Donnie Darko will likely go down as one of the most well-received debuts in film history, with Richard Kelly scoring rave reviews in its wake.
Many were taken by its odd mixture of John Hughes-style teen drama with mind-bending science-fiction, launching Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal's career in the process. It's still considered one of the best films of the 2000s, and its 15-year re-release at select cinemas in Ireland and the UK has already attracted a huge amount of attention.
It's a crying shame that Kelly's follow-up, Southland Tales, didn't do the business or have the same reaction that Darko did, and even more disappointing that The Box was somewhat overlooked. Yet, despite all this, Kelly's work has endured and people still love Donnie Darko.
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Kelly opened up about his time working on Donnie Darko, what's happened in the interim and what he's got lined up for the future. Long story short, he's been trying to raise enough money to get another film made at the budget he needs, but it sadly is proving difficult.
"If you’re trying to finance a $12 million independent movie it’s significantly more challenging today than 10 years ago," Kelly explained. "It’s just a question of whether it’s better to do something with half the money you need or wait until you can get all the money that you need."
Kelly went on, saying that he's very, very close to make his next film and it may even enter production in 2017. "We have been working on a lot of stuff - all of it very ambitious - and I don’t want to jinx anything... I want to come back with something really, really special, and I want to make sure I have all the resources to deliver."
Here's hoping.
Via IndieWire
