original February release date wasn't exactly a plum spot either. But occasionally something sneaks through early in the year -- think Cloverfield. The few weeks around Labor Day are where movies go to die. The only recent exception I can think of is 3:10 to Yuma.

I'm hoping against hope that the switch isn't actually a vote of no confidence, since a Twilight Zone-style sci-fi film from the director of Donnie Darko sounds fantastic. If it is a low-confidence move, I'm hoping it's a case of a studio not knowing a good movie from a hole in the wall. That happens a fair amount, don't you know. Richard Kelly could use a boost after Southland Tales sank last year.

The Box is about a suburban couple who receive a mysterious wooden box with a single button. The box comes with a promise that if one of them presses the button in the next 24 hours, they will get a million dollars -- but somewhere in the world, someone will die. The film stars James Marsden, Cameron Diaz and Frank Langella.

[hat tip: Cinema Blend]

There's no way around it: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson owes at least some of his fame to the way his dominating figure fits the blockbuster action stereotype with near-mechanical sleekness. However, he also offers an alternative to that reductive perspective. Looking sharp in a business suit and speaking with the relaxed professional discipline of a CEO, Johnson showed up at a screening of Get Smart on Sunday at the CineVegas Film Festival displaying sheer confidence. The screening took place at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, where Johnson had recently acted in Race to Witch Mountain ("We just added to the chaos," he said), but on this visit, Johnson got a chance to remind people that he's not just a one-note performer, but someone who plays an active role in the international film community (not to mention the health community, since The Rock Foundation pushes obesity prevention).

Outside of his supremely meta performance in Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, Johnson has made his interests in adventurous cinema increasingly clear, and boldly champions independent artists. You can get a small glimpse of this aspect of his personality in Operation Filmmaker, documentarian Nina Davenport's account of an Iraqi filmmaker named Muthana Mohmed whose aspirations tragically fall short of the expectations surrounding him. Landing the opportunity to work for Liev Schreiber on the set of Everything is Illuminated, the 25-year-old Mohmed grows increasingly frustrated with the boring tasks given to him, and continually blows opportunities as a result of his unbalanced work ethic.

Considering the amount of flack Nicolas Cage received over his last time-bending flick, I am a little surprised that he decided to come back for Alex Proyas', Knowing. Coming Soon is now hosting some on-set photos from the sci-fi thriller starring Cage and Rose Byrne. Sources managed to snap the pics on location in Geelong, Australia, and while there are no shots of Cage or Byrne, at least we get to see some stuff blowing up.

Knowing centers on a time capsule buried in 1958 that was chock full of doom and gloom prophecies. When the capsule is dug up 50 year later, it lands in the hands of a young boy and his professor father (Cage) who becomes obsessed with decoding the messages and preventing all-out destruction.

The production has had a long history in Hollywood, ever since the film was first set up over at Columbia. There have been a few directors attached over the years, notably Richard Kelly and Rod Lurie. Proyas came on board in 2005, and after a few rewrites, the film went into production in 2007. As if a long and troubled production history wasn't enough of an obstacle, it is no secret that Cage's 'shine' has been slowly diminishing over the years (thank you very much, Ghost Rider), so Knowing could be a hard sell to audiences who might still be ticked over shelling out their hard-earned dollars for Next.

Knowing is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2009.

I guess members of Arcade Fire like to keep an eye on their online reputation, because it took a total of eight days for the band to reduce a popular rumor to rubble. A little over a week ago, Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko) had posted that, "a very famous band who is honoring us with being the first filmmakers they've ever scored a film with" had signed up to score his upcoming thriller, The Box. Before you knew it, Pitchfork had picked up the story and was reporting that Arcade Fire was that "famous band".

Cut to one week later and Arcade's co-founder, Win Butler, posted the following message on his blog (through the band's official site): "Arcade Fire is NOT doing the soundtrack to any film. We are all off for the summer, writing songs, reading books and keeping our plants alive" -- although he did concede that he might compose some original music for the film along with band mate Owen Pallet (Final Fantasy).

The Box takes place in 1976, where an unhappily married couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) receive a mysterious box from a stranger (Frank Langella). The box will reward the couple with a massive payday, but only on the condition that a complete stranger dies in return. Erik gave us the heads up on some production photos back in February, but so far there is no release date. Hopefully the 'stink' of Southland Tales has finally worn off, and Kelly will be able to secure an official date soon.

Despite all the awards attention it received, Joe Wright's Atonement still sounds too much like a lushly romantic period melodrama for my personal taste. Still, it's one of those movies you probably need to experience yourself before deciding if the praise was too lavish (Ryan Stewart thought it was a "stunning achievement") or the criticism too harsh. The DVD from Universal Studios includes deleted scenes, two "making of" features, and an audio commentary by the director.

From all that I've read, Southland Tales sounds like an astonishing train wreck. Nick Schager began his review for Cinematical by writing: "Let me present Exhibit A in the case against granting talented young filmmakers extensive creative autonomy." Given my perverse nature, that makes me want to see Richard Kelly's futuristic epic even more. The DVD from Sony Pictures includes a "featurette" and an animated short.

Steep presents thrilling footage of big mountain skiers who swoosh down incredibly steep slopes. As I noted in my review, though, I felt it raised more questions than it wanted to answer. The DVD from Sony Pictures includes an audio commentary by director Mark Obenhaus with some of the skiers, photo montages, and an additional interview with one of the sport's masters.

