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Richard Kelly

This is the way the world ends.......

About Me

Los Angeles, 2008:
The city stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. SOUTHLAND TALES is an epic story set over the course of three days that culminate in a massive 4th of July celebration.
A large ensemble cast of characters includes Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson), an action star stricken with amnesia, Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar), an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Roland Taverner (Seann William Scott), a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.
Read Southland Tales Yet?

Follow the links below to get a copy


Purchase Book 1 at View Askew
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper. --T.S. Eliot
The conclusion of T.S. Eliot’s 1925 poem “The Hollow Men” has been altered for satirical effect in SOUTHLAND TALES, a comedic spin on the apocalypse, as it should occur in the great city of Los Angeles. Trust me on this one… if the end is indeed upon us (apparently 59% of fundamentalist Americans believe that it is ), it is going to happen in Los Angeles first.
I have always been obsessed with this whole apocalypse thing… and trying to decipher the encrypted symbolism in the Book of Revelations is enough to give anyone a headache. A friend once remarked that there is a legitimate debate among religious scholars that the Book of Revelations was written while the Apostle John was under the influence of hallucinatory mushrooms. Go figure.
Another friend sent me a very disturbing link to a story about something called “American Hiroshima”. Apparently this is one of many planned terrorist attacks that Al-Quaeda has in the works. This is the one where they smuggle nuclear weapons (purchased by Osama bin Laden from Russian gangsters) over the Mexican border into Texas with the aid of Mexican guerrillas. They detonate the nukes in mid-size cities where there is little domestic counter-terrorism surveillance.
Sounds like the apocalypse to me. Where would we go from here?
These are the sordid tales of what happens next… how it all comes crashing down. In the alternate future of SOUTHLAND TALES, the war machine is running out of gas, and there is no alternative. Alternative fuel, that is.
Global warming may indeed be the “whimper” that T.S. Eliot foretold. Perhaps our destiny is to slowly drown ourselves into oblivion.
Southland Tales will take you down that other road. The one that ends with a “bang”. What if there is a path to end all suffering, and hidden somewhere along the way is a primer? A primer that could help us extinguish this great big mess of a planet once and for all. Quick and painless.
There is no alternative. Alternative fuel, that is.
Until one day… when a mysterious German corporation arrives in the Southland with a kick-ass new formula. A cure for our sickness…

My Interests

Writing, Directing, Conspiracy Theories, The Art of Brett Weldele

I'd like to meet:

Karl Marx, Philip K. Dick, Stanley Kubrick

Music:

Radiohead, MOBY, Nine Inch Nails, The Arcade Fire, Krysta Now, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Muse, Elbow, The Killers, Jane's Addiction, Beethoven, Waylon Jennings.....

Movies:

Kiss Me Deadly, Alien(s), Fight Club, Blade Runner, Brazil, The Big Lebowski, Repo Man

Television:

IS USIDENT, and SHOULD BE DESTROYED........except for the Simpsons

Books:

Anything Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Chandler, and Richard Matheson.....

Heroes:

Boxer Santaros

My Blog

The Box and Donnie Darko Tooo

Over the last couple of days, a few people have asked me what's up with "this Donnie Darko sequel." So to set the record straight, here's a few facts I'd like to share with you all - I haven't read t...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Mon, 12 May 2008 10:04:00 PST

TIME DEALER

Hey Guys,Check out these short films that my company help produce from the guys who did all the special features on the DVDs for Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut and Southland Tales.Enjoy!RKhttp://www...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:49:00 PST

Editing

Hey everyone... we are busy editing The Box here in Los Angeles.Everything is going great... I wanted to post a link to a great behind-the-scenes segment producedby our friends at NASA on location at ...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:28:00 PST

THATS A WRAP

Hello everyone... I haven't blogged in a long time because, well...I've been in Boston/Virginia directing my third movie!And now I am back in LA and we have officially wrapped production onThe Box. It...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 04:54:00 PST

Soundtrack and other tales.....

Hi Guys,   I'm currently tucked away in Boston for the final stages of pre-production on THE BOX.  We start shooting in a couple weeks, and I will keep you updated throughout the produc...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:46:00 PST

RELEASE DATE CHANGED

Hey everyone...I have been incredibly busy prepping THE BOX! We start shootingNovember 17th in Boston... casting is underway and the story just broke onVariety so I am happy to confirm that Frank Lang...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 07:51:00 PST

TRAILER IS UP

I am so sorry for the delay, but the trailer is finally up for the world to see. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809233751/info Enjoy! RK...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:22:00 PST

TRAILER TODAY

Hey Everyone -   Just a heads up that the Southland Tales trailer will finally premiere exclusively on Yahoo.com Movies sometime today.  Thanks to everyone for your patience, as we are trul...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:57:00 PST

DARKO ENTERTAINMENT

Hey everyone,I am excited to officially announce that we are taking our company to the next level. Sean McKittrick, Ted Hamm and I are absolutely committed to bringing opportunities to as many bright ...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Mon, 17 Sep 2007 10:14:00 PST

FINAL POSTER ART

Hello everyone... while everyone waits patiently for the trailer... I am pleased to announce that the final poster design for Southland Tales has been released!Special thanks to Kelly Nielsen and ever...
Posted by Richard Kelly on Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:13:00 PST