X-Men: First Class actor James McAvoy is in talks to join Danny Boyle’s next film, according to Variety. McAvoy’s recent co-star Michael Fassbender was circling the film in May, but had to drop out, so the 127 Hours director moved on to his on-screen frenemy instead.

The movie, currently titled Trances, revolves around an art heist. An assistant at an auction house masterminds the heist and teams up with a gang of thieves, but suffers a blow to the head and wakes up with amnesia. He is the only one who knows where the painting’s location is and after his continued failure to remember, the gang begins to suspect duplicity on his part and hire a female hypnotist to get into his brain.

McAvoy will play Simon, the shady leader of the gang who partners with the assistant.

The plan is to being shooting in September, but once filming is complete Boyle will transfer his attention to the Olympic Games where he will direct the opening ceremony, and then return to finish post-production for a March 2013 release.

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Before Danny Boyle (127 Hours) gets to work directing the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London he has time to squeeze one more movie in, and X-Men: First Class actor Michael Fassbender may be leading it.

According to The Hollywood Reporter the movie, currently titled Trances, revolves around an art heist. An assistant at an auction house masterminds the heist and teams up with a gang of thieves, but suffers a blow to the head and wakes up with amnesia. He is the only one who knows where the painting’s location is and after his continued failure to remember, the gang begins to suspect duplicity on his part and hire a female hypnotist to get into his brain.

Fassbender is currently in talks, and would play the shady leader of the gang who partners with the assistant.

The plan is to being shooting in September, but once filming is complete Boyle will transfer his attention to the Olympic Games, and then return to finish post-production for a March 2013 release.

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20th Century Fox has announced that 127 Hours, which picked up 6 Oscar nominations including Best Actor for James Franco and Best Picture, will be released on DVD and Blu-ray March 1st.

Danny Boyle’s latest hasn’t been able to recreate the box office success of Slumdog Millionaire which cleaned up at the Oscars two years ago, but that’s probably because the prospect of seeing someone cutting off their own arm doesn’t appeal to everyone. It has taken $11 million so far, but should make more as it will be expanding to 600 screens starting January 28th.

Check out the DVD and Blu-ray specifications below:

127 HOURS Blu-ray Disc features
Disc 1: Movie
– Commentary with Danny Boyle, Christian Colson & Simon Beaufoy
– Search & Rescue – The events that aided the search and rescue of Aron Ralston
– 127 Hours: An Extraordinary View – A unique collaboration between the director and actor
– Deleted Scenes
– God of Love: short film by Luke Matheny

Disc 2:
– Digital Copy of movie

127 HOURS DVD features
– Commentary with Danny Boyle, Christian Colson & Simon Beaufoy
– Deleted Scenes

Amazon has made 127 Hours available to pre-order now on: DVD | Blu-ray

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Danny Boyle’s follow-up to Slumdog Millionaire is visceral filmmaking at its best, infused with the director’s signature kinetic style and meticulously crafted to elicit a physical response from the audience. And while the subject matter definitely covers some dark territory, ultimately this movie (like Aron Ralston himself) rises above those aspects and emerges an inspiration to everyone.

The movie tells the incredible (and I don’t say that lightly) true story of Aron Ralston, a hiker who, after being caught in a Utah canyon for five days in 2003, cut off his own arm with a dull blade and hiked miles to safety to survive. Boyle and his co-writer Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, The Full Monty) took occasional liberties with the story to form a better narrative, but for the most part the events are an accurate depiction of Ralston’s trials in Blue John Canyon.

Stylistically, 127 Hours continues Danny Boyle’s fantastic recent trend of energetic filmmaking. This movie does conjure recent memories of Rodrigo Cortes’ Buried with its “trapped in one place” experimental style, but there’s a distinct difference between the two: while 127 Hours spends a majority of the time in one location, it does have the freedom to expand and cover more ground. The opening scenes are particularly effective examples of this: Ralston’s preparation for his bicycle/hiking excursion (including a heartbreaking “almost had it” moment where he forgets his Swiss Army knife) are included within a split-screen format aside throngs of people moving en masse down busy sidewalks, representing the heartbeat of society from which he is so desperately trying to escape. His perceived independence, of course, is nearly his downfall – and as he drives toward the desert, passing fast food restaurants and leaving the lights of the city behind, he gets excited.

