Danny Boyle

[DB7]

Danny Boyle.Q&A - BBC



If you were given the chance to re-make "Trainspotting" now, would you change anything? David Lankester

No. I think it's a mistake to look back, but digital video would be the perfect format for it.



What was the last film you saw that you really enjoyed, and why? Mark Townsend

"Treasure Planet". Old-fashioned animation, but truly beautiful to look at.



Can you envisage a day when the majority of films are made on DV, rather than celluloid? Simon Walker

Soon. Celluloid will be the next decade's black and white.



You seem to have been veering away from big budget Hollywood movies since "The Beach". Would you ever consider doing a big budget film again, and if not, why not? Mike

I love huge movies. Not sure I am the guy to make them, but you can rely on me being there watching them.



What do you think is the best motion picture ever made? Paul Bate

"Apocalypse Now". Mad. Imperfect. Pompous. Brilliant.



Are there any plans for a "Trainspotting" sequel in the near future? Richard Bevan

I'm working with John Hodge on adapting Irvine Welsh's novel, "Porno", but until we have a script it's a long way off.



Ewan McGregor has said that he won't appear in the "Trainspotting" sequel "Porno", saying that he found the novel uninspiring. Do you feel any other actor could play Renton after the character was so well defined by Ewan's portrayal? If so, who would you consider for the role? Julian Moorhead

If "Porno" was made in to a film, I believe it would only work with the original cast.



You said in the deleted scenes commentary for "28 Days Later" that you thought it was best to cut your favourite shot from the film. Why? And has this happened in any of your other movies? Stephen Dop

I said it to ease the pain - you can't be precious about anything. Everybody has their favourite shots and often it's a mistake to stand by them.



"28 Days Later" had a similar feel to the classic zombie film "Night of The Living Dead". Can you tell us which films in particular influenced you? Alex Lochrie

The Romero films are obviously the most important zombie films, but "28 Days Later" isn't really a zombie film. Other films like Cronenberg's "Rabid" and John Wyndham's "The Day of the Triffids" are big influences for both Alex [Garland, the writer] and I.



What would you change if you had a bigger budget for "28 Days Later"? Karl Walsh

In Alex's original script he had a scene where the heroes left Heathrow in a 747 with the infected hanging off the plane and being sucked through the engines. But the producer was too mean to find any more money.



"Trainspotting" was the definitive British movie of the 90s. What do you think the definitive British movie of this decade is so far? Richard Smith

There's a long way to go and it's all subjective, but I really liked "24 Hour Party People".



With the closure of FilmFour, how would you recommend young, wannabe directors break into the industry? Adrian O'Toole

Work with people you know and utilize the new technology, like mini DV and home Macintosh editing systems.



I've personally enjoyed every single one of your films. Have you got a personal favourite? Danny Marsh

It's easy to like the most popular films, but I have a great fondness for "A Life Less Ordinary".



What lessons did you learn after making "A Life Less Ordinary"? Julia Knight

That not every film you make will connect with as big an audience as you hope.



Your latest film, "Millions", has been described as a comedy/musical set in Liverpool. Is that a fair description, and what attracted you to it? Tony Wilkie

It's a comedy about the Euro, not a musical about the Eurovision Song Contest as has been rumoured! It's about two young lads, eight and ten, who find a bag of money on the eve of Britain entering the Euro, and they have to spend it before the currency is worthless. One month to have a good time, and one month to redistribute it to the poor.



You seem to have shied away from big-budget Hollywood movies, dropping out of the Jennifer Lopez pic "Tick-Tock" for "creative reasons". How do you regard Hollywood? Lawrence Boult

It's a business there, and we criticise it for the wrong reasons. When they get it right there's nothing quite like it. We've got to get them to get it right more often

[Bex]

Hi, somewhen soon i'm goin to b doin a presentation on Danny Boyle for college and need peoples opinions on the subject!Would love to hear any comments from you on him inc. why his films r so great (or not), wat genres u think he portrays and if his style, in your opinion has changed at all over time. Thank you, thank you, thank you for any posts, all will be used in some way or another. cheers!!!

