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While many works of Richard Matheson ended up on the small screen, the author was a giant when it came to genre. From post-apocalyptic monsters to gremlins on a plane, Matheson fathered a treasure trove of speculative stories that have since inspired countless other writers, including Stephen King. King said of the late Matheson: “[He] fired my imagination by placing his horrors not in European castles and Lovecraftian universes, but in American scenes I knew and could relate to.” And of all his homegrown writings, Matheson’s short story “Button, Button” may very well be his most approachable. For everyone can understand the allure of immediate wealth, even if that windfall comes with strings attached. Matheson, however, wove this universal desire into a unique and uncanny moral quandary — one where the offer is not only too good to be true, it also has fatal consequences.

Matheson’s unsettling tale has led to a few adaptations,...

The DGA, which begins its contract negotiations on May 10, is stressing the importance of “ensuring reliable pension funding to safeguarding access to industry-leading health care.” In a video that features DGA members talking about the pension and health benefits they’ve received, the guild says that “We’re fighting for our future.”

“The Directors Guild was there for me in 2019 when I donated a kidney so that my husband could get a kidney, and I can’t express what a gift that was that truly saved my family,” said a tearful Millicent Shelton, whose many directing credits include Black-ish and Empire.

See the video here.

“Being part of a guild and having a pension is very, very important, especially all of us will have to retire one day,” said Canella Williams-Larrabee, a unit production manager whose credits include NCIS: New Orleans. “The Directors Guild is known for having some of...

UTA and partner company Klutch Sports Group announced the opening of their Atlanta office today, setting up a full-service base of operations in the city for artists, athletes, musicians and brands with strong ties to the region. It’s located at 1401 Peachtree Street in the Midtown arts and business district, with a gallery on the lower floor.

“Atlanta is a vibrant city for music, sports and arts, and there is a ripe opportunity to create another center of gravity for film and television,” said UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer. “We are excited to bring our full range of services to the community of talented artists, athletes, musicians and creators who call the Southeast their home.”

UTA Atlanta co-heads Steve Cohen and Rob Gibbs called the city “an entertainment and cultural hub.”

“Planting our flag here gives us the ability to support clients with investments and opportunities across the city’s growing creative ecosystem,...

UTA and sister company Klutch Sports Group have officially opened a new office in Atlanta, marking the Hollywood talent agency’s expansion to launch a full-service shop in that key U.S. production center.

The new address, which includes the UTA Artist Space Gallery open to the public, follows UTA locations in Beverly Hills, Nashville, New York, Chicago and London. The new satellite office in mid-town Atlanta aims to identify for UTA new artists, athletes, musicians and brands with strong ties to Georgia and the U.S. southeast.

“Atlanta is a vibrant city for music, sports and arts, and there is a ripe opportunity to create another center of gravity for film and television,” UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer said in a statement on Wednesday. Hollywood film and TV production in Georgia, which includes series like Stranger Things, Ozark and Atlanta, continues in strength thanks to the U.S. state’s generous tax incentive program.

The 75th annual Directors Guild Awards have been handed out at the Beverly Hilton, and the night’s big award brought a bit of a surprise as Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, directors of Everything Everywhere All at Once, beat out Steven Spielberg for the top prize.

The DGA is a strong predictor of Oscar success historically, missing the eventual Best Director winner only eight times in 74 years. Last year, the guild awarded Jane Campion its top film prize for The Power of the Dog, which marked a big step on her path to winning Best Director at the Oscars.

After two consecutive years awarding female directors its top prize (Jane Campion and Chloé Zhao) and watching them go on to take the corresponding Oscar, the Director’s Guild of America nominated a slate of men this year. Despite strong work from Sarah Polley for Women Talking and Gina Prince-Bythewood for...

February is L.A.’s busiest art month, with no less than five fairs kicking off around the city. Among them, Frieze Los Angeles, owned by Endeavor, returns in a new and larger location at Santa Monica Airport. As Frieze opens, THR catches up with four buzzy artists, all with new shows right now that explore the topography of Los Angeles.

Refik Anadol Refik Anadol

Just days after his AI-based art was shown on screens surrounding the stage of the 2023 Grammys, artist and computer programmer Anadol opened a mesmerizing solo show, Living Paintings, at Jeffrey Deitch. The exhibit showcases the Istanbul-born artist’s large-scale LED-screen video works that harness millions of images and data points, transforming them into seemingly fluid cascades of imagery. The pieces include the work Artificial Realities: California Landscapes, generated from 300 million photos of national parks in the Golden State. “We create our AI on this data...

