“The Box” isn’t opening until 2009

According to Bloody-Disgusting.com, Warner Bros. has slated Richard Kelly’s The Box for release on March 20, 2009. Based on the short story by Richard Matheson, “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, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, played by 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.

First photos from “The Box”!

I’ve added the very first official stills from the upcoming thriller “The Box”! The movie stars Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella, and will hit cinemas sometime in the coming fall. Apart from the four photos, you can also read a brand new interview about the movie below, originally posted in USA Today. A big thanks to S for contributing some of the pictures. What do you think of the look of the movie so far?

Filmmaker Richard Kelly prides himself on thinking so far outside the box that major chunks of the Internet are devoted to deconstructing his intentionally murky movies.

His desire to bewilder has earned him a certified cult classic (2001′s Donnie Darko) and an unmitigated flop (2007′s Southland Tales), but no direct hit.

For his third big-screen feat, the 32-year-old USC film-school grad is not only thinking inside the box. He is actually making The Box, complete with his first major studio (Warner Bros.) and an A-list star (Cameron Diaz) on board.

“God bless Cameron Diaz. The second she signed on, our lives changed in a great way,” Kelly says on location at NASA’s Langley Research Center. (more…)

First look at THE Box!

Thanks to SlashFilm.com, we can provide you with the very first look on “The Box”. The image can be seen to your right. The movie-plot is as following:

A mysterious stranger shows up on the doorstep of a desperate married couple’s (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) home with a mysterious box. If they press the button inside the box, they’ll instantly get the money to save their ailing son, but in exchange, someone, somewhere in the world will die. But the temptation to save their dying son becomes too much, and Norma (Diaz) pushes the dreaded button and a gun shot goes off somewhere nearby. Consumed with guilt, Norma must do everything in her power to solve a murder she has knowingly caused.

Would you press the button to save someone dear, knowing that someone else would die as a consequence?

“The Box” Wrap-Party

“The Box” is officially done filming! The wrap-party was held yesterday at the Revolution Rock Bar in Boston, and both the main stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden were there. I’ve managed to find two (small) photos from the event, thanks to The Boston Herald, where Cameron can be seen posing with Christina D’Urbano (the owner of Revolution) as well as singing some karaoke. According to TBH she was also seen sipping on vodka tonic limes.

Gallery Link
• “The Box” Wrap-Party

Warner Bros. to handle the domestic distribution of “The Box”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. has bought the rights to three high-profile Media Rights Capital-produced features for distribution in a mid-eight-figure deal: Richard Kelly’s horror film “The Box” starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella; Robert Rodriguez’s family fantasy “Shorts”; and Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson’s comedy “This Side of the Truth,” starring the director with Jennifer Garner in negotiations to co-star.

The deal also will infuse cash into each project’s budget. Warner Bros. is partnering with Ted Field’s Radar Pictures to co-finance “Box,” and its unnamed production outfit (formed with the Abu Dhabi Media Co. and Hunt Lowry) will co-finance “Shorts,” adding to MRC’s initial investment.

The studio will handle worldwide distribution on “Shorts” and domestic distribution on “Box” and “Truth.” The acquisitions have been in the works for several months. One factor in the deal’s slow gestation was that it came along as Warners president and COO Alan Horn was reorganizing the company’s motion picture group and promoting production head Jeff Robinov to president of the newly formed Warner Bros. Picture Group last month.

“The Box” centers around a box given by a stranger (Langella) to an unhappily married couple (Diaz and Marsden). He tells them that if they push a button on the box, they’ll receive a hefty amount of cash — and someone they don’t know will die. The film is now shooting in Massachusetts with Sean McKittrick producing.

Weinstein Co. is repping international sales on “Box.”

James Marsden enters “The Box”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the “X-Men” franchise’s James Marsden is set to star alongside Cameron Diaz in “The Box”.

In the film he’ll play Arthur Lewis, the husband to Cameron Diaz’s character. Together, their depiction of an unhappy couple is thrown for a spin when they receive a box and are told that by pushing a button on the object they’ll receive a large spot of money, however, someone will die as a result.

A couple of months ago, it was rumored that actor Seann William Scott was starring in the movie, but it looks like that was – just a rumor.

“The Box”, which will be directed by Richard Kelly, is based on the Richard Mathenson story “Button, Button,” which was adapted in the ’80s for television’s “The Twilight Zone.”

Weinstein buys the rights for “The Box”

According to TwitchFilm.net, it seems like the Weinsteins have bought the North American distribution rights of Richard Kelly‘s new horror-thriller “The Box”. The film is still in pre-production, but should be going in front of cameras shortly with a hefty $30 million budget.

