This is either going to be the biggest box office disaster since 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' or an unexpected commercial hit.

Simon | April 03, 15:05 CET

Does it have the same kind of budget as 'Bonfire' ($47 million 1990 dollars) ? It's always seemed to be a much smaller affair to me, more aimed at the same kind of cult audience Donnie Darko has and so hopefully with less pressure to perform hugely.

Just sounds too intricate to appeal to a mass audience.

Saje | April 03, 15:29 CET

Simon, thank you for reading my mind.

Everybody I talk to is like: yeah, it's a Rickard Kelly movie, from the guy who did "Donnie Darko". It's gonna be awesome!

And I'm like: did you even SEE the premise of the film, or the multitude of former SNL cast members (Cheri Oteri?) in it?

Mandy Moore, The Rock, and Justin Timberlake are gonna be there. Yeah, I'm sure it will receive loads of critical acclaim.

Sorry to be so bitter, but some of the casting for this movie really sucks.

Much more eager to see "The Air I Breathe".

Gwendolyn Post | April 03, 15:39 CET

Try to keep in mind that Donnie Darko had Patrick Swayze and Drew Barrymore in it. I think that Richard Kelly casts actors against type to get some interesting results. I'm very much looking forward to seeing Southland Tales.

Zoic_Fan | April 03, 18:36 CET

I don't know if this film could be rated by those standards. "Donnie Darko" has grown quite a large cult audience now, but at its original release, it aired almost nowhere because of sensitivity to plane crash material after 9/11. Even now, the film isn't exactly mainstream and Richard Kelley is certainly not a household name. And as we know from Serenity, just because, being on-line, there seem to be a huge amount of fans for a cult film, that doesn't always translate to seats filled in the theaters. Even Slither, a cult horror film which seemed like it might actually be a hit, only made #8 this week at the box office.

Rob | April 03, 18:42 CET

All this talk about Southland Tales has compelled me to check out Donnie Darko. For the record, I loved Patrick Swayze when I was 14 (ok, not so much now but hey, nostalgia), and I grew up with Drew Barrymore because I loved her in ET when I was 10. Southland Tales sounds totally freaky, which is exactly why I'm so interested. Some of the casting does sound cheesy but I'm still up for it due to the wierdness factor. As much as I want SMG to make loads of money, I'd first choose to see her in a good movie. We're overly aware here that quality and commercial success don't go hand in hand. My local comic guy will be holding my first issue of Southland TAles when it's released.

April | April 03, 19:11 CET

Well, in terms of audiance for Southland tales, it is more "mainstream" then Donnie Darko,Serenity, & Slither. First of all its got the Rock, Sean William Scott, Mandy Moore, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Justin Timberlake, & other stars. They aren't exactly no-name, and so it won't be under the radar so to speak. Its got the star appeal, we will just have to wait and see if it is any good.

kurya | April 03, 19:23 CET

I don't think the cast have trouble keeping track of the story so much as their different story threads aren't necessarily representative of the storyline as a whole so it's difficult to link the two for the purposes of a blurb in an interview. Plus Richard Kelly is known for not wanting too many details to leak out in advance, so I think they partially cover that by saying they're not sure how to explain it. I'm sure the cast of Donnie Darko had similar problems when asked about the movie, and I thought that was fantastic. The cast weren't paid anywhere near their usual fees to appear in this film. A general interest in working with Kelly combined with wanting to be part of what seems to be an interesting script seem to be the main motivating factors. Hopefully that will all transfer to the big screen in an interesting way. The budget was apparently around $15 to $20 million. So with the cinematic release and DVD sales, it'll almost certainly make some money.

Impossible | April 03, 21:16 CET

Love the casting, just as I did in Donnie Darko, can't wait for this one.

zeitgeist | April 04, 00:00 CET