[DB7]

He's one of the few British directors to make contemporary films for mass appeal, something he does without watering them down to the level of banal Working Title rom-coms aimed at the middle classes or art-house films for a couple of broadsheet readers.



His style hasn't changed a great deal and is similar to the fast editing of ex-pop promo directors like Jonathan 'Sexy Beast' Glazer.



Most of his films are chronicling decay, often with a splash of dark humour, Trainspotting was a slide into the non-glamorous effect of drugs, Shallow Grave gave us the greed-influenced break-up of three friends, 28 Days Later was an apocalyptic breakdown of society, The Beach was the dream of an idyllic island trashed, and his new film (Millions) is based around the end of nations currency. He takes a subject - then films the poison envelop it. Thankfully both 28 Days Later and Trainspotting end on a note of hope for at least some of the protaganists.



As long as he continues to avoid casting Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, and stays away from the US, he should remain creatively alive. thumbs_u

[Bex]

Thank you v.v.much 4 the comments. I agree especially with the H.Grant, C.Firth comment! Love Actually says it all!

[the question]

would you say that danny boyle is an effective director??he definately has a unique style in the sense that he is able to develop a film to reflect alternatives to the mundaneties of life such as trainspotting, the beach, 28 days later maybe??i dont know. what do you think?

[indieling]

I am doing a research about how the 18 to 25 Youths interpret Trainspotting and 28 Days Later.



If you have seen either of them, could you please give me a hand to do a questionnaire? Ths a lot!! pls leave me ur email address here or email me at yeahyeahling@hotmail.com



Thanks so muchhhh!! CHeerssss :)

[Chevyman]

BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Boyle takes Oscar on home visit



The video footage is well worth a look

[LukeAFB]

Who was that scrummy blond with the pageboy hair-do in the background? Broken glass and crawling come to mind!!

[davidb]

seemingly danny boyle is going to direct the next bond film if rumours are true .does anyone know if there has been confirmation?

[DB7]

Danny Boyle asked to direct next James Bond film

Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle has been asked to take charge of the next James Bond film, according to reports.





By Aislinn Simpson

Last Updated: 2:08PM GMT 03 Mar 2009

Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle asked to direct next James Bond film

Danny Boyle won best director at this years Oscars Photo: PA



Barbara Broccoli, the head of the 007 franchise at EON Productions, is one of a series of major players said to have approached Boyle, 52 in recent days.



The revelation, if true, shows how far the Manchester director's stock has risen since his Mumbai-based film swept the board at the Oscars, winning eight awards, including best picture and best director. The rags-to-riches tale of a boy from the Mumbai slums was the first entirely British-financed film in Oscar history to win best picture and best director, as well as picking up four Golden Globes and seven Baftas.



While Boyle prides himself on taking on more left-field projects, with previous films including Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, he is understood to have been impressed by the grittier direction the Bond blockbusters have taken since Daniel Craig got involved.



He is also good friends with Bond producer Callum McDougal, with whom he filmed the 2000 film The Beach.



A source told the Sun newspaper: "Danny is the man of the moment and he is being bombarded with offers from studios.



"He has been offered the chance to direct the 23rd Bond film by Barbara.



"The EON team love his vision and think that it would work perfectly for the new look of Bond.



"Danny has always insisted he is more interested in the film than the money.



"However, with Daniel Craig's involvement and the way the films are now structured – with the emphasis on the characters and plot rather than gags and gadgets – it is right up Danny's street. Everyone on the EON team thinks Danny would be a fantastic addition to the Bond family."

[Windthrop]

Jonny Lee Miller as the villian ?

[DB7]

Would certainly be pacey and highly stylised but I suspect this rumour is 2+2=5.

[Captain Casper]

Jonny Lee Miller as the villian ?

Doing a passable Sean Connery impression, "I have him in my shights".



As long as we try and avoid the dreadful editing of car chases and fight scenes that plague modern action films. I felt quite punch-drunk after watching Quantum of Sodthis.

[batman]

As long as we try and avoid the dreadful editing of car chases and fight scenes that plague modern action films. I felt quite punch-drunk after watching Quantum of Sodthis.