In the past decade, Atlanta has earned the moniker Hollywood of the South. The city boasts a population of around 500,000 in Atlanta proper and roughly 6 million in the greater metro area, with a rising number of full-time and part-time residents who are entertainment industry professionals. Many have been lured to work on productions like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Walking Dead and the new Father of the Bride, or to find more stable work at the 700-acre Trilith Studios or Tyler Perry Studios in the heart of Atlanta.

Long a mecca for hip-hop artists and Black creators, Atlanta has also become increasingly popular with public figures from all walks of life. The undisputed media king of Atlanta — Tyler Perry — recently completed an astounding 100 million estate on 2,100 acres in the city of Douglasville, near his 330-acre studio complex. Celebrities who live or have had homes in Atlanta include Elton John,...

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Robert Gibbs has joined UTA has partner and co-head of the agency’s Atlanta office, making him the latest ICM Partners rep to find a new home in the wake of CAA’s acquisition. He’s not alone: Music agents Kevin Jergenson and Victoria Gutierrez, who worked closely with Gibbs at ICM on several clients, are confirmed to be making the move to UTA, too.

In the new post, Gibbs joins fellow Atlanta co-heads Rich Paul, Arthur Lewis and Steve Cohen. The hiring comes less than a year after UTA announced that it was partnering with sister company Klutch Sports Group to open an office in the entertainment hub as the first first among the industry’s biggest talent, sports and entertainment companies to establish a full-service base of operations in the city.

“Robert’s experience in the industry, combined with his enthusiasm...

Ars NovaJasonEagan, Artistic Director Renee Blinkwolt, Managing Director has announcedperformers slated to appear atThe Ars Nova Revolution, celebratingArs Nova All StarsJill Furman,Thomas KailandLin-Manuel Miranda, fromFreestyleLove SupremeArs Nova, 2004 toHamiltonBroadway, 2015, in a night of revelry benefiting Ars Nova's artist community.The Ars Nova Revolution, takingplaceMonday, September 21at630pmatThe Edison Ballroom, features performances byDaveed Diggs,Renee Elise Goldsberry,Mandy Gonzalez,Jonathan Groff,Christopher Jackson,Jasmine Cephas Jones,JoLampert,Arthur Lewis,Lin-Manuel Miranda,Leslie Odom Jr.,Okieriete Onaodowan,Anthony Ramos,Bill Sherman,Phillipa Soo,Chris Sullivan,Shaina Taub,Anthony Veneziale,and more.

Ars NovaJasonEagan, Artistic Director Renee Blinkwolt, Managing Director has announcedperformers slated to appear atThe Ars Nova Revolution, celebratingArs Nova All StarsJill Furman,Thomas KailandLin-Manuel Miranda, fromFreestyleLove SupremeArs Nova, 2004 toHamiltonBroadway, 2015, in a night of revelry benefiting Ars Nova's artist community.The Ars Nova Revolution, takingplaceMonday, September 21at630pmatThe Edison Ballroom, features performances byDaveed Diggs,Renee Elise Goldsberry,Mandy Gonzalez,Jonathan Groff,Christopher Jackson,Jasmine Cephas Jones,JoLampert,Arthur Lewis,Lin-Manuel Miranda,Leslie Odom Jr.,Okieriete Onaodowan,Anthony Ramos,Bill Sherman,Phillipa Soo,Chris Sullivan,Shaina Taub,Anthony Veneziale,and more.

From BAFTA to DGA, the Latest Winners this Awards Season

With the Oscars upon us, the awards season is almost over! But the last trek to the Academy Awards include many guild awards and of course, BAFTA! So here.s the latest congratulatory awards list of the winners from BAFTA to DGA, from Annie to Ace and everything in between!

Your full BAFTA winners (winners are highlighted):

Best Film

Birdman Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, James W. Skotchdopole

Boyhood Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland

The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson

The Imitation Game Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman

The Theory Of Everything Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten

Director

Birdman Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Boyhood Richard Linklater

The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson

The Theory Of Everything James Marsh

Whiplash Damien Chazelle

Leading Actor

Benedict Cumberbatch The Imitation Game

Eddie Redmayne The Theory of Everything...