His brief separation from humanity is cut short the next morning (after a fantastically dynamic mountain biking scene through the desert, past more abandoned buildings – further relics of society) when he encounters Kristi (the always wonderful Kate Mara) and Megan (Amber Tamblyn), two hikers a bit out of their element in a landscape in which Ralston is utterly familiar. After introductions and some endearingly awkward humor, Ralston leads the girls to an underground swimming pool, a moment captured on his video camera that he revisits during his upcoming ordeal. In an arrangement I can’t remember seeing in recent years, Boyle’s dueling directors of photography (Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak, who both do fantastic work here) take this as an opportunity to show off some dazzling camerawork, including a plunge from a canyon above into the water, following the three adventurers as they drop into the water. These girls are the last people Ralston will see before his incident, and the life and exuberance they radiate is an unsettling reminder of an event Ralston may never again experience. “Rock on,” he says as he leaves the girls to continue his hike, unaware that his motto is about to take on a literal meaning.

I haven’t yet mentioned James Franco as Aron Ralston, an actor who has shown remarkable range in the past few years and one who is almost assured an Oscar nomination for his astonishing work in this film. Like Ryan Reynolds in Buried, this is essentially a one-man show for Franco, who dives headfirst into the challenge and delivers perhaps the most emotional performance of his career. Franco easily has the capacity for the mental gymnastics necessary – which are many, as this is almost more of a mental endurance test than a physical one – but he also embodies the physicality needed to convince us he’s the type of guy who can, on a normal day, pull off an expedition like this without a hitch. He gives Ralston an emotional arc that is entirely believable, one that begins with his escape from humanity and concludes with his desperate return to it, and with his declaration of “I need help,” he sheds all pride in the process.

A large portion of the film is spent alone with Franco in a canyon, and on the surface I can see how that might sound boring. But Boyle is able to make it totally compelling from both a storytelling and visual standpoint. Ralston uses his video camera to record messages to his family (one particularly memorable scene involves him interviewing himself as a fictional game show host that reminded me of Jack Nicholson’s Joker), and Boyle comments on technology in an interesting way over the course of the film. With all of Ralston’s efforts to escape society, it is technology which he turns to in times of need so he doesn’t go crazy. Even the illusion of speaking to someone (though there’s not another physical person in the canyon with him) seems to support the fact that humans are communal beings, and connectivity is what we thrive on as a functioning civilization. Boyle and his editor Jon Harris also employ flashback scenes with various family members (Treat Williams, Lizzy Caplan) and ex-lovers (In Bruges‘ Clemence Poesy) mixed with premonitions of family yet to be born in order to keep the audience’s collective attention.

Boyle reteams with Slumdog Millionaire collaborator A.R. Rahman for the score, which is at alternating points nostalgic and intensely immersive. Utilizing the guitar as his main instrument, Rahman composes a variety of tracks that perfectly accentuate the events on screen: as the sun streams through Ralston’s canyon, the music turns warm and acoustic; as a flash flood enters, colder harsh tones give a foreboding sense that death is only seconds away. In the gruesome climactic amputation scene, an electric feedback noise screams through the speakers as Ralston touches exposed nerves in his arm before he cuts through them. It reminded me of a real life game of Operation.

Like his previous effort, Boyle has crafted a film that is an affirmation of life, a celebration of humanity and one of the best movies of the year. Films like this only come around every so often, so sit back, absorb, and enjoy it. Even if you don’t care for the movie, respect the awe-inspiring fact that the real-life Aron Ralston is a living exemplar of a “never give up” attitude to which we all should aspire. Until next time…

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Following their successful Oscar winning collaboration on Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle didn’t really need to think about who would compose his next film, 127 Hours. A. R. Rahmann is already one of world’s all-time top selling recording artists, selling over 100 million records, but it was his Oscar winning soundtrack for Slumdog which made him well known outside of Bollywood.

127 Hours follows Aron Ralston (James Franco), the mountain climber who amputated his own arm to free himself after being trapped by a boulder for nearly five days. The actor has been getting awards buzz for his performance, and the movie has been getting positive reviews from screenings at various festivals. Creating music for a movie which focuses mainly on one individual in a small space would be a new challenge for Rahmann, but the composer and Boyle knew how to approach it.

I wanted this to be personal in a way. It’s not a big, epic Hollywood score but really personal and intimate, and we thought guitar would be the perfect instrument for him because he’s young and he has an undying spirit and all that stuff and we went on that feeling totally.

