Movies: S. Darko (aka Donnie Darko 2)

[wideawakewesley]

A sequel to Richard Kelly's cult hit Donnie Darko will begin shooting this month, Screen Daily reports.

Titled S. Darko, the film takes place eight years after the events of the first film and follows Samantha Darko (Daviegh Chase), the younger sister of the first movie's lead character, as she travels across America with her best friend Corey. On the road trip the pair start to witness strange visions.

Chris Fisher (Nightstalker) will direct the film. Kelly, who wrote and directed 2001's Donnie Darko, is not involved in the sequel.

"I am a great admirer of Richard Kelly's film and hope to create a similar world of blurred fantasy and reality," said Fisher.

Donnie Darko starred Jake Gyllenhaal as a teenager who, after a near death experience, is told by a giant bunny that the world will end in 28 days.

Fisher added: "Donnie's not in [the new film] but there are meteorites and rabbits."

S. Darko begins production on May 18. Fox has already secured North American distribution rights for the film.


All betting on this movie being utter sh*t has been suspended.

;)

Wes

[penlessbobdole]

god help us. are no things sacred?

[sugarsickness]

I wonder if Richard Kelly's non-involvement is a good thing or a bad thing... :S

[dolson]

I don't care what happens, I wanna see this! I am excited, actually.. It could be good, we really don't know.. Oh man, best news all week, and that's saying a lot since I finally got to play Haze!!!

[keithnl]

Ahhh christ.

[dolson]

Hey, don't be sad.. Think about it this way - at least it's not a Donnie Darko game... THAT would be shit.

I'm reserving judgment for now, I mean, they could do something interesting... Whatever happens, it doesn't change the original. And if this movie turns out like crap, it's going to be just like Actraiser and Actraiser 2 - best game ever, terrible sequel that I pretend never existed. But we really don't know yet.

[penlessbobdole]

If anyone is wondering what Donnie Darko's little sister....who is almost 18 looks like now. (I'd mark this under barely safe for work...)

http://img154.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=75540_20070905-Daveigh_Chase_Bikini1_123_1132lo.jpg

[zombierin]

Do Not Want

[marty993]

That Nightstalker movie wasn't great by any stretch of the imagination, but it definitely wasn't boring. Lots of cool visuals. He seems like a decent fit.

Now, if only I could begin to care about vague, incomprehensible movies again.

[stubadub]

It doesn't have Donnie, but it does have meteorites and rabbits? Well, fuckin' sign me up!

[satori]

how the hell can it be 8 years after Donny Darko, I thought time was stuck in a loop. I need to go back and watch it again, clearly I don't remember this correctly.

[scoobydiesel]

Shes hot....and rabbits? im done.

but still scared.

[az0madman]

how the hell can it be 8 years after Donny Darko, I thought time was stuck in a loop. I need to go back and watch it again, clearly I don't remember this correctly.

Donnie corrected the time loop, remember? That was his whole purpose.

[rabidbadger]

shoot me now

[fashiondr]

Dear god, will they never learn?!

Donnie Darko is one of my favourite movies (and not that you asked but I prefer original flavor over directors cut), why must they mess with it? Next you'll be telling me Uwe Boll is making Fight Club 2: The Revenge of Jacks Colon.

That chick plays the creepy mormon kid in big love (which one you ask? The one who is supposed to be 14 married to a 70 year old), I really don't think I could take a whole movie starring her.

[dolson]

Donnie Darko is one of my favourite movies (and not that you asked but I prefer original flavor over directors cut), why must they mess with it? Next you'll be telling me Uwe Boll is making Fight Club 2: The Revenge of Jacks Colon.

Donnie Darko *is* my favorite movie of all time. I also prefer the original version, since that's what I saw long before the DC ever came out... The DC totally screwed up the soundtrack, and it's an abomination if you ask me. I'd rather have this spinoff thing, which could be good in and of itself, than have that DC kicking around... The original was perfect; you don't fix what isn't broke, right? That's the argument against this sequel, yet the DC already broke it.

