A couple days ago it was reported that Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) had found his next film project, 127 Hours, a story of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who amputated his own arm to free himself after being trapped by a boulder for nearly five days. Indiewire had a chance to talk to the filmmaker at the BAFRA Brittania Awards, and Boyle confirmed that Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy has not yet started the screenplay, which will be based on Boyle’s treatment.

But the big news tidbit to come out of the conversation is how he plans to shoot the film. Boyle intends to film the first hour of the movie with no dialogue. In the true life story, Ralston was completely alone, stuck in the canyon. And Boyle will not be introducing any volleyball tricks a la Tom Hanks in Castaway. The film will have to rely on the non-dialogue acting strength of whatever late-20’s/early-30-year-old actor who gets cast in the role.

Also, Boyle claims that the film “has no green light or budget,” although one would assume that the Oscar winner will have no trouble finding those once he has a completed script. The original report sais that Boyle is hoping to start shooting in March 2010, and that Fox Searchlight wants to release it by the end of that year for awards season.

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  • existenz
    With any other director I'd say this could be boring as hell, but with Danny Boyle he could make it work. As long as there is more going on than the guy sitting in a crevice sawing away at his arm.
  • Jim T
    Obviously this role is meant for Shia Laboef.
  • Alexander
    Volleyball tricks? And here I was hoping for a snowball named Frosty to keep him company.
  • Michael B.
    "not yet started the screenplay" and "hoping to start shooting in March 2010"

    Is it just me or is that pushing it a little to close for comfort?
  • freemachine
    "not yet started the screenplay" and "hoping to start shooting in March 2010"

    With an hour of no dialogue, what's the rush?
  • Tetsuo_Man
    Yah, technically he is ahead of schedule.
  • MarkoP
    But lets hope that the second hour doesn't turn into a generic slasher pic.
  • But even the generic slasher pic was made awesome by Boyle.
  • fanboy_d
    ...but people bitch about sunshine all the time. :P
  • So? It's still one of the best sci-fi films in the last decade. It did take an unneeded twist (it could have possibly gone down as an instant classic if the slasher bit hadn't happened), but it was still entirely awesome.
  • Ryan Gosling would be great in this.
  • But not as great as he was on Young Hercules. There is a role he will never top.
  • I trust in Danny Boyle and having no dialogue isn't a big deal. I love Quest For Fire.
  • I agree on the no dialogue thing not being a big deal. Danny Boyle is probably more capable than most but the little to no dialogue thing has been done quite a bit (especially more recently) and it's obviously possible to pull it off successfully.

    I think if Boyle can find an unknown guy to play this I think it will be absolutely fantastic. I think these kind of unique roles work really well with people we haven't seen before.
  • Ci
    If this movie is a suceess maybe it will convince the Coens and Brad Pitt to make that adaptation of To The White Sea...
  • Sean12
    Interestingly enough...Danny Boyle wanted to make "To The White Sea" w/ Gosling as the lead.
  • Martin
    The studio people are probably thrilled about this desicion:P
  • noob
    volleyball* not vollyball
  • tomah
    This could be Danny Boyle's opportunity to reconcile his differences with Ewan McGregor. McGregor could shine in this.
  • Grampa McGregor
    Too old.
  • [A]
    'Grampa McGregor' haha
  • razcunningham
    there are hundreds of interesting movies with literally no dialogue, sure, they're decades old, but they still tell a story. i'm even more interested to see this.
  • [A]
    It's just a guy, cutting his own arm.
  • clarencesomerset
    Ryan Reynolds and his buried alive film?
  • Frederik
    It has lots of dialogue. He's equipped with a cellphone and a flashlight :). good script btw.
  • freemachine
    When I initially heard of this project I thought that Boyle would make use of a lot of flashbacks, as Ralston contemplates his current situation over the course of a few days. But it's doubtful that Boyle would revisit a technique that he used so cleverly in Slumdog. On the other hand, 60 min of silence is a risky endeavor, I don't care how skillful the director.

    This idea immediately brings to mind the film "Gerry" by Gus Van Sant, which was boring as hell IMO. Same idea: true-life story...hiking through the Utah desert...getting trapped...nightmare of isolation ensues culminating in an irreversible decision of monumental proportions. I hope that Boyle watches "Gerry" and takes note on what not to do. Then again, like Van Sant and Soderbergh, Boyle has earned the right to pursue his prestige project...I guess.
  • Tetsuo_Man
    If not flashbacks, then what? The guy's arm was trapped under a rock so he can't exactly go anywhere. I'm still confused on what Boyle has planned...
  • freemachine
    As far as possible actors go, my vote goes to Cillian Murphy (obvious choice). He's got the intensity needed to carry a film through 60 min of silence.
  • Cast Adam Sandler - just so I can see him on screen for 60 minutes WITHOUT Hearing that stupid voice he does.
  • freemachine
    At risk of Sandler humming the Hanukkah song for 60 min?!
  • Worth the risk!
  • Jim T
    Too Jedi.
  • Jim T
    Too Jedi.
  • shaun
    GENIUS!
  • DC
    Emile Hirche would be perfect for this. But I would have no problem with Cillian Murphy either.
  • [A]
    Dammit Boyle -- still going with all that Oscar bait? You got one already! You made Memoirs of a Slumdog! Now go make some good movies again.
  • A filmmaker as talented as Danny Boyle could surely captivate an audience for an hour with no speaking parts. Just look at the first 15 minutes of There Will be Blood. I didn't even notice there was no dialogue until it was pointed out to me. And just the other day I was watching Kill Bill Vol. 1 and realized that there is virtually no dialogue during that spellbinding anime sequence when O Ren's parents are killed.
  • I would say that if done right, it would be a very captivating experience. I personally consider the dialogue-free opening of There Will Be Blood one of the best sequences of the film.

    Then again, if it's done wrong, it would be really boring.

    Let's hope it's the former.
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