IMTA Alum stars in long-awaited theatrical release
IMTA Press Release November 15, 2007
Film opens in wide release Friday, November 16
“
Well, it’s tough to describe the genre of the film. The best way I can describe it is it’s 30% comedy, 30% musical, 30% thriller, and 10% science fiction.” – Writer/Director Richard Kelly
Following its premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Richard Kelly’s futuristic ensemble feature Southland Tales has undergone a very thorough re-editing that includes new scenes, added special effect shots, a shorter running time and a new ending. Starring IMTA alum Seann William Scott, Dwayne Johnson and Sarah Michelle Gellar, and featuring a massive supporting cast that includes Mandy Moore, Miranda Richardson, Wallace Shawn, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Smith, Amy Poehler, Cheri Oteri, John Larroquette, Janeane Garofalo and Justin Timberlake, the much-delayed feature is finally set to open in the U.S.
Southland Tales is set in the apocalyptic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Scott plays twin brothers in the film—Roland Taverner, a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy, and Ronald Taverner, an amnesiac neo-Marxist—whose lives intertwine with Boxer Santaros (Johnson), an action star also stricken with amnesia, and Krysta Now (Gellar), an adult film star developing her own reality television project. “No one else could have played the twins better than Seann,” said Director Kelly. “He’s got great comedic timing, some of the best timing I’ve ever seen and he gives a very restrained performance in this, much more subtle, yet really pretty amazing in the sense of defining who these characters are.”
“It’s been really fun for me to be a part of a movie like this,” said Scott. “I don’t really know what I’m doing with comedy so much. When I moved out to Los Angeles, I wanted to do more complicated roles. I mean, there’s still some really funny elements to this movie, but what is nice is I get to play two characters that are quiet and pretty neutral, so it’s a nice challenge.”
About the movie itself, Scott is very matter-of-fact. "I saw a bit of the long cut and I thought there were a lot of really cool things in it.” But, he added, “I think it's a movie that you're either going to love or you're going to hate. I think it could be really, really interesting. I think there's a chance that half [of] you…will think it's really cool. The other ones are going to think it's pretentious."
It is right up Scott's alley though. "There are some really beautiful things in it. It's weird, too."