Although I enjoyed QOS I agree about the editing. That crash, bang edit every half a second is getting a bit wearing.

[Briant]

Quantum of Sodthis....LOL!

[narabdela]

Boyle has issued a denial of this story.

[Maurice]

ceefax:



Oscar-winning film-maker Danny Boyle will be artistic director for the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, organisers have announced.



The SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE director said he was "honoured" by his appointment.



Boyle said it was a "unique opportunity to contribute to what I'm sure are going to be a fantastic Games."



Director Stephen Daldry is one of four other "creatives" who will oversee the Olympic and Paralympic Games' opening and closing ceremonies.

[alan gowdy]

It will be interesting to see how (if?) their screen, and stage in the case of Daldry, talents translate to the massive spectacle of the opening ceremony, which of course takes place in real time rather than a series of individual takes. I believe they also have a director with live television experience on board which should assist in that area.

[DB7]

Danny Boyle: the director who keeps his Oscar in a shoe bag



Amy Raphael

Last updated August 28 2010 11:48AM



A battered Mini Cooper, a modest house in London and an unfailing work ethic – so much for basking in the success of Slumdog Millionaire



While Danny Boyle pads around his kitchen making fresh coffee and hot milk, I take in his East London house. Outside, a perfect expanse of grass stretches from fence to fence. Freshly washed jeans and shirts stiffen in the sun. The open space downstairs is crammed with neat piles of art and photography books. There’s an endless supply of novels, from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road to Alan Warner’s The Stars in the Bright Sky. Above the dining table is the only hint at Boyle’s line of work: a framed poster of his sci-fi epic, Sunshine. There is no sign of the phenomenal success of Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Oscars, picked up more than 100 other international awards and grossed nearly $400 million (£255 million) worldwide.



He’s lived in this surprisingly modest house for a decade; an ageing Mini Cooper sits in the drive; Boyle himself is dressed, as ever, in jeans and a shirt. There is certainly no sign of his Best Director Oscar. I remember him taking it to his father’s social club in Radcliffe, Manchester, and wonder if it might still be up there. Eventually, a little self-consciously, I ask if the Oscar is around and whether I can see it. He brings it down from his study, wrapped in a plain blue shoe bag, and hands it over. It’s ludicrously shiny and incredibly heavy. As I stare at it, he busies himself in the kitchen; he is now embarrassed. I ask what he remembers of the whole Oscars process. “We were in India, doing a live interview on America’s Today programme, when we first heard. It was incredible: ten Oscar nominations! Dev [Patel] and Freida [Pinto, the film’s stars] were so excited they started Bollywood dancing.�



The night itself flew by. “Before you know it, you’re in the theatre and the ceremony has started. The fact that it was a live show made it feel very quick. Suddenly, I was up there and I decided what to say almost there and then. It was a blizzard. In fact, I watched it back at my sister Maria’s house four or five months later and I couldn’t remember any of it.� He pauses and smiles. “Well, I do remember Penélope Cruz’s friends walking around with the letter ‘P’ written on their foreheads. It was a fantastic evening. But the glory is temporary, believe me.� Have the Oscars changed him? He squirms slightly. “You see people look at you a bit differently. It’s all a bit... strange, because essentially I’m the same person. I think the best way of dealing with it is to ignore the pressure and expectation and get on with the work.�



When we talk, Boyle is already focused on his next project. 127 Hours is inspired by the true story of Aron Ralston, an experienced mountaineer who is on a one-day hike through a remote area of Utah when a falling boulder traps his right arm against a canyon wall. He has told no one where he was going and, as the hours pass, it becomes clear that he must either cut his arm off with a blunt penknife or die.



