It's been 20 years since Donnie Darko debuted. Without Christopher Nolan, you may never have seen it. Donnie Darko had a special place in my heart growing up. It was the first true indie film I ever saw, and it was that cool title I could recommend to people and feel smart and like a real film buff. But I never knew how close we were to never seeing the movie. It turns out, when it debuted at Sundance, it was overshadowed by titles like Memento, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and In the Bedroom. In fact, those movies buried it so much that Donnie Darko left Sundance that year without distribution. And it languished for months afterward. The movie just could not find anyone to distribute it... Until Christopher Nolan stepped in. In an oral history of Donnie Darko courtesy of The Ringer, we learned that Richard Kelly, director of Donnie Darko, was beside himself. People were confused by his movie and wanted him to cut out extensive parts of it to find a way to make it easier to understand. Read More...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Thursday, 4 February, 2021