Directors Guild President Paris Barclay has announced the TV, documentary and commercial nominees for this year's DGA Awards. “The spectrum of directorial excellence across today's nine television and documentary categories is revelatory for the breadth and depth in what each of these women and men have directed – from 30-second commercials to multi-hour miniseries,” said Barclay in a statement. “As fellow filmmakers, we’re inspired by the quality, imagination and creativity demonstrated by these impressive nominees; as audience members, we’re incredibly fortunate to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Our congratulations to all of the nominees.” First-time nominees include Jodie Foster ("House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black"), Cary Fukunaga ("True Detective"), Mike Judge ("Silicon Valley"), Lisa Cholodenko ("Olive Kitteridge"), Michael Wilson ("The Trip to Bountiful") and Jill Soloway ("Transparent"). Winners will be announced Saturday, February 7, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles at a ceremony hosted by Jane Lynch.

Improvisational hip-hop troup, Freestyle Love Supreme, participated in a virtual round table discussion on Wednesday with Future of Storytelling FoST, where members discussed their best moments on stage.The group performs at various venues in NYC, and even appears on the Pivot Network in a ten-episode series that exposes the nation to the much talked about live show. On stage, five performers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chris Jackson, Chris 'Shockwave' Sullivan, Andrew Bancroft, Arthur Lewis, and Bill Sherman, take the crowd on a non-stop hip-hop improv ride, spinning cues from the audience into instantaneous riffs and fully realized musical numbers.

Joes Pub will continue to host several benefits in support of Hurricane Sandy victims throughout the holiday season. Decembers Sandy fundraisers include Mike Daiseys Where Water Meets With Water, The Broadway Boys, Nuyorican Poets Caf Benefit, Rachael Sage and Still Here, a spoken-word event featuring Sarah Kay, Andy Suzuki amp The Method, Arthur Lewis and Laura Brown-Lavoie. Read on for more details.

Hollywood Gives Back: The winners of the Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards for 2011 were announced tonight during the 64th Annual DGA Awards Dinner at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles. Michel Hazanavicius won the DGA?s Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The Artist.

Following the welcome by DGA President Taylor Hackford to an audience of more than 1,600 guests, director/producer/actor Kelsey Grammer hosted the ceremony.

Presenters included (in alphabetical order): DGA Secretary-Treasurer Michael Apted; Kathy Bates (Midnight in Paris); Berenice Bejo (The Artist); George Clooney (The Descendants); Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad); Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men); Laura Dern (Enlightened); Jean Dujardin (The Artist); DGA President Taylor Hackford; 2010 DGA Feature Film Award winner Tom Hooper (The King?s Speech); Stana Katic (Castle); Ben Kingsley (Hugo); Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy); Kathleen Robertson (Boss); Octavia Spencer...

HollywoodNews.com:Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford today announced the DGA’s nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television and Commercials for the year 2011.

?The caliber of work being done on television these days is incredible, and our director nominees in each category are an indispensable element to the success of every project — establishing and enhancing the vision and tone, eliciting outstanding performances and furthering the narrative arc through their creative choices,? said Hackford. ?That they are able to create excellence regardless of obstacles like tighter schedules and in an environment in which audiences have more entertainment options to choose from — is a true testament to the importance of directorial skill in television.?

The winners will be announced at the 64th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles.

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Movies For Television And Mini-series

The nominees for the Directors Guild...

Dell has launched what it claims is the world's "most advanced" gaming PC. The Alienware Aurora desktop computer is powered by a factory overclocked Intel Core i7-3000 six-core processor, and is aimed at "serious" gamers. "The PC gaming industry continues to grow rapidly, and our customers are demanding systems that can keep up with the most graphic-intensive games on the market," Alienware VP of product management Arthur Lewis told The Inquirer. "Alienware Aurora, our most advanced gaming desktop ever, delivers an experience that will exceed (more)...

The Box

Stars: James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella | Written and Directed by Richard Kelly

Norma and Arthur Lewis, a typical American suburban couple, are the recipients of a mysterious wooden box and a visit from a mysterious stranger (played in an eerie fashion by Frank Langella) who tells them that if they press the button on the box they will receive a million dollars – only someone, somewhere, will simultaneously die. Now Norma and Arthur must decide whether pushing the button is worth killing for…

Based on the short story ‘Button, Button’ by the legendary Sf author Richard Matheson, The Box is director Richard Kelly’s homage to the classic sci-fi movies of the 70s and feeling very much like an expanded episode of The Twilight Zone, is filled with weird and wonderful imagery, as is befitting a film by Donnie Darko director Kelly.

The Box is essentially a tale of morality vs personal gain,...

The closer we get to the Oscars, the more likely The Social Network may just lose out to the King’s Speech. The Director’s Guild has selected The King’s Speech’s director Tom Hooper as the winner of Outstanding Directorial Achievement this year.