The film is both an obvious and impossible subject for a feature film. It’s a risk, even with the handsome method actor James Franco – Sean Penn’s boyfriend in Milk – playing Ralston. It’s certainly not what Slumdog’s fans will be expecting. After its Oscar haul, Boyle was offered $2 million (£1.28 million) to direct an indie film and some £800,000 for an advert. Instead, he turned his attention to Ralston’s adventure; an enthralling story, but one that could end up as a desperately claustrophobic horror film with the boulder cast as the villain. Boyle doesn’t disagree. “But if you could pull the audience in, it would be incredible.� His eyes shine with enthusiasm. “What happens to Ralston’s mind during the 127 hours he’s trapped?�



Boyle – 53, tall, lean, intense, fizzing with energy – pushes his hair up. “I don’t really know how to make this film work, and I love that feeling.� He grins. “Deep down, I’ve absolutely no idea how to make this film.�



Danny Boyle delights in being out of his depth; it means he has to work harder. His work ethic comes straight from his working-class background and his Catholic, Anglo-Irish roots. His mother, a hairdresser, came over to Lancashire in the Fifties and met his father, a self-educated farm labourer, at a dance in Bury. His parents married in 1954, moved to Radcliffe and had three kids: Danny and his twin sister Maria, then Bernadette. “My mum and dad were desperate for us to get into good schools. They got us through the 11-plus and into single-sex grammar schools. Having a decent education changed our lives.�



While Maria and Bernadette went to a convent in Bury, the young Danny – a skinny lad with glasses – used to travel five or six miles every day to his grammar school in Bolton. His parents were ambitious but very loving, and it didn’t occur to him to rebel against their educational directive. “Part of me hated school, but I pushed myself really hard. Because Maria and I were twins, my dad was very comparative. When we were at the same primary school, he used to do this terrible thing of putting our school reports down side by side on the table. The competitive relationship forged by my dad benefited me most, despite the fact that I always felt my sisters were much brighter than me.�



Did he think the twins would thrive on the competition? “I’m sure he did. He looked at me and thought: ‘He’s not going to be working where I’m working. He’s going to get a better job.’ It’s also important to remember that punishment is the key to Catholicism. When I was growing up, there was certainly very little of the modern ethos we embrace about encouragement. If we fell below a certain level of achievement or behaviour, we had to be punished. We had to feel guilty.�



A battered Mini Cooper, a modest house in London and an unfailing work ethic – so much for basking in the success of Slumdog Millionaire



While Danny Boyle pads around his kitchen making fresh coffee and hot milk, I take in his East London house. Outside, a perfect expanse of grass stretches from fence to fence. Freshly washed jeans and shirts stiffen in the sun. The open space downstairs is crammed with neat piles of art and photography books. There’s an endless supply of novels, from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road to Alan Warner’s The Stars in the Bright Sky. Above the dining table is the only hint at Boyle’s line of work: a framed poster of his sci-fi epic, Sunshine. There is no sign of the phenomenal success of Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Oscars, picked up more than 100 other international awards and grossed nearly $400 million (£255 million) worldwide.



He’s lived in this surprisingly modest house for a decade; an ageing Mini Cooper sits in the drive; Boyle himself is dressed, as ever, in jeans and a shirt. There is certainly no sign of his Best Director Oscar. I remember him taking it to his father’s social club in Radcliffe, Manchester, and wonder if it might still be up there. Eventually, a little self-consciously, I ask if the Oscar is around and whether I can see it. He brings it down from his study, wrapped in a plain blue shoe bag, and hands it over. It’s ludicrously shiny and incredibly heavy. As I stare at it, he busies himself in the kitchen; he is now embarrassed. I ask what he remembers of the whole Oscars process. “We were in India, doing a live interview on America’s Today programme, when we first heard. It was incredible: ten Oscar nominations! Dev [Patel] and Freida [Pinto, the film’s stars] were so excited they started Bollywood dancing.�



The night itself flew by. “Before you know it, you’re in the theatre and the ceremony has started. The fact that it was a live show made it feel very quick. Suddenly, I was up there and I decided what to say almost there and then. It was a blizzard. In fact, I watched it back at my sister Maria’s house four or five months later and I couldn’t remember any of it.� He pauses and smiles. “Well, I do remember Penélope Cruz’s friends walking around with the letter ‘P’ written on their foreheads. It was a fantastic evening. But the glory is temporary, believe me.� Have the Oscars changed him? He squirms slightly. “You see people look at you a bit differently. It’s all a bit... strange, because essentially I’m the same person. I think the best way of dealing with it is to ignore the pressure and expectation and get on with the work.�



When we talk, Boyle is already focused on his next project. 127 Hours is inspired by the true story of Aron Ralston, an experienced mountaineer who is on a one-day hike through a remote area of Utah when a falling boulder traps his right arm against a canyon wall. He has told no one where he was going and, as the hours pass, it becomes clear that he must either cut his arm off with a blunt penknife or die.