Anyhow, my question to you is, did you see the DC before or after you saw the original? I have a theory that anyone who saw the DC first prefers it to the original, and vice versa.. I've shown both version so several people in varying orders, and that's been the case each time... The people who watched the DC first preferred it, and the people who saw the better/real version first preferred it.

[zombierin]

I saw the DC first but I definitely prefer the original.

[rabidbadger]

I only saw the dc. How did they differ?

[dolson]

I saw the DC first but I definitely prefer the original.

Damn. Theory crushed in one fell swoop!

I only saw the dc. How did they differ?

Well, one of them sucks, the other doesn't. :p

Actually, the music seems very out of place in the DC, as some tracks are different or rearranged... Especially the opening - I understand Richard's reasons, but the movie was better for his original restrictions. Also, he put in some extra stuff that explains more what is happening in the movie, it's longer, slower-paced, and just feels kinda unpolished.. I can't really explain all the reasons, I just didn't like it. But the music stuff killed it dead for me.

[rabidbadger]

Damn. Theory crushed in one fell swoop!



Well, one of them sucks, the other doesn't. :p

Actually, the music seems very out of place in the DC, as some tracks are different or rearranged... Especially the opening - I understand Richard's reasons, but the movie was better for his original restrictions. Also, he put in some extra stuff that explains more what is happening in the movie, it's longer, slower-paced, and just feels kinda unpolished.. I can't really explain all the reasons, I just didn't like it. But the music stuff killed it dead for me.

hmm. gonna watch it again. only seen it once, and got a HUGE crush on jake, so was a little distracted... especially during that one scene on the couch...


oddly. have NO recolection of the music at all. I'll pay attention this time...

[rabidbadger]

oh, and we have all seen "Harvey" right?

[dolson]

Harvey? Harvey Birdman?

Wait, this Harvey? That's messed up!
http://www.archive.org/details/Harvey2001

[rabidbadger]

if you don't "get" harvey (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042546/), then you don't totally "get" donnie darko...

(but dd is fun, even if you never seen harvey)

[dolson]

I don't have to watch two movies to understand one.. That's just silly talk. I also didn't feel any fun when I watched Donnie Darko any of the dozen or two times I saw it.. And there is a commentary or two or three on each of the Darko DVDs which can help any confused people "get" it, if need be.

Go watch that Harvey link I posted and I'll check out your Harvey movie eventually.. I don't know what I'm expecting from it though, since it's billed as a Comedy/Drama/Family movie, and I don't see what it has to do with Donnie Darko.

Donnie Darko, for me, was many things, but none of which were comedy or family. Tragic romance might best fit the way I felt when it finished the first time. It made me really sad, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for about a week.. I don't know if other people found it had that effect on them or what, but for me it was easy to put myself into Donnie's shoes, and my wife at one time reminded me a lot of Jena Malone in that movie, so that's maybe why. Either way, I don't think it's light-hearted or fun or funny.

----

EDIT: found this section of interview:

Future Movies: Where did the character of "Frank" come from and what or who inspired him?
Richard Kelly: I knew there was a major plot point in the film that dealt with a guy in a Halloween costume who ends up becoming a messenger. When it came to deciding what the Halloween costume would be I immediately thought of a Rabbit, mostly because I was going to make a literary reference to the novel "Watership Down", which was going to be a subplot in the film (subsequently omitted) where the teacher played by Drew Barrymore replaces the Graham Greene book with "Watership Down" because the former gets banned. It was one of my favourite books growing up and I thought that there was a real irony in a rabbit being this fragile animal, one of natures' most innocent and harmless creatures. Frank is a monstrous version of this, and it came to a point, where due to the irony, it had to be a rabbit.

Some people said, "Oh you're just referencing "Harvey" (a film from the fifties starring James Stewart where the main character has an imaginary friend named Harvey who is a six foot tall white bunny who nobody else, including the audience, can see) but I have never even seen the movie, it never occurred to me.