Since 1948, the Academy and the DGA have only disagreed on Best Director six times.

Hit the jump for the full list of winners

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2010:

Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Co.)

Mr. Hooper’s Directorial Team:

Production Manager: Erica Bensly First Assistant Director: Martin Harrison Second Assistant Director: Chris Stoaling

This is Hooper’s first DGA Feature Film Award Nomination. He was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Movies for Television/Miniseries for John Adams in 2008.

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series for 2010:

Mick Jackson, Temple Grandin (HBO)

Mr. Jackson’s...

The Directors Guild of America presented the 63rd Annual DGA Awards on Saturday night, January 29, at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. The King’s Speech won a key award from Hollywood directors, four days after the British royals drama picked up a leading 12 Oscar nominations.

The film’s director, Tom Hooper, was named winner of the union’s prize for outstanding achievement in feature film at a ceremony in Hollywood, beating competition that included another Oscar favorite, The Social Network director David Fincher. The Directors Guild of America contest also included Christopher Nolan for Inception, Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan and David O. Russell for The Fighter. The second of two movies on thing mentioned also received Oscar nominations, along with Joel and Ethan Coen for True Grit, who were unnoticed by the DGA.

And the six times in 62 years has the winner of the DGA prize not gone...

The Directors Guild of America announced its award winners for achievement in 2010 last night, and the big winner was Tom Hooper, director of The King's Speech. That, in conjunction with the film's victory [1] at the Producers Guild awards, puts the movie as the odds-on favorite to win the Best Picture Oscar, and makes Mr. Hooper a likely win for Best Director as well. The DGA and Academy have gone different ways for Best Director only six times in the past six decades, and I'm not certain this year will make it seven. In Contention [2] points to the difference at the 2003 Oscars, where the relatively young Rob Marshall won the DGA award for Chicago over directors like Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski. But the Academy went with Roman Polanski as Best Director for The Pianist, even as Chicago won Best Picture. So will a more experienced director like Darren Aronofsky, David O. Russell...

HollywoodNews.com: The winners of the Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards for 2010 were announced tonight during the 63rd Annual DGA Awards Dinner at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles. Tom Hooper won the DGA’s Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The King’s Speech.

Following the welcome by DGA President Taylor Hackford to an audience of more than 1,600 guests, director/actor Carl Reiner hosted the ceremony.

Presenters included (in alphabetical order): Amy Adams (The Fighter); DGA 75th Anniversary Chair Michael Apted; DGA First Vice President Paris Barclay; 75th Anniversary Co-Chair and 2009 DGA Feature Film Award winner Kathryn Bigelow; Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire); 75th Anniversary Co-Chair James Cameron; Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech); DGA Secretary/Treasurer Gil Cates; 75th Anniversary Co-Chair Francis Ford Coppola; Claire Danes (Temple Grandin); Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception); 75th Anniversary Co-Chair Clint Eastwood; Colin Firth (The King...

Los Angeles .The winners of the Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards for 2010 were announced tonight during the 63rd Annual DGA Awards Dinner at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles. Tom Hooper won the DGA’s Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The King’s Speech

Following the welcome by DGA President Taylor Hackford to an audience of more than 1,600 guests, director/actor Carl Reiner hosted the ceremony.

Presenters included (in alphabetical order): Amy Adams (The Fighter); DGA 75th Anniversary Chair Michael Apted; DGA First Vice President Paris Barclay; 75th Anniversary Co-Chair and 2009 DGA Feature Film Award winner Kathryn Bigelow; Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire); 75th Anniversary Co-Chair James Cameron; Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech); DGA Secretary/Treasurer Gil Cates; 75th Anniversary Co-Chair Francis Ford Coppola; Claire Danes (Temple Grandin); Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception); 75th Anniversary Co-Chair Clint Eastwood; Colin Firth (The King...

hollywoodnews.com: Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford today announced the DGA’s nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television and Commercials for the year 2010.

‘Whether it’s a 30-second commercial or a multi-part miniseries, television directors are crucial to the success of any television project.’ said Hackford. ‘As the DGA celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, we salute the critical role of the director in TV and are proud to honor the tremendous range of excellence found in the projects nominated today. Congratulations to all of the nominees.’

The winners will be announced at the 63rd Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 29, 2011 at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles.

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Movies For Television And Mini-series

The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series for 2010 are (in alphabetical order):

Mick Jackson

Temple Grandin

(HBO...

The Box

Your vote counts; your vote matters - perhaps more than you might initially anticipate. Masquerading as a Donnie Darko-esque lurid mystery, director Richard Kelly's third feature is rather a cinematic essay on cause and effect (in this manner, forming a bizarre duality with Rob Zombie's great Halloween 2), here using the act of existential button-pushing on the part of Virginia couple Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) to comment upon the consequences of all our individual actions, be it directly hurting or even murdering another individual or jamming a paper into the ballot-box. Not so much critiquing democracy as it contemplates the topsy-turviness of it all, ruminating on the conflicting positives and negatives of asserting one's allegiance. After the fact, The Box additionally qualifies as one of the most overtly satisfying studio films to have originated from Hollywood in recent times.

For The Box's protagonist couple,...

Do you need any more reasons to get your asses to the upcoming Texas Frightmare Weekend show? Film festivals! Premieres! Celebrities! Dozens of vendors tables! And now a live auction to enable you to get your horror loving claws into a plethora of items from your favorite fright flicks and more!

The Texas Frightmare Film Festival and Texas Frightmare Weekend will run April 28–May 1, 2010. Passes and tickets are currently on sale online at TexasFrightmareWeekend.com.

From the Press Release:

Premiere Props announced today they will be hosting the Texas Frightmare Weekend Live Auction, featuring movie props and costumes from iconic horror blockbusters of today and yesterday.

From the bloodiest knife to the most splattered and ripped costume, the Texas Frightmare Weekend Live Auction has all of its Horror bases covered. Collectors can own Freddy’s hero iconic stripped sweater from “Nightmare on Elm Street” or Michael Myer’s knife from “Halloween II.

Are you morally comfortable with the death of a human being you don't know in exchange for one million dollars? Richard Kelly wants to know.

The Box, starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella, is a weary thriller that fails to achieve. We are taken back to a 1976 Virginan doorstep where a mysterious cardboard box is left for the Lewises. Few keys are introduced that effectively achieve a visual of this not-so-complex time period, the stylist and set designer play a huge role in making this film terrible. Cameron Diaz, as Norma Lewis, lends a hand by being unable to speak in a proper Virginian accent, or anything resembling the dialect. Arthur, James Marsden, and Norma live a nuclear life in a house with their one young son. When we meet Arthur he is hard at work in Nasa’s Langley Research Center producing an aid for his wife's handicap - a deformed foot.

In an historic win, Kathryn Bigelow and her tense Iraq War drama "The Hurt Locker" from Summit Entertainment copped the DGA Award for best-directed feature film Saturday.

The win drew cheers from a packed ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, where throughout the night it was clear many were pulling for Bigelow to deliver a dramatic victory for female filmmakers. The DGA feature film win was a first-ever by a woman.

"This is the most incredible moment of my life," Bigelow said.

Bigelow overcame competition including Fox-distributed "Avatar," directed by her ex-husband James Cameron; Lee Daniels and "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" from Lionsgate; Jason Reitman and "Up in the Air" from Paramount; and Quentin Tarantino and "Inglourious Basterds" from the Weinstein Co.

The DGA's feature-film award is one of the best gauges of likely success in Oscar's best-director category. The Academy Award for directing...

Only one critic seems to have thought outside the box when it comes to reviewing The Box: Roger Ebert, who didn't completely trash Richard (Donnie Darko) Kelly's moral choice thriller. Would you take a lucky dip?

The critics are as confused by Richard Kelly's new thriller as its central protagonists are by the MacGuffin of the title. Some reckon this is a flawed but entertaining fantasy that defies its roots in cheapo 1970s sci-fi to present an intriguing moral dilemma. Others are bamboozled by the far-from-seamless shift into preposterous M Night Shyamalan territory about an hour in: with all those nosebleeds, mysterious figures and hints of the presence of powers from beyond this Earth, the movie is like an extended episode of Lost without the verdant Pacific island vegetation and taut torsos to sugar the perplexing pill.

Kelly loves his period settings - remember Donnie Darko's John Hughes 80s teen movie chic?...

Director: Richard Kelly Writer(s): (short story "Button, Button") Richard Matheson, (screenplay) Richard Kelly Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella The Box begins with a CIA internal memo being typed out onscreen concerning a man named Arlington Steward who has suffered severe burn wounds. Next thing we know, it is 1976 and we find ourselves in Richmond, Virginia as Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) are awoken (at 5:45 am) by their doorbell. Norma notices a mysterious black sedan pulling away and she discovers a non-descript box wrapped in brown paper on their front step. Norma and Arthur open the box, it contains: a wooden box with a button protected by a glass dome, a key, and a note reading something along the lines of “Mr. Steward will come at 5:00 pm.” Later in the morning, their son Walter (Sam Oz Stone) leaves for school. Arthur drives...

