Danny Boyle Says He Couldn’t Make ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Today

Danny Boyle may have won a best picture Oscar for his 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, but the director believes they wouldn’t be able to make that film in present time.

In an interview with The Guardian published Friday, the 28 Years Later director reflected on the Oscar-winning film that starred Dev Patel and Freida Pinto.

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“Yeah, we wouldn’t be able to make that now,” he said of the film. “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.”

When asked whether the production itself amounted to a form of colonialism, the director denied that but added, “Well, only in the sense that everything is. 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.”

Years later Boyle says he’s “proud of the film” but noted, “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 filmmaker to shoot it.”

At the time, Slumdog Millionaire was a box office hit and went on to earn 10 Oscar nominations and win eight Academy Awards at the 2009 ceremony. Boyle won for best director.

On Friday, Boyle returns to theaters with 28 Years Later, a $60 million sequel that arrives more than 20 years after he and writer Alex Garland revitalized the zombie genre with 28 Days Later.

Sony committed to making 28 Years Later and a sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, with the possibility of a third installment. The new installment reunited Boyle with Sony film boss Tom Rothman, who previously made eight films with the director, including Slumdog Millionaire.

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