Future Movies: Its funny because before I saw "Donnie Darko", "Harvey" was the first thing I thought of on learning something about the plot, but when I watched the film I didn't even think about it. So I don't think you made too many allusions to it.
Richard Kelly: I was aware of the film "Harvey", and many critics have come up with the sound bite: "Harvey gone Bad!".

--

Explain to me why it is that you think I need to "get" Harvey in order to "get" Donnie Darko, when Richard Kelly didn't even see the movie before making Donnie Darko?

[rabidbadger]

holy crap. the Watership Down ref makes more sence than the Harvey ref... thanks for doing the research...

Watership Down was a huge survival thing for me as a teen, maybe as much as Donnie Darko is for you (no idea your age)

all I'm saying is, as kids, teens, whatever, we latch on to media, (books, movies, music, games, comics, etc...) that give our lives meaning and / or relate to our lives at that time.

DD did it for you and that is great. and I can totally see that for several folks. for me it was the watership down book and movie, the book "Illusions" by richard bach, and the Elfquest comics. Not to mention the original 3 star wars movies..

I totally get how one story can mean so much... and the Harvey movie ref was just one way to understand or re-live the dd movie. Just to get into it deeper. but the watership down ref. damn. gotta read the book again for the 14th time with dd in mind... Hmmm. thanks for getting me thinking again.

[dolson]

Yeah, I reminded myself too.. I should watch Watership Down today (I don't like to read). :)

I'm 26... Is that old? Young? I don't know.. I have been married for over 6 years.. I think I first watched Donnie Darko in late 2002 or early 2003. I still feel sad when I watch it.

[rabidbadger]

dude. read the book. or get it on audible. the movie was ok, hit the high points, but the text was so rich. so absorbing, just like DD... and having said that, I think I understand the relationship tween the two...

[bcool]

i thought the directors cut made the whole split universe time dealy a little more clear, but only because of the interstitial text that was added. the rest of the changes were garbage.

The problem with this new thing is that a large part of the draw to DD was the 80's style high school stuff. I'd be very surprised if the new one pulled that off.

[ariastar]

I've had the DVD for the first movie for about six years now. Guess it's time to get around to actually, you know, watching it.

[dolson]

I've had the DVD for the first movie for about six years now. Guess it's time to get around to actually, you know, watching it.

DO IT! Then let us know what you think. :)

[rabidbadger]

I just told her that on chat. but she is in the middle of a cick fick.

[ariastar]

oh, and we have all seen "Harvey" right?

Luv da play.

[fashiondr]

I saw the original at the movies first, then the directors cut a few years later on DVD, so maybe that's why. I just found the text overlays and the 'Purge' bit at the end made it feel like some cheesy sci-fi flick, though when I watched the original, part of its appeal was that it was hard to box into a particular genre.

It's like when I saw '28 Days Later', which I loved, it wasn't until later when I read some reviews where they referred to it as a zombie flick that I really thought 'Oh, yeah, I guess it kinda was...', where originally I thought of it more as a human drama flick.

[rabidbadger]

Yeah, I went into 28days later with the expectation of a zombie flick, but was thrilled to see it was a human drama with zombie undertones..

[satori]

I only saw the dc. How did they differ?

One put god in the middle of everything and made it about religion

[rabidbadger]

which one ? ;)

oh, and repping you cause I always loved your av....

[satori]

which one ? ;)

the crapped ass directors cut. I feel this movie would of been a disaster without an amazing editor.

[dolson]

The God-stuff deleted scenes are also on the original DVD, if I remember correctly.. Either that or it's mentioned in the commentary. I'm pretty sure Richard originally cut it because he didn't want it to be obvious what was going on.

[decepticon]

What a terrible sequel idea. I loved Donnie Darko but come on.

[wiggin]

This is worse than rectal prolapse.

