James Richard Kelly was born in 1975 in Newport News, Virginia, to Lane and Ennis Kelly. He is an American writer-director, best known for his debut feature, the science-fiction cult classic "Donnie Darko" released in 2001.
Kelly's early life was marked by his academic achievements, winning a scholarship to the University of Southern California to study at the USC School of Cinema-Television. During his time at USC, he created two short films, "The Goodbye Place" and "Visceral Matter", before graduating in 1997.
"Donnie Darko" was Kelly's first feature film and it received widespread critical acclaim, earning 21 award nominations and winning 11 of them, including a nomination for a Saturn Award. The film's success was further solidified when it ranked #2 on Empire magazine's list of 50 greatest independent films of all time, behind Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs".
Kelly's subsequent work includes writing the screenplay for Tony Scott's biographical crime thriller "Domino" in 2005, and going on to write and direct the postmodern L.A. satire "Southland Tales" in 2006 and the science-fiction mystery "The Box" in 2009. These films, although differing in setting and characters, share similar themes of time travel, existentialism, and spirituality.
Kelly's filmmaking style has been influenced by his admiration for Terry Giliam's "Brazil" released in 1985, as revealed in an interview with author Robert K. Elder for his book "The Film That Changed My Life" in 2011.
Despite his creative vision and unique storytelling abilities, Kelly's films have struggled to find commercial success, making it challenging for him to secure financing for future projects. As a result, he has not directed a film since 2009. In 2016, filmmaker Kevin Smith praised Kelly's talent, stating that he is "insanely creative" and has the potential to be one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation, but requires the right support and opportunities to achieve his full potential.
