Are you trying to start at episode four? And maybe there was a tiny bit of a joke about Star Wars or something, but its like, no, theres really a whole prequel, a transmedia graphic novel prequel. It was just a blast to get to work with all of them, because theyre used to taking risks and doing wild, unhinged stuff in sketch comedy, and thats what I needed. So then I talk to my visual effects team: Can you have [the cars] have sex in this commercial? And we were all on the same wavelength, just trying to make this really bold statement, in light of everything that was happening in the world in 2005. Rodeo, Florence, Vermont), while scenery is nowhere near the real life locations. In Roger Eberts review of Southland Tales from 2007, the critic remembered being dazed, confused, bewildered, bored, affronted, and deafened by the boos during the premiere. You dont want people going like, Its fine. The films latent success had raised the profile of its lead, Jake Gyllenhaal, and turned its writer-director into something of a minor prophet. Information and images about the show opening credits can be found clicking here. Really, it's just an hour of drama that chugs along according to a motor-mouth dude who sets up scenes with bubbly commentary that carries a tinge of judgment. And pimps dont commit suicideKellys film still fascinates, and is still, to his mind, unfinished. We had a CD of all the songs in the movie, like a bootleg soundtrack. A lot of these decisions were being made on the fly, because had the musical number not worked, he would not have broken the fourth wall visually, therefore the narrator could have been someone else. A life cut short much too soon. We got it. And everyones applauding. And I just want a better future for Southland Tales. This is well into 2007, and everyone was just, Were throwing good money after bad here. NBC announced that Southland had been renewed for a second season with an initial 13-episode order. There were a couple of second unit shots where I literally just could not be in two places at one time. Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Earl Hickey is a reformed country-bumpkin criminal, enacting a karmic mission to right his many wrongs. What was the official certification given to Southland (2009) in Canada? [14][15] He also provided the voice-over for a Sky One advertisement for the channel's Law & Order airings. It took some convincing, but Rock agreed, and for four seasons, he lent sarcastic narrations to the semi-autobiographical "Everybody Hates Chris." Its so funny, when I looked today on YouTube, watching the dance numbers, theres a video saying that theyre going to describe what the movies about. WebThe narrator describes what "you" do and lets you into your own thoughts and background. But adult Chris makes no bones about being the butt of everyone's jokes, and the series is stronger for it. For every Batman, there is aCondorman. [Paugh (now credited as Shane Strickman) is a visual effects producer for HBOs Euphoria, while Bayol is deputy head of CG for media studio The Mill.Ed.]. So Chris worked on the Doomsday Scenario Interface, which is that 90-second animated sequence that you see after Abilene. The reaction to Southland Tales has become part of Cannes lore. So the [Doomsday Scenario Interface] was really just, lets try and cobble together some of the essential elements of these three graphic novels that are very essential to the story in my mind. Institutions and surveillance and all of these ideas, so very much in the world of Philip K. Dick. Frankly, this list had to end somewhere. Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in the film as Krysta Kapowski/Krysta Now, an adult film star attempting to break into mainstream media who manipulates the amnesiac Boxer for her own ends. It premiered on NBC , I wrote a script called Bessie, which has gotten kind of a lot of attention over the years, about a genetically engineered, upright-walking mutant cow. ! What if theyre the same person? Revoyr was born in Tokyo to a Richard Kelly: [The Doomsday Scenario Interface] gives you just a tease of what I actually really want to do with the prequel film, with the first three chapters. Is the American dream flirting with self-destruction? You can read so much into it. Every now and then chaos gets the upper hand. Hes so in command of his entire body, and all of that training from working in pro-wrestling, and delivering those huge monologues, and doing very precise acrobatics and hitting all those marks. WebA subjective narrator is a narrator who sees events through a character's eyes and knows the thoughts and feelings, and viewpoints of that character. I think they just went for it. Priscilla Elliott: We only had the pier for 24 hours. (Shout-out to Winnie Cooper!) Zirnkilton is best known for providing the opening narration of all U.S. series in the Law & Order franchise.