Year: 2009

Directors: Richard Kelly

Writers: Richard Kelly

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: agentorange

Rating: 9 out of 10

Richard Kelly channels no less than the ghost of Stanley Kubrick to turn Richard Matheson's blip of a Twilight Zone idea into one of the most astounding pieces of cerebral science fiction cinema I have ever seen. Yes, The Box is that good. It dares to scale the same intellectual heights as 2001: A Space Odyssey and it revels in the potent, restrained formalism of The Shining without ever leaving its two main characters or plot too far behind. In fact, Kelly is so self assured in executing this delicious layer-cake of a movie that The Box is now a front runner for my choice of best film of the year (yep, move over Moon) and I absolutely can't wait to see it again so I can dig even deeper into its box of mysteries.

The Box Directed by Richard Kelly Anyone expecting Donnie Darko and Southland Tales director Richard Kelly to finally dial back on his idiosyncrasies in service of a familiar conceit may be surprised to find his peculiar voice very much present in The Box, his third feature. Where initial reports suggested a fairly conventional take on the Twilight Zone-tackled Richard Matheson story "Button, Button," we instead get a warped morality tale dripping with style and jutting out with potential energy in every direction - for better and worse. Cameron Diaz and X-Men's James Marsden star as Norma and Arthur Lewis, a loving married couple living in Langley, Virginia in 1976, where Arthur works for Nasa on their Mars technology and Norma teaches. They're both staring down at financial crises on the day a mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) with a huge facial scar arrives on their doorstep, his appearance preceded by...

It is Hampton, Virginia. The year is 1976. A young, suburban couple, Norma and Arthur Lewis, are awaken by their doorbell at 5:45 in the morning. On their doorstep is a package. Inside the package are two items, a wooden box with a large, red button covered by a locked, glass dome on top, and a note stating Mr. Steward will be arriving at 5:00 that evening. At that time, a strange man with a disfigured face arrives. He explains to Norma that, should she and her husband press the button, two thing will happen. They will be awarded $1 million and someone who they do not know will die. They have 24 hours to choose.

Based on the 1970 short story “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson, which was later turned into an episode of The Twilight Zone, The Box, written and directed by Richard Kelly begins as a taut, moral dilemma-driven thriller. It...

The Box

Directed by: Richard Kelly

Cast: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella

Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: November 6, 2009

Plot: A financially desperate couple (Diaz, Marsden) is randomly presented with a box – inside the box is a simple red button. However, there is a catch – if they press the button, they will be awarded one million dollars. At the same time, someone in the world that they don’t know will be killed.

Who’S It For? Like the title object’s existence, The Box is a film made for the curious: those curious to see how the Donnie Darko director does with a mainstream budget, or those curious to see how the film should be placed in a list of this year’s bad-funny movies. Fans of psychological thrillers might want to take a gander, but at their own risk.

Expectations: Imagine a trailer that has...

"The Box" movie delivered major,unique,weirdness,and it was kinda good. Yes, the new Warner Bros. Pictures movie really outdid itself in the weirdness department. However,it was very unique and kept me intrigued,the entire time. It stars: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, and Frank Langella . "The Box" focused around characters, Norma Lewis (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) who get offered a mysterious box from a weird old guy named Arlington Steward. Oh,yeah,and half his face was burned off,to give him some extra weirdness. I could barely pay attention too what he was saying as I gazed at the outline of his teeth and jaw from his burnt off face. But,anyways, I digress. Okay,so he offers them the strange box,and tells them, if they push the button, someone somewhere in the world, that they don't know will die. However,they will...

I can't imagine that adapting a short story that's already been adapted into an episode of "The Twilight Zone," and attempting to extend it into a feature length is an easy task. Especially when the original story has that built-in single-note ethical spin that seemed perfect for Serling and company to weave into their morality tales. There was a chance that Richard Kelly could have built a huge framework for The Box around a single ominous punchline. A chance. But to no avail. A mysterious stranger named Arlington Steward (Frank Langella) delivers a box to the doorstep of Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) and gives them the opportunity to push a button that will kill someone they don't know and earn them a tax-free million. The central premise of the film is a fairly fascinating moral question of how much another person's life is worth and what lengths you'd go to set your...

