Danny Boyle on why he would never think about doing Slumdog Millionaire today

Danny Boyle won the Academy Award for Best Director for Slumdog Millionaire over fifteen years ago, but he doubts he would be able to make the movie nowadays. The film starred Dev Patel as a teenager from the slums of Mumbai who won big in the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. When interrogated on his suspicious performance on the show, he explains how his life story gave him all the answers.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t be able to make that now,” Boyle told The Guardian. “And that’s how it should be. It’s time to reflect on all that. We have to look at the cultural baggage we carry and the mark that we’ve left on the world.“

Boyle continued, “At the time it felt radical, We made the decision that only a handful of us would go to Mumbai. We’d work with a big Indian crew and try to make a film within the culture. But you’re still an outsider. It’s still a flawed method. That kind of cultural appropriation might be sanctioned at certain times. But at other times it cannot be. I mean, I’m proud of the film, but you wouldn’t even contemplate doing something like that today. It wouldn’t even get financed. Even if I was involved, I’d be looking for a young Indian film-maker to shoot it.” That said, the film benefited Boyle’s career (as well as many of the people involved), earning him an Oscar and paving the way to A-list status for him as a director.

In addition to taking home the Oscar for Best Director, Slumdog Millionaire also won Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. It also gave star Dev Patel his big break, with his career exploding in recent years.

Boyle’s latest, 28 Years Later, is now playing in theaters. Our own Chris Bumbray called it a stunning (but not perfect) return for the franchise. While it sounds like a powerful film, Bumbray says it “suffers from a familiar problem with films shot back-to-back: it ends on a huge cliffhanger, which makes it feel incomplete and less satisfying as a standalone movie. However, the flip side is that once the remaining films are released, they may work better as a cohesive trilogy.” You can read the rest of his review right here. Be sure to let us know what you thought of the film as well. Do you believe Boyle is right about saying he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) make the movie now? Let us know in the comments!

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