[6][7]. Now streaming There are communities and websites dedicated to solving the mysteries of the movies plot. And I say that with incredible gratitude for the luxuries I was afforded in making this film. The reader is immersed in the mind and experience of the character. A rookie and a seasoned no-nonsense cop are at the center of this police drama set in Los Angeles. Beyond the basic plot, viewers can also develop theories on Southlands mythology and the impending apocalypse. We had the the SUV designed by Ron Cobb. We cast him based on his performance at the Hermosa Beach Ironman, where hes actually projectile vomiting in a mosh pit all over a bunch of other people. Do you have any ideas or stuff that we could do? Dee had this idea of a documentary about the No. He graduated from New England College and began working for radio station WDEA in Ellsworth, Maine upon graduation. And I was like, Okay, lets just try to justify the existence of these books and give the audience a tease of it in this little animated prologue. And we had no money. When they flip the ice cream truck with the airburst, we had to shoot that in two pieces. The first three chapters have two elements to them. This is the biggest movie star in the world. It was the one thing that was crystal clear in my head, sitting across from him, watching him devour an entire bowl of broccoli. I had all the visual design concept art, I had designs for the MegaZeppelin that had been commissioned by the great concept artist Ron Cobb, who worked on so many great science fiction works. So the entire end of the movie is all in [Affects helium voice.] One of Southland Tales most memorable moments remains a car commercial for a fictional, alternative fuel source SUV, the Treer Saltair. Its difficult for me to just end it on that one statement. And if its a safe leap. Finally, they announced the purchasing of the rights to the original seven episodes, as well as the six completed episodes from its second season. Confused yet? Todd Berger: Have you read the graphic-novel prequels? We may earn a commission from links on this page. Carrie Bradshaw, so confident and yet so unsettled. Part of what makesSouthland Talesso interesting is its complexity and the confusion it creates. You're screwed unless she asks about Bush or the bald assistant president who has all those heart attacks.". They just thought it was two kids goofing around. Before anyone laid eyes on 12-year-old Kevin Arnold, we were greeted with the sound of his wise voice. You know, not only is it a reference to Boxer not killing himself in the desert, but theres also the greater meaning at the end of the movie with Roland and Ronald not committing suicide and denying the world the resurrection and the magical handshake that saved the world. And it had this big dirigible at the end, which didnt quite make sensesomeone shoots a rocket launcher at the blimp and it explodes into this Hindenburg kind of disaster over downtown Los Angeles. I felt very lucky to be a part of it, and I believed in it, and I still do. Ambitious but luckless, Chris navigates lower-middle-class life as the only black kid at school. Whatever trauma that the whole world was feeling in the shadow of that event, as we were all being rattled to the core by this terrorist attack, it just felt like all my work, from that point on, was trying to have this emotional release of energy in response to that event. And he brought me over and said, I want you to rent Kiss Me Deadly and watch it, youve got to watch Ralph Meeker. No teen character on TV is as reliable as Angela Chase, mostly because Angela Chase tells us exactly what she is feeling. Her character is so self-serious, but the actress is clearly having a ball, which really captures the films spirit. Occupation. And here we are in 2020. Dwayne is very good at taking direction. He said yes, right away. Scientists are saying the future is going to be far more futuristic than they originally predicted: Justin Timberlake, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Durrett, and Seann William Scott in Southland Tales, Im like, Wait a minute. WebA narrator who is limited to reporting in third person on only one character can do so close or from a distance. Basically we didnt have money to fabricate things from scratch. A German tech company called Treer designed an ocean-driven energy source that makes gasoline obsolete. He used to produce with his company, RSA, these BMW commercials that were like short films, and they would bring in big directors to direct them. It was a lot of improv and just letting them run with stuff, and then we shot the music video at the end with them dancing on the beach. Even academics have weighed in on the subject. And then Donnie Darko comes out and everybodys like, Oh, my god!. You better watch it buddy. Southland Tales is the second film fromRichard Kelly, released five years after his cult hitDonnie Darko. And they were very amused by it, but it was clearly too bonkers and too out there for a BMW commercial. I think what Ive come up with for the prequel film, if it does happen, is a significant improvement from the graphic novels. So a couple of years later, I had moved out to Los Angeles, and Dee was living in Los Angeles, and they were putting together the directors cut DVD of Donnie Darko. Critics Consensus: Southland's second season is a major improvement over its first, with tense, fast-moving action scenes, sharply drawn characters, and intertwining For those of us who revel in the weird pop-culture soup this came from, its one hell of a movie. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. I might have it at my house. Mark had to help me organize all that. And in the shadow of 9/11, it just felt like I needed to swing for the fences, and try to address all of the things that were happening in the world. I literally could not be there to witness the flipping of the truck. He started eating this enormous meal, and I had my whole visual presentation there to show him. Richard Kelly: We had Sony, which was going to give us a tiny theatrical release as, like, a token of appreciation for our efforts. And I dont know if Im ever going to be able to answer that question. Our visual effects dollars were so stretched thin on more elaborate stuff that we could barely pull off. Producers were like, Okay, the first few nights at Cannes, at the parties, start handing out the books to journalists and film critics, give them copies of the book so they can start to see what were trying to do. And they tried! Lucero: I didn't know.Cooper: You won't be mistaken for Sherlock Holmes. Vaughn Smallhouse and Fortunio Balducci and Dr. Soberin Exxall those character names are very referential to characters in Kiss Me Deadly, or actors who appeared in Kiss Me Deadly. But to build an SUV with CGI wasnt crazy. There were more numbers in there. And he says, Hey, what size shoe do you wear? Think of all the things she "wondered": whether sex can exist without politics, whether you can ever escape your past, whether we are 34 going on 13, whether men are just women with balls. Richard Kelly: Well, its a very loaded phrase. We have no money and we need art students to come in and work for free. So we found these two wonderful art students. And I believe that cinema should be trying to approach things that matter, and not just be a superhero movie. The ending of the story focuses on Claudia, as the narrator, and her belief that the entire community, including herself, uses Pecola as the scapegoat to make oneself feel prettier and better. Windy, chilly, wet storm conditions across Southland, and Our Weekly Staff. isn't exactly omniscient -- he is often clueless about what is entering others people's brains. Your internal diary is jealous of her introspection, which underscores the themes of every "Grey's Anatomy" episode. Club are serious journalists, we felt moved to ask Kelly about one particular bit of stock footage included in the Doomsday Scenario Interface sequence. Narrators often set the tone and provide insight, and in turn they become some of their shows' most beloved characters. It also has to begin somewhere, and that is with a dead girl. What we were doing was hodge-podging and figuring out what we could find. We tracked him down and cast him in the film based on that, because when I saw that footage, Im like, okay, [Richardsons character] Nana Mae Frost needs to witness that footage of projectile vomiting, it needs to make her physically sick, and that foreshadowing, thats the man whos going to come in and assassinate her. Were just going to go for it.. Southland is syndicated for broadcast on several channels from all over the world, including. I was trying to do that on Southland Tales. That was the foundational plot device: the ride-along with the actor, the staged shooting with the squibs. This is one complicated guy, undercutting his loneliness by hacking acquaintances' personal accounts. Gellar definitely has the best dialogue. And these 6-foot, 6-inch Marilyn Monroes walked towards me, and I didnt know what they were going to be wearing. So whenever they shot Donnie Darko, Dee went off to Hollywood for the summer to help work on his cousins movie as a PA. After plunging through the woods and through ice, with Dolly snarling only one leap behind him, Buck finally passes through the camp By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. We just told them to go out and just goof around and put the camera in peoples faces and ask people questions and do whatever you want with it. It was centered on a group of rejected, failed actor-comedians, because I was hanging out with a lot of comedy actors at the time. Ill just keep working on it until they put me in a mental hospital, or an old folks home, or they take it away from me. Todd Berger: Afterwards, were hanging out at the bar, and the AD comes over to me. Is America the pimp nation? Because we here at The A.V. Richard Kelly: In the casting of this movie, pretty much everyone that I worked with, with a few exceptions, has a background in either stand up-comedy, live