Elizabeth Berkley, Briana Evigan Join Donnie Darko Sequel
Elizabeth Berkley and Briana Evigan have boarded “S. Darko” (aka “Samantha D”), the sequel to “Donnie Darko” being directed by Chris Fisher. Ash R. Shah is producing.
Ed Westwick (”Gossip Girl”) and Justin Chatwin (”The Chumscrubber”) also are in the movie, which stars Daveigh Chase, reprising her role from the original cult classic.
The story, set seven years after the first film, follows Donnie Darko’s sister, Samantha, who, in dealing with her broken family, flees town with her best friend (Evigan) when they are plagued by bizarre visions.
Berkley is playing a speed freak-turned-Jesus freak whose sentiments about ridding the world of its exponential sin are rivaled only by her infatuation with her dreamy pastor.
- From THR
Everything You Were Afraid to Ask about Donnie Darko
“Darko,” 26-year-old writer-director Richard Kelly’s first film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze, came out on October 26, 2001. In the hypersensitive aftermath of Sept. 11, the film’s distributor was understandably uncertain how to sell a film whose bizarre events are set in motion by a jet engine falling from the sky. While its critical reception included a number of rave reviews, the film died on the vine, taking in only half a million dollars in its initial release in a handful of cities.
Three years later, “Donnie Darko” is being re-released in a handsome director’s cut, with remastered sound and picture, 20 minutes of new footage and new visual effects. Years of midnight screenings at theaters around the country and the film’s impressive success on DVD — taking in more than $10 million to date in U.S. sales alone — have turned what was once a confusing and oblique failure into a confusing and oblique cult hit. With the release of Kelly’s director’s cut, an even wider audience should have a chance to be bewildered by “Donnie Darko’s” mix of ’80s teen comedy, psychological drama and science fiction.
- From Salon
Donnie Darko 2?
UK-based sales company Velvet Octopus will be launching sales in Cannes for S. Darko, billed as the sequel to the 2001 cult hit Donnie Darko. Fox has already taken North American rights.
Daviegh Chase reprises her role as Donnie’s younger sister. The cast for S. Darko also includes Ed Westwick (Son Of Rambow, Gossip Girl), Briana Evigan (Step Up 2) and Justin Chatwin (Dragon Ball).
Ash Shah’s Silver Nitrate and Newmarket Capital are producing. Los Angeles-based Chris Fisher, who previously made Nightstalker and Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders, will direct. The budget is pegged around $10m.
The story picks up seven years after the first film (and Donnie’s death) when little sister Samantha Darko and her best friend Corey are now 18 and on a roadtrip to Los Angeles when they are plagued by bizarre visions.
Fisher said in a statement: “I am a great admirer of Richard Kelly’s film and hope to create a similar world of blurred fantasy and reality.”
Producers have spoken to Richard Kelly about the project but he is not involved in any official capacity at this stage.
- From Screen Daily