Richard Kelly

Richard Kelly (b. March 28th, 1975)

Makes Directing His Deeply Personal First Film -- Donnie Darko -- Sound Easy
Here's the dream of every film-school graduate: A major Hollywood agency latches onto your very first script and shows it to a major star, who shepherds it through development and hires you to direct it. The finished film wins film-festival awards, secures theatrical distribution, and garners favorable reviews from well-respected critics. Sounds wildly improbable, we know, but that's exactly what happened to Virginia-born Richard Kelly, who attended the University of Southern California's famous Cinema School (whose alumni include George Lucas and John Milius) and placed his very first script with the powerhouse Creative Artists Agency. Donnie Darko, subsequently produced under the auspices of Drew Barrymore's Flower Films, is a bizarre black comedy graced with a terrific cast (including Barrymore herself) and directed inventively by the erstwhile film-school grad. Kelly, who set his film in the late '80s to mirror his own teen years, recently took time out of an increasingly busy schedule to discuss his breakthrough effort with Barnes & Noble.com.

Barnes & Noble.com: Even the people who weren't wild about Donnie Darko agreed that it was an original, offbeat picture. Can you tell us how you came up with the premise?

Richard Kelly: I remember an urban legend about a piece of ice falling from a jet wing and landing on a kid's house. That was the inspiration that became a jet engine.

B&N.com: As a first-time filmmaker fresh out of film school, how did you manage to get this project off the ground?

RK: I wrote the script, and it got the attention of agents at CAA [Creative Artists Agency]. At the time, Drew Barrymore was a client there, and they introduced us. The rest, as they say, is history.

B&N.com: How much influence did Drew have? Did she take an active part in preproduction details like casting, script revisions, budgets, etc.? How much freedom did you have to realize your vision?

RK: The best thing that Drew said to me about the script was, "Don't change anything." So I didn't. For the most part, what was on the page ended up on the screen.

B&N.com: How is a first-time filmmaker able to attract so many well-known actors to his project?

RK: It starts with the script, which they all loved. Then you sit in a room with them and sell your vision. Luckily they didn't think that I was a moron.

B&N.com: Tell us about your first day on the set. How did it feel? Were you greatly intimidated by the prospect of working with Hollywood crews after making student films?

RK: I was not intimidated at all. Directing is like acting: You've either got it or you don't. Somehow this all feels natural to me.

B&N.com: Aside from having a lot more money to spend and a lot more people to manage, how does the filmmaking process differ from student to professional film?

RK: It's the same, just on a grander scale. There's more responsibility, but in a way it's a lot easier because you're not carrying cable yourself. You have permits, insurance, people who are getting paid properly, stuff that makes it a much more stable voyage. The student film experience, meanwhile, is complete and total anarchy.

B&N.com: You cut or trimmed quite a few scenes. Again, from the perspective of a first-time director, bringing your first "baby" into the world, how difficult is it to leave things on the cutting-room floor?

RK: It's very difficult, because you direct your first film as though it will be your last. There is a lot of armchair quarterbacking that goes on with first-time directors, especially in the editing room. You have to listen, but never back down if you believe in something. People can lose objectivity and make horrible suggestions, and you have to be prepared to wage a constructive argument.

B&N.com: As the film took shape in the editing process, what about it -- if anything -- surprised you?

RK: It surprised me how funny it was. I never dreamed that it would be this funny. I realized that I cast all the right actors.

B&N.com: Everybody must've known that this would be a difficult film to market. Are you satisfied that you got a fair shake getting it out there?

RK: After the nightmare of trying to sell this film at Sundance, I'm just grateful that we even made to theaters. Newmarket took a risk on us, and I'm thankful for them. It should have had a more conservative platform release, because we immediately got lost in the Halloween's post-9/11 shuffle. Regardless, I have nothing to complain about. My movie got out there, and we got nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. It's really pretty amazing.

B&N.com: Do you think the critics treated you fairly, overall?

RK: The reviews I read were mostly positive: Village Voice, L.A. Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, and the L.A. Times in particular. A lot of mainstream critics didn't even review it. The people who didn't like it seemed baffled and confused. I have to admit, it is a film that polarizes people.

B&N.com: The DVD has many extras, including the trims and deleted scenes. Did you enjoy working on it?

RK: I worked really hard with the programmers to put all of the extras on there. We didn't have time to get everything perfect, but I enjoyed it. Hey, this is what I do.

-- March 22, 2002