The film is based on Richard Matheson‘s short story “Button, Button” and starring Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella and Sean William Scott. With Kelly‘s curse of difficult distribution (Donnie Darko’s calamitous 2001 theatrical release and the forthcoming (Nov 14) year-and-a-half-late Southland Tales) who knows what will happen with the Brothers W. in charge of the release; hey, in an instance of reverse karma, things could actually go quite smoothly. Admittedly things I’ve been hearing about “The Box” indicate that it will be the director’s most mainstream effort to date (although NASA is somehow involved in the production, so don’t count those normal chicks before they’ve hatched.) Distribution outside of the US was bought by Icon for UK, Australia and New Zealand and Eureka for South Korea.

“The Box” needs kids

Here’s an interesting piece of news about the upcoming movie “The Box”, starring Cameron and Sean William Scott. Apparently, Cameron’s character is named Norma Lewis and the movie is set Virginia in 1971. According to MovieHole.net theyare currently looking for a kid – for Norma and Arthur (Sean William Scott) Lewis – as well as a babysitter. Here’s what the article said.

Richard Kelly (“Southland Tales”) is finally about to get rolling on “The Box” this November (in Boston and Virginia) and is currently on the lookout for some tykes to share the screen with Cameron Diaz and Seann William Scott.

The flick sounds like good corny fun (though a couple have told me the script’s lousy – and is getting a quick fix up before the film lenses)… it’s about a small wooden box with a magic button inside and a lot of invisible strings attached arrives on the doorstep of Norma and Arthur, a troubled married couple, who open it and become instantly wealthy. Little do they realize that opening the box also kills someone they do not know in Virginia in 1971.

Agencies were informed this week that the Kelly written-directed pic is beseeching a youngster to play Walter Lewis, the 9-year-old son of Diaz and ‘s character, He’s described as “the beloved son of Norma and Arthur Lewis. He’s at that awkward age when he balks at having his mommy kiss him in public, but still needs a babysitter. Proud of his father’s scientific achievements and defensive of his mother’s handicap, Walter becomes the pawn in a ruthless tug of war between his parents and the sinister Arlington Steward.”

A 16-year-old babysitter character is also being cast. She’s Dana Steward, the lass looking after the Lewis family – regularly caring for the above-mentioned Walter. “Dana has a big secret she keeps to herself: she is the daughter of Arlington Steward, and even though she doubts that there’s anything left of her true father inside him any more, she does his bidding implicitly and assists him in gaining entry to the Lewis home.”

“The Box” that could change Cameron’s career

Here’s a short interview (from MTV.com) with the director of The Box, Richard Kelly, about his plans for the movie and Cameron’s performance. It’s an interesting read and I can’t wait to see Cameron in a horror movie!

You’re given a box, inside of which is a small button. Every time you press the button you get a package with a varying amount of cash — untraceable and large enough to change your life. You’ll never have to work again. Owning this box is like being able to win the lottery anytime you want.

Do you press the button?

What if every time you pressed the button, someone died? It’s not someone you know, or someone you would have ever met. Chances are, you might reason, this person had it coming. Maybe they deserved to die. Maybe you’re not the one who did it, but you’ll never know. All you know is that someone, somewhere is now dead. Do you still press the button?

More pertinently, asks director Richard Kelly — would Cameron Diaz?
(more…)

Cameron to star in “The Box”

Great news – another new project for Cameron is in the works! Continue to read the article for more information about the movie The Box.

According to Variety.com, Media Rights Capital has set Cameron Diaz to star in “The Box,” a horror film to be directed by Richard Kelly.

Kelly wrote the script based on Richard Matheson short story “Button, Button.” The movie, set for a November start in Virginia, will aim for a PG-13 rating.

The story focuses on an unhappy married couple who receive a small wooden box on their doorstep. At the push of a button, the box brings its bearer instant wealth but also instantly kills someone the bearer doesn’t know. Different things will happen depending on which buttons she presses.

Media Rights Capital is committed to bankrolling the entire $30 million-plus budget, as it did with “Babel”.

“The storyline has all the commerciality of ‘The Ring,’ but with Richard and Cameron, this film can rise to the level of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘The Others,’ ” said Modi Wiczyk, the former Endeavor agent who founded and runs MRC with Asif Satchu.

“My hope is to make a film that is incredibly suspenseful and broadly commercial, while still retaining my artistic sensibility,” Kelly said.