Richard Kelly's first feature film, Donnie Darko, was nearly lost to the ages when it debuted in October 2001. The Patriot Act had just been passed, and it was not a time when the American moviegoing public was ready to watch a film that featured plane engines falling from the sky. But over the next several years, the movie went on to become perhaps the definitive cult film of its era. Kelly's follow-up films, Southland Tales and The Box, struggled to achieve the same level of cult success (though both have their fans), but he's a fascinating, distinctive filmmaker. He joined Todd to talk about the 15th anniversary of Donnie Darko, his other films, and why he loves musical sequences so much. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices