Jun 25 2009'The Box' Trailer: Deal... or MURDER?
Exploiting America's eternal love for the simplistic mechanics of Howie Mandel's Pick-a-Box, Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly has made a new film involving idiots pressing a plunger for a million dollars. Similar to the game show in more than just its button pushing, The Box asks its players to answer a tough yes-or-no question: if Frank Langella-with-a-bite-out-of-his-face told you that a single button push would kill someone far away that you don't know, and that pushing it would make you a millionaire, and also you're Cameron Diaz, what would you do?
Personally, my policy has always been to immediately push any button put within reach before anyone can explain its function, thus exonerating me from any possible moral dilemmas, but maybe you'll come up with another plan after seeing this trailer:
Or maybe rest the box precariously on the end of a table and have a party, so hopefully one of your guests will accidentally take care of it for you.
(Sorry to anyone who got their hopes up thinking the screengrab implied this would be a Skeletor origin story.)
Reader Comments
1. Mr. Stratford - June 25, 2009 11:19 AM
Isn't this based on a Twilight Zone story, Hitchcock or something of the sorts?
2. pedoguy - June 25, 2009 11:19 AM
Seems I've seen this plot somewhere before...
3. TallFace - June 25, 2009 11:35 AM
Your plan is good, VERY good. If you are ever in need of a Plan B though, just pretend you heard him say, "First, someone, somewhere in the world, whom you don't know, will CRY."
I don't know about you, but I'd make someone cry for a Million Dollars! Then I'd throw a couple hundies in their face. BOO-YA!
4. Scooby - June 25, 2009 11:45 AM
Twilight Zone rip off. The box even looks exactly the same.
5. Rexamillian - June 25, 2009 11:47 AM
This is definitely The Twilight Zone...
S01E20: Button, Button
Original Air Date - 7 March 1986
A couple receives a box with a button -- and an unusual offer.
At least it will be interesting to see how they plan to make a 2 hour movie out of just two people staring at a box.
Anybody want to know what the twist is at the end?! :)
6. UpsetGoldfish - June 25, 2009 12:09 PM
I've seen this before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrKnhOJ-R80&feature=fvst
A short film made 2 years ago. If this copycat film follows the same plot, don't watch it if this looks good to you. Damn good short film.
As for this, i dunno, it seems like an identical ripoff.
7. Nick - June 25, 2009 12:17 PM
Frank Langella was a damn good Skeletor in a terrible movie.
8. well thats nice - June 25, 2009 1:05 PM
whoa, whoa, whoa, a movie based on something with a plot. No way this flys in the US.
9. Pat - June 25, 2009 1:14 PM
Are we sure Stephen King didn't come up with this concept?
10. TetterkeT - June 25, 2009 1:47 PM
I'm a little disappointed that the title of this item was not "See Cameron Diaz' Box."
11. aa - June 25, 2009 2:00 PM
The Twilight Zone episode is based on the same short story by Richard Matheson... he was so unhappy with the way the show ended up that he had his name removed from the credits. Hopefully the movie is more faithful to Matheson, but after watching southland tales im highly suspicious.
12. Joel - June 25, 2009 2:13 PM
I'll push the button right now, as long as you promise me one of these four drops dead.
Kim Jong-IL
Osama Bin Laden
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Vladimir Putin
13. Courageous - June 25, 2009 2:20 PM
Spoiler alert:
If you push the button, somebody dies. Someone you don't even know. A complete stranger. Push the button and you get $1,000,000. It sounds so simple doesn't it... until you finally push the button and the man shows up the next day with a case filled with your money. Exchanging the money for the button, you ask him "What are you going to do with that?" To which he replies: "Don't worry about that. I'm going to give it to someone else. A complete stranger. Someone you don't even know..."
14. mike - June 25, 2009 2:28 PM
Frank Langella in the car on his way to Cameron Diaz' house: (cell phone rings) "Hello? What do you mean they already pushed the button like twenty times? Dammmit! Ok, just send another box to their neighbors the Roscoes, I bet they will push that sh*t for sure, lol!"
15. Kitty - June 25, 2009 2:30 PM
I read the script for this film and it was TRULY AWFUL
16. DannyBoy - June 25, 2009 3:15 PM
Joel:
You forgot to add Barak Obama. BAM!!! I just went there.
17. bribios - June 25, 2009 3:41 PM
The title of this story puts the image in my head of Craig Ferguson dressed up like Angela Lansbury and asking in a horrible British female voice, "Has there been...a MURDER!?"
18. Thor's Hammer - June 25, 2009 5:13 PM
Kelly has already revealed that this movie takes Matheson's short story and expands on it. He has the two main characters go on a quest to find the origins of the box.
In other words, he took Matheson's great short story about making immoral decisions to "better" yourself, and then took a giant dump on it.
19. frank - June 28, 2009 10:11 PM
I just want to know what's up with that floating water. Seems to be the only overtly supernatural element. I'm looking forward to it. Southland Tales was an interesting mess of a film, but this looks more down to earth, like Darko.
20. Kat - June 29, 2009 2:24 AM
I'm so friggin sick of the Saw theme music being used for every movie even vaguely thriller-y or suspenseful. Hire a new composer!!
21. James - June 29, 2009 6:28 PM
I watched this when I was a kid. This was an episode of the Twilight Zone back in the 80's.
22. Capt. Obvious - July 13, 2009 7:29 PM
Hey idiots, your video does not work.