Kelly also revealed that Nolan and his wife and regular collaborator Emma gave suggestions on how the film could be improved upon.
Kelly would go on to direct two more cult films after Donnie Darko: the political satire Southland Tales, and the Cameron Diaz thriller The Box.
Donnie Darko, which became a word-of-mouth hit in cinemas and on DVD, also starred Maggie Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle and Jena Malone.
Speaking to The Independent in 2019 for a 10th anniversary retrospective of The Box, Kelly revealed that he was finally about to start making his long-in-the-works fourth movie.