While I’m way behind on numerous articles that need to get posted…I just heard a lot of news on Richard Kelly’s next film “The Box,” so I figured it was worth taking a break to write it up.

The big news is Warner Bros. has supposedly settled on a release date in 2009…and if you’re thinking January or February…you’d be wrong. Right now the plan for “The Box” is to release it in theaters on 9/11/09. Yes, you read that right, September 11^th, 2009.

So if you’re like me and you think that’s a hell of a long time to wait for Rich’s next film…perhaps this next bit of news might help. It seems the studio is finally doing their first test screening of the movie and it’s this Thursday night somewhere in Los Angeles. While I don’t know the where’s or when’s, usually test screenings start around 7pm and you need a pass to get in. So if you’re a die-hard Rich Kelly fan, I’d go to some movie theaters in Burbank or Sherman Oaks and look for someone giving out passes by the front doors. You might get lucky.

But if you can’t get a pass…don’t worry. Even though this is the first test screening, it probably won’t be the last. When they test movies they usually do a few of them, unless the scores are extremely low or extremely high. If the numbers are really far in one direction, they might not show it again. Also, with the film so far away from being released, this might be a one time screening just to see what audiences think of the film without effects or score.

The last bit of news is about Comic-Con and “The Box.” With the release date moved to September of 2009, it seems that the press events they were planning on doing have either been cut down drastically or totally removed from the schedule. After all, they’ll have a whole other Comic-Con in 2009 that they can use to promote the shit out of it.

While all this news is quite disappointing as I really wanted to see the film in early ‘09, I’m optimistic that with all this post production time, Rich can deliver a great film and something that will remove the bad taste of “Southland Tales.”  Also, I’ve heard the script for “The Box” is fantastic. I’m crossing my fingers the film works.

 

Needless to say, I’m sure reviews will leak out after the test screening…so we’ll probably all know soon what the deal is.

 

And for those that haven’t heard of “The Box,” here’s the synopsis:

 

Norma and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden and Cameron Diaz), a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.