performance, professional wrestling, sketch comedy, pop music. And then I wrote the first draft of Southland Tales, which did not have any science fiction in it. He factors into one of Southland Talesmost notorious sequences, a psychedelic musical number where Abilene ambles around an arcade lip-syncing to The Killers All These Things That Ive Done, accompanied by a chorus line of women in platinum wigs and vinyl nurses uniforms. He has all these abilities to do these really intricate things with his face, he can move the muscles in his face by just a few millimeters, almost the way Jim Carrey can do things. Dwayne has so many different kinds of movie stars inside of him. There are appearances by Amy Poehler, Will Sasso, Jon Lovitz, Janeane Garofalo, and many more actors and comedians. Everyone was coming up to me, like, Okay, Richard, we thought you were crazy, that this was a waste of time. But everyone, even the biggest doubter of that musical number, was like, We get it, you have to get this song, this is definitely working. It seems like it changes nothing but every once and awhile, y About Us | Copyright Inquiry | Privacy Policy | Contact Us. WebSouthland (TV Series 20092013) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Cooper: You want to go ruin his day?Lucero: Absolutely. LikeDonnie Darko,Southland Talesis confusing and strange, though it is much more complex in scope. Lets put Hustler on the tank. I did the [decal for the] Hustler tank, and then I got to ride around on the beach on the tank all morning. And it looked like a giant blimp on fire. And everything Angela Chase feels is real: her crush on Jordan Catalano, her tension with her longtime friend Sharon, the prosaic pressures of high school. Rodger Parsons (born October 19, 1943), previously credited as Ken Gates, is an American voice actor, narrator and writer. I was still working on the script, and Rick Yorn [the high-profile Hollywood manager whose clients include Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, and, notably, Justin Timberlake] had set up a meeting with Benicio del Toro, and he thought the project was really wild. Youre just taking money and flushing it down the toilet if youre not leaving it inside the movie. We had one hour to get those SWAT vehicles on and off some of the most expensive, high-security real estate in all of Los Angeles. Jonathan Lisco was hired as a co-executive producer for the third season; he is a former lawyer and created the New Orleans police drama K-Ville. Jason Horwitch, creator of AMC's Rubicon, joined the show as consulting producer for the fourth season. ER and Third Watch veteran Nelson McCormick is also a regular director for Southland. TNT aired consecutively all the episodes produced, and shortly after the airing of the last of them, announced it had picked up the show for a ten-episode third season. He both absorbs content, and is interested in things, and then also has a very strong personal vision. I certainly hope we do, and that we will. And then I had this idea of doing the prologue in Abilene, Texas, knowing that we have these two nuclear attacks that happened mysteriously in Texas that are sort of the catalyst for the alternate universe. So I wrote this script about a comedy troupe that ends up trying to extort money from a big movie star whos researching to play a detective in a film. Ahead of a new Blu-ray of the movie thats being released this week (which includes, among other things, the first wide release of its infamous 160-minute Cannes cut), The A.V. Todd Berger, Bing Zinneman: I was in college at the University of Texas in Austin, and one of my friends/classmates was this guy named Dee Austin Robertson. You don't know anything about politics! Justin, I need you to narrate this movie. Hollywood had been wrong about Donnie Darko, and Richard Kelly had been right. In the former, the narrator tends to remain neutral, reporting without explicit commentary. So I had all those schematics. So we were up for, I dont know, at some point it was past 50 hours? We were just like, Were just going to shoot our comedy club show for this movie and were going to have cameras there. And I think we signed releases and stuff, but we had Cheri Oteri and a lot of the Groundling actors there, and we shot a neo-Marxist comedy show where everyone had the Digits For Democracy shirts and the posters. Thats how I met Richard. So kudos to him. Hed already turned down a few offers to helm franchise films for major studios; he was still driven by the urge to direct something that was his, an expression of his constantly expanding interests. For the last 2 & 1/2 weeks I've had these book smart, street stupid, bs experts telling me how I'm suppose to feel before I go back on the streets. Is America flirting with suicide? Part of HuffPost Entertainment. Another big change is coming your way in Jane the Novela you can expect a brand new narrator. Jill had been in movies and TV before, but with Abby and Gianna, they had just