The film is both an obvious and impossible subject for a feature film. It’s a risk, even with the handsome method actor James Franco – Sean Penn’s boyfriend in Milk – playing Ralston. It’s certainly not what Slumdog’s fans will be expecting. After its Oscar haul, Boyle was offered $2 million (£1.28 million) to direct an indie film and some £800,000 for an advert. Instead, he turned his attention to Ralston’s adventure; an enthralling story, but one that could end up as a desperately claustrophobic horror film with the boulder cast as the villain. Boyle doesn’t disagree. “But if you could pull the audience in, it would be incredible.� His eyes shine with enthusiasm. “What happens to Ralston’s mind during the 127 hours he’s trapped?�



Boyle – 53, tall, lean, intense, fizzing with energy – pushes his hair up. “I don’t really know how to make this film work, and I love that feeling.� He grins. “Deep down, I’ve absolutely no idea how to make this film.�



Danny Boyle delights in being out of his depth; it means he has to work harder. His work ethic comes straight from his working-class background and his Catholic, Anglo-Irish roots. His mother, a hairdresser, came over to Lancashire in the Fifties and met his father, a self-educated farm labourer, at a dance in Bury. His parents married in 1954, moved to Radcliffe and had three kids: Danny and his twin sister Maria, then Bernadette. “My mum and dad were desperate for us to get into good schools. They got us through the 11-plus and into single-sex grammar schools. Having a decent education changed our lives.�



While Maria and Bernadette went to a convent in Bury, the young Danny – a skinny lad with glasses – used to travel five or six miles every day to his grammar school in Bolton. His parents were ambitious but very loving, and it didn’t occur to him to rebel against their educational directive. “Part of me hated school, but I pushed myself really hard. Because Maria and I were twins, my dad was very comparative. When we were at the same primary school, he used to do this terrible thing of putting our school reports down side by side on the table. The competitive relationship forged by my dad benefited me most, despite the fact that I always felt my sisters were much brighter than me.�



Did he think the twins would thrive on the competition? “I’m sure he did. He looked at me and thought: ‘He’s not going to be working where I’m working. He’s going to get a better job.’ It’s also important to remember that punishment is the key to Catholicism. When I was growing up, there was certainly very little of the modern ethos we embrace about encouragement. If we fell below a certain level of achievement or behaviour, we had to be punished. We had to feel guilty.�



As Boyle was growing up, he hated his dad in a typically teenage way – although, he is keen to point out, they have got on well since he outgrew adolescence, and he still makes regular trips back to Radcliffe – but he was always very close to his mother. When she died in 1988, he was devastated. “I learnt things from my mum that I really value: tolerance and respect. I inherited things from my dad that you can’t really do anything about: stubbornness and doggedness. All of which are great value to me as a director – it means I just keep going and going.�



Yet he almost didn’t become a director. When still a schoolboy, he was allocated a place at the seminary in Upholland in Wigan – until a certain Father Conway told him he wasn’t cut out to be a priest. “He must have passed his thoughts on to my mum, because the whole notion just vanished. I didn’t wonder if I’d made the right decision, I just played more football. And then I started to be interested in music and girls and smoking.� If Father Conway hadn’t advised against it, would he have entered the priesthood? “Yes, because it was my mum’s dream.�



Instead, he read NME and watched art-house movies at a cinema in Bolton with a friend. “Being at a boys’ school was frustrating. I was 15 and, looking quite old for my age, could just about get away with buying us tickets for an X-certificate film. The sex was blinding: Decameron; Nada, the 1974 Claude Chabrol film; Blow-Up; La Grande Bouffe; Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo. I remember those specifically. There was so much sex on screen, it was fantastic.� He laughs. “Some of those films I’ve seen subsequently and they’re terrible. Awful.�



He was also turned on by more mainstream films – first A Clockwork Orange and then Apocalypse Now – but, growing up, the limit of his world was wanting to be a train driver. He didn’t think a lad from a working-class background could get into film-making. Yet, through sheer determination, he made it. He immersed himself in films as a teenager, got into Bangor University to read English and drama and, later, impressed everyone at the Royal Court in the early Eighties with his energy and enthusiasm. He worked as a producer and director for the BBC in Northern Ireland and, finally, in 1994, directed Shallow Grave, his first feature film.



