Danny Boyle Says He Couldn’t Make ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Today, and He’d Want ‘a Young Indian Filmmaker’ Instead

Danny Boyle is still “proud” of his Best Picture Oscar winner “Slumdog Millionaire,” moreover while acknowledging that, arsenic a achromatic British director, he could not make nan Bollywood-influenced Mumbai epic today.

Boyle told The Guardian that his 2008 film, successful hindsight, carries a weight of “cultural appropriation” contempt moving pinch “a large Indian crew.” Boyle besides said “Slumdog Millionaire” would not get financed coming pinch a head specified arsenic himself attached.

“We wouldn’t beryllium capable to make that now,” Boyle said. “And that’s really it should be. It’s clip to bespeak connected each that. We person to look astatine nan taste baggage we transportation and nan people that we’ve near connected nan world.”

He continued, “I mean, I’m proud of nan film, but you wouldn’t moreover contemplate doing thing for illustration that today. It wouldn’t moreover get financed. Even if I was involved, I’d beryllium looking for a young Indian filmmaker to sprout it.”

When asked if “Slumdog Millionaire” could beryllium considered a shape of cinematic “colonialism,” Boyle said, “No, no…Well, only successful nan consciousness that everything is. At nan clip it felt radical. We made nan determination that only a fistful of america would spell to Mumbai. We’d activity pinch a large Indian unit and effort to make a movie wrong nan culture. But you’re still an outsider. It’s still a flawed method. That benignant of taste appropriation mightiness beryllium sanctioned astatine definite times. But astatine different times it cannot be.”

“Slumdog Millionaire” made $378 cardinal astatine nan worldwide container agency against a $15 cardinal budget. The Fox Searchlight Pictures merchandise centered connected an Indian teen (Dev Patel), who grew up successful nan slums of Mumbai and is accused of cheating during nan country’s type of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, and late actor Irrfan Khan co-starred. The movie later won 8 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy loosely adapted nan movie from nan caller “Q & A” by Vikas Swarup. “Slumdog Millionaire” is listed low, astatine #85, connected IndieWire’s ranking of each 97 Best Picture winners.

Read IndieWire’s first-look question and reply pinch Boyle astir his latest film, “28 Years Later,” here.