If you push the button on the titular box in Richard Kelly’s new sci-fi opus, two things will undoubtedly happen. The first is that somewhere in the world, a person you do not know will die. The second is that after pushing the button, you will receive a briefcase filled with 1 million U.S. dollars delivered to your home by one Arlington Steward, who looks a bit like Scrooge meets the Phantom of the Opera. If you watch the film The Box, two things will very likely happen. You will be drawn in by a moody, compelling and well-acted 45-minute set-up. And then you will be completely flummoxed by a preposterous, barely cohesive and frustrating second half. The question ahead is clear. Are the initial pleasures substantial enough to warrant enduring the resulting flaws? Let’s look at the facts.

Kelly’s The Box opens in 1976 with the button...

To answer the most obvious question right away: No, sadly, Richard Kelly’s The Box is not a return to the absorbingly strange glories of his knockout debut feature Donnie Darko. But nor is it as frustratingly out of control as his follow-up film Southland Tales either. In fact, it’s kind of a combination of both: opening and closing reels of compelling and dark personal drama surrounding more expansive, elaborate plotting that loses its grip.

Based on Richard Matheson’s 1970 short story “Button, Button,” The Box relocates the action to Virginia in 1976, where Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) is a Nasa technician and his wife Norma (Cameron Diaz, with a fetching drawl) teaches at the private school attended by their preteen son Walter (Sam Oz Stone). They’re a loving couple, and Arthur is even taking advantage of his skills and facility to create a prosthesis for Norma’s disfigured...

Photo: Warner Bros. How much do you know about French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, his play "No Exit" and his ideas of free will? Well, you may want to bone up a bit if you want to have a leg up on your friends before going into Richard Kelly's The Box. This is hardly an accessible film, but it can become increasingly available if you have done a bit of homework in advance.

Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as Norma and Arthur Lewis are presented with an interesting proposition when Frank Langella playing the mysterious Arlington Steward shows up on their doorstep. His face, disfigured due to an initially unknown accident, is a source of unease as he offers the couple a button unit with the promise that should they push the button someone they don't know will die and in return they will be given one million dollars.

Director Richard Kelly, The Box stars Cameron Diaz as Norma Lewis and James Marsden as Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child who receive a simple wooden box as a gift. However, this simple gift bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger (Frank Langella), 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 crosshairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

The Box is out now in the Us and is released in the UK cinema's on the 4th of December

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It’s a simple question with a not-so-simple answer.

If someone asks you to command the death of another human being you don’t know for a million dollars, would you do it? It’s not a question of options, smarts or assessment. It is a yes-or-no morality that has only one answer. You either place high value on a stranger’s life, or you don’t.

This is the question that drives the story in The Box, a movie by Donnie Darko writer/director Richard Kelly and based on a short story by Richard Matheson that casts a very harsh judgment on humanity. In Langley, Virginia, the year 1976, Nasa scientist Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) and his wife Norma (Cameron Diaz) are visited by a stranger named Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), who gives them a box with a button inside. Push it, and they’ll receive one million dollars, but...

What would you do if you were given the opportunity of receiving a million dollars? Unfortunately there is a catch. Someone you don’t know will die. That is the intriguing premise behind “The Box”, a movie that is both thrilling and baffling. Director/screenwriter Richard Kelly has been waiting a long time to spring another mind trip on people like he did with “Donnie Darko”. That was a movie that became a cult classic after going to video. That was way back in 2001. After that, Kelly wrote the screenplay for the universally panned “Domino” and directed the little seen “Southland Tales”. He was due to bring his furtive mind back to the forefront. What better way to do it than bringing short story “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson to the big screen. Matheson’s previous work includes “A Stir of Echoes”, “I Am Legend”, “What Dreams May Come” and countless “Twilight Zone” episodes.

Two days before "The Box" opens wide in U.S. theaters, Warner Bros. Pictures gave it a red carpet treatment. The studio threw a New York premiere for the horror movie on Wednesday, November 4, making use of the Big Apple's AMC Lincoln Square as the venue for the special screening event.

Both of the leading stars, Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, were present during the premiere. The actors who play on-screen couple Norma and Arthur Lewis in the movie made time to pose together as well as with director/producer/writer Richard Kelly for the line of press at the red carpet.

While Frank Langella, who takes on the role of mysterious Arlington Steward, was nowhere to be seen, some other cast members were spotted attending. Among those present on the special evening were Celia Weston, Holmes Osborne, James Rebhorn and John Magaro. Meanwhile, the celebrity guests included "In the Loop...