He has, you might say, made his own luck – and yet still the guilt lingers. I ask if he can finally enjoy his success, and he laughs. “I have always felt guilty about my sisters, who became teachers, doing more important jobs than me and getting paid f*** all, comparatively. So the answer to enjoying success is: no. Only in a very private way. I always doubt my success, which is a good thing. I see other people enjoying it in a more emphatic way, and I think, fair enough, but I could never naturally do it. I can only pretend to do it.� How? “You watch how it’s done and think: I can do that. But I never genuinely feel it. Part of me always thinks I’m a charlatan. Alongside every other creative person, I’m always waiting to be found out.�



All that Catholic self-reproach and creative doubt mean that Boyle is slightly embarrassed by the extraordinary success of Slumdog. He shows no interest in upgrading his modest Mile End home; he takes the Tube everywhere; he rotates the same three or four pairs of shoes. When asked how he spends his money, he says his only weakness is photographs (Sebastião Salgado is a favourite). I don’t doubt his honesty; he doesn’t seem to be secretly harbouring a huge ego or hiding a luxury yacht. He seems, rather, to be contained, private, remote even.



In 2002 he separated from casting director Gail Stevens, with whom he has three children, all adults now, and he seems content to live alone, insisting that he is not lonely but “solitary�. None of which helps to describe his innate joie de vivre. He is a workaholic, but not a bore; when he talks about art, television or films (not his own), his enthusiasm is contagious. He is also – unexpectedly – charismatic. The dynamics of a room change as he enters, even though he does so with no fanfare. On a separate occasion, I watch him being interviewed by a female journalist, and when he shakes her hand to commend her for asking a smart question, she blushes furiously. For all his distance, Boyle is able to turn his charm on; it’s what makes actors want to work with him time and again, what keeps his crew with him film after film, despite the insanely long hours he works.



Boyle goes out of his way to treat his cast and crew with respect. He is clearly frustrated by criticism regarding Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali, the youngest kids in Slumdog; some complained they were lifted from the slums, taken to Hollywood and dumped back in Mumbai again, despite Boyle and his producer Christian Colson providing education and housing followed by a lump sum at 18.



“I feel responsible for Azhar and Rubina, although I shouldn’t really. They have their own lives to lead. But I see that a film can distort their lives for a while and then vanish. You want to make them feel it’s something they can still have access to; that it’s a time in their lives they should be able to call upon should they want to.� He sighs, but manages a smile. Grateful though he may be for its commercial and critical triumphs, he wants to put Slumdog behind him. He knows that success is the greatest enemy of creativity and he wants to move on – to the film he has no idea how to make.



I ask him when he last did something not related to work, and he says, triumphantly, that he played tennis a week ago. I then ask what he thinks might happen if he were to take six months off work and there’s a sharp intake of breath. Followed by a loud clap. “I’d end up doing things that are peripheral to work, like going to film festivals.� That wouldn’t be allowed. He frowns; he’s stuck for a moment. “I’d read. Improve my serve. I know! I’d follow the Tour de France around. I love watching it on TV. But I’d miss working...�



For a moment, I see the young Danny, a skinny lad with glasses, eager to please his mum and dad. Then he packs up his stuff and, as he heads off to the Tube with a big grin on his face, tells me what I already know: he is going home to work.



Danny Boyle: In His Own Words by Amy Raphael will be published by Faber & Faber in January 2011.

[Boyle'sGirl]

Huuuuge fan of Danny and would love to get in touch and let him know!!!!


Anyone any ideas how?!

thanks x