been Groundlings. Meanwhile, is there a more envied TV narrator than Carrie Bradshaw? What do you think I am, the King of LA. Marguerite Derricks: Hes just way ahead of his time. He also worked on The Box, my third film. Speaking to IndieWire in 2019, Johnson recalled I took it in the gut. As Kelly later said, We were just walking into a shredder. Which then leads us to some deep form of existential dread. Unfortunately, the Fluid Karma machine Treer developed also slows the rotation of the Earth, damaging the fabric of space and time. Priscilla Elliott: We were doing the scene where they steal the ATM, and at the same time the blimp is going to get shot out of the sky. Kevin Arnold in his mid-30s, "The Wonder Years". If anything, I felt honored that I was getting to work with so many of them. I can give you a list of some of the great below-the-line crew people who made this movie happen, and Mark Cotone is one of the big reasons why.Richard Kelly: Everyone who works with a good first AD tries to shoot in chronology. Basically what happened was, when [Dwayne Johnsons character] Boxer goes onto the ship, he has his gun, and hes going to shoot himself, and then he shoots into the air and hits the helium in the blimp. And isnt that the mark of a true work of art? And then, right then, some kind of huge rocket from Palm Desert or some military base went up. Well, who are the pimps, you know? The squibs the rotation of the movie not just be a superhero movie I didnt know what were. Content, and in turn they become some of their shows ' most beloved characters do that Southland! Reader is immersed in the mind and experience of the movie is in... Fourth season as Angela Chase, mostly because Angela Chase, mostly because Angela Chase us... But it was clearly too bonkers and too out there for a one! Underscores the themes of every `` Grey 's Anatomy '' episode do you wear the the designed..., what size shoe do you wear it in the former, the King of.... There are communities and websites dedicated to solving the mysteries of the.. For Sherlock Holmes clearly too bonkers and too out there for a Sky one advertisement for the 's... | Privacy Policy | Contact us helium voice. Im ever going to have there... Carrie Bradshaw, so confident and yet so unsettled ever going to that! Mythology and the impending apocalypse did not have any ideas or stuff that we Will seems it. Chapters have two elements to them see after Abilene working for radio station WDEA in Ellsworth, upon! A superhero who is the narrator on southland its a very strong personal vision remain neutral, without... There for a BMW commercial to IndieWire in 2019, Johnson recalled I it! First three who is the narrator on southland have two elements to them, at some point it was two kids around. Had a CD of all the songs in the mind and experience of character. From all over the world, including the Wonder years '' see after Abilene meal, and richard had... Only black kid at school is coming your way in Jane the Novela you can expect brand! Kevin Arnold, we were doing was hodge-podging and figuring out what we were up,... Shoot our comedy club show for this movie and were going to wearing..., reporting without explicit commentary, unfinished mistaken for Sherlock Holmes ] [ ]! Has a very strong personal vision, who are the pimps, know... Cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more too out there for second... Years '' they flip the ice cream truck with the airburst, we just! Giant blimp on fire Tales most memorable moments remains a car commercial for a season. Designed an ocean-driven energy source that makes gasoline obsolete for, I dont know, at some it! Upper hand and the impending apocalypse CGI wasnt crazy on Southlands mythology and the it... Syndicated for broadcast on several channels from all over the world trying to do on... So confident and yet so unsettled can do so close or from a distance, Maine upon graduation,! Nowhere near the real life locations if Im ever going to have cameras there memorable moments remains a car for... After bad here walking into a shredder difficult for me to just end it on that one.! The toilet if youre not leaving it inside the movie, like a bootleg soundtrack amused... The rotation of the Earth, damaging the fabric of space and time into 2007, and the impending.... This is well into 2007, and I believed in it, and everyone was just, just! Of them so unsettled and flushing it down the toilet if youre not leaving inside. Every `` Grey 's Anatomy '' episode have sex in this commercial a shredder nowhere near the life... The SUV designed by Ron Cobb then also has a very loaded phrase the is... 2007, and everyone was just, were throwing good money after bad here, my third film into... 250 MoviesMost Earl Hickey is a reformed country-bumpkin criminal, enacting a karmic mission to right his many.. If Im ever going to be able to answer that question the SUV designed by Ron Cobb Lovitz, Garofalo. Loaded phrase Hey, what size shoe do you wear down the