Here’s the soundtrack tracklist:

1. Never Hear Surf Music Again – Free Blood
2. The Canyon – A.R. Rahman
3. Liberation Begins – A.R. Rahman
4. Touch of the Sun – A.R. Rahman
5. Lovely Day – Bill Withers
6. Nocturne No.2 in E flat, Op. 9, No. 2 – Vladimir Ashkenazy
7. Ca Plane Pour Moi – Plastic Bertrand
8. Liberation in a Dream – A.H. Rahman
9. If You Love Me (Really Love Me) – Esther Phillips
10. Acid Darbari – A.R Rahman
11. R.I.P. – A.R. Rahman
12. Liberation – A.R Rahman
13. Festival – Sigur Rós
14. If I Rise – Dido

…and you can listen to samples below:

The soundtrack is now available to download here or you can purchase the CD version here!

127 Hours was released on November 5th.

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The first trailer for 127 Hours was pretty upbeat considering the subject matter, but now Fox Searchlight has released a second, more emotional trailer for Danny Boyle’s first movie since Slumdog Millionaire cleaned house at last year’s Oscars.

We get to see more of James Franco’s portrayal of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who amputated his own arm to free himself after being trapped by a boulder for nearly five days. The actor has already been getting awards buzz, and the movie has been getting positive reviews from screenings at various festivals.

Watch the trailer below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0GycqTaXwQ

The script was written by Simon Beaufoy, who won an Oscar for his Slumdog Millionaire screenplay, and Fox Searchlight plan to release 127 Hours on November 5th in the US and January 7th in the UK.

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After Slumdog Millionaire cleaned up at the Oscars last year, including a Best Director win for Danny Boyle, the director spent a few months deciding what his next film would be. Eventually it was announced that Boyle would be directing 127 Hours, a film based on the story of Aron Ralston (played by James Franco), the mountain climber who amputated his own arm to free himself after being trapped by a boulder for nearly five days.

Fox Searchlight has released the first teaser trailer for the film, which you can watch below.

The script was written by Simon Beaufoy, who won an Oscar for his Slumdog Millionaire screenplay, and Fox Searchlight plan to release 127 Hours in November in the US. The films has also been selected as the closing picture at this year’s London film festival.

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Just over a week ago we heard rumblings that Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle had been offered the chance to choreograph the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Now according to Variety not only will Boyle have a role, Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry will be involved too.

Daldry is a rare talent. Every film he has made had been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and he has been nominated for Best Director each time too. Daldry will serve as one of four executive producers who will take overall creative charge of the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ opening and closing ceremonies, with Boyle serving as artistic director of the opening ceremony.

House of Flying Daggers director Zhang Yimou spent £70 million ($105 million) designing the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and while Boyle may not have that type of budget given current global economics, I’m sure he’ll produce a very British opening ceremony that will hopefully set the bar for Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

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Danny Boyle may be about to sign onto the most expensive project of his career, but it’s not a movie. According to The Times (via Playlist) Danny Boyle, who won an Oscar for directing Slumdog Millionaire, is the top choice to direct the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

London will have to pull out all the stops if the opening ceremony is going to be as good as the Bejing opening ceremony in 2008 (choreographed by House of Flying Daggers director Zhang Yimou). This won’t be easy given the economic climate, but if anyone can work on a strict budget it’s Boyle. He made Sunshine with all it’s dazzling effects for just $40 million, and he converted $15 million into 8 Oscars and $377 million with Slumdog.

A senior source closely involved in planning the Games said Boyle was a favoured candidate because of his creative panache. “We want the most imaginative ceremony the world has ever seen.”

Another source said: “Nothing has been signed yet, but we do fully expect him to do it.” When asked whether he had been approached, Boyle said: “I can’t say any more. It would be lovely, wouldn’t it?”

Do you think Boyle would be a good choice to direct the ceremony? Or should they give other British directors such as Sam Mendes or Ridley Scott the job?

Here’s a reminder of China’s amazing ceremony:

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After Slumdog Millionaire cleaned up at this years Oscars, including a Best Director win for Danny Boyle, the director spent a few months deciding what his next film would be. Eventually it was announced that Boyle would be directing 127 Hours, a film that is based on the 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.

Now according to Production Weekly James Franco will play Ralston, and filming is expected to begin in early March in Utah. This is a chance for Franco to really shine as an actor, as apparently the film will contain over one hour without dialogue, so he will have to keep audiences engaged for a long length of time with only his face.

The script was written by Simon Beaufoy, who won an Oscar for his Slumdog Millionaire screenplay, and Fox Searchlight aim to release 127 Hours towards the end of 2010 in time for Oscar season.

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