A studio head recently gave Kelly a gut punch of a compliment: He is an interesting filmmaker, but can't be counted on to sell tickets. And so far he's shied away from any chances for easy commercial victory, turning down offers to direct ''The Ring 2'' and ''Dawn of the Dead.'' (''If you just rush and cash in,'' he explains, ''all of a sudden you're s -- -.'') Kelly and McKittrick wasted over a year trying to get the green light for a sci-fi thriller called ''Knowing,'' only to have the deal collapse at two different studios. They've since moved on to a script Kelly wrote after his nightmare debut at Sundance. Set in 2008 Los Angeles, ''Southland Tales'' is a Philip K. Dick-inspired mind twist about a world on the brink of anarchy. ''I just wanted to lash out at L.A.,'' says Kelly, ''and get down all the frustration I was feeling. It's a big, twisted, crazy hybrid comedy-musical-thriller.'' But try selling that to a studio.
''You have to get your pitch down into a few seconds,'' says Kelly. ''The exec thing is to say 'It's 'Sixth Sense' meets 'Rush Hour!'''' interrupts McKittrick. ''Usually I'll just say, 'Why don't we talk about the cast?'''
And why not? Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Janeane Garofalo, ''SNL'' star Amy Poehler, Jason Lee, and Kevin Smith are attached. Moby gave Kelly original music for the film. Benicio Del Toro was flirting with taking the lead, but couldn't work it in around shooting the next Antoine Fuqua movie. And now without a star, the production's already been pushed from July.
While the boys toil away, fighting hard for the chance to make their second movie, the ''Darko'' rerelease might prove their ultimate vindication. Newmarket, which blames the film's initial failure on its post-9/11 release, thinks it may just have a hit on its hands. ''We're not crazy,'' says studio head Bob Berney. ''This is a really unique, special film.'' Kelly's nervous, though, and given the history, who wouldn't be? ''It could bomb again,'' he says with a rueful smile. ''And then we all just look like idiots.''
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