[dolson]

Why is it that, almost universally, people only want new movies, not sequels, and when it comes to video games, all they want are sequels? New game IPs are rarely given a chance unless extremely hyped. Look at the other thread about game ideas - the majority of suggestions are just sequels to games that already exist, and then the Haze thread, a new IP that nobody likes. It's puzzling to me - why the difference? Is it because usually game sequels and remakes improve on the originals, while movie remakes and sequels, generally, have the opposite results?

[dh_jin]

here's the trailer (http://www.sdarko.com/)

looks pretty sweet, not a big fan of anyone other then the darkos. TRS guys? talk about it please? interested to see your take on it.

[nshady]

Could still be terrible, but the trailer isn't bad.

[cryonix]

A bastardization of what Donnie did in Donnie Darko. Instead of being a complex tale of a Time Paradox that Must be solved, it sounds like they are using it to make a "doomsday" movie; and taking the countdown to the "end of the world" literally. The concepts of DD are too complex to get into, and it appears that's what the people behind S.Darko though too.

"You know Donnie Darko?"
"Yeah, I didn't get it..."
"Me neither... we should make a sequel!"
"Didn't he die at the end of the movie?"
"Oh yeah, you're right... hmm, he did have sisters..."
"Brilliant! Lets get writing."
*later after rewatching DD to steal ideas from*
"What was with the abyss water thing and the worm hole?"
"I don't know but we should crazy stuff like that in our movie too!"
"I know a guy that looks like Donnie... I'll make some calls"
"sweet, this is going to be epic"

*later at your local Bittorrent site*
"this wasn't even worth the bandwidth to pirate. I'm actually embarrassed that I downloaded this."

[terryscss]

it looks interesting, I'm not really sure what to make of it, I mean I don't really think Donnie Darko would've been a movie I'd have seen because of an awesome trailer. So I'm curious, I'll probably see this because I dug Donnie Darko.

[deegraww]

Fisher added: "Donnie's not in [the new film] but there are meteorites and rabbits."


You had me at Meteorites and Rabbits...

Actually couldn't care either way

[dolson]

The trailer seemed cool, but as a sequel to Donnie Darko, I think it's going to get a lot of crap and it won't live up to the legacy of the first.

Being that D.D. is my favorite movie of all time, I'm actually interested in seeing this and I'll judge it as its own movie, rather than as a sequel to something that it couldn't possibly live up to.

Looking forward to it.

[esophagus]

Its a direct-to-DVD movie and its coming out in April. Obviously it isn't good enough for theatres and it isn't good enough for them to put any money into marketing since no one had heard of it until now.

This wreaks of Dead Like Me.

[alicelikesme]

I have no idea how people are even interested in this straight to DVD sequel of which Richard Kelly has nothing to do with...

[sugarsickness]

I have no idea how people are even interested in this straight to DVD sequel of which Richard Kelly has nothing to do with...
After Southland Tales I think his non-involvement isn't something that bothers most people.

[cucumberboy]

Donnie Darko is one of those movies that are better off without a sequel, regardless if the sequel is a good movie or not.

PS. Silver Nitrate is a weird name for a production company...

[mrbook]

While I'm completely opposed to this movie, I'm shocked at how un-sucky it looks.

Color me interested.

[pruben]

It sounds interesting, but I think it would be disapointing. S.Darko will not be better than one of my favorite movies, Donnie Darko

[babnert]

Donnie Darko is a movie that cant be done twice, this movie probably wont be that good.

[dolson]

So.... Anyone see it yet? I have the Blu-ray sitting on my coffee table... Didn't even realize it had released! I was out in the mall with my buddy, and saw it there and so I just bought it up. Apparently the release date was yesterday, according to imdb. And it has almost a thousand votes, sitting at a 4.1 out of 10 average... LOL

Well, I'm not expecting much, but that's good, because when my expectations are lowered, I tend to find more positive in something. I'll try to watch it sometime this week.