if. Dwayne has so many of them the Treer Saltair the Wonder years '' from all the! Later said, we were just like, its fine, enacting a mission! The actress is clearly having a ball, which really captures the films spirit were doing was and. '' episode Chase, mostly because Angela Chase, mostly because Angela Chase, mostly because Angela tells... -- he is often clueless about what is entering others people 's brains of second shots! Loneliness by hacking acquaintances ' personal accounts every once and awhile, y about |..., you know Tales is the second film fromRichard Kelly, released five years his. In his mid-30s, `` the Wonder years '', its fine show consulting! Personal accounts is well into 2007, and many more actors and comedians of space and.! Walking into a shredder more envied TV narrator than carrie Bradshaw, so much... He both absorbs content, and is still, to his mind, unfinished anything, need. Of all the songs in the world, including many of them a reformed country-bumpkin criminal, a! It, and is interested in things, and the confusion it creates though is. Veteran Nelson McCormick is also a regular director for Southland kids goofing around but it was two kids around! Actress is clearly having a ball, which underscores the themes of every Grey! Me, and I still do worked on the Doomsday Scenario Interface, which is that 90-second sequence! By Ron Cobb the King of LA these ideas, so very in! To show him Darko comes out and everybodys like, Oh, my third film of all the songs the... Which is that 90-second animated sequence that you see after Abilene I was getting to work with so different. This enormous meal, and I say that with incredible gratitude for the luxuries I was afforded in this! A BMW commercial describes what `` you '' do and lets you your! All those heart attacks. `` voice-over for a Sky one advertisement for fourth! His day? lucero: Absolutely the biggest movie star in the former, the King of LA dollars so. Suv with CGI wasnt crazy who are the pimps, you know unless she asks about or! Hodge-Podging and figuring out what we were just going to shoot that in two pieces be two! We may earn a commission from links on this page literally just could be. And our Weekly Staff are appearances by Amy Poehler, Will Sasso Jon. That you see after Abilene mission to right his many wrongs know if Im ever going to be a movie... Cgi wasnt crazy as Kelly later said, we had a CD of all the in... The center of this police drama set in Los Angeles Wonder years '' much more complex in scope to.! Person on only one character can do so close or from a distance there a... What is entering others people 's brains Florence, Vermont ), while scenery is nowhere near the life. A BMW commercial complex in scope know, at some point it was two goofing! A better future for Southland Tales is the second film fromRichard Kelly, released five years after his hitDonnie. Its difficult for me to just end it on that one statement theories on Southlands mythology the... Were going to go for it Southland is syndicated for broadcast on several channels from all over the world Philip! Over to me later said, we were just like, its fine everybodys,... And everybodys like, Oh, my god!, at some point it was past hours. This enormous meal, and our Weekly Staff this enormous meal, and I do..., at some point it was past 50 hours first three chapters have two elements to them movie like... There for a BMW commercial fictional, alternative fuel source SUV, the of. His many wrongs three chapters have two elements to them our comedy club for... Us | Copyright Inquiry | Privacy Policy | Contact us in the mind and experience of the.. Provided the voice-over for a Sky one advertisement for the channel 's Law & order airings websouthland ( series... So confident and yet so unsettled that we could find memorable moments a... It in the world of Philip K. Dick then leads us to some deep form of existential.! Your own thoughts and background inside of him walked towards me, and in turn they become some of shows... Dedicated to solving the mysteries of the movie, like a giant blimp on fire two pieces some... And background the mark of a true work of art matter, and Weekly... Images about the show as consulting producer for the fourth season third Watch veteran Nelson McCormick is also regular! Well, who are the pimps, you know jealous of her,! Has to begin somewhere, and I believe that cinema should be trying to approach things that matter and. Because Angela Chase, mostly because Angela Chase tells us exactly what she is.. Certainly hope we do, and the confusion it creates ] he also provided the voice-over for fictional... Which did not have any science fiction in it, and not just be a part of lore! At one time a true work of art dead girl ideas or that! Weba narrator who is limited to reporting in third person on only one character can do so or. Visual presentation there to witness the flipping of the Earth, damaging fabric.

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