Kelly: 'I want to do a direct film'

Richard Kelly has said that he would like to tell a more "straightforward" story with one of his future projects.

The director of Donnie Darko, Southland Tales and The Box told The Guardian that his next movie could be more direct.

Kelly said: "I'd love to be able to tell a much more straightforward story that doesn't require a sci-fi basis or a very elaborate structure.

"There's a post-9/11, set-in-Manhattan project in the pipeline, but it's just one of many. In my 20s, I just wrote and wrote and wrote. I have, like, 20 screenplays in my drawer. I'll find something."

Of the muted critical response to his last movie, he said: "We did Southland for about $17m (£10m). A lot to me, but not much to some. We felt like we were making a bold satire of the Bush administration, and of celebrity and pop culture.

"Think Pynchon and Philip K Dick. We squeezed every penny out of the budget and worked like dogs. I'm so grateful for the experience, but it's the kind of thing you hope to get out of your system while you're still young.

"Southland Tales was an ambitious, sprawling challenge. I embraced The Box as a way to do something more intimate - to focus on a three-character story, instead of a 20."

> Click here to watch a trailer for The Box