Danny Boyle: Slumdog Millionaire was cultural appropriation
Danny Boyle has said his hit film Slumdog Millionaire was cultural appropriation.
The British director, who also made the films Trainspotting and 127 Hours, said that he was proud of Slumdog Millionaire, but that 'you wouldn't even contemplate doing something like that today'.
The 2008 Oscar-winning movie, which Boyle directed, follows the story of a boy from the slums of Mumbai who is one question away from winning the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, before being arrested on suspicion of cheating.
It was shot in Mumbai, partly in Hindi, and used a local crew, but the award-winning director said he couldn't make it today.
He would instead be 'looking for a young Indian filmmaker' to direct the picture, because his directing of the film was 'cultural appropriation'.
He told The Guardian on his press tour for the horror film 28 Years Later: 'That kind of cultural appropriation might be sanctioned at certain times, but at other times it cannot be. It wouldn't even get financed.
'We wouldn't be able to make that now. 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.'
He said it was a 'flawed method' because it was filmed by 'outsiders'.
'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. Even if I was involved, I'd be looking for a young Indian filmmaker to shoot it.'
The film premiered at the 2008 Telluride Film Festival and won eight Oscars at the 2009 Academy Awards, including those for best picture and best director, as well as several BAFTA awards and Golden Globes.
It was also a box office hit, making $378 million worldwide on a reported $15 million budget.
Speaking about his directorial choices in the interview, Boyle explained: 'I value the popular audience. I believe in popular entertainment.
'I want to push the boat out, but take the popular audience with me.'
Elsewhere, he discussed his direction of Isles of Wonder, the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics that featured Daniel Craig as James Bond and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The film, which was a celebration of British culture, also featured the National Health Service, Shakespeare, the Sex Pistols and Windrush migrants.
However, Boyle said his 'biggest regret' was not featuring the BBC in it more, saying if he were to do it again he would 'big up' the 'precious' national broadcaster.
He said: 'My biggest regret was that we didn't feature the BBC more. I was stopped from doing it because it was the host broadcaster.
'Every other objection, I told them to go f--- themselves. But that one I accepted and I regret that now, especially given the way that technology is moving.
'The idea that we have a broadcaster that is part of our national identity, but is also trusted around the world and that can't be bought, can't be subsumed into Meta or whatever, feels really precious.
'So yeah, if I was doing it again I'd big up the BBC big time. Everything else I'd do exactly the same.'
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