Word hit the web yesterday afternoon that Richard Kelly, the writer/director of cult hit Donnie Darko, has been hired to direct The Box, a PG-13 horror film based on his own script, and set to star Cameron Diaz. “My hope is to make a film that is incredibly suspenseful and broadly commercial, while still retaining my artistic sensibility,” Kelly told Variety.

Okay, fine. But what about Southland Tales? An allegedly unfinished cut of Kelly’s second film (a gonzo sci-fi meta-epic starring The Rock, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Justin TImberlake) was savaged by most critics when it screened at Cannes last year, but staunchly defended by Amy Taubin and J. Hoberman. That summer, the film was acquired by Sony, and Kelly made an appearance at Comic Con promising fans that the studio was committed to releasing the film. Then, in early April of this year, Kelly posted a message on his MySpace page saying that Sony had agreed to fund one last round of special effects. “The film will be completely finished for the first public screening sometime mid-summer,” Kelly promised.

Wouldn’t that be … now? Kelly hasn’t updated his MySpace page since the Variety story hit, but I’ve sent him a message asking for more details. I can tell you one thing: there’s no lack of curiousity about Southland Tales amongst comic book geeks. I’ve been trying to get my hands on the third installment of the Southland Tales prequel graphic novel series, but Forbidden Planet has been sold out for weeks.