Though it was ignored during last fall's awards season, Mike Newell's Love in the Time of Cholera might be ripe for discovery. (On the other hand, Jeffrey M. Anderson really didn't like it.) Javier Bardem and Benjamin Bratt star in an adaptation of the novel by Gabriel García Márquez. The DVD from New Line includes an audio commentary by Newell, a "making of" feature, and deleted scenes.

Courtesy of the folks over at Variety, there's news on three new flicks headed our way by the folks over at Warner Brothers. These puppies are coming our way for the company to "ensure not only that their unique visions will be fully realized, but also that the success of their work will be rewarded as stakeholders in their own films." That's a sweat deal, if these are successful, which is a decent possibility since they're all well-known. Here are the lucky films:

1. Richard Kelly's The Box -- News of the feature geared up a year ago, back when some still had hope for the mess that is Southland Tales. Since then, Cameron Diaz signed on, as did Frank Langella, and finally James Marsden. I wonder if any of them are nervous about the film now? I guess we'll all have to wait and see. The film is about "an unhappily married couple who receive a box from a stranger (Langella) who tells them that if they push a button on the box, they'll receive a hefty amount of cash -- and someone they don't know will die."

2. Ricky Gervais' This Side of Truth -- We first heard word of this sweet feature back in September, and since then, the lucky goat cast Jennifer Garner to be the object of his woo. The premise sounds pretty perfect for the Brit, who co-wrote the script with Matthew Robinson. It's about a man in a world where no one lies. Then he tells the first one and harnesses the all-mighty power of lying to nab women out of his league and find professional success -- a role obviously to be played by Ricky himself.

3. Robert Rodriguez's Shorts -- Written by the man himself, and to be directed by him as well of course, it's about... Well, you tell me. News surrounding the filmmaker has focused on him, Rose, and Barbarella. Searching for him and "shorts" doesn't get one very far, so if anyone has word on it, please comment below!

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.

Oh, how I used to wish for a future with funky, memorable, wonderful, and cultish Richard Kelly movies for years to come. Unfortunately, I've lost my faith. I loved Donnie Darko -- it was random, entertaining, and it merged actors from all different periods of my moviegoing life. Then I saw the director's cut, which was too over-explained for me, although I'm still eternally grateful for the Darkomentary. Now Southland Tales. I waited ages for that sucker, checking the ultra-vague website often; waiting. Then it came out to boos, got revamped, and now I'm hearing from some sources that it didn't help.

My future Kelly hopes seem dashed, but even after the flop that was Domino, and the Southland troubles, Kelly is gearing up for his third feature, The Box. Cameron Diaz signed on to star in June, then Frank Langella joined her in October. Now The Hollywood Reporter has posted that James Marsden is in final negotiations to play Diaz's husband in the horror film. The film is about: "an unhappily married couple who receive a box from a stranger (Langella) who tells them that if they push a button on the box, they'll receive a hefty amount of cash -- and someone they don't know will die." If it was as simple as that, there wouldn't be a movie, so I imagine those cash-givers are tricky and will make it someone connected to a future boss, family member, or something to throw a wrench in their already-crappy lives.

When you first movie is a cult sensation and your second movie is ... troubled, it's best to have a third project waiting in the wings. Fortunately for Donnie Darko and Southland Tales director Richard Kelly, that third flick is -- after a long gestation period -- finally coming together. According to Variety, veteran character actor Frank Langella will be joining Cameron Diaz in the horror film The Box. The trade paper says Langella will play "a stranger who presents a mysterious box to a woman." How's that for a killer role?

But Variety also reminds us that The Box is based on an old Richard Matheson story called Button, Button. (The basic premise is this: You're given a magical box and if you press the button, you become rich -- but a total stranger will die. You may remember this story from an episode of the "new" Twilight Zone that ran in the late '80s.) Although Eli Roth used to be connected to this project (as a writer, I believe), it now looks like it's Kelly's show all the way. When Cinematical interviewed Kelly at Fantastic Fest, he had this to say regarding The Box: "But my next movie is a psychological thriller, it's PG-13, has a mainstream concept, and it's something the studio is much more comfortable in committing to right away, telling us they'll put it on 2500 screens." So it's a horror film, but we're talking Vacancy 1408 horror here. In addition to directing, he'll be adapting the Matheson story. Production gets underway in the middle of next month.

And just in case you forgot, another Matheson adaptation -- I Am Legend -- hits theaters in December.

Besides giving Justin Long some work and making him the geek poster boy, Apple has been pretty good at making lots of people wish they lived in SoHo (as well as a few other choice areas across the US). Along with indieWIRE, they've been bringing filmmakers and stars into their stores for discussion and exclusive clips -- this includes the indie names behind Hannah Takes the Stairs, producers Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente who showed part of Redacted to New York fans, and even Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, and Natalie Portman popped by for Hotel Chevalier, the short prequel to The Darjeeling Limited.

Now things are getting a little more sci-fi, and indieWIRE reports that the next filmmaker on the list is none other than Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly, who will be on hand to show clips from Southland Tales and talk about the film. The event will take place on Friday, October 19, and run for just one hour -- 6:30-7:30 p.m. As per usual, the cost is free, and it is first come, first serve at Apple's SoHo store on Prince Street in New York City. It sounds like this will be a speedy run-through that won't allow for many, or any, questions, but if there's a filmmaker and film around that might benefit from some expository commentary, it's Kelly and Tales!