“Southland Tales” at 20: Dwayne Johnson’s Box Office Failure Was ‘Very Upsetting’ for Director

According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Lou Taylor Pucci said: “He and his producers did not expect the film to fail at the box office”—a dystopian film also starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Justin Timberlake.

The film Southland Tales, which has maintained a dedicated fan base over the years, has received renewed attention and respect as it approaches its twentieth anniversary.

Lou Taylor Pucci, who appeared in the film, shared his perspectives on the project in a recent Reddit AMA. Southland Tales was Richard Kelly’s second film as a director—the filmmaker known for his debut, Donnie Darko. The cast included Dwayne Johnson, Sean William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore, and Justin Timberlake.

Pucci noted that Kelly “is a genius in his own way,” but it seems he had expected the film to perform better at the box office. Pucci said: “I thought Richard knew he was making a B-grade, cult science-fiction film, but apparently he and the producers didn’t think the film would fail commercially. They invested a lot of money into it.”