We're just a few short days away from opening Richard Kelly's latest thriller, The Box, and to get us into the spirit of things, we've got four video interviews for you!

Dig on the goods with Frank Langella, James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, and Richard Kelly below. Look for The Box in theatres on November 6th, 2009.

Official Synopsis

"Norma and Arthur Lewis are a suburban couple with a young child who receive an anonymous gift bearing fatal and irrevocable consequences. A simple wooden box, it promises to deliver its owner $1 million with the press of a button. However, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world...someone they don't know."

James Marsden - The Box

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Cameron Diaz - The Box

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Frank Langella...

Richard Kelly is the man. Not just because he'll be here all this week, posting as a guest editor for MTV Movies Blog. It helps, sure, but we're talking about the guy who made "Donnie Darko" here. And "Southland Tales." Isn't that enough? Not for Kelly it isn't. His latest brain-twisting tale, "The Box," hits theaters on November 6. And he has a dynamite week of content planned for y'all, so sit back and enjoy!

October 30, 2009

Prince Marsden

Most people know James Marsden as Cyclops from the "X-Men" movies. This is obviously his most high profile role, and it certainly brought him a lot of great opportunities. But the bummer about playing Cyclops is that the audience can’t see your eyes.

There is only so much you can do with a role in which the windows to the soul remain covered for the duration of the film.

In the past...

Take a look at a batch of photos and new poster for Richard Kelly – directed supernatural thriller “The Box” which opens theaters tomorrow.

The movie is based on the short story “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson (”Duel,” “I am Legend“) stars Frank Langella, Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, James Rebhorn, Gillian Jacobs, Holmes Osborne and Celia Weston.

A mysterious stranger (Langella), 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 (Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (Marsden) find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

More about the movie, trailers, images and posters you can find at “The Box...

In anticipation of "The Box" theatrical release which is around a week away, director/producer/writer Richard Kelly has unleashed the first clip from the horror feature. Nearly three-minute long, the snippet is debuted via MTV attached to his guest blog post. The footage centers on James Marsden's Arthur Lewis and Gillian Jacobs' Dana.

In the posting Kelly wrote for MTV, the filmmaker addressed the music composed and performed by Arcade Fire for the movie. "On the night of September 20, 2007 - my producing partner Sean McKittrick and I went to see the now legendary Arcade Fire show at the Hollywood Bowl. My assistant Jeff Culotta (who has since been promoted to a production executive at Darko Entertainment) had arranged a meeting backstage with the band," he recalled.

He then revealed that he approached the rock band fronted by Win Butler and Regine Chassagne to do the music for the movie,...

The UK quad one-sheet for Richard Kelley's The Box found its way online today, and as the movie prepares to enter cinemas across the pond, we've got the artwork for you right here!

Empire scored themselves the goods which you can dig on below.

Official Synopsis

"Norma and Arthur Lewis are a suburban couple with a young child who receive an anonymous gift bearing fatal and irrevocable consequences. A simple wooden box, it promises to deliver its owner $1 million with the press of a button. However, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world...someone they don't know."

Look for The Box in theatres on November 6th, 2009.

- Uncle Creepy

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Get boxed in the Dread Central forums!

With the November 6th release of Richard Kelly's The Box coming up on us fast, we figured there'd be no better way to celebrate the arrival of this new headsy horror flick than by giving away a prize pack full of all manner of goodies including a replica of The Box itself!

So what exactly are we giving away, you ask? Check out the pictures below. For more on the film visit the The Box website, and to receive exclusive Warner Bros. movie news updates click on the banner below.

Ok, enough talking! On to the prizes! To win yourself some of the cool swag below (see below for official rules and regulations), just hit us off with an E-mail Here that includes your Full Name And Mailing Address, and we'll do the rest.

And a replica of The Box for one lucky winner as pictured below.

James Marsden...

While we all eagerly anticipate Cameron Diaz showing us how she handles her box, Warner Bros. has blessed us with dozens of images to gear up for Richard Kelly's latest head-trip!

Synopsis

"Norma and Arthur Lewis are a suburban couple with a young child who receive an anonymous gift bearing fatal and irrevocable consequences. A simple wooden box, it promises to deliver its owner $1 million with the press of a button. However, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world...someone they don't know."

Look for The Box in theatres on November 6th, 2009, and keep your eyes glued here for more as it comes.

Click on the image below for our gallery.

- Uncle Creepy

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Push